Two compouters on one CAT5 - will it work ?

I need to put two computers in one room and want them both connected to the rest
of my home network. Unfortunately there is only one CAT5 running to that room
from the hub/switch (located elsewhere), and it would be a major effort to put
in a second one.

Can I wire up two RJ45 sockets to the same cable, i.e. using 2 pairs for one
socket and 2 pairs for the other (since there are normally 2 unused pairs in the
cable) ? Will this work and has anyone tried it ?

Would a better solution be to get a cheap 2 or 4 way hub in the room and then
link that via the single CAT5 to the main hub?switch ?

Any suggestions / opinions ?

Vic

Vic <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> I need to put two computers in one room and want them both connected to the rest
> of my home network. Unfortunately there is only one CAT5 running to that room
> from the hub/switch (located elsewhere), and it would be a major effort to put
> in a second one.
>
> Can I wire up two RJ45 sockets to the same cable, i.e. using 2 pairs for one
> socket and 2 pairs for the other (since there are normally 2 unused pairs in the
> cable) ? Will this work ?

No
>
> Would a better solution be to get a cheap 2 or 4 way hub in the room and then
> link that via the single CAT5 to the main hub?switch ?

Yes
>
> Any suggestions / opinions ?
>
You might be able to wire two connectors at each end of the existing
cable - 10/100BaseT only uses four of the eight conductors, but it's a
bit of a bodge and would quite likely result in reduced speed.

"Vic" <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:bq2cph$1ssji0$(E-Mail Removed)...
> I need to put two computers in one room and want them both connected to
the rest
> of my home network. Unfortunately there is only one CAT5 running to that
room
> from the hub/switch (located elsewhere), and it would be a major effort to
put
> in a second one.
>
> Can I wire up two RJ45 sockets to the same cable, i.e. using 2 pairs for
one
> socket and 2 pairs for the other (since there are normally 2 unused pairs
in the
> cable) ? Will this work and has anyone tried it ?
>
> Would a better solution be to get a cheap 2 or 4 way hub in the room and
then
> link that via the single CAT5 to the main hub?switch ?
>
> Any suggestions / opinions ?

Buy a small 4 port switch - about £30 max

I.

Soni tempori elseu romani yeof helsforo nisson ol sefini ill des Wed, 26 Nov
2003 14:19:27 -0000, sefini jorgo geanyet des mani yeof do
uk.comp.home-networking, yawatina tan reek esk "Vic" <(E-Mail Removed)>
fornis do marikano es bono tan el:

>Can I wire up two RJ45 sockets to the same cable, i.e. using 2 pairs for one
>socket and 2 pairs for the other (since there are normally 2 unused pairs in the
>cable) ? Will this work and has anyone tried it ?

Yes, I have and it works pretty well. In fact, you can even buy splitters to
do it - plug one in at each end.

>Would a better solution be to get a cheap 2 or 4 way hub in the room and then
>link that via the single CAT5 to the main hub?switch ?

Yes. The other method is a bit of a bodge job, and although it works well I
wouldn't expect full data transfer speed.

deKay
--
+ Lofi Gaming - www.lofi-gaming.org.uk
|- ugvm Magazine - www.ugvm.org.uk
|- My computer runs at 3.5MHz and I'm proud of that
|- HENSHIN-A-GOGO, BABY!

I put it to you, Vic, that on Wed, 26 Nov 2003 14:19:27 -0000 you did
state the following; <bq2cph$1ssji0$(E-Mail Removed)>,
(E-Mail Removed) says...
> I need to put two computers in one room and want them both connected to the rest
> of my home network. Unfortunately there is only one CAT5 running to that room
> from the hub/switch (located elsewhere), and it would be a major effort to put
> in a second one.
snip
>
> Any suggestions / opinions ?
>
> Vic
>
A mini-hub should do the job.
--
Kenchie
<Insert unfunny tagline here>
__!__
____(_)_____
! ! !

On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 16:54:03 -0000, Kenchie <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:

>I put it to you, Vic, that on Wed, 26 Nov 2003 14:19:27 -0000 you did
>state the following; <bq2cph$1ssji0$(E-Mail Removed)>,
>(E-Mail Removed) says...
>> I need to put two computers in one room and want them both connected to the rest
>> of my home network. Unfortunately there is only one CAT5 running to that room
>> from the hub/switch (located elsewhere), and it would be a major effort to put
>> in a second one.
>snip
>>
>> Any suggestions / opinions ?
>>
>> Vic
>>
>A mini-hub should do the job.
If you trust ebuyer, you caan buy a UTP "economizer" which does what
you want. I have tried the scheme and it seems to work at nominal
speeds (the twisted pairs reduce crosstalk)

Rob Morley <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> Vic <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> > I need to put two computers in one room and want them both connected to the rest
> > of my home network. Unfortunately there is only one CAT5 running to that room
> > from the hub/switch (located elsewhere), and it would be a major effort to put
> > in a second one.
> >
> > Can I wire up two RJ45 sockets to the same cable, i.e. using 2 pairs for one
> > socket and 2 pairs for the other (since there are normally 2 unused pairs in the
> > cable) ? Will this work ?
>
> No

Okay - didn't read the question properly, as you can see from the last
bit below :-(
> >
> > Would a better solution be to get a cheap 2 or 4 way hub in the room and then
> > link that via the single CAT5 to the main hub?switch ?
>
> Yes
> >
> > Any suggestions / opinions ?
> >
> You might be able to wire two connectors at each end of the existing
> cable - 10/100BaseT only uses four of the eight conductors, but it's a
> bit of a bodge and would quite likely result in reduced speed.
>

"Rob Morley" <(E-Mail Removed)> kirjoitti viestissä
news:(E-Mail Removed) .com...

> > Can I wire up two RJ45 sockets to the same cable, i.e. using 2 pairs for
one
> > socket and 2 pairs for the other (since there are normally 2 unused
pairs in the
> > cable) ? Will this work ?

> No
> You might be able to wire two connectors at each end of the existing
> cable - 10/100BaseT only uses four of the eight conductors, but it's a
> bit of a bodge and would quite likely result in reduced speed.

I totally disagree!
There is no harm in running two 100Base-TX connections simultaneously over
one Cat-5 cable.

It certainly will not result in reduced speed. Ethernet has no way of
adjusting speed if the connection is poor. It will either work, or it will
not.
In case you were running Ethernet over poor quality wire, Cat-3 or normal
telephone wire, you should manualy set all 100Mbps devices to the lower
speed of 10Mbps. If the devices both support 100Mbps they will autonegotiate
the higher speed of 100Mbps but possibly fail to communicate at all on this
higher speed. If your cable is true Cat-5 and the distance under 100 m there
should be no reasion to use the reduced speed.

> > Would a better solution be to get a cheap 2 or 4 way hub in the room and
then
> > link that via the single CAT5 to the main hub?switch ?
> Yes

100Mbps switches are cheap, about 30 euros. They do have bulky power
supplies though. I would try to avoid one.


--
Petri Krohn
petri. krohn <a@t> iki. FI(nland)
__________________________________________________ ___________
Fiber-optic Community Networking: http://www.HelsinkiOpen.net

Petri Krohn <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
> "Rob Morley" <(E-Mail Removed)> kirjoitti viestissä
> news:(E-Mail Removed) .com...
>
> > > Can I wire up two RJ45 sockets to the same cable, i.e. using 2 pairs for
> one
> > > socket and 2 pairs for the other (since there are normally 2 unused
> pairs in the
> > > cable) ? Will this work ?
>
> > No
> > You might be able to wire two connectors at each end of the existing
> > cable - 10/100BaseT only uses four of the eight conductors, but it's a
> > bit of a bodge and would quite likely result in reduced speed.
>
> I totally disagree!
> There is no harm in running two 100Base-TX connections simultaneously over
> one Cat-5 cable.

Fair enough - I was only speaking from what I've read rather than
personal experience :-)
>
> It certainly will not result in reduced speed. Ethernet has no way of
> adjusting speed if the connection is poor. It will either work, or it will
> not.

Except that cross-talk (if it occurs) may result in packet corruption and
resends, thus slowing throughput.

> In case you were running Ethernet over poor quality wire, Cat-3 or normal
> telephone wire, you should manualy set all 100Mbps devices to the lower
> speed of 10Mbps. If the devices both support 100Mbps they will autonegotiate
> the higher speed of 100Mbps but possibly fail to communicate at all on this
> higher speed. If your cable is true Cat-5 and the distance under 100 m there
> should be no reasion to use the reduced speed.
>
> > > Would a better solution be to get a cheap 2 or 4 way hub in the room and
> then
> > > link that via the single CAT5 to the main hub?switch ?
> > Yes
>
> 100Mbps switches are cheap, about 30 euros. They do have bulky power
> supplies though. I would try to avoid one.
>
>
>

The cable economiser is a perfectly valid way to do it.
www.betterbox.com in the UK do them at about £6 each (you need one at each
end of course) - product code is CS100Y. There may be other cheaper sources.
They are certified for 100Base-T use and I've used them successfully.
As other posters say, a hub may not be much more expensive and would support
more than 1 extra user - but it's another device requiring power

Chris O
__________________________________________________ __________-
<(E-Mail Removed)> wrote in message
news:(E-Mail Removed)...
> On Wed, 26 Nov 2003 16:54:03 -0000, Kenchie <(E-Mail Removed)> wrote:
>
> >I put it to you, Vic, that on Wed, 26 Nov 2003 14:19:27 -0000 you did
> >state the following; <bq2cph$1ssji0$(E-Mail Removed)>,
> >(E-Mail Removed) says...
> >> I need to put two computers in one room and want them both connected to
the rest
> >> of my home network. Unfortunately there is only one CAT5 running to
that room
> >> from the hub/switch (located elsewhere), and it would be a major effort
to put
> >> in a second one.
> >snip
> >>
> >> Any suggestions / opinions ?
> >>
> >> Vic
> >>
> >A mini-hub should do the job.
> If you trust ebuyer, you caan buy a UTP "economizer" which does what
> you want. I have tried the scheme and it seems to work at nominal
> speeds (the twisted pairs reduce crosstalk)
>


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