BNC or 10BaseT?

[Assasin]

I am going to build a network between 2 computers and wondering what would be a better network, BNC or 10BaseT?

[a Bill]

You can just get two NICs and a crossover cable and call it quits if you use 10BaseT. This will also leave you the option of adding to the network at a later date with the minimum of fuss.

Just my opinion.

[frogpuff]

I have a small home network and run 10/100 BaseT Cat5 and have had no problems. I did upgrade my Linksystems 5 port hub to a Kingston 8 port hub after a lightning strike smoked a couple of ports. I share a printer and internet connection with my family and once I set it up I have not had to mess with it.

[emcron]

BNC might be easier for more than two computers cause you dont have to buy a hub but ins't cat-5 faster.

[800XL]

Technically speaking, there should be no difference in speed. Both are 10Mbit. You get into differences mostly when you talk in larger scale. Having 50 machines on one coax BNC segment vs 50 machine across more than one hub or switch and that sort of thing. Problem I see with Coax is that any disconnection problem means you check every machine along the entire cable and every little connector. Disconnects on 10BaseT mean you look at the one machine that is not working. Also, it is very hard to find 10/100Mbit cards with a BNC connector. If you ever want to upgrade your hub to 100Mbit, you have to buy all new cards too. With the prices on cards these days, you are better off to get 10/100 cards and just link them with a crossover cable for 2 machines. You get 100Mbit that way, and you can add a 10Mbit or 100Mbit hub later for more machines. I used a lot of coax because I had it around and the cards but no hub. Now I've upgraded to a 10Mbit hub, 8 10BaseT ports and one BNC connector. It works and I can slowly migrate over.

[800XL]

BNC cable has served me very well, but I think it makes more sense only for more than 2 computers. It is very easy to add machines to a coax BNC cable segment, where you have to have enough hub ports free with 10baseT. For two machines, I would say go with a 10BaseT crossover cable and hook them directly to each other. Then, keep your eye out for an inexpensive 10BaseT hub. Pick it up if you come across an 8 port at around $40 or so. Then when you add another machine, you just plug them all into the hub with normal cables. Make sure you mark your crossover cable so it does not get mixed in with other ones tho. If you need more info, just ask.