CompuServe Messages

No problems on the questions, bud. That's what we're here for. You've certainly helped us out once or twice, so it's time to return the favor… Not totally sure on the answer on advantages of 10BaseT vs coax except that the twisted pair stuff is real easy to run and terminate. I got a slick crimping tool that cuts the wire, measures and strips the outer jacket off, aligns the wires (4 pairs), and crimps the RJ45 connector. Takes seconds to do. Coax does have a maximum length advantage, I think, but I can't remember what it is. But you have to be more careful about running it near power cables etc. and how sharp you bend it. Theoretically, you can use existing phone lines to network via 10BaseT, but I've never tried it. The cable closet and punch down blocks are a luxury, I believe. I don't have one, all my wiring is hidden under the floor, and I hid my hubs under a return arm of one of my stations. I suppose if I was gonna do 40+ stations, I'd investigate these items. Be aware that if you lose power on the hubs, you can't communicate on the net, so put them on a UPS too, if you can. They draw almost no power. Our hubs were only about $700 to do 12 stations. On the other questions: I run all software from the server. My lab is very bulletproof, and I have a standard setup for each machine, which I can restore in a matter of seconds. The only thing I have on the local drives is the Windows INI files and the permanant swap file, and the INI and CFG files for AutoCAD. Be sure to configure AutoCAD to place it's temporary files locally, too. Yes, if you want to run AutoCAD from the server, you need to get an authorization code for the number of nodes you need. But it does seem to run quite well. Can't help you on the network access to modems. I have all my printers and plotters connected to the server directly (2 parallel and 4 serial ports!). I just took delivery of a HP LJ 4M printer yesterday, which I may get a JetDirect card for. Depends on the performance of the existing setup, via parallel from the server. Hope this is helpful. Keep us posted on progress…