In our computer saturated culture it seems as though every household has a least one computer, many have multiple ones throughout the house. A home network can allow the multiple computers to share a single printer, an internet connection, and send files back and forth. Setting up a home network varies according to the operating system each machine uses, but there are some basic things common to all networks.
First, you’ll need a central piece of hardware that acts as the “traffic cop’ for all of the computers, for businesses this would be considered the hosted sharepoint. This piece of hardware is called a router. All of the computers on the network connect to this router, and the router directs the flow of information between them. Many Internet Service Providers (ISPs) now provide a combination router and modem to their high speed internet customers, but if yours doesn’t you can pick up a router at your local computer store for about $50.00. If you have high speed internet access, the router will need to be plugged into the modem, so place your router as near to the modem as possible. Plug an ethernet cable into the router using the jack labeled “DSL”, “internet”, or “modem”. The other end gets plugged into the ethernet jack in the back of the modem. It will generally be labeled “eth”.
Connecting the various computers to the network can be done with ethernet cables or wirelessly. For computers in the same room with the router, cables are recommended as they are secure and provide much faster communications across the network. For computers in other rooms, cables might be a possibility if you can run them in such a way as to keep them hidden. If not, wireless connections will do the trick. Most laptops have wireless built in, and desktops can be brought on-line by installing a wireless network card.
For wireless connections you’ll need to access the router’s set-up application using a computer connected with an ethernet cable. The documentation for the router should have an IP address that you can access via a web browser. The address looks something like 192.168.x.xxx. Type this number into the address bar of your browser and it will connect to the router application. Navigate through the menus until you find options for wireless networks. Give your network a name, also known as an SSID, then choose an encryption method. The two most popular choices are WEP and WAP. The router application should ask you for a pass phrase so it can generate a security key. Write down that key because any computers using wireless access will need that key to log on to the network.
To set up individual computers for wireless connection, consult the documentation for your specific computer. Linux users should have the easiest time with this, in most cases just clicking on an icon and entering the SSID and security key. Mac users will need a bit more configuration, and Windows users will need to run the network wizard too that comes with the installation disks on every computer in the network. Windows users should also be sure to install the latest anti spam software. You’ll also need to set up shared folders on each computer before you can send files back and forth, so consult the documentation of your OS for instructions on doing that.
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