[plug] Fast net access via Linux server question

[Christian]

Colin Rothnie wrote:
> My advice is to try the modem option first (even up to 20 or more PCs) and
> then increase bandwidth when the need is demonstrated.  You should keep in
> mind that people tend to use the Internet far more after they are first
> connected than in the longer term (ie. after a few weeks).  It is also
> important that new users recognise that the "wait" in "World Wide Wait" is
> only partially due to the bandwidth you have to your ISP.  Even with a nice
> fat pipe to the Internet, most international web sites are only marginally
> faster to display than over a modem (in my opinion anyway).

I have to agree here.  Although I don't have any hard facts to refer to,
unlike Colin, I would be pretty confident that you can accommodate 8-10
or so client machines over a 56K modem with a reasonable degree of
comfort.  Also, having recently gone from a 56K modem shared connection
to a 2Mbit connection, the difference in speed in a lot of situations is
not as noticeable as you would expect.

Regards,

Christian.