If you are planning to run your own home based business then you will need to set up a home network. You will need a computer, a printer, then a copier and as your business grows you will find out that you need more and more sophisticated equipment to automate and make your home based business not only easier to manage but also a pleasant experience, something that you enjoy to do.
So what is a home network?
It is simply the computer network that you have in your home. In other words the computers, equipments and all the accessories that you connect together form your home network.
For your home based business network, you will need cables or radio beams to make the connection from one computer or equipment to another. These two basic options make up the difference between what is called a cabled or wired network versus a wireless network.
Cable connection used to be the primary way of connecting your network but with advances in technology it is now cheaper and less clumsy to create a wireless network.
When using cable connections, there are junctions called nodes that can be in the form of computers, switches or routers.
Switches.
They provide a place to plug the cables and therefore allow physical connections between communicating computers and other equipments.
Routers.
Routers on the other hand perform a similar purpose but with more functions and capabilities. For instance routers have the ability to connect multiple networks together and at the same time route traffic intelligently between them, something that the switches can not be able to perform.
Computers.
Computers have become very sophisticated as time passes by. Most computers now days perform these functions by themselves without the need of using external switches and routers.
Software within the computer system can use the network cards in each computer, with a simple switch in between, to allow communication between them. If your needs are fairly simple then computers by themselves can be the cheapest and easiest way to create a Home based business network.
Home Based Business Network System.
But again if on the other hand you home based business network is fairly advanced and requires more complicated connection then definitely you will need routers and some switches.
Let me also point out here that there are also other possible components you will need in order to fully set up your home network. Familiar devices that go under the general name of peripherals are often part of the home network, for instance you might need a printer, fax or scanner among multiple computers.
Also for your home based business network you will need to include a firewall. This is a software/hardware that allows the passage of information sent by trusted sources, but blocks other types of data from being send or received from other non trusted sources.
It is essential that you home based business network system stay protected by using a firewall. The good thing is that most routers if not all typically contain some inherent firewall functions.
Lesson 2 on home networking continues tomorrow.
By: Joseph Nyamache
Posts Tagged ‘Capabilities’
Home Based Business Network System – Lesson 1
February 10th, 2010How to Set Up and Install Your Own Home Network
October 22nd, 2009
Setting up a home network doesn’t have to be difficult. It also depends on what time of home network you want to install. Maybe you want to install a wired network or maybe you want to install a wireless network. It depends on the capabilities of the computers within your home as to what route you’re going to take.
The wireless network
The wireless network is probably your easiest network to install. That’s because you don’t have to hide a cord all the way around your home. As a matter of fact, you just need to have a computer that is wireless capable and a router. Seems easy enough, right? Well, it can still be a bit tricky because you have to program that router so that all of your computers can talk to it.
So let’s say that your computer is not wireless capable. What do you do now? Well, you need to get a wireless adapter to plug into the computer or you need to plug it directly into the router with an Ethernet cable. In homes with multiple computers, there is sometimes that one computer that is not wireless capable. If the others are, they can simply talk to the router from wherever they are. If they are not wireless, then Ethernet cables need to be run from those computers to the router. The router is the hub for your network.
Furthermore, you have to set up your Domain Name System so that the router knows what’s going on. You also have to set IPs and your Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. If you don’t do these things, then your computers are not going to be talking to each other the way you want them to. They have to know who and what they are talking to in order to ensure that permission is granted. You don’t want someone to sit outside of your home on a laptop and pull off of your network. They could gain access to very personal and very sensitive information if you don’t set everything up the way that it needs to be set up. If you’re not sure how to do this, then it is time to seek professional help.
The wired network
This can be a bit more difficult than the wireless network for the simple fact that you have wires you have to hide everywhere. Everything else as far as DNS, IPs, and DHCP applies because someone on the outside could still compromise your network. Again, you don’t want that to happen. What if you have financial information on your computer? Someone could very easily get a hold of credit card and bank account numbers. So again, if you have difficulty with setting up your network, it is a good idea to look into having a professional take care of the job for you.
Once you have your network set up, you’ll be able to share files with the other computers in your home. You can share video files, music files, and so much more. It is a lot of fun to be able to share all of that information. It is almost like having external hard drives all over your home. You’re able to access information beyond your own hard drive and beyond the Internet. Those are the reasons why more and more homes are installing home networks. When something is stored into the “shared” folder on the computer, other computers are able to access it. Permissions can also be set to allow other folders to be accessed from another computer in the home. This is a good way to keep an eye on the kids and see what it is they’re downloading while on the Internet.
By: Anthony Williams Sr.
