How to Hook Up a 5 Port Network Hub
A network hub is a self-contained miniature network. Plugging into a hub means physically connecting to all the other machines plugged into that hub. Installing a five-port network hub is simple: Technology users at all levels will be able to do it within seconds of acquiring the materials.
In the United States, all of these materials are available at a wide range of retail locations, such as Best Buy, Radio Shack, Target, Wal-mart and even some pharmacies. A hub is a very simple networking device. It is possible that you may find an actual hub difficult to find because the prices of their more capable cousins (switches) have fallen dramatically throughout the first decade of 2000. But for most applications, a network switch will substitute perfectly well. These instructions will work as well for switches as they work for hubs.
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Instructions
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Connecting an Ethernet Hub
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Understand that a network hub requires an external power source, but it does not use very much power. As you look to place your network hub and establish your network, think about how you'll meet the hub's requirement for a power source. It's most common for a hub to have a regulator or transformer that reduces the input voltage from an ordinary house outlet to the nominal voltage required by the electronics of the hub. If you will be connecting this hub to a power strip or some type of UPS, you might want to look for a hub whose transformer is not actually built into the wall jack--as that can interfere with the other outlets available in a desk-model UPS or ordinary power strip.
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Once there is power to the hub, connect the network devices. It is possible to connect nearly any device that has an ethernet interface, so you might be connecting X-Box game systems, a printer/fax machine, a desktop computer, your Internet connection and a TV device. In theory, everything that connects through the hub could communicate to everything else without your having to configure the hub in any way. Though they could all talk, it's possible that the printer won't have anything to say to the TV device.
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Assemble your cables. Ethernet cables come in a variety of types, but the most common cabls are the ones typically used for hubs. The right type (also the most common type) of ethernet cable is the Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) with RJ-45 connectors. An RJ-45 connector looks like an extra-wide telephone connector. Ethernet wires don't differentiate between one end and the other. Either end goes into either the hub or the network device.
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Plan your wiring. Ethernet does not work well over large distances, so if you have more than 100 feet between your computer device and your hub, you should purchase another hub to place somewhere in between the two. This is also why you will not find stores selling ethernet cables that are more than 100 feet long. Though they are more forgiving than fiber-optic and more flexible than coaxial cable, there are limits to the abuse your cables can take. Avoid crimping them, and do not staple them into place. If you must secure them for some reason, use the same type of restraints used for coaxial cable.
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Plug everything in. Ethernet is low-voltage, so there is no hazard in handling those cables. As you plug a cable into both the hub and a device, if the device is powered on, you will see a constant green light on that port. This light indicates "continuity." It means that the physical connection between the device and the hub is operating. If there's no green light, it means that either the cable is faulty or the device is not even trying to use its ethernet connection. Try turning off the device, waiting a moment and then turning it back on again.
You may also see a blinking green light on the hub. Though it varies according to the model, a blinking green light typically indicates information flowing to and from the hub.
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Tips & Warnings
When planning an installation, consider mounting the hub on a surface with screws or nails. Hubs are so light-weight that the tension on the ethernet cables can easily cause the hub to move. Hubs are not sensitive to orientation, so fee free to mount them upside down, on walls, or on the underside of a desk.
It's important to know that everything connected can "talk," because by connecting an Internet modem to a hub, everything else on that hub may suddenly be "on the Internet" in a way that many parents may not intend.
- Photo Credit Hub and Power grahics courtesy of clker.com, all other graphics created by Paul Nelis
