[nylug-talk] network topology

[Carl Friedberg]

Hi Spencer,

I know that my Fujitsu marine electronics  use a bastardized ethernet 
cable and a "hub" if you have more than 2 devices. [NavNet 2] I have no
idea if it is CAT5 or something else.

If this is life-or-death electronics, I would certainly stay away from
 wireless.

I also agree that using a star topology with a couple of levels of
switches should do the job. IIRC, there's a limit to 3 levels of this
before you violate some IEEE 802.something, but with just 2 sets of
switches you should be good to go.

One thing that might help: if you are really into marine environments,
think about taking a commercial product, say Linksys 4 port switch (or
8 ports if that's the right number), opening it up, and taking out the
innards. Try potting it, and running the power separately (POE is
probably not a big enough win, but it's up to you). 

Your testing should reveal whether or not a potted commercial switch
would work in your environment, which should be interesting.

Good luck, and keep us posted on your progress. Sounds like fun.

Carl Friedberg
friedberg at comets.com
www.comets.com

> -----Original Message-----
> From: nylug-talk-bounces at nylug.org [mailto:nylug-talk-
> bounces at nylug.org] On Behalf Of Spencer Ogden
> Sent: Tuesday, June 27, 2006 2:15 PM
> To: nylug-talk at nylug.org
> Subject: [nylug-talk] network topology
> 
> I have an application where the amount of cabling must be kept to a
> minimum. This brought to mind the old 10Base2 thinnet networks. Are
> there other options?
> 
> Basically, I have a number of small devices, which I would like to
> hook
> to a central computer with an IP network. The devices are often
> grouped
> together, 40-60 ft from the central computer, so I would like to
> avoid
> running multiple cables to the same location. About 10-15 devices
> involved.
> 
> Wireless could be considered, but for security, ease of use, and
> reliability, it would be nice to use wires. Any interesting ways to
> solve this one?
> 
> Something like power over ethernet would be nice too.
> 
> Thanks for any ideas,
> 
> Spencer
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