RockTech Associates Limited has planned and implemented a number of network installations for clients.
This is one of the most common networking solutions particularly for small numbers of computers that need to share data and resources such as printers. The installation is simple requiring only a card in each computer and a run of continuous co-axial cable to link them all together.
When everything is in place any computer user in the network has the ability (subject to access controls) to use files from any other computer. A printer attached to any computer can be shared so another person can print to it across the network.
This is a way of achieving effective use of resources, minimising duplication at a relatively low cost. The speed of the network (10 megabits per second) is suitable for most purposes but would be less successful in organisations where larger amounts of data need to be regularly accessed.
This is more sophisticated than the co-axial solution. Each computer is linked to a central concentrator known as a hub. The advantage of this method is that if there is a break in the connecting cable only the computer attached to it will lose connection.
The network is based on a card in each computer connected to the hub using Cat 5 (RJ45) cabling. This can provide networking speeds of 10 mbps or 100 mbps, the latter being more suitable for larger, more intensively used networks.