| A wired network consists of more than
one computer, linked together with cable or wires that allows them to
share files, printers, an internet connection and more. There are
basically 3 components that you will need to connect your computer to a
network, other than the computer itself. These 3 items would be a
Network Interface Card (sometimes referred to as a NIC), some cable, and
either a router, hub or switch. I'll try to explain each component
separately to make it easier to understand.
The NIC
The NIC is a printed circuit board or card, similar to a sound card
or video card, that allows the computer to translate the data that is
being sent to it from other computers. This card is inserted into a slot
on the computer's motherboard and the
port sticks out through the back of the
computer, just like the ports of a sound card or video card. This card
is held in place by a single small screw. The port on a NIC looks just
like a telephone port, found on a modem card,
except that it is approximately 50% wider.
The Cable:
CAT 5 cable has four twisted pairs of wire
for a total of eight individually insulated wires. Each pair is color
coded with one wire having a solid color (blue, orange, green, or brown)
twisted around a second wire with a white background and a stripe of the
same color. The solid colors may have a white stripe in some cables,
but usually it is a white wire with the colored stripe. Cable
colors are commonly described using the background color followed by the
color of the stripe; e.g., white-orange is a cable with a white
background and an orange stripe. Each CAT5 cable has a connector
on each end of the cable that look very much like fat telephone
connectors, except they have 8 contacts instead of the 4 or 6 found on a
telephone cable connector. These plugs are called RJ-45 connectors.
Crossing Over...
There are two main types of this cable. One is called a "cross-over"
cable and the other is called a "straight through" cable. A straight
through cable is required when you are using a hub, router or switch.
The cross-over cable is required when you are linking two computers
together directly, with nothing but the cable between the two rigs. This
"crossover" cable has two sets of the wires "crossed-over" to allow the
transmit and receive wires to be swapped. When using a router,
switch or hub, these devices rearrange the wires so that a crossover
cable is not needed. Using a crossover cable with a router will not
work, nor will using a straight through cable work when directly
connecting two computers without a hub, router or switch. These cables
are application-specific so be sure to make the salesperson aware of
your application when buying any network cables.
Router, Hub or Switch:
The device that connects everything together is going to be either a
hub, a router or a switch. Each of these devices does the same thing,
basically, but they all do it a bit differently. I'll give a brief
rundown of each and let you be the judge as to which way you want to go.
Hub:
A hub is basically a multiple connection device that connects
everybody to everybody. It's like a splitter that you use with your TV
cable. It simply splits the signals to several connections so that each
connection is getting the same signal at the same time. By it's very
nature, a hub is slower than the other devices and your network speed is
reduced to whatever speed your slowest connection has. When data is sent
from computer "A" to computer "B", it leaves computer "A" and enters the
hub. The hub sends this data out to computers "A", "B", "C" and "D".
Each computer gets this data sent to it, which makes for a lot of
unnecessary traffic.
Switch:
A switch is similar to the hub except that it only sends data to the
computer it is meant for. In other words, when computer "A" send data to
computer "D", the hub only sends this data through the port that
computer "D" is connected to. This cuts out a lot of unnecessary traffic
and increases the network speed a lot.
Router:
The router is the smartest of the 3 devices and is the most common of
the 3. In fact the other devices are all but phased out. The router is
able to route the data where it needs to go and can even sense the
network speed of each computer on each port. In other words, if the
computer on port "B" is a 10mbs NIC and the
computer on port "D" is a 100mbs NIC, it will allows traffic to port "D"
to remain at 100 mbs instead of slowing it down to 10 mbs because of
port "B" like a hub or switch would do. This alone makes the router the
best choice of the 3. A router is also capable of hiding the computers
behind a "firewall" to protect it from
hackers or other internet bad boys.
Bottom Line:
These are very basic descriptions of these devices, meant to give you a
basic idea of what each can do. If these descriptions have left you
still a bit confused, let me just say this, if you're not online and you
don't need to share an internet connection, then a hub should work fine
for your needs. But if you are online, you'll want to use a broadband
ISP because trying to share a dial-up connection between more than one
computer will be painfully slow and really not worth the effort.
But if you are using a broadband high speed ISP and want to share
that connection with other computers, forget about the hub and switch
and go out and get the router with a hardware
firewall. There, is that simple enough? I thought it might be.
So Now What?
Now that we've gone over the major components of your network, let me
explain how easy it is to throw this all together and get your LAN
(Local Area Network) up and running. Below is a basic explanation of how
to make it happen. Since there are countless variables to consider
(different operating systems, different
brands of computers, different brands of networking equipment, etc..) I
will just give the generic version to give you the basic idea. Any
specifics you may need will probably be covered in the product manuals
that come with the networking components that you buy for this project.
Otherwise, you can always email me with
your questions. So let's get started. You'll need
to buy a network card for whichever slot
you have available on your motherboard.
Check your motherboard for available slots before buying a network card
because neither will work in the wrong slot.
Install the NIC:
Each computer will need an Interface Card installed, unless the computer
came with a network port from the manufacturer. Look on the back of the
computer for a network port. It will look like a phone jack, but a
little wider. If your computer did not come with a network port,
continue with these directions.
First, you'll need to shut down your computer and remove the case
cover to expose the motherboard and it's slots. If your computer is a
newer unit, you will likely only have
PCI slots available. A PCI slot is about 3
or 3½" long and is white or off-white in color.
Older computers may have ISA slots next to the PCI slots. An
ISA slot is longer than a PCI slot and is
almost always black in color. Remove the small slot cover from the back
of the case. It is probably held in place by a small screw, just like
the video card and sound card is. Remove this cover to allow the new NIC
to be installed. Line up the NIC with the slot on the motherboard and
gently rock it into the slot. The metal plate should lay flush with the
computer case and the screw holes should be aligned too. Now you can put
the hold-down screw back in and gently snug the screw. Reinstall the
case cover and prepare to install the software
that came with the NIC.
Install the NIC drivers:
A CD or floppy disk will have been included with your new NIC. You'll
need to use this now. Once you have the card installed, boot your
computer and it will detect the new card. If it is Windows XP, you may
not even need to install any drivers because XP will automatically
detect it and it will just work! If it does
ask for the drivers, insert the floppy disk or the CD and allow it to
install the drivers. Sometimes, you have to help it find the drivers by
directing it to the proper folder, but usually it does it on it's own.
Once you have the drivers installed, it will need to reboot for the
changes to take effect. Restart your computer. Once it reboots, you
should see the Network Neighborhood icon in
windows9X or a network icon in the
lower right corner of your screen for Windows XP.
Install the Router:
Since there are so many different types of routers on the market, my
best advice to you would be to RTFM!
Actually, the manual should be very easy to understand, depending on
what brand you bought. I will personally recommend Linksys, D-Link,
Belkin or 3Com routers. Although there are probably many other excellent
brands, these are the ones I have personally installed and configured
and so I feel comfortable recommending them.
The router will go between your cable modem or
DSL modem and your computer. It is assumed that your broadband
connection is already working before you attempt to install this router.
If not, then you need to concentrate on getting it to work before you
even think of adding a router to the mix. Once it's working, come back
and pick up where you left off. We'll wait right here for you. You
will need to unplug the cable that goes into your computer and plug that
wire into the WAN port of the router. Now
connect the cable, that came with the router, to one of the ports of the
router and the other end of that cable is connected to your network card
of your computer.
Go conFigure:
You have now installed the router, inline, between the modem and the
computer. Now we need to configure the router to make it work. This is
where the manual will come in handy. Each brand has a slightly different
way of doing it and I don't have the space to list them all here. But
suffice it to say that your manual will walk you through it step by
step. Again, if you have problems, the web can offer you any help you
might need.
Lights Camera Action...
Now that you have the NIC installed in each computer, the router
installed and configured and the cables plugged into the proper ports,
you are ready to rock. Reboot each computer and see if they can see each
other. For those of you running Windows9X, you should be able to
double-click on the Network Neighborhood icon and see the network,
including the other computers. If you don't "see" the other computers,
don't lose hope yet. Windows has a freaky little glitch when it comes to
this and you might need to use a little work-around.
For Windows9X users, if you right click
on the Network Neighborhood icon and then choose FIND COMPUTER. Now type
in the name of one of the other computers in your network. What name?
you ask? Well, each computer has a network "name" that identifies it in
the network. To find, and change, the name of each computer, just
right-click on the Network Neighborhood icon and select PROPERTIES. In
the resulting NETWORK window that appears, select the IDENTIFICATION tab
on the top. Here, you'll see the NAME of that computer. If you wish to
change it to something easier to remember, such as Bills Computer or
whatever, just type it into the COMPUTER NAME window and then hit the OK
button. The computer will then need to reboot to make the changes. After
it reboots, the other computers will be able to search for that
computers name. Personally, I prefer to keep the names very simple, such
as Home, Dell, Notebook or whatever single word I can use to describe
that rig. I'll even use the processor speed if I can. One of the rigs on
my network is named 333 because of the cpu speed. Keep it simple!
Windows XP does it differently, natch.
But the basics are the same. To find the network name of your computer
in Windows XP, go to START / MY NETWORK PLACES and look in this window
for your other computers. If you cannot see them, you can search for
them by clicking on the search button at the top of this window. This
brings up the SEARCH COMPANION on the left side of your screen. Type in
the name of the computer you want to search for and click SEARCH. This
should find your other computers. Usually once you search for, and
find, a computer it will appear whenever you look at the network.
Trial & Error:
If you are still unable to find any of your other computers, you may
want to try rebooting your computers and your router. This is sometimes
a trial and error exercise and I cannot tell you the exact combination.
I only know that there have been times when I was unable to get a
network online until I rebooted and re-rebooted several times. First the
computers, then the routers and then the computers again.... it was
crazy. But somehow, it popped on and it worked just fine. Let me tell
you there are few things that are more frustrating than when you fix
something and you don't know what you did that actually fixed it. But
regardless, it was working!
Setting Things Up:
Now that the computers are connected, and you can "see" each other,
you'll want to be able to share stuff. Sharing is a good thing, as long
as it is done properly. To learn more about sharing files or how to
enable file sharing, click here.
Pros:
- Much tighter security - no war-drivers
to worry about.
- Faster than wireless networks
- No new standards to worry about
- less susceptible to radio interference
- Range is limited to cable length
Cons:
- WIRES! - need I say more?
- Limited to where you can put your computer
- Impractical to use outdoors
- Limited number of ports - need to buy additional hubs or routers
- Cable damage is difficult to diagnose - hard to locate bad
wiring
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