NETWORK PROBLEMS

[STEVE]

I have 16 pc's on a peer tp peer network. all the pc's run xp pro. The
problem I am having is that some of the pc's drop the link and you have to
setup the network again on that pc. I would like to know how many pc's can
you have on this type of network, and is there a solution to the problem
without installing small buisness server. There are 5 x 1gig hubs on the
network. The problem arose when we replaced the data storage pc with a new
one. Please could you help
Regards
Steve..

 

[Anteaus]

Some cheap and nasty hubs are limited by the size of their MAC-address table
to 256 downstream computers (including those on interconnected hubs) but most
quality brands will support networks of at least several thousand. So, I
doubt if that's your problem.

A more likely area of trouble is defective powersave features on the lancard
drivers.

http://mylogon.net/support/psave

 

[Anteaus]

Also occurs to me that you don't say what OS the data-storage PC is running.
If XP Pro this is limited to ten concurrent file-sharing sessions.

Alternatives here are Linux or a flavor of Windows Server.

If your requirement is mainly file-storage then the standard Windows Server,
or a linux distro such as Debian or SME Server will do this very efficiently.
SBS offers a lot of extra features but if you don't need these extras then
IMHO the standard release is a better choice.