The Kingston's KNE-8TP/WG Hub are positioned to be the most cost effective and price competitive Hub on the market and yet built with solid engineering and the highest grade components. To further ensure our product reliability, we test everyone of the units before they are shipped. This product is poised to provide maximum profit margin for resellers, best value and absolute customer satisfaction for the most demanding users.
Historically (for the last 8 years), thin coaxial was the preferred method of cabling for small workgroup setups. Coaxial cabling was relatively cheaper since it does not need a Hub to connect the PCs together. All it needs are cables, T-connectors and 50 Ohm terminators. Typically, 10Base-T was for larger installations and Hubs were sitting in wiring closets. Further more, the price per port for 10Base-T Hubs made it impractical for smaller installations.
A major benefit using 10Base-T is that it is a low-cost cabling alternative. Unshielded twisted-pair wiring (UTP), better known as telephone wire, can be used for transmitting Ethernet data signals. In fact, they have already been installed in most office buildings.
Another 10Base-T feature that network administrators look for is connecting Ethernet workgroups in a star topology that focuses all network cabling in a single Hub. It makes network management and trouble shooting so much easier with the link/activity status indicator lights. Instead of inspecting the entire coaxial cable segment that may go up to 185 meters, the technician can trouble shoot a problem network node by checking only the cable going from the node to the Hub.
10Base-T's popularity spreads over two thirds of the total Ethernet installation world-wide. With 10Base-T Ethernet NIC price dropping below $100.00 retail, more and more small to mid-size companies or individual departments within large organizations realized that they can save time and money by connecting their systems together to allow data and resource sharing, like printers and modems. These changes have and will continue to enhance PC connectivities.
Since the KNE-8TP/WG 8-port Hubs only cost slightly more that $20 per port, it will be offset by the 10Base-T NICs that cost $20 dollars less than 10Base-2 NICs. More and more new installation sites are switching from the bulky oaxial cables to the clean RJ-45 cabling solution. Even if there are existing workstations installed with coaxial cabling, they can still be connected to the new 10Base-T workstations via the BNC port that the 8 port Hubs provide.
802.3 - Defined by the IEEE, these standards govern the use of the CSMA/CD network access method used by Ethernet networks. Although CSMA/CD and Ethernet are used interchangeably, there are technical differences.
Attachment Unit Interface (AUI) - The connector used with thick Ethernet that often includes a cable ( called a drop cable) running off the main, or backbone, coaxial cable.
Automatic Partitioning/Reconnection - If any of the ports on the EtheRx Hub experience excessive collisions, duration collisions, or faulty conditions, that particular port can be partitioned. Once partitioned, the Hub will continue to monitor that port. If the error conditions have been corrected, the Hub will automatically reconnect that port to the network.
Backbone - Cable on which 2 or more stations or networks may be attached.
BNC port - A standardized biconic connector used with thinnet and coaxial cable.
Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) - Network access method in which nodes contend for the right to send data. If two or more nodes attempt to transmit at the same time, they abort their transmission until a random time period of microseconds has transpired and then attempt to retransmit.
Cascading Star - Topology in which a centralized multiport repeater serves as the focal point for many other multiport repeaters.
Crossover Cable - A cable connecting or cascading between two Hubs or connecting 2 stations without a Hub. The transmit and receive pins on these cables are crossed.
Hub - A Hub or repeater in a star-topology network to which the nodes are connected. Also, a wiring Hub or repeater that brings together the connections from multiple network nodes.
Jabber Lock-up Protection - The EtheRx Hub implements a built-in jabber protection scheme to ensure that the network is not disabled due to transmission of excessively long data packets. This protection scheme will automatically interrupt excessively long transmissions to prevent jabber lock-up.
Link Test - The EtheRx Hub implements the link test function as specified in the IEEE 802.3 10Base-T standard. The Hub will transmit link test pulses to any RJ-45 twisted-pair port. These pulses are sent to confirm that a valid connection exists between each twisted- pair port on the Hub and its attached device.
RG-58 - A type of shielded coaxial cable used for "thin" Ethernet transmission (thinnet). Like all Ethernet cable, RG-58 has a 50-ohm characteristic impedance.
RJ-45 - A modular eight-wire connector used to terminate twisted-pair telephone cable. It is used for starLAN networks and some telephone systems.
Repeater - If any single port senses the start of a valid packet on its receiving line, the EtheRx Hub will re-transmit the received data to all other ports on the network. The re- transmission of packet complies to the IEEE 802.3 specification in terms of preamble structures, voltage amplitude, and timing characteristics. These timing regeneration prevent cumulative loss of signal, jitters, and distortion caused by the network cabling, enabling the EtheRx Hub to be cascaded to other EtheRx Hubs.
Answer: The targeted customers for this product are small to medium sized workgroups.
By having the BNC connector, a coaxial segment can be connected to the BNC
port directly. The AUI port would require an additional $30 transceiver to
convert to a BNC port. Offices that have thick Ethernet cabling that require the
AUI connectors normally are for much larger installations that need more ports
per Hub. The BNC ports are actually a more expensive option to implement comparing
with the AUI ports.
Answer: Yes, 5 segments can be connected in series using 4 Hubs. A crossover cable is
needed to cascade Hubs together via one of the 8 UTP ports.
Answer: No, this is a product that addresses to the small to medium sized workgroup
environment that do not require management software. Manageable Hubs usually
support more ports for larger installations. A new line of manageable Hubs from
Kingston are going to be available in the future to address these needs.
How to contact us, in general.
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