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Monday, July 25, 2011

Why Should I Be Networking My Home Computers?

By Owen Jones


If there are a number of computers in your household, you can easily network them together. As simply as if your home were an office. You may be wondering why you would want to do that, but there are good reasons. If business thinks that it is a good concept, then there must be something to it.

The foremost advantage for a family is the ability to share software. The main advantage for parents is the ability to see what their kids are looking at. Call that spying if you like, I call it taking care. Of course, that is your prerogative, but in an office situation someone is able to observe what traffic passes through the office machines, although in some countries this is illegal or illegal-ish.

The easiest manner to do this is with Ethernet cards or by plugging each computer into a residential gateway, which is frequently called a router. The Ethernet cards are not costly, but it means running a cable from each computer to the main computer (known as a server). This is the fastest and most reliable method.

Otherwise you could plug each computer into the residential gateway using a similar type of wire. This latter method has a variation - it can be a wireless connection. However, the wireless connection will mean that all the computers need a wireless card, which means more money and it can be slower and more prone to interception by people outside the house.

There are also more complex variations on these techniques. For example, you could link all the upstairs computers by network (also called LAN) cards and have one of those computers use a wireless connection to the server or router to which the server is connected.

Once the hardware is connected, setting up a local area network (LAN) is not that hard because Windows has a wizard to help you do it. This is a step-by-step wizard which makes it pretty easy to do, although in practice there are a couple of items that you have to understand to complete the process, not that it ought to be above anyone.

Once up and running, each computer on the LAN will become able to share any file that is designated as 'shared'. The term 'file' includes programs, text, writings, pictures, audio files and anything else on any computer in the house that is designated as 'shared' by its author.

It also means that devices or peripherals can be shared. For instance, you will just need one printer and one scanner, which can be shared. Each computer will also be able to take part in multi-player games as well - every player in their own rooms in conditions that suit them - lights on or off, et cetera.

Another enormous advantage of having an LAN is the ease of regulating Net security. It means one firewall, one virus protection system and one anti-spyware system all controlled by the most reliable person in the house or on the system.




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