Home Networking For Dummies
Chapter One
Planning the Lay of the LAN
In This Chapter
* Deciding to create a home network
* Honing in on the right operating system
* Understanding how networks work
* Figuring out what hardware you need
* Purchasing kits or individual components
A network is a system of two or more computers that are connected in
some manner (you have lots of choices about the "manner"). Each
computer on the network has access to the files and peripheral equipment
(such as printers or modems) on all the other computers on the network.
You create those connections with the following elements:
Hardware in each computer that permits the computer to communicate.
A cable or a wireless technology that sends data between the computers
(using the hardware you installed).
Software (called a driver) that operates the hardware. (Drivers are covered
in Chapter 6.)
Believe it or not, installing the hardware and software you need on each computer
is not complicated at all. Start with the first computer, and go through
the process one step at a time. After you finish setting up that first co ... read full excerpt from Home Networking For Dummies, 3rd Edition ebook
