User Manual AX32
Doc no. AX32-8002-A-4 Rev. date 140124 Page 21 of 31
CAT5 and CAT6 cable, on the other hand, is more pliable and better suited for shorter-distance, movable
cabling such as on-the-fly patch cabling. The maximum cable length for 1 Gb/s Ethernet is 100m when
using solid cables, for both CAT5e and CAT6. NEVER assume you can go any further than that.
Finally, network cables are available as either “straight” or “crossed” cables. This is a legacy from “old
days” when connecting e.g. two PC’s directly to each other. Nowadays most network equipment
automatically find out whether they should operate with “straight” or “crossed” connections and adapt to
that, if necessary.
SUMMARY
1. Only use cat5e or cat6 cables.
2. Make sure all 4 pairs in the cable are used.
3. Make sure to use solid cables and not stranded cables for long cable runs.
4. Never exceed 100m distance.
Infrastructure
There are different types of network devices which perform different functions. The main ones are a switch
and a router.
Switches are used for connecting local devices together. Switches have a number of ports, typically, 5, 8 16,
24, 32 and upwards. Each port can connect to one device, so an 8-port switch allows you to interconnect
e.g. 8 PC’s. Switches are generally non-intelligent so they simply provide a connection between the devices.
Routers are used when a subnet needs to connect to another subnet or the Internet. Routers are intelligent
and act as a “gateway” to other networks. They will handle all traffic that is destined for the “outside
world” as well as take care of any traffic coming from the outside. Only one router is allowed in a network.
Most routers nowadays also perform other functions such as firewall and DHCP-server (see later for more
on DHCP). Most routers also have a built-in switch to make installations easier.
SUMMARY
Switches are used for local connections between devices.
Routers are used for connections to other networks. Routers are only required if the network has
to connect to other networks or the Internet.
Addressing
As there can be many devices on a network, it is necessary that each of them has a unique address. This is
called an IP (Internet Protocol) address and each device in a network must be assigned one. The IP address
can either be provided automatically by a so-called DHCP-server or configured manually in the device as a
fixed IP address.
As mentioned earlier, most Internet routers have a built-in DHCP-server. When using a DHCP-server, a
device is automatically assigned an IP address every time it is powered up or restarted. The DHCP-server
ensures that no two devices get the same IP address.
As the IP address is assigned to a device on power-up, it means the address can be different after a restart,
as the DHCP-server simply assigns the device the first available IP-address.
If the device on the other hand is configured with a fixed IP address, the IP address remains the same after a
restart. It is perfectly legitimate to build a network where some devices have fixed IP addresses and other
devices have DHCP-assigned IP addresses. However, it is important to ensure that no devices get the same IP
address. If you have a device with a fixed IP-address, it is important that you ensure this IP-address does not
interfere with other devices on the network.
In addition to the IP address, the device must also have a “subnet mask”. The subnet mask helps the device
identify which other devices are on the same subnet and which are on a different subnet.
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