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Home/Office Networking: Today's Basics and Benefits
- Overview
- Benefits
- Networking Alternatives
- Ethernet
- USB
- Home Phone Line
- Home Power Line
- Wireless
As the U.S. household changes, technology is changing with it.
Powerful personal computers, high-speed Internet access, and "smarter" electronics components and appliances are giving consumers more control over their environment, as well as better ways to process, manage, transport and store information.
One of the best ways to tap that potential at home is to network, or "connect," your computers. It's a broadband-based way for you and the rest of your household to share Internet access, printers, modems, files, applications and multimedia games. Home networking eliminates the bottleneck created when several members of the household using different computers try to go online, print or whatever at the same time -- the same problem that forced businesses and corporations to set up their own networks years ago.
Benefits
Until recently, home-networking approaches -- patchwork solutions at best -- were riddled with bugs. They also required new wiring and a Ph.D. in networking. Things, however, have changed. Today's home-computer users can choose from several relatively inexpensive options to create reliable, cohesive networks that deliver several benefits:
- Household members can access the Internet at the same time using one Internet service provider (ISP) account.
- Each household member can share the same printers, modems and peripherals from any computer in the house.
- Kids can play video games against each other, as well as with other out-of-the-house online users, on the Internet.
- Cable modem and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) connections not only deliver the fastest Internet links, but let household members talk on the phone while they're online.
The Types of Home Networks
To get started with basic home networking, you must physically connect your computers, and then give those computers access to the Internet through a cable or DSL modem. There are several ways to connect computers:
- Ethernet, which is the most widely used networking technology.
- Universal Serial Bus, which is easier to use than Ethernet if your computers already have USB ports.
- Home Phone Line Networking (HPN), which is useful for connecting computers scattered throughout the house.
- Wireless networking products, which are attractive if you want to surf the Web from any room in the house using a laptop.
- Power-line home-networking products connect devices using power outlets in your home.
