JD> this network is going do DO. Is it's purpose to;
 JD> - share access among workers to a joint productivity package like MS
 JD> Office? - share access to a joint business database ?
 JM>   The above is the main purpose.  We wanted to set up a dedicated
 JM>   server system, rather than peer-to-peer.
If you want to do true dedicated server;
- you'll need a fourth machine
- you wouldn't want to use WIN95
I think that using WIN95's networking on the 3 machines you specify would 
probably be adequate for your purposes.
Depending on your applications software, (i.e., your shared app is DOS or 
Windows 3.1x based) you might want to run Windows for Workgroups or even 
Microsoft Client for DOS on the 486 instead of Win95.....
 JM>   They don't really need to share hardware resources, but would be
 JM>   a nice plus, if not too expensive to implement.
 JM>   They will probably not be on the internet, but if so, would be
 JM>   just a PPP.
A dial-up on demand setup  would cost you a 28.8 or 33.6 modem ($150+-), a 
phone line for it ($30+- a month) and an account with an ISP ($20-$40 a 
month) for the PPP connect. 
 JM>   The three pc's are on the same floor.  One would be about 30 feet
 JM>   from the server, the other, about 45 feet away.
 JM>   One other question here - I have been doing a lot of reading and
 JM>   see things that I don't quite understand.  I mentioned that
 JM>   we want to use the existing 486 computer as one of the systems
 JM>   that we want to link.
 JM>   I know I need to add more ram but my question is about the fact
 JM>   that the 486 is VESA, not PCI - will that cause problems, and
 JM>   what is the workaround for that situation?
usually not an issue. Vesa Local Bus motherboards usually have SIMM or SIPP 
memory slots, just like the PCI motherboards. The only possible snag is if 
the 486 doesn't have any open ISA slots to add a network card, in which case 
you'd have to buy a VLB network card. 
 JM>  We would like to be able to accomplish this for around
 JM>  $6500-7000 if that is not a joke.
It's doable. The biggest chunk of money will be buying the two Pentium boxes. 
Upgrade the 486 to at least 16 megs. A network card for each machine. I'd 
recommend that you use twisted pair (10baseT) cable rather then Coaxial 
(10base2). You'll need a 10baseT hub, cable segments (three of them) to go 
from the hub to each machine. 
 JM>   to use the software pkg.  I am a 60 year old grandma who has
 JM>   been using computers for about 16 years - purely for pleasure
 JM>   and personal satisfaction.  I enjoy a challenge - I took this
                                  ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^
Do you recall what they kept telling Bel Kaufman in "Up the Down Staircase"?
;-)
 JM>   on as a problem that I could solve with help and I figure that
 JM>   at the very least, by the time it is over, I will have learned
 JM>   something.  
By the time you're finished, you'll have learned quite a bit, actually.
I'd suggest you hit your local library and/or bookstore and look at a few 
books on basic Local Area Networks; also any that deal specifically with 
networking using Windows95.
--- Maximus 2.02
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