Ethernet is available in two speeds: 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps.

Most NICs are capable of operating at either speed, but you should check to be sure before purchasing. Get cards capable of the 100-Mbps data rate -- the difference in cost is minimal. There are two different ways to connect Ethernet cards:

• coax and
• Cat 5 cabling.

Ethernet networks require a Hub, a hardware device that all PCs on a network are connected to by cabling. The hub manages receiving and transmitting data from networked devices. Hubs come in many different port configurations, but you will probably need a 4, 8, or 12 port hub, depending on the number of PCs you want to connect together.

Each port supports a single 10Base-T connection from a PC or peripheral. If you're using Coaxial cable, you need to find a hub with one Coaxial port and minimal Twisted Pair ports. There are both Manageable Hubs, which allow advanced configuration of Hub properties via a software package, and Standard Hubs, which are cheaper, and usually used for home or small office networks.

The hub takes the signal from each computer and sends it to all of the other computers. Hubs come in several sizes, noted by the number of ports available -- a four-port hub can connect four computers, an 8-port hub can connect up to eight computers and so on. Most hubs are stackable.
We recommend purchasing a standard hub, since the extra features included in Manageable Hubs are not useful for a home or small office network.
A stackable hub has a special port that can connect it to another hub to increase the capacity of your network. So if you start with a four-port hub but eventually have five computers, you can buy another four-port hub and connect it to the one you already have, increasing the potential number of computers on your network. A cable/DSL router usually has a four-port Ethernet hub built in.

To connect the computers, you will need Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Category 5 cable. This type of cabling is designed to handle the 100-Mbps speed needed by Ethernet. The RJ-45 connector at the end of the cable looks very similar to the RJ-11 connector on a phone cord but is slightly bigger (and not compatible). You can buy Cat 5 cables in predetermined lengths with the connectors already attached. If you plan to install the Cat 5 cabling in the walls of your house, you can buy the cable in rolls, cut it to length and connect the cable to special RJ-45 wall boxes.

Because of the large number of possible configurations in an Ethernet network, you most likely will not have any type of automated installation software. If you have problems, the best source of information is probably the manufacturer of whichever NIC cards you decide to use. For more information, see How Ethernet Works.

If you decide to use Ethernet for your LAN (recommended), you can choose from 10Base-T (10 million bits per second, or 10 Mbps) or 100Base-T (100 million bits per second, or 100 Mbps), usually referred to as Fast Ethernet. 10Base-T is used mostly for home and small office networks, because it offers both affordability and decent performance.

For large businesses, a 100Base-T solution may be required if there are a large number of PCs connected to the network, or if large amounts of data is frequently transferred.

10Base-2 (coaxial) cabling allows for a "bus" LAN, where a single cable connects all of the computers together without requiring a hub. This type of network only requires terminators on each end, so you can save money because the purchase of a hub is not necessary.
The faster 10Base-T is preferable, but it's a matter of opinion.

There are three different types of cabling for Ethernet networks. Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) is the most popular type of cabling, and the one recommended because of its wide availability and low price. The other two types are coaxial and Shielded Twisted Pair (STP). STP cable provides more shielding against outside Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) than UTP, but is more expensive. Problems with EMI are rare, so we suggest the cheaper UTP. Coaxial uses much thicker and more expensive cable, and must be run in a ring configuration, from PC to PC, unlike Twisted Pair, which is run directly from each computer to a port on the hub, making wiring more convenient in most cases.