Network Hardware Restrictions

The 5-4-3 Rule only has to do with 10Base2 or 10BaseT networks. Is this what you are asking about?

http://www.helmig.com/j_helmig/netrule.htm

There are no restrictions on quantity of routers that I know of.

For the most part, the old rules about numbers of devices are obsolete but what IS important is how they are connected. If you consider your network a pyramid with the servers and/or routers at the top and users/workstations at the bottom, switchesshould be near the top, hubs should be near the bottom and there should be as few layers as possible in between.

In your situation, the router should plug into one of the switches, the other two switches and the hubs should have their uplink ports connected to the first switch, and all the workstations should then be connected to the second two switches and the two hubs.

The key strategies are to minimize distances and the number of devices through which the signal has to pass to get from workstation to router. The total number of devices on the network is considerably less important.

paul