CompuServe Messages

Noah, I prefer to install Lantastic using a deadicated server. Each workstation strictly logs in as a client, not a server. This arangement is just like Novell's Netware. If you have a peer-to-peer setup, where each workstation is a server, crashing a machine can cause other machines to crash. Imagine you are using 3DS on a network writing files to another machine. The other machine crashes, so 3DS is unable to continue to write the file. If it causes the 3DS machine to crash, any user with swap files on the 3ds machine will also crash, and so on, and so on…. The network hub is likely to be a 10Base-T Ethernet hub. It CAN be more reliable than co-ax Ethernet. If a cable goes bad on co-ax, the entire network (or that cable segment) goes down. With 10Base-T (AKA Twisted Pair) Ethernet, each workstation is wired to a hub. If you lose a cable, the hub disconnects the cable, so only one workstation is lost. You will pay more money for the hub, however. Expect to pay around $1000 for a 8 port hub. Lantastic is available with a 5-port-hub-on-a-card and two 10Base-T cards with software for around $900 list. You could use an old 286 as the server, plug the hub-card in it, and network two other machines to it. Works great. I'm running a 1.6GB Lantastic server with 10 to 15 486 machines (we're a dealer, so it changes daily) on it. Our server is a 386SX. 3DS and AutoCAD work just fine, thank you…<g> BTW, I'm a sysop on the Lantastic forum, as well as here. Ken Elliott /// CAD Masters