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Path: utzoo!utgpu!jarvis.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!ames!hc!lll-winken!uunet!usna!tsmith
From: tsmith@usna.MIL (Tim G. Smith )
Newsgroups: comp.dcom.lans,comp.misc
Subject: Re: Installing Thinwire Ethernet
Message-ID: <179@usna.MIL>
Date: 10 May 89 02:27:25 GMT
References: <1381@ndmath.UUCP>
Reply-To: tsmith@cad.usna.mil.UUCP (Tim G. Smith (Mechanical) <tsmith@usna>)
Organization: U.S. Naval Academy, Annapolis
Lines: 45

In article <1381@ndmath.UUCP> milo@ndmath.UUCP (Greg Corson) writes:
>So, how can you wire 10-20 offices so they can all easily tap into the 
>thinwire?  The installation has to be neet...no big loops of cable hanging
>down from the ceeling...etc.  All the offices would have to be on the same
>segment of thinwire...sending a seperate thinwire cable to each one isn't
>practical because there are TO MANY offices.

I know you don't want to hear this BUT.....

The cost and praticality all depends on your viewpoint. The major cost
of running a single thin wire to each office always seems to be the
multi-port repeaters (I call them MPRs but I am told many folks call
them DEMPRs). MPRs are not cheap- BUT running around finding out who
is screwing up the network whenever some clown unplugs his pc the
wrong way also costs a lot in terms of wasted resources and pissed of
network managers.

Another thing to consider is whether offices ever change hands and if
so will it affect your subnets. [Office wars for the "best" offices
can wreak havoc with subnetting if office "moves" from one subnet to
another] If every office is "home runned" then moving an office from
one subnet to another is easy- if the offices are daisy chained then
you have to go run new wires.

Cabletron has a box called an MMAC that significantly reduces the cost
per port of using MPRs to star wire.

>I suppose you could put in a wallplate with two BNC connectors and install
>a short jumper when the outlet isn't in use.  When you connected a computer
>you would run cable from one connector, to the T on the back of the computer
>and back to the other connector on the wall plate.  I'm sure there must be
>a better way than this though.  Anybody got any good ideas?

Maybe the AMP wall outlets that some other folks mentioned will do the
trick for you if you absolutely, positively can't star wire.

good luck,
	Tim Smith	(formerly of the US Naval Academy-
					and still reading news there)
US mail:US Army, BRL				E-mail:
	SLCBR-SE				internet:tsmith@brl.mil
	Aberdeen Proving Grounds, MD 21005-5066	uucp	:...!uunet!brl!tsmith
MaBell :(301)278-6678 (or 6808)
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