Do-it-Yourself Home Computer Networking

Written by Jason P. Hartz

The affordability of desktop computers nowadays can give an average middle class family the ability to buy desktop computers for each family member. However, getting multiple IP addresses for our home office, our children’s computer and our home-based business, and probably, separate printers for each, would cost us unnecessary amount when we could get the same convenience by home computer networking. Setting up a home computer network is relatively easy. Hiring a computer technician to solve your computer networking problem is a total waste of your hard-earned money given that you have the time to do it yourself. The first step in computer networking is to decide on what type of network you want to set up. You can choose between Ethernet or wired networking (the standard Local Area Network) and Wireless network connection which would cost you more money. Ethernet computer networking is not only more affordable, it is proven to be more reliable both in safety and efficiency. Best of all, most desktop computers today are geared up for Ethernet computer networking; you only need to supply the peripherals. The next step is to plan out your home computer network setup. The best way to do this is to diagram the number of computers you will connect and how you want them connected. If you are using a Windows platform, especially Windows XP, you can use their home computer networking wizard. This is quite user-friendly and reliable it would guide you from the time you have to get hold of the necessary hardware up to your final step to network configuration. If you don’t have the user-friendly interface of a Windows platform, you might as well do your hardware check before taking a trip to the neighborhood PC shop. First, double-check if each of the computer’s network cards is properly installed in your motherboard. Make sure that your network and modem drivers are also installed in your computer. Check if you have enough network cables to use. All missing parts have to be added to your shopping list including a network hub, a router, and the compatible cables to boot. When you have all hardware components, your next step is to plug them up. Get your network cables to connect each computer to your network hub. As for the network hub, make sure that you purchased one with enough slots for all the computers you have, if not more than enough slots for future additional computers. Use a CAT5 cable to connect the network hub to your router. Just an FYI, you can actually set up the network without using a router or using a server computer as your router. However, this type of computer networking is not reliable and safe. If the computer server crashes, it would be impossible to connect to the internet using all the other computers in the network. In addition, most routers in the market have built in firewall that would ensure safe internet networking experience that a computer server lacks. After all these have been settled, connect your router to your DSL modem that is of course, connected to your internet source provider. Now that all the physical components are connected, turn on all the computers in the network, and the peripheral hardware you want to share (i.e. printer, scanner, etc). Don’t forget to connect to the internet for seamless set up. Run the computer networking software of your operating system to set up your Local Area Network connection. Finally, configure your networking setup – customize the computers’ file sharing capabilities, connect your computers to the printer, configure internet sharing and firewall setup. This would all depend on your networking needs. The last thing to do is to test your brand new home computer network. Enable file sharing, use the internet simultaneously, enjoy multi-player gaming, this is what a modern-day family is all about!