Last file update : 10-04-02

Network Setup

1.) Introduction

In this part of my site I will tell you how to install a Local Area Network (LAN) for using with Falcon 4. There are a lot things to tell and configure, but if you follow these steps you'll be able to fly Falcon 4 in your own LAN. 
What is a LAN? A LAN consist of 2 or more computers connected to each other. There are a few options to create your LAN but I'll only explain to setup with Network Interface Cards (NIC).

If you finish reading all pages, you'll enjoy Falcon 4 even more than you did before ! 

2.) Methods of connection

If you choose to connect your computer with a NIC you'll have to decide how many computers you want to connect to each other at the same time. This is because of the extra hardware you'll need if you connect more than 2 computers to each other.

2.1) I only want to connect 2 computers

If you choose to connect only 2 computers to each other the configuration is cheap and simple. This methot is also called a Peer-Peer network. To connect the computers you'll need :

• 2 NIC's (one for each computer)
  • WARNING :
    Each NIC should be able to connect at the same speed, if one of the NIC's doesn't comply to the other's speed there won't be a connection !
    For example :
    • 2 10 Mbps NIC's
    • 2 100 Mbps NIC's
    • 1 10 Mbps NIC and 1 10/100 Mbps NIC 
      (10/100 means 10 or 100, and most of these cards are auto sensing to the network's highest speed.)
• A Network Cross Cable to connect the 2 NIC's.
  • A network Cross Cable is a twisted pair cable with the transmit and receive pairs twisted in each connector :
    

    Connector layout
    Pin	Cable color	Used for
    1	White with a orange stripe	Receive
    2	Orange	Receive
    3	White with a green stripe	Transmit
    4	Blue
    5	White with a blue stripe
    6	Green	Transmit
    7	White with a brown stripe
    8	Brown

    
    

    Cross cable pin settings
    Pin Connector 1	Pin Connector 2
    1	3
    2	6
    3	1
    4 (Not used)
    5 (Not used)
    6	2
    7 (Not used)
    8 (Not used)

2.2) I want to connect multiple computers 

When you connect more than 2 computers to the same LAN you'll need more hardware than with the Peer-Peer option :

• Multiple NIC's (one for each computer)
• A HUB or Switch, to create a connection to each computer. 
  • A quick explanation of the difference between HUB and SWITCH :
    • HUB : a device with ports (depends on how many you need ) that relays all the data sent from one computer to all other ports.
      If you use a HUB all NIC's should be able to accept the same speed
    • SWITCH : is also a device with multiple ports, but compared to a hub the switch is intelligent and remembers the address of the computer. Then only sends data to the computers where the data is sent to. This prevents a lot of overcast on your network.
      If you use a SWITCH the speed of your NIC's may vary in the LAN.
• Multiple cable's to connect your NIC's to the HUB or SWITCH.
  Don't use cross cable's when you connect your NIC's to a HUB or SWITCH, only if you want to make a connection between 2 HUB's or SWITCHES (Combination is possible) 

Buy a NIC

There are a lot of NIC's available in the various shops around the world. I'm not going to tell you to a specific NIC! I can only give you some advice :

• A NIC requires a free PCI or ISA slot on your motherboard, so first check what's free in your system.
• For the current systems a PCI plug and play (pray) card is the easiest to configure.
• Currently most NIC's that are sold are 10/100Mbps, Falcon 4 doesn't require that much of data transported, so a 10Mbps is enough. For other functions (like file copy) 100 Mbps is better. The choice is yours but my advice is to buy a 10/100 NIC.
• To get better support an download drivers it's wise to buy a network card from a well established company.

At last I want to inform you that my choice is a 3Com EtherLink 10/100 PCI TX NIC (3C905B-TX).

Installation of your NIC

Because the installation of a NIC can be different for each NIC, refer to the manual if the NIC for installation instructions.

Configuration of the Operating System

The following pages give a step by step explanation how to setup your operating system to get ready for Falcon 4 in a LAN. These pages can take a while to load, this is because there are a lot of screen dumps on them. Give it some time and be patient, it's worth it.

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