Home network

Running Head: HOME NETWORKS

Home Networks

Information Systems

Abstract

Home networks have always been seen as something only capable of being accomplished by a

scientist. This is no longer the case. As technology becomes more user friendly, so does the way we

can apply principles to makes our daily lives easier to live. Imagine if you will, a home with electronic

devicesworking with each other to make tasks easier to do. One good example would be the use of a

printer in your network. Lets say you had this printer downstairs in your living room. You are working

on a project upstairs in your office area. Once you are finished, you will need to print out your project.

Since your printer is not connected to your network, or if youdon't even have one setup, you will have

to save your work on a removable storage medium. That might include a thumb drive, a CD/DVD, or

an external hard drive. Then you will have to go downstairs and connect your storage device to the

computer and find the folder where your project is at. Finally you are able to print your project. See

how much work that took just to print out afile. Now if this printer was connected to your network,

you would have been able to print directly from your computer upstairs to the printer downstairs. All

you had to do is pick up the freshly printed copy of your project. As you can see, this scenario explains

the benefits of home networks. Some networks might include only two computers and a printer, but

others might be morecomplex and include dozens if not hundreds of computers all communicating

with each other. There are dozens of other application to a network which will be discuss further.





Home Networks

Everyday home networks are bringing new ideas and processes to the table. Faster access

times, more compatible devices, and more importantly, more user friendly. This way everyone is ableto somehow become part of this phenomenon, home networking. Before we start, I would like to give

a brief overview on the history of networks and how they became to be one of the most sought for

projects in today's society.


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So how did computer networking start and evolve to what it is today? According to

OnlineComputerTips.com, starting in the early 1960s,telephone networks were considered the world's

dominant communication network. Then ARPANET, Advanced Research Projects Agency Network,

appeared in 1969. Brought to you by the U.S. Department of Defense. Ethernet, now a big part in

computer networks, was developed at Xerox PARC around 1975. In 1982 TCP/IP would make an

appearance, which would enable a better networking interface. Acouple years later, TCP/IP is

available on PCs and workstations. Well as the years progress, better and better technology became

achievable, and the internet was born.


So what exactly is needed to start a home network? Not much really. It really depends on the

scope and size of the network that suits your needs. First we will discuss the hardware side of

networks.The first piece of equipment that is crucial to the development of a home network is the router.

With a router you are able to share your internet connection with all your devices connected to it. It

also enables your devices to communicate with each other. Note: You can also use network hubs and

switches to build a network.

Wireless adapters come in different sizes, formats,specifications and so forth. This one

pictured above is a PCI wireless card rated a G speeds. These speeds are rated 54Mbps. Most modern

devices will now come equipped with some sort of wireless hardware already attached to them.

Ethernet cables are far the better choice when it comes to connecting devices within your

network. They are less prone to any type of conflict compared...