I know just enough to be dangerous . . .

I inherited the "network administrator"  job where I work because I took care of all the PC stuff and trained people with using Windows and Office applications as well as the Internet. With the addition of several PCs over time, I hooked up a small (15 workstation) network and got everyone setup using a new DSL connection I had installed. All these clients also needed to talk to our corporate headquarters' NT server as well as our older Unix box running a TCP/IP connection.

Both the NT and Unix machines come with practically no support from the companies that supply them, so I'm turning to the experts here to tell me if the changes I'm about to make are correct.

Everything is running fine right now . . . the hubs and the DSL router are talking to the clients.

My question concerns my planned addition of hardware and the wiring of hubs, switches, and the DSL router . . . what can talk to what . . . and where (if any) crossover cables are needed.

I plan to install a non-managed 24 port switch and use two of the ports to uplink to the NT server hub and Unix server hub. (The vendors will not let me remove these hubs and connect directly to the switch.) I plan to use four ports on this switch to uplink to four 5-port switches placed throughout the building. I believe I'm okay so far.

What I'm not so sure about:

** Can I indeed uplink from a switch to a switch? (The smaller switches have an uplink port so I don't need a crossover cable.) I seem to think I can, but someone put some doubt in my mind.

** Can the DSL router be plugged into the 24-port switch and will all the clients hanging off the 5-port switches be able to talk through it? Do you need a straight through or crossover connection for the router > switch connection?

** Will clients connected to the NT and Unix hubs able to communicate with everything else?

I'm sorry if this sounds too confusing. I'm self-trained in what I do know so far, but I only know about 10% of what I NEED to know. I hope I'm on the right track . . . I'd hate to look like and idiot and break a working configuration when I make the expansion in a couple of weeks.

TIA.

- John
www.hajinlian.net

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