3Com 3C16710 manual Introduction, Bk GETSTART.FRM Page 1 Tuesday, October 7, 1997 1138 AM

16710.bk : GETSTART.FRM Page 1 Tuesday, October 7, 1997 11:38 AM

1 INTRODUCTION

Welcome to the world of networking with 3Com® .

In the modern business environment, communication and sharing information is crucial. Computer networks have proved to be one of the fastest modes of communication but until now only large businesses could afford the networking advantage. The OfficeConnect® product range from 3Com changed this, bringing networks to the small office.

The OfficeConnect Hub 8/TPM is ideal for creating a small network. It is compact and attractively designed for desktop use, and is part of the OfficeConnect range which neatly stack together with clips, providing a host of facilities, for example print sharing and a network fax. For information on these products, see “3Com provides easy access to technical support information through a variety of services. This appendix describes these services.” on page C-1.

A single OfficeConnect hub allows you to create a small network with up to eight workstations, as shown in Figure 1-1.

Figure 1-1 Small Network Featuring OfficeConnect Hub And Optional Print Server

If you need to connect more workstations, simply connect and clip another OfficeConnect hub to form