Network adapters

    If you have an older computer without built-in 10Base-T or 100Base-TX Ethernet, you can still connect it to an Ethernet network using an adapter.

LocalTalk-to-Ethernet

    To connect an older Macintosh with a serial port, use a LocalTalk-to-Ethernet adapter to connect the serial port to an Ethernet cable.

Thin coaxial Ethernet to twisted-pair Ethernet

    To connect a computer with thin coaxial Ethernet (10Base-2) to a 10/100 twisted-pair Ethernet computer or network, you need a twisted-pair–to–thin-coaxial adapter with a BNC or AUI connector at one end and an RJ-45 connector at the other.

    Note: The thin coaxial computer may also need an external Ethernet transceiver. You connect one end of the transceiver directly to the thin coaxial Ethernet port and the other to the 10/100 twisted-pair computer or network.

Connection speeds in mixed networks

    If you connect computers with different types of Ethernet to the same network, their communication speed is affected by several factors:
    • the network cables and connection hardware
    For example, if your Ethernet network uses 10Base-T hubs, it will not carry data at the speed of a 100Base-TX network, even if your computer has 100Base-TX capability.
    • the relative speeds of the computer and the network
    If you connect a 100 Mbps Ethernet computer to a 10 Mbps Ethernet network, it will run at the same speed as the rest of the network.
    If you connect a slower Ethernet computer or a LocalTalk computer to a faster Ethernet network, the computer will communicate at the slower speed, but the rest of the network will perform at the faster speed.

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