Advanced networking features

As mentioned on the previous pages, there are extra features on some network cards/operating systems that may be of use to people.

I will list a few of them, mentioning the associated pros and cons.

Gigabit Networking

This one may seem obvious, but there are many myths surrounding gigabit. Running a gigabit network can, in theory, give you 10x the bandwidth of a 100Mb network, but in reality this isnt true. Speeds of 300-400Mb are more common due to a few of the following factors.

PCI cards
If your gigabit card runs on PCI, then it is sharing bandwidth with the rest of the system - fighting for the bandwidth.
Cabling/distance
Longer distance and/or poor cables can easily reduce the network speed.
Switches/hubs
Even brand name gigabit equipment can let you down, providing less than full speed.
Hard drives
The average hard drive (400GB and up) can only just push 70MB/s, perhaps 50MB/s sustained - Gigabit is 125MB/s! You'd need fast drives on BOTH ends of the network, perhaps even in RAID, to get full gigabit speed.

Another common myth is that gigabit makes 'everything' faster; this is not true. Gigabit only has a bandwidth advantage and not ping (gaming) or reliability. Only go gigabit if you move large files across your network regularly as it serves no purpose otherwise.

'NIC teaming"

NIC teaming means allowing two on-board network cards to connect to the same network, and theoretically get double the speed.

True story: very few setups can even max out a single connection, let alone two - the speed of your system's hard drives is rarely fast enough to power a single gigabit link, let alone two. Best ignored for most users.

Network bridging

A feature offered in most flavours of Windows, and a way to get around not having a router.

Example:
Example: Let's assume you have a dial up internet connection, and want to share it between two PCs. IF you activate bridging in Windows network controls, your PC takes the role of a router and shares it over another network. Your dial up comes in, is shared over the network you choose (wired or wireless) and any other PCs on the network can connect to your PC just like a router - effectively sharing the internet.

True story:
Network bridging can be handy if you don't have a router, but it has its flaws:

• There is no way to use port forwarding, so some applications (games) may not work
• It turns your network card into a DHCP server, so all other systems have to obtain IP addresses from that PC
• Because the PC becomes a DHCP server, the network goes down if your PC turns off - not pleasant for other users of the network.

Direct connecting - "Crossover"

Using crossover cables (typically red cables) to directly connect two machines eliminates the need to use a network switch (also called a hub) to connect with. This is also a way to connect two gigabit enabled computers at full speed, even if you only have a 100Mb switch.

In reality:

• It's fast, especially once you take the extra link (the switch) out of the equation
• Unless you're using network bridging, you will need to manually set IP addresses for all involved network cards.

Wireless networking - "Ad Hoc" mode

Ad hoc mode is a method by which wireless network users (such as say, two or three laptop users) can directly connect to each other without needing to use a central networking point, such as a router or wireless access point.

In reality:
Ad hoc mode should only be used if you have no other options, or for short term use as it can be difficult to set up, and is quite insecure (any wireless users may join this network, and potentially access your shared files).