3Com 5108M-TP manual Seven Basic Network Rules, Rule Definition Recommendations/Notes

Table 2-1 outlinesthe seven basic rules to keep in mind when you construct your network.

Table 2-1. Seven Basic Network Rules

Rule	Definition	Recommendations/Notes
1	If possible, use	Use 62.5 micron cable to conform
	10BASE-FB as the	with the IEEE 10BASE-F and
	backbone medium.	upcoming ANSI FDDI standards.
		Use ST-type connectors.
2	Wire the backbone in	Make sure to lay extra fiber cables.
	a star topology to	The extra cost is small and you will
	isolate faults.	find you need them as your network
		grows.
		The star topology conforms to FDDI
		wiring as well -- just make sure to
		run at least two fiber strands to
		every backbone connection.
3	The maximum Fiber	The 4200 meters is the maximum
	Ethernet network	distance between any two
	diameter is 4200	transceivers on the network.
	meters of fiber cable.
		The 4200 meters does not include
		the transceiver cable (that is, drop or
		patch cable) that connects a device
		with an external transceiver.
		Transceiver cables can extend up to
		50 meters. Thus, total network
		diameter can be as much as 4300
		meters (4200 m + 2 * 50 m)
		between any two nodes.

Designing and Expanding the Network 2 - 3