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Summary: Once you add a second computer, you're faced with setting up a network, at least to share the internet connection. Here are some general guidelines.
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How should I set up my home network? |
You just bought your second computer. Perhaps you purchased a new laptop, a new machine for your spouse, or maybe just another machine for yourself. Now you'd like to be able to connect them all to the internet and it'd be nice to be able to share things like printers or extra disk space among your machines.
You need a LAN, or Local Area Network. There are lots of ways to do it but thankfully there are many straightforward solutions.
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The basis of your LAN will be ethernet. The word has a very specific technical meaning but in common use it's simply the technology behind 99% of PC networks. Most computers now come already equipped with an ethernet adapter - it's the squarish hole that accepts what looks like an oversized North American modular phone jack.
Your broadband connection being cable, DSL or something else, will first go through some kind of device typically called a modem (again, somewhat technically inaccurate but it's the common term). The modem's job is to convert the broadband signal to ethernet.
You'll connect that ethernet from your broadband modem to a broadband router. I've talked about them in a previous article What's the difference between a Hub, a Switch and a Router? Routers control two important things - as the name implies they "route" information between computers on your LAN, and between those computers and the broadband connection to the internet. The other important function if you get what's called a NAT router is that they provide a very efficient firewall - protecting the computers on your LAN from many of the dangers of the internet. As a side effect, a NAT router allows you to place several computers on a broadband connection that's really only designed for one.
As I said earlier, each of your computers will need an ethernet adapter and most will already have them. A cable will run from each computer to the router and from the router to the modem. Each computer will also need to support the TCP/IP communications protocol. TCP/IP is the fundamental "language" of communication on the internet - in fact the IP stands for "Internet Protocol". Windows includes TCP/IP support by default.
Unfortunately, configuration specifics are unique to both your ISP or broadband provider and the specific model of router that you are using, so I can't cover that in detail here. However much like ethernet and TCP/IP being common standards, the configuration I'm outlining here is also very common. Your ISP should be able to provide the information you need and the router will in all likelihood include the documentation needed for this common scenario as well.
I can hear some of you asking about "wireless". If you're starting a home network from scratch, I really recommend getting an integrated wireless base station and router to begin with even if you don't yet have wireless on any computers. The incremental cost is not that much, and wireless is so convenient that it's really likely that you, or perhaps a guest, will someday be looking to connect wirelessly to your LAN. The great news is if you select an integrated router then nothing I've described above changes except that there won't be a cable running to your laptop.
Just like "ethernet" is the standard for wired networking, "802.11b" is the standard for wireless (or WiFi) networking. A new faster standard, "802.11g" is now becoming popular and since it can co-exist with 802.11b many manufacturers are providing equipment which supports both. I recommend springing for the dual-mode integrated wireless router if you can. You'll thank me, if not now, then in a few years.
That's it! Here's a simple diagram of the LAN we've just created:
The other question that I can hear you asking is "but what brand of router should I get?". I run LinkSys equipment and have been very happy. In fact you'll find links there to the specific router models I happen to run. While mine are not dual mode (801.11b and g), LinkSys does make them. I've also heard good things about Netgear, 3Com, and US Robotics. My biggest advice is to stick to nationally well known brands.
For more information including tutorials, equipment reviews, and more, visit Practically Networked. It's a great place for your next networking steps.
Related:
Article C1908 - March 16, 2004
Hi Leo
in one part of my house (lower level, corner room) i have my cable modem and an older linksys wireless router. i've given up on wireless approach as i believe the plaster walls, cinderblock walls and bx electrical cable block the single, even just 30 ft straight down the hall u get very very poor single (yes even tried state of art router)
i've two pcs cable connected to the router. i have a 100 ft cat5 cable run to another part of the house where i have another pc. I need to add two more pcs in that location. can i buy a switch for that far end of the cat 5 and use it to hook up the 3 pcs to it instead of just the one?
diagrams of current/proposed:
current
--------
-[modem]-[router]
..................| |---pc #1
..................| |-----pc #2
..................|
..................|-(100 ft cat 5)
..................|-------pc #3
proposed
--------
-[modem]-[router]
....................| | |---pc #1
....................| |-----pc #2
....................|
....................|-(100 ft cat 5)
....................|-------[switch]
...............................| | |--- pc #3
...............................| |----- pc #4
...............................|------- pc #5
i need a simple solution, can you assist?
thank you!
eck
20-Nov-2008
Can I have a switch connected to one of the ports of my wireless router? I have a Leviton Integrated Network (smart house) panel that distributes ethernet to all rooms, so that is where my DSL modem and wireless router are installed (centrally located in the house). The problem is that I have 3 computers and a network printer that I want installed all in one location, but only have 2 ethernet ports to use (and one actually needs to be used for the phone/fax). I also have an older router that is not wireless capable. Can that be connected to a wireless router port for adding network? Most of my PC's are desktops without wireless capability currently installed and I prefer to go hard wired anyway. Perhaps there is an even easier solution to my problem. Please advise.
07-Dec-2008
I am going to let my son have his own PC. It will have a wireless connection to our wireless router which is also used by two other computers. ROuter has a hardware firewall. All computers have up to date virus s/w. If my son downloads something he shouldn't, could that compromise my other two computers 'inside' our home network?
07-Apr-2009
hi,leo i have what is probably a common question,i have mobile broadband as does the girl living in the apartment next door to me,and she asked me yesterday how can i stop my neighbour from stealing or hijacking her bandwidth? iv'e often wondered this myself,basically this chap knocked on her door and said to her can i have your password because i want to use your bandwidth,which made her angry,and i wasn`t to happy about it either,so any advice on how to prevent him from doing this would be much appreciated,i just need to know how to set up a password and how and where it is located on my pc! thankyou.:)
Wireless broadband - as in setting up a WiFi access point on your broadband connection - can be simply protected by configuring the access point to require a WPA key, and then only installing that key on machines you want to give access to. That's done on your wireless router (varies by model) and then your PC will ask for a password when connecting to that network.
30-May-2009
I don't quite understand. "Mobile Broadband" - as in something from your cellular telephone provider - is not sharable that way; there's no way to "steal" it.
Wireless broadband - as in setting up a WiFi access point on your broadband connection - can be simply protected by configuring the access point to require a WPA key, and then only "installing that key on machines you want to give access to. That's done on your wireless router (varies by model) and then your PC will ask for a password when connecting to that network.
- Leo
30-May-2009"
it`s this http://www.three.co.uk/Mobile_Broadband
leo,and apparently you can tap into it just like any other broadband it simply connects into your pc or laptop etc and i want to prevent anyone from sharing that bandwidth thankyou..
31-May-2009
Hi, Leo - Thanks for the article, it helps a lot.
But, I still have some doubt;-)
I have a cable modem with the ethernet connected to my PC (so far working solo ok) and I want to add another PC on the same connection; can I just use a 4-port switch (instead of the router as in the above graph)? Would my 2 PCs work then from the switch alone connected directly to the cable modem? Would they then have same IP or different ones?
Thks in advance.
If your ISP provides more than one IP address per connection, a switch may be enough.
If your cable modem is also a router (a possibility) then a switch may be enough.
If your ISP assigns only one IP address, and the cable modem is not also a router, then you will need a router.
You'll need to ask your ISP.
31-May-2009
I have a wired home network with 2 computers hooked to it. I use a 4 port linksys router and cat 5e cable. One is running XP (Athalon 2400-1 gig ram) and one Vista basic (Athalon 2800-1.5 gig ram). They both have different download speeds and the Vista machine seems to load the pages faster. Does the ram affect this and also does the hard drive have any affect? I am pulling my hair out!
Posted by: David Jordan at June 3, 2009 10:15 AMIt's been so long since I set up my wireless network. The computer I set it up on has crashed and I won't be using it again. I have one pc hardwired, 1 pc wireless, and my laptop which is wireless. Over the weekend while using my laptop I clicked on my network, I noticed "lonnies computer" in my group. All the other computers were turned off except my laptop. I have no clue where the other computer came from. My question is, how do I keep Lonnies computer from accessing my network. Like I said it's been so long and I can't remember how I set up network in the first place, or how to see if it's password protected.
Posted by: Evelyn at June 23, 2009 10:26 AMThank you, Evelyn
Hi Leo- I have a home with three floors (basement, first and second). On the first floor, I have the internet broadband cable modem connected to a D-Link gigabit wireless router.
I want to get wired as well as wireless connection to the basement and the second floor.
To do this, I paln to run ethernet cable from the DLink wireless router (first floor) to a D-link wireless access point in the basement. This access point has 4 ports, allowing for 3 wired connections in the basement. The fourth port I plan to connect to a switch, from where I will run ethernet cable to the second floor. This will terminate in a wireless access point .
I know this sounds complicated, but with the way chases are run in the house, this would be the easiest way to run cable. Does that sound like a reasonable setup?
24-Jun-2009
Leo- Thanks for that prompt response. Any tips on configuring the wireless access point (it's a DAP-1522 from D-link )? I've read that when you already have a wireless router upstream (D-link as well in my case), the access point may also try to function as a router, and you have to manually configure it to do otherwise
Posted by: andy at June 24, 2009 11:05 AM?