Quick connection - HP Network Kit pre-packaged LAN - Hardware Review - Evaluation

Home Office Computing, March, 1997 by Chris DeVoney

Hewlett-Packard Network Kit

RATING: ***

WIN 95

If you've mulled the benefits of networking your office computers (sharing printers and client databases, simplifying backup of data) only to balk at the installation hassles and price, stop making excuses. All you need is a screwdriver, scissors, and two or three PCs. Hewlett-Packard's $499 Network Kit supplies everything else to network your computers in under an hour.

The Network Kit includes three Ethernet network adapter cards that run at 10 megabits per second (based on the PCI bus, which most Pentium and some 486 systems support). HP also packages an AdvanceStack 8E Ethernet Hub to connect up to eight PCs or printers and three 16-meter 10Base-T cables for connecting the computers to the hub. The Network Kit also includes a cascade port for linking one hub to another.

Designed with Windows 95 in mind, the first few chapters of the documentation are a step-by-step guide for installing the adapters, hooking up the hub and cabling, and properly configuring Windows on each computer for sharing files and printers. Detailed and well-illustrated, the documentation virtually ensures that you'll have a successful installation.

Our tests showed that the kit works exactly as billed. The adapters installed easily into the computers, the hub and adapters connected in minutes, and the three-computer network was configured and fully functional in about 55 minutes.

If you run Windows 95 or Windows NT, you don't even have to load software drivers. Everything you need is already in the operating system. For Windows for Workgroups, IBM OS/2 version 1.3 or 2.x, or DOS-based PCs, HP provides a disk that has the required device drivers for either a Microsoft or Novell network.

Although you can buy equivalent equipment elsewhere for less, the convenience and comprehensive directions of the kit make it a compelling purchase. If you're ready to convert from sneakernet to Ethernet, the Hewlett-Packard Network Kit makes the task about as easy as possible.

--Chris De Voney

DETAILS

Hewlett-Packard Network Kit

Manufacturer: Hewlett-Packard, 800-533-1333, www.hp.com

Est. Street Price: $499

Requirements: Two or three PCs running Windows 95 with empty PCI bus slots