I would like to get some advice on a network that I am trying to
build.  I have two PC running Win95 and two Macs running System 7.5
which I would like to connect together over an Ethernet network via a
third PC running Linux with IP masquerading.  The Linux box would be
connected to TELESYS via a 56kb modem.  I am probably going to get
10/100 Ethernet cards, Cat 5 cabling, and (hopefully) a 100Mb hub.
At this point, I'm not worrying about any kind of file sharing, just
Internet access.

Here are my questions:

1.  What manufacturers of Ethernet cards and hubs to people recommend?
    3Com seems to be well-supported according the Ethernet HOWTO but they
    also also more expensive.  Does the extra cash really buy better 
    performance?  Are there particular features to look for in cards 
    and hubs?  Is there anything special/different about the Mac cards?

2.  I read through the IP Masquerading HOWTO, but one thing that
    I don't understand is how to configure automatic dialup
    from the Win/Mac machines.  The HOWTO suggests using "diald"
    to perform the dialup.  I would like to have things setup
    so that a person can sit down on any one of the Win/Mac machines,
    just click on an icon, and then be able to use the Internet.
    Will diald allow me to do this?  [I realize that one solution
    is to simply stay connected to TELESYS all the time, but 
    this is sort of a waste of a line that is not really being
    used most of the time.]

3.  One alternative to diald that I have read about is an
    experimental program called "masqdialer" (www.boxybutgood.com/masqdialer/).
    This program uses clients on the remote machines to initiate
    dialup.  Several different clients are available in Java, Win95,
    etc.  Has anyone used this program before?

I haven't done much more than a modem PPP link before, so this is a
whole new experience for me.  Any comments, suggestions, links to web
sites, etc. would be appreciated.  Thanks.
--Ron Kumon

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