quick network engineering review question

[Gerald Combs]

Jonathan Hutchins wrote:

> Precisely; and I would count fiber optic cable as a similar "extension" of the 
> ethernet standards.  Again, you can't plug fiber into your $10 five port hub; 
> my real point is that all of these transports are incompatible with the 
> standard local transport protocol and can't be directly connected.

My point:

The Ethernet standard goes way beyond the Netgear and D-Link stuff at
Best Buy.  You can get a switch that supports gigabit Ethernet over
fiber (and port mirroring) for $50 + the cost of a GBIC:

http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&category=28040&item=5778910757&rd=1&ssPageName=WDVW

Limiting Ethernet to a $10 five port hub is an artifical (and
unrealistic) distinction.