Network Media Issues

The current industry trend is to talk about fiber optic networks to the desktops. This may not be a good idea in a highschool setting. When installing a cable infrastructure, you need to consider the cost of the cable infrastructure, installation, maintenance and the impact on the equipment connected.

Fiber optic cables have great potential but require expensive tools and training to install and maintain. It also costs significantly more for interface cards with fiber optic connections.
Catagory 5 copper cables are here to stay. Most current networking technologies will work with good quality catagory 5 cables if they are under 100 meters in length. Copper interfaces typically cost between $100 and $1000 less than fiber.
Thinnet cabling (RG58) has a limited future. It works great for putting togther cheap small networks. It allows longer cable runs than Cat 5 when neccessary. It can be extremly difficult to track down problems with long segments with lots of hosts. It is succeptable to shorts, kinks and intermitent ground problems.

Because of these reasons, I recommend using catagory 5 twisted pair cables where ever possible. Fiber optic cable should be used for outdoor runs, connections between buildings, and where length restrictions require it. Running fiber cables to the desk tops should not be considered if you are planning on spending less than $5,000 for the machines on the desk tops.