I currently have a small 10 user Novell network. All the NIC cards are combo an rated at 10 or 100. I am only using 10 mb speeds on a thinnet BNC cable with T connects and terminators. I see most people have switched to the RJ 45 cable and connectors. I am considering buying a Netgear FS309T 8Port 10/100BT switch with 1 1000NBT Uplink. Being new to the this layout. I have a few questions. I plan to buy 1000 ft of CAT5 cables with tools, connectors and a tester. I believe I want to make all our connection power users running at 100 MB. Should I a purchase a 1000MB card for the server. Then cable from the server to the switch upstairs as the uplink? Then cable each unit from the switch at 100 mb. All the cards have the RJ45 slot and I think they are all rated at 100. How close can the cables be without causing a problem? I assume I should avoid lighting and electrical fields also? If all the cables are coming from the switch go directly to the unit run together for awhile is that a problem? I welcome all suggestions and advice on what to purchase and some cabling 101 information. Do I need crossover cabling? I have a mix of SMC cards and Intel cards. Will i be able to reuse these cards? How stable is 100MB speeds? Should I considerstaying at 10mb? ETC. ETC.
Thanks
Richard F. Bolha
