Features:
- Hub and network-card kit lets you set up your home or small office network
- Includes everything you need to set up a network for 2 PCs
- Offers 4 ports (fourth doubles as an uplink)
- Makes it easy to share printers and other peripherals
- Compatible with PCs
Description:
Fast Ethernet is all the rage in home and small office networks these days due to its blazing 100 Mbps speeds. Some folks, however, have found that they can save cash and still get decent performance by opting for a slower 10Base-T network kit. However, in that regard 3Com's 3C1509 networking kit falls short, as it's more expensive than some 100 Mbps kits we've tested. The hub included in this kit is bigger than any other four-port design we've tested, as it uses the same case as its eight-port big brother, making it unnecessarily bulky. The cables aren't shielded as well as they could be, but it didn't seem to hinder performance in our tests. One nice thing about the included cables is they're light tan, so they should blend in better with home and office decor than the bright blue cables some other products come with. They're also longer than average, measuring 25 feet each. The two network interface cards (NICs) that come with the kit interface with ISA slots. Newer computers have only a few of these slots since the technology is slowly being phased out, so make certain you have one that isn't in use before ordering this kit. Installation was a mixed bag. On one of our test machines, the NIC was immediately identified, and we had no trouble installing the drivers. Our other PC didn't fare as well. Plug-and-play detection went into an endless loop of driver installation, and it took some doing to get the NIC recognized by both Windows 98 and the 3Com configuration software. The user's manual did little to help our problems. It's a thick book that, unfortunately, has not been updated in a while. It covers DOS, Windows 3.x, Windows 95, and Windows NT but makes no mention of Windows 98. Typically, Windows 95 installation instructions are sufficient for a smooth Windows 98 installation, but not in this case. When everything was up and running, the kit worked as advertised, matching the performance of similar 10Base-T kits we've tested. The front of the hub has all the requisite status lights to indicate the power status, port activity, and network collisions. This isn't the type of kit that can easily be upgraded to 10/100Base-T should your needs warrant the speed increase. Upgrading would require the replacement of every component, including the cabling. The hub does offer some expandability in that the fourth port can act as an uplink to interface with another hub. Of course, this means you can only attach three computers to the hub when it's running in this configuration. Although you get everything you need to connect two PCs with this kit, we were left wondering why it costs more than some 10/100Base-T kits we've tested. It's possible to get a 10/100Base-T kit with a five-port switched hub for less money. While 3Com's software is superb and they offer free technical support and a lifetime warranty for this product, it still doesn't make sense to buy a package full of aging components when you can get a kit that is ten times faster for about same price. --T. Byrl Baker Pros:
- All-in-one package
- Good software
- Hub supports uplinking
- Inconspicuous network cables
Cons:
- Expensive
- Aging components and technology
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