Home Networking

Kevin Squire
ksquire@pavcs.org
Version 1 - Oct. 9, 2004 Original posted date

This how-to describes how to set-up a home network for sharing files, printers, and a single Internet connection. Although this how-to is written with PAVCS families in mind, the information will be useful for any person wishing to set-up a home network.

Introduction

In today's home, a larger and larger number of people have multiple computers. There are as many different reasons for having multiple computers as there are families, but the one thing that is constant is the need to share resources. This document will help you set up your own home network so you can share your hardware and Internet connecting, and save time and money.

Why would I want to set up a network?

The benefits to setting up a home network are numerous, but the number one driving force for most homes is saving time and money. With a home network, there is no need for multiple printers or another Internet connection. Some of the benefits to having a home network include:

Sharing an Internet connection. With a shared connection, more then one member of the family may be online at the same time.
Sharing printers. Every computer needs access to a printer sometime in its lifetime, but every computer does not need its own printer. You can have 1 printer for your entire network. Or maybe you have one printer that is great for everyday use, and one that you use for photo printing. You can make both printers available to everyone on your network.
Sharing Drive space. That old computer's hard drive is full, but your new computer has plenty of space. You can move your MP3 collection to the new computer's hard drive, but still listen to them while at the old computer.
Sharing Files. You now longer have to copy files to some kind of removable storage (floppies, CD-ROMS, USB Drives, etc) and then "sneakernet" them over to the other computer. You will be able to simple copy from one computer to the other.
Games. Many computer games include network play. With a home network, you will be able to play against people in your own home instead of across the globe.
Sharing Hardware. Sharing a printer is obvious to many, but you can also share CD-ROM Drives, Zip Drives, Memory Card readers, etc. No need to buy duplicate hardware.

What kind of network will work for me?

From a hardware standpoint, there are a huge number of different networks. In the end they all do the same thing, physically connect one computer to another. The biggest difference is what is used to "physically" connect the computers. When setting up a home network, you can use conventional ethernet cabling, current phone lines (HomePNA), various wireless technologies (wireless ethernet, bluetooth, RF), and even your current AC power line. For a good overview of the different types, check out this site, or this one.

For this tutorial, I will only cover the use of conventional ethernet cabling. Conventional ethernet tends to be the cheaper and easier to set up. Conventional ethernet also allows for faster speeds and ease in expandability. If you decide on one of the other methods, then you will have to do your own research.

What do I need?

Before you get started you need to make sure you have all the hardware necessary. The parts required are:

Category 5 network cable for each computer. The connectors look like a phone cable, but a little larger.
A Network adaptor for each computer. From here out I will refer to it as a NIC (Network Interface Card).
A network router. You will only need 1, but make sure it have enough ports for the number of computers in the house, and maybe a few extra for future expansion.

CAT-5 Patch Cable

Purchasing the cables necessary for an ethernet network is simple. Go to your local computer supply store or Internet site and ask for CAT-5 cables, or sometimes called "network patch cables". There are various specifications of CAT-5 cable, depending on location and speeds, but just about any of them will work. Just make sure that the ends have the RJ-45 connectors. These connectors look similar to the phone jacks, only larger. (A little piece of trivia - The typical home phone cable contains 4 wires, with an RJ-11 connector. The ethernet cable contains 8 wires, with an RJ-45 connector)

Network Interface Cards

If you look on the back of the school provided computer, you will find 2 (maybe 3) jacks that look a lot alike. The smaller one (or maybe 2 side by side) is the modem, and is used to connect to the phone line. The larger one is your NIC card, and is used to connect to the CAT-5 cable. So you will not need to purchase a NIC for any of the school provided computers. You will only need to purchase a NIC for your own personal computer if it does not already have one. Just look at the back of your own computer to see if there is the large jack as mentioned above.

If you have to purchase a NIC, it will also be very easy. Assuming your computer has an open PCI port, go to your local computer supply store or internet site and ask for a 10/100 Mbps PCI NIC. The 10/100 Mbps is standard, and it means that the card will operate at 10 Megabits per second or at 100 Megabits per second. These will give you good preformance, and not cost an arm and a leg. The newer cards, referred to as "gig-ethernet" are a lot faster, but still a bit expensive. There are other NICs that you can buy, but for the best price/performance ratio, I would stick with a 10/100 Mbps PCI card. Follow the directions that come with your card for how to install the new NIC into your computer.

Router

As for the router, you can actually get a number of different devices. The most common devices include hubs, routers and switches. A good comparison between hubs and switches can be found at the netgear website. A router will not only connect your computer to each other, but will also allow you to connect to the internet through your broadband/DSL connection.

Even though most homes can get by with a hub or switch, I suggest buying a home router. A home router is basically a switch, with the ability to connect to the internet and a DHCP server (more about this later) built in as well. If you are currently using broadband or DSL, the router is an obvious choice. But even if you are using a dial-up internet connection, you can use the router as a switch and DHCP server, and then when/if you upgrade to broadband/DSL you will not have to buy a new device.

Personally, when searching for my own router, I found that a router that included wired and 802.11b wireless abilities was the same cost as one that was just for wired. So even though I did not have a wireless devices at the time, I purchased the wireless router just so I would not have to by a new router if I ever got a wireless device (such as a laptop).

Here are some wireless routers that I would suggest. Of course, do your own shopping around and find one that best fits your needs and pocket book.

The 802.11g routers will be more expensive because they are the newer technology and a lot faster. (802.11g runs at 54Mbps and 802.11b runs at 11Mbps. Both wireless technologies are slower then the 100Mbps you get from a wired NIC connection.) The 802.11g is also backwards compatible. Therefore an 802.11b device will work with an 802.11g router. But a 802.11g device will not work with an 802.11b router. Once again I would suggest purchasing an 802.11g router if you can afford it just so you don't have to purchase a whole new device later should you upgrade. But of course, either type of router will work for our purposes.

What do all these silly words mean?

If you are not technically incline, some of the terms above can be very daunting. Here you will find an explaination of all the technical terms used within this tutorial. Hopefully this will help you understand the document better, help you feel more confident at the store, and maybe even learn something new. I have listed them in more of a "subject matter" order instead of alphabetical.

DSL: (STANDS FOR) One common type of a high speed internet connection. This is the one that comes through your phone line.
Broadband: Another common type of a high speed internet connection. This is the one that comes through your cable or satalite television line.
Server: Any computer, or device, that "serves" out information or a service. For example a "print server" is a computer that has the printer attached to it, and allows other computers (called the "clients") to use that printer. A computer that hosts (or holds) files for other computers to use is called a "file server".
Client: Any computer, or device, that recieves information or a service from a server. A single computer can be both a server and a client, it just depends on the specific task.
IP Address: (Internet Protocol Address) Every computer on a network; weither at home, at an office, or on the internet, needs a different IP address. An IP address is made up of 4 sets of numbers, up two 3 digits big, seperated by a period. Examples of IP addresses would be 192.168.0.54 or 127.0.0.1 or 61.218.20.8. You can think of the IP address like your own home address. If 2 computers are going to communicate (network), they need to know each others address. Just like if you were going to communicate with someone, they would have to know your unique address (or your own unique phone number).
DHCP Server: (Dynamic Host #### Protocol Server) A computer or device that hands out IP addresses dynamically, or on an "as needed" basis. There is only a limited number of IP addresses available to local networks (like in a home or office). As computer use grew, the need to easy assign and re-assign IP addresses was needed. To use the house analogy again: if you were to place a new house between yours and your neighbors, the address would automatically be assigned. Then if that house was removed, the address could be re-assigned to someone else.
Hub: A dumb device used to connect computers together. Information from one computer comes into the hub and is then sent out to all the computers on the network. Fine for small networks, but will create a lot of "noise" on larger networks.
Switch: A smart device used to connect computers together. Unlike the hub, when iformation comes from one computer into the switch, then switch directs that information to the correct computer. Reduces all the unnecessary "noise" found with the hub.
Router: A device or computer that allows one network to talk to another network, such as a home network and the internet. Usually combined with switch. Many times the device will serve as a router, firewall, DHCP server, gateway, print server or any combination of those services.

Check out this page for an example of how the terms are used.