Networking newbie Q

[Philip C Mendelsohn <mend0070@tc.umn.edu>]

OK, it's time to start networking.  I've got a couple of questions that I
hope the list can give me some meaningful insight about.

I have reached a critical mass of old machines and Ethernet cards.  I
have 1 3Com 3c509, 2 Novell NE2000T's, and another indeterminate Novell
ethernet card.  (I might have a couple of more 3Com's coming from the
mother-in-law's workplace.)  Any particular problems I should expect from
those cards, or is it all pretty standard old workhorse stuff?

I take it as a good sign that I am consistently 10BaseT (RJ-45 conn. --
I've got the right term?)  But sooner or later I'm going to need an active
hub, right?  I suspect that it is possible but not the best
choice to put a few cards in one machine and have it be a router.  Does
the Cisco 675 do 10BaseT, and I could just kill all the birds by getting
DSL?  Or should I have another layer.  I hear I can get an active hub for
about $50, but I'd like to know what's a good one to find, and if I can
even come up with something old and functional for less, that'd be better.

What is the spec and street version of the distance for cable runs of
10baseT?  Am I talking 10's, hundreds, or thousands of feet down twisted
pair?  (I bet it's pretty far, being a differential system.)

Thanks.

Phil M

-- 
Life is complex:
It has real and imaginary components.
                     --Unknown