Family Networking - Cheap and Easy Dec 20 '01    Write an essay on this topic. Tweet The Bottom Line It's fun, it's easy, it's pretty darned cheap! Just be careful. Be sure to educate yourself first, and read directions. Computer prices have become so small that many families today have at least one or more computers in their home. Many families think that the whole idea of linking more than one computer together sounds tedious. Well it can be if you don't know what you are doing. So, I am here to help. It is actually a pretty simple process. But you need to pay attention to details. You need to be confident, but cautious. This Tutorial will show you how to connect all of your computers together and allow them to share a broadband connection such as DSL. What You'll Need Each of these items is not set in stone. Be sure to read the explanation of the product so that you can find what you need specifically. Linksys BEFSR41 You will need a Cable/DSL Router. This is by far the easiest piece of equipment to use when taking on a project like this. This is true especially for people who are inexperienced. If you do not buy a Router, it will make your life much harder. Routers have built in software which allow you to change it's settings easily. Where as a Hub or Switch do not. The Router will cost a little bit more, but unless you know what you are doing PLEASE buy a Router. Price: $59-$79 NetGear FA311 10 Mbs NIC/Ethernet Card/Network Card You will also need the same number of NICs as the number of computers you have in the house. NetGear cards are great cards and they are cheap. Linksys cards will also work. If you do not buy a router you will need 1 more NIC. There is no difference between a NIC, Ethernet Card, and a Network Card. In fact NIC stands for Network Interface Card. Price: $20 each. Please do not pay more than $20 for this. You can buy them for less than $20 on NetGear's Web Site, and if you buy them in bulk you can find them for even less. CAT5 Cabling You'll need enough cabling for each computer in your house to connect to the Router. So if you have 3 rooms 25 ft. from the Router, you'll need 3 25 ft. CAT5 Cables. CAT5 looks like fat Phone Cords. Phone Cords are CAT3, and they will NOT work in Routers. If you have a Cable Modem they use CAT5 and Coaxial Cable. CAT5 from the Cable Modem goes into your computer (but we'll be putting it in your Router), and the Coaxial Cable comes from your wall. In fact, Cable TV runs over Coaxial cable, and that is what you plug into your TV. If you have a DSL Modem, they come with one CAT5/Ethernet port and a CAT3 Port. One to your computer (or Router in our case) and one from the Phone Jack. What to look for... are tips and length. Make sure they are "tipped" cables. In other words, don't buy a roll unless you know how to tip the cables. Price: Cheap! I think you can get this stuff for $10 if you look around. If you buy it at a big chain though you might get ripped off, look at Radio Shack. Starter Kit A starter kit contains a lot of what you need and is definitely a good value, but I am a do-it-yourselfer. Plus, most of them are only for 4 Computer networks. Be sure you get the correct number of ports, the correct number of NICs, the correct number of cables, and the proper Cable or DSL Router with the package. Hooking it all up I am not going to go into detail, but here are the steps. This will get you headed in the right direction. 1. Install NICs. This is a simple process. Shut off computer. Open computer. Slide NIC in. Turn on Computer. Detecting hardware, put disk in. Done. Simple as pie. :) Be sure to use your NIC guide to do this! 2. Find a place for your router. A central location is best. Or in a closet out of the way is good too. Remember each computer must have a cable from its NIC to the Router. 3. Cable your home. Label each piece of cable with the computer it is running to and it's port number. A piece of tape will work good. And put this label on each end of the cable. Plug the cable into the router, and into the back of the computer. The router and the NIC in the computer should have link lights. These are green lights in the back that indicate communication. If you do not have link lights on each computer you probably have a bad port, bad cable, or a bad NIC for that designated computer. Try switching ports, swapping cards, and swapping NICs. 4. Setup software. Every computer has variances out of the scope of this tutorial. Just be sure to change your Network Neighborhood Identification to a Unique ID for each computer. It doesn't matter what it is, names of your kids or the rooms will work. Be sure that they are all on the same domain. This is very important! 5. Network Neighborhood. Under networking you'll also need to install a service. It is the file and print sharing service. Once it is installed double click on it and check both boxes for the NetGear card. Note: I realize this is very vague if you are a beginner, but please note that this is just to get you going in the right direction. :) That's it! You should be ready to go. If not, be sure to use Windows Help. Also, Linksys and NetGear both have great web sites to help you through getting everything setup. Linksys especially. Have a great day!

Write the first comment on this review!

Write an essay on this topic.