Computer networks have been around for a very long time. If you remember, there was a time when networks were made up entirely of coaxial cable! Whilst a fair while ago it was essential its day, a day that was well before the plug and play revolution. Since this time it has quickly moved on to category five network cable, and beyond. Many people choose to upgrade, but many people still have the "If it ain't broke, don't fix it" mentality. This is perfectly fine, especially if their network is still functioning.
The problem with this however is that at some point you will need equipment. Perhaps a router will fail, or even worse, a network card. You might even need some old cabling, though we must say that category five cable is much easier to find than one would be led to believe. What you will have trouble finding are all of the other parts.
There are a few stores that you can search out, some of specialist stores you can find offline, but the majority - certainly in terms of the ease with which they can be found - are now online. There are actually warehouses in the physical world that are full of old computer and networking parts. The trouble you face though is first tracking these down and then travelling to see if they have your desired equipment in stock. Online, these issues are reduced. A simple search will return a few possibilities, from which you can whittle it down to a single desired choice.
The benefits of shopping online are virtually limitless. First of all you will have an unlimited stock to explore, and secondly there is the ever-present online competition. When you are dealing with an online company, you have to understand that they cannot simply charge the highest price. They need to match the price with their competitors because you, being the buyer, have the option to simply go over to the next store and call it a day. The goal of an online retailer is to actually keep you in their store, though this is going to be a bit easier consider that what you are shopping for can be a bit rare.
When you do buy online you will need to ensure that you are buying from a decent seller. This will entail checking their feedback and seeing how they have satisfied their customers in the past. If there is no feedback available, or the website does not support feedback, then you should search forums and talk to others that may have used the service in the past. You never know just what you might come up with.
Legacy network hardware can be difficult to come up with sometimes, but we do it because we just do not want to switch. Maybe there is a feature in the old hardware that we need, or maybe the new hardware simply does not hold up to the standards of the old. Either way, do not give up. You can soon find the parts you need if you are persistent enough.
Derek Rogers is a freelance writer who writes for a number of UK businesses. For information about Legacy Equipment, he recommends Prodec Networks. |
