So you’ve made the decision to install a home network and you’re roaring and ready to go with it. But have you done it before? Perhaps the dreams of not fighting over who can go online next, streamlining your office, and sharing files with other computers in your home has you a bit excited. But do you know what type of network is best for you? Do you know the basic principles to installing a network in your home? Do you know how to set up a wireless network? If you answered “no” to any of these questions, then perhaps you should read on.
Network types
First of all, a network allows you to have multiple computers connected to the same internet connection, share files between the computers in your home, print documents through a printer that is connected to a different computer, and share files that are stored on other computers. It seems like a dream come true, doesn’t it? But what is the best type of network for you? You have to make the decision of whether or not you want a wireless network or a wired network. If you choose wireless, you have to know how to set it up so that all of the computers can talk wirelessly to the network router. If not all of the computers are wireless capable, then you may have to move to a wired network. With a wired network you have to worry about running wire throughout your home or investing in upgrades for your computers to make them wireless.
You also have to know what type of activities you and your family are going to be doing on all of the computers. This is because you want to invest in a router that can handle the load. If the router cannot handle the load, then you’re going to have computers within your home getting booted off of the network.
Network installation
The network installation part can be either easy or complicated. It depends on how you look at it. You have to have an internet connection and you have to know your network type. You also have to know what computers in your home are wireless capable and which are not in case you choose to do the upgrades instead of installing wire throughout your home. If you’re setting up a wireless network, the easiest way to connect is if you have Windows Connect Technology through your Windows XP, Windows Vista, Windows 2000, or Windows 98/ME. Then again, you could be running a different operating system, which can make setting up your network a bit more difficult than if you were running on a Windows operating system.
An alternative
Then again, you could probably save yourself a lot of headaches by hiring a professional to take care of the installation process. A professional will do an assessment to determine what type of equipment you need to give you a network that is complete. If any of your computers need what is called a network adapter to become wireless capable, the installer can help you with that. Once all of the equipment is determined and acquired, the network installer can then run wire or set up your wireless network for you. You’ll be connected in no time and the only thing you have to do is reach in your wallet. Fortunately, home network installation is not an expensive endeavor and it takes a lot off of your mind. You don’t want to buy all of the wrong equipment, hook it up, and then find nothing works. If you’re not sure, turn to a professional so that you know everything is right.
By: A Nutt
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Tags: Different Computer, Dreams, Home Network Installation, How To Set Up A Wireless Network, Internet Connection, Investing, Multiple Computers, Network Router, Share Files, Vcr
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If you’re needing to put together a personal network, coming up with a plan can save money and time especially if you ever think you’re going to expand your network in the future.
The reason of making a plan is to find out what you really need to put in your home network, after all there are so many more things available than just having computer connect to the internet.
This includes: WiFi or cables or both
Even though you might only use a wired connection, will you be able to use WiFi in the future?
Pretty much everyone will at some stage, and the difference in the price between a wired router and wireless router is tiny, and most wireless routers still have a 5 port wired hub built into them which means you can still connect both wired and wireless into your router.
The whole reason most people need a home network setup is to share an internet connection, in this case it’s imperative that the overall security and well being of each computer and the router has the latest firmware, this includes Wireless Security, Router Security & each computer must have a firewall, anti-spyware and a firewall.
Network sharing or need a special computer, network attached storage is easy to integrate and they typically have space from 500gb to 2tb. There are even some with wireless options.
The speed of your home network can play a big part if you transfer big files, truth be told a wired network will always be faster than wireless, as a rule of thumb use a wired connection if you can, and use wifi when you need it.
One of the biggest mistakes made when many of us need to setup a home network is thinking about future expansions to the network, spending less today will only mean you spend more down the road, work within your budget but be realistic, setup the network that suits your needs and and budget.
By: Alex SmithTags: Alex Smith, Amp, Anti Spyware, Cables, Computer Network, Expansions, Firmware, Having Computer, Home Network Setup, Hub, Internet Connection, Network Attached Storage, Personal Network, Rule Of Thumb, Security Router, Setup A Home Network, Wifi, Wireless Options, Wireless Router, Wireless Security
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Not too many years ago, no one ever thought of having more than one computer in the home. Now that we are so dependent upon them, it is a common thing for home to have multiple computers. Before the blink of an eye, there are seven computers in the house yet there is only one printer and just one Internet connection. How is everyone going to be kept happy and productive?
The answer is to set up a network! This is none other than a group of computer components connected together with a router, hub and switch which gives its users the ability to share resources. These resources are some of the most integral parts of computer use. A network is much like a spider web. That is the basic reason why the Internet is often called the World Wide Web. Signals are constantly flowing along the network. Unlike a spider web, a computer network sends and receives those disturbances in the form of ‘packets’. Although there are other ways to perform the same function, almost all networks today operate as explained below.
On the network, the software and hardware cooperate to pass those packets.These packets are chunks of information that contain your data that is wrapped in control information. The control data allows the computers and the routers to know where and how to send your data. In most commercial and home networks, the method uses IP or Internet Protocol. Every device on the network is assigned an address such as 206.121.34.148. When you are talking about using a computer in the home these addresses are typically in the range of: 10.0.0.0 through 10.255.255.255, or 172.16.0.0 through 172.31.255.255, or 192.168.0.0 through 192.168.255.255
These are what are known as Private Addresses since they are not able to be sent unmodified over the public networks that make up the Internet. These are used by computer, routers and peripherals in your home network. These same address ranges are also used by private commercial networks. An NAT, or network address translation, and coupled with the use of a boundary router allows many companies and homes to use the same range without unintentionally passing information to and from one another over the Internet.
It may happen that your computer may have quite a different address such as 70.31.192.243. This is often true because a single computer that is connected to the Internet gets an address that is assigned by the ISP or Internet Service Provider. You then do not really have only a home network, but you are considered to be a paying customer of a commercial network. When every device, computer, router and printer, is assigned its own address, the software as well as the hardware can ascertain where the data is coming from and when it should go. This is called communication without confusion.
The router software along with the hardware, routes the data to and from the proper devices using those addresses. The method is almost exactly the same as the postal system when it routes letters from one home or business to another.
By: Joseph NyamacheTags: Address Ranges, Blink Of An Eye, Chunks, Commercial Networks, Computer Components, Computer Network, Computer Routers, Computer Use, Home Networks, Internet Connection, Internet Protocol, Multiple Computers, Network Address Translation, Peripherals, Private Addresses, Public Networks, Router Hub, Share Resources, Spider Web, Web Signals
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If you have multiple gadgets you use at home and would like to get them connected to increase their productivity and efficiency, what are the options you have? There are many questions which pop up- how to set up a home network? Is it safe? Is it expensive? Can the home network be maintained hassle free? Would I be able to fix any networking issue which arises in future? Home Networking allows you to connect all your computers to the Internet through a single connection. Are you planning to build or rebuild a home network? It doesn’t have to be tough or complicated, if you use our product.
A home network is a residential local area network used for communication between digital devices deployed at home such as personal computers, printers etc. Most of the computers have inbuilt networking capabilities. A home network allows connecting and sharing various digital devices at home. You can set up a home network with or without internet access using various combinations of computer hardware and software. With the advancement in technology, it has become extremely convenient to set up a home network which allows you to connect and share the digital devices you use at home and be in full control of your network. The available software allows you not only to add new devices to your home network but also allows you troubleshoot networking issues and also learn how to avoid such issues in future. It also makes your home network safe by prohibiting unauthorised access to your files and documents stored on your computer.
Our Software product is focused on creating, managing, and securing everything related to your home network, devices, and computers. The software comes with an interactive tool which helps you set up your home network by guiding you through a step by step process. The software wizard helps you to set up a home network allowing you to share your printers, your files, your internet connection as well as all your other devices across all of your different computers. It will not only help you set up your home network but at the same time help you secure it. To make things simple, the software comes along with step by step videos to do it all by yourself in a few minutes. It works for both PCs and Macs allowing you to set up your home network irrespective of the computer you use.
How many times have you found yourself in a situation where you wished you could access the other computer at home to retrieve a file or use a printer attached to the other PC, play multi-player computer games, or most importantly share your broadband Internet access with the other PC?. You can do all this and more by setting up a home network. You can share Internet access or files and documents with everyone in your house, when you set up a fast and easy home network. It helps you to unlock the true power of your computer.
By: Amaan GoyalTags: Advancement In Technology, Available Software, Combinations, Computer Hardware And Software, Future Home, Gadgets, Hassle, Home Networking, How To Set Up A Home Network, Interactive Tool, Internet Connection, Local Area Network, Network Printers, Networking Capabilities, Networking Issue, Networking Issues, Personal Computers, Single Connection, Software Product, Software Wizard
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Many people have relatively uncomplicated needs for their home networks. Even now that multiple computers within a single home are common, the systems are often not networked, with file transfer being done by means of “sneaker net”, or copying files to and from a CD or by Sending files via email.
This is a great time to build your own home network, if you have always wanted to. The costs and the complexity of the systems are lower than ever. Just getting past the technical terminology used is the biggest barrier for many new home network builders. The equipment you’ll need is pretty simple. You’re going to need Cat-5 (or Ethernet) cables for a wired network. Think about where you plan to set up your computers to determine how much cable you’re going to need and then add on about 1/5 more cable than that – you always need a little more than you think. If you plan to build a wireless network, you can skip the cables.
You’ll also need a switch or a router for all of these cables (or radio waves if it’s a wireless network) to connect to. A hub or a switch is just a box with ports to plug cables into – a switch has slightly more functionality than does a hub. A router is better and can handle internet connection sharing; it is almost a must for a home network. I say almost because you can use one of the computers on your network to handle internet connection sharing. However, it is in most cases far easier to just use a router instead of tying up a lot of the resources of one of your computers dealing with connection sharing.
You’re also going to need Network Interface Cards (or NICs) in each computer, printer or any other device you want to be on the network. These can be your standard 10/100 ethernet cards or 802.11b/g cards which can be used for a wireless network. If you are building a wired network, you can use Ethernet equipment with 10MB or 100MB speeds. They are both so inexpensive, that there is really no reason not to go for the 100MB equipment. These devices generally support equipment which runs in the older standard as well. There is also Gigabit Ethernet, but this is prohibitively expensive for many building a home network.
Install, attach and/or setup all hardware as per the manufacturers’ directions. Every device on the network needs to have at least one IP address of its own. IP addresses are those numbers you may have seen on the internet before, such as: 70-1-2-125. On a home network, your IP addresses will look like 192.168.0.1 or 10.121.0.1.
Your IP numbering should begin with the router. This device is the center of your network; imagine a star with rays of light emanating from it. Each cable or wireless signal is one of these rays of light. The ends of these rays are where your devices are. If the router has the number 192.168.0.1, then computers and other device should be numbered 192.168.0.2, 192.168.0.3. Don’t assign the same address to two devices.
You’ll have to read the manual for your router for the specifics on how to assign these addresses, as well as the documentation for your computer’s operating system.
By: Joseph NyamacheTags: 100mb, 10mb, Cat 5, Computer Printer, Ethernet Cables, Ethernet Cards, File Transfer, Great Time, Home Networks, Hub Router, Hub Switch, Internet Connection, Multiple Computers, Network Hub, Network Interface Cards, Nics, Radio Waves, Single Home, Sneaker, Technical Terminology
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So the journey begins and our first stop is to establish the basics of a network. This Basic Networking guide will help you understand the following:
• The Hardware used to create a network
• The correct operating system to use on our network
• Understanding how networks workSo buckle up your seatbelt, here we go! Are home networks Complicated to set up? The short answer to the heading above is No. The long answer… Heck no!
Believe it or not, setting up a network in your home is not complicated by any means. All you need is a point in the right direction and a little guidance. Together with this Basic Networking guide we will create the best network for you and your family.
So, what’s a network?
Simply put, a network is when two or more computers are connected and sharing data. That’s it! Nothing more, nothing less. These computers can be connected in a variety of ways and we will touch on that a little later. What we want to do now is work out the type of network we need in our house.
Why do I need a network again?
There are a lot of benefits to having a network. If you have more than one computer in your house you really have no reason not to have them networked, and by networking them you will be able to:
• Share printers, CD-ROM drives and other removable drives between the computers.
• Eliminate having to transfer files from one computer to another using a floppy (do they still exist?) or CD-ROM and share files directly between PCs. ( a great advantage if you are lazy like me)
• A huge benefits is you can share your internet connection with the other computers in your home
• Store only a single copy of large files, saving space on the other PCs’ hard drives.Fantastic, how do I get started? Whoa there! Before we can start anything we need to plan first. “Plan?” I hear you say. Yes, plan! Building a network is a kin to building a house; we need a strong foundation to build upon. I can hear the groans already! You will be thanking me later. Read more…
Tags: Basic Networking, Building A House, Cd Rom Drives, Guidance, Heading, Home Networks, Internet Connection, Journey, Networking Guide, Operating System, Removable Drives, Right Direction, Saving Space, Seatbelt, Setting Up A Network, Share Files, Share Printers, Share Resources, Short Answer, Strong Foundation
