families of products designed specifically for the small- to mid-size office, is targeting the SOHO market."
The list of vendors currently targeting this market with specific lines of products is long; it includes Bay Networks, with its Netgear line; Cisco, with its NetBeyond family of LAN connectivity and remote-access products; and 3Com, with its Office Connect line. Many other companies are also competing in the game, including Accton Technology, Compaq, D-Link, Intel, LANart, Matrox Networks, and others. "There has been tremendous growth in low-end products, since small businesses are often more concerned with pricing and less with brand name," Silva explains.
Deciding to upgrade might actually be easier than choosing which implementation -- switched 10-Mbps Ethernet, shared Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps), switched Fast Ethernet, or some combination of these options -- to upgrade to. When deciding which upgrade path is the best one to take, network managers need to co
nsider a variety of different factors, including their current infrastructure and network applications.
For example, a network for a small graphic design firm -- where artists use an office suite of applications and e-mail, in addition to sharing desktop-publishing, graphics, and Web-design application files -- would be an ideal candidate for switched, or dedicated, bandwidth, according to Kimberley Peppe, spokeswoman for Matrox Networks, which offers a variety of card-based and external hubs and switches for workgroups. By moving to a switched 10-Mbps connectivity solution, such a graphic design firm can upgrade its existing shared Ethernet repeater hub to a 10-Mbps switch without having to upgrade its 10-Mbps network interface cards (NICs), too.
By giving power users and others who typically run less-bandwidth-intensive applications their own 10-Mbps pipe to the server, a 10-Mbps switched solution can improve network performance for as little as $500 (which is the cost of the switch). Meanwhile,
prices continue to drop in the switched Ethernet market. For example, Matrox recently lowered the price of its Piranha Switch 8 from $699 to $499, for a price per port of $62. But different workgroups have a variety of users, applications, and plans for the future, and thus may need to opt for a Fast Ethernet solution (see the figure
"Which Workgroup-Connectivity Solution?"
).
Although many businesses might find that a switched 10-Mbps solution satisfies their needs, networking vendors are setting the foundation for 100 Mbps. Prices vary, and the cost per port for Fast Ethernet hubs can range from $20 to $100 or more than switched 10-Mbps Ethernet, depending on what you buy. But vendors predict prices for Fast Ethernet hubs and switches will continue to decline. In addition, Intel and others are pricing their 10-/100-Mbps NICs to compete with 10-Mbps cards, allowing managers to buy adapters that they can use today as well as in the future.
"If you have a large file that you'r
e transferring or if you're doing a large backup, it doesn't matter if the 10-Mbps connection is yours alone or shared; it will still take a long time," explains Yoseph Linde, chairman and CEO of LANart, a vendor of 10- and 100-Mbps hubs and switches, including ones that have automatic segmenting capabilities. "10-Mbps switched gives a little better performance than 10-Mbps shared, but in many cases 100-Mbps shared will deliver much better performance."
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Fatter Pipes for Workgroup Networks
