Multiple AE Networks

[CodaPDX]

Has anyone come up with a reason to have multiple networks?

 

[KirinDave]

Has anyone come up with a reason to have multiple networks?

Processing vs storage, yes.

 

[CodaPDX]

Processing vs storage, yes.

What's stopping you from just using your main network for processing, though? Set up export buses for your ores on the relevant machines with import buses on the outputs and let it rip. I don't really see the difference between storing ores on cells in one network versus cells in another, as long as they get to where they need to go.

 

[KirinDave]

What's stopping you from just using your main network for processing, though? Set up export buses for your ores on the relevant machines with import buses on the outputs and let it rip.

Because I suffer from having a ton of "types" in my ME system, whereas my processing network never handles more than 64 at a time. As such I can save a lot on storage cells by just using a few ME chests as intermediate stores in the processing network.

Things now come into my red network and get stored into an ME chest. Basically then everything that is not needed for crafting is exported. I use ME storage buses and ME chests to accomplish this. The handoff point is a shared ender chest. The modpacks I play have a lot more stuff in them than ultimate, so my problem with types is exacerbated.

I've also seen people use very small processing networks to do stuff on remote sites.

 

[CodaPDX]

You could just preformat a 1k cell with all the ores and their various intermediaries, stick it in a drive, and you'd never have your processing system interfere with your longer term storage.

 

[KirinDave]

Not really. When you start to prioritize lots of stuff for storage (an example of why that matters: xycraft fabricators) it gets very hard to actually do that.

Oh, and also upgrading my home network doesn't donk up processing by resetting everything.

 

[CodaPDX]

Oh, and also upgrading my home network doesn't donk up processing by resetting everything.

That's a valid point. Adding on to a network is pretty organic, though - I haven't noticed any hiccups. I suppose if I wanted to move my controller and drives around, I'd need to stop my processing. That said, why integrate fabricators with an ME network when you have access to the MAC? I can see using them at remote sites for things like crafting fertilizer and such, but in your factory one pattern provider block in a MAC can replace 54 fabricators.

 

[Bickers]

a 2nd processing network is smart idea can be anoying when single new items enter the network and move the autocrafting items at the bottom around just as you go to click

 

[Saice]

OP asks a question. Someone answers. And the OP goes about trying to make the answer wrong.

Man I love the forums sometimes.

 

[CodaPDX]

I wasn't trying to prove the answers wrong, I was trying to understand the reasons why Kirin set up a separate processing network. A single sentence response didn't explain much. And hey, eventually they presented me with a good reason - splitting the network makes it so you don't have to shut down everything when you upgrade. I'm going to give it a try now and see what a difference it makes.

 

[AlanEsh]

I'm going to revive this thread... I've done quite a bit with AE now and still don't have a solid reason to split my network. I see the posters above like to split processing from storage, but I've never found a negative to my keeping them on the same network.

So aside from that idea, has anyone else come up other reasons to split their network?