3com 3C16721A Manuale Utente

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5
I
NTRODUCTION
Welcome to the world of networking with 3Com
®
. In the 
modern business environment, communication and sharing 
information is crucial. Computer networks have proved to 
be one of the fastest modes of communication but, until 
recently, only large businesses could afford the networking 
advantage. The OfficeConnect® product range from 3Com 
has changed this, bringing networks to the small office.
The OfficeConnect Fast Ethernet Hub 4, Hub 8, and Hub 12 
are ideal for creating small, fast (high bandwidth) networks. 
They are compact and attractively designed for desktop use. 
These products are part of the OfficeConnect range, which 
neatly stack together with the OfficeConnect Stacking Clip. 
When referring to all three products, this guide uses the 
term ‘OfficeConnect hub’.
The OfficeConnect hub is a Fast Ethernet (Class II) repeater, 
allowing the creation of a network that runs 10 times faster 
than standard Ethernet. You can connect a workstation, 
server or other piece of equipment to each 100BASE-TX 
port, as shown in Figure 1. The Hub 4 has four 100BASE-TX 
ports, the Hub 8 has eight, and the Hub 12 has twelve.
Figure 1   Small Network Featuring OfficeConnect Fast Ethernet 
Hub 4 and Server
If you need to connect more workstations, simply use the 
stacking clip to connect another OfficeConnect hub to form 
a stack (each hub is a single Class II repeater).
OfficeConnect hub
Network server
3C16721.book  Page 5  Wednesday, July 7, 1999  3:05 PM