Planning Your Network

You must plan your network around your own particular needs. What do you expect from a network? The following are some tasks you might want it to perform:

Share printers, files, and CD-ROM drives
Share an Internet connection
Receive faxes directly in one computer and print or route them to individuals
Provide access to a wide area network (WAN) or other remote site
Provide access to your LAN via modem or the Internet from remote locations
Host a Web site
Operate a database server
Play multiuser games

You should make a list of your goals for installing a network. You have to provide adequate capacity to meet these and future needs, but you also don't need to overbuild.

Instant Networking

If your goal is to share printers, files, and maybe an Internet connection between a few computers that are fairly close together, and you don't want to make any decisions, here's a recipe for instant networking. Get the following items at your local computer store, or at an online shop like www.buy.com. Chain computer or office supply stores are also a good bet if there is a sale or rebate offer available.

One 10/100BASE-T network adapter for each computer that doesn't already have a network interface. These cost between $5 and 15 for internal PCI cards, and $40 for PCMCIA or USB adapters. (The buy.com category is Computers-Networking-NIC Cards, PC Cards [for laptops], or USB Networks. Choose one of the featured or sale items.)
A 10/100BASE-T hub with four or more ports for $10 to $40, or a DSL/Cable-sharing or a dial-up gateway router with a built-in four switch/hub, for $20 to $90. (The buy.com category is Computers-Networking-Hubs or Cable/DSL.) I recommend using a router even if you aren't setting up a shared Internet connection.
One CAT-5 patch cable for each computer. You'll place the hub next to one of the computers, so you'll need one short four-foot cable. The other cables need to be long enough to reach from the other computers to the hub. (The buy.com category is Computers-Accessories-Cables.)

When you have these parts, skip ahead to the "Installing Network Adapters" section later in this chapter. By the way: I'm not getting a kickback from buy.com! I've just found that buying from them is a no-brainer. Their prices are low enough that it's hardly worth the time to shop around, and more importantly, their service is ultra-reliable and fast.

On the other hand, if you want to use wireless networking, need access to large databases, want fast Internet connectivity, or require centralized backup of all workstations, you'll need to plan and invest more carefully. I'll discuss some of the issues you should consider in the next section.

Are You Being Served?

If you're planning a network of more than a few computers, you have to make the Big Decision: whether or not to use Windows 200x Server. The differences between Windows Professional and Windows 200x are discussed in Chapter 1, "Introducing Windows XP Professional," and again in Chapter 15, "Overview of Windows XP Networking." The Server versions provide a raft of networking services that Professional doesn't have, but you must learn how to configure and support them.

The primary trade-offs between Professional and Server boil down to those shown in Table 16.1.

Table 16.1. Primary Differences Between Windows XP Pro and Windows 200x Server
Network with Windows XP Professional Only	Network with Windows 200x Server
This network provides at most 10 connections to other computers.	Connections to the server are unlimited.
The cost is low.	This network costs a few hundred dollars more, plus additional fees for Client Access Licenses.
Configuration is simple (relatively, anyway!).	This network is complex to configure and administer.
Each machine must be administered independently.	Administration is centralized.
Provides rudimentary remote access, connection sharing, and WAN support.	The features are more sophisticated.
Managing file security is difficult when you have more than one user per computer.	Centralized user management eases the task of managing security.
A given computer can host at most one Web site (domain).	A single server can host multiple Web sites.

For me, the 10-connection limit with Windows XP Professional is the main dividing line. You can work around the limit by not having a "main machine" that all users look to for shared files. But this is exactly what you'll find you need as your network grows to this size or larger! So, if you have a network of more than 10 computers, I encourage using at least one copy of Windows 200x Server.

You can certainly use Server with smaller networks, too. Reasons for doing so include

You want to connect your LAN through a WAN or through the Internet to another LAN at another location; that is, you want to join your network to a Server domain somewhere else.
You want to support multiple, simultaneous remote dial-in or Virtual Private Network (VPN) users. (Of course, you can buy inexpensive VPN routers to handle this.)
You want to exercise strict security controls, restrict your users' ability to change system settings, or use automatic application installation.
You want to host multiple Web sites (domains) on one computer.

If you decide you need or want Windows 200x Server, you should get a book dedicated to that OS and a big box of Alka Seltzer before you go any further.

When to Hire a Professional

You've probably heard this old adage: "If you want something done right, do it yourself!" It is true to a point. At some point, though, the benefit of hiring someone else outweighs the pleasure of doing it yourself.

For a home network, you should definitely try setting it up yourself. Call it a learning experience, get friends to help, and if things still don't work, treat yourself to a truly humbling experience and watch a high-school-aged neighbor get it all working in 15 minutes. As long as you don't have to run wires through the wall or construct your own cables, you should be able to manage this job even with no prior networking experience. When something is called "Plug and Play" now, it really is.

For a business, however, the balance tips the other way. If you depend on your computers to get your work done, getting them set up should be your first concern, but keeping them working should be your second, third, and fourth. If you have solid experience in network installation, installing a Windows XP network will be a snap. But your business is hanging in the balance, and you should consider the cost of computer failure when you're deciding whether it's worth spending money on setup and installation. Hiring a good consultant and/or contractor will give you the following:

An established relationship. If something goes wrong, you'll already know whom to call, and that person will already know the details of your system.
A professional installation job.
The benefit of full-time experience in network and system design without having to pay a full-time salary.
Time to spend doing something more productive than installing a network.

If you do want to hire someone, it's important to choose your consultant or contractor very carefully. The following are some tips:

Ask friends and business associates for referrals before you go to the yellow pages.
Ask a consultant or contractor for references, and check them out.
Find out what the contractor's guaranteed response time is, should problems or failures occur in the future.
Be sure that documentation is one of the contractor's "deliverables." You should get written documentation describing your system's installation, setup, and configuration, as well as written procedures for routine maintenance, such as making backups, adding users, and so on.

Even if you do hire someone else to build your network, you should stay involved in the process and understand the choices and decisions that are made.

Planning for Adequate Capacity

After you've looked at your requirements and considered your work habits, make a diagram of your office or home, showing computer locations, and indicate where you want to place your computers and special shared resources, such as modems, printers, and so on. Remember that shared resources and the computers they're attached to need to be turned on to be used. So, for example, your main printer should probably be connected to a computer that will be on and accessible when it's needed by others. Likewise, if you use Internet Connection sharing, the computer that makes your Internet connection needs to be turned on in order for others to access the Internet. It may make sense to designate one computer to be your "main machine," leave it turned on, and locate most of your shared resources there.

You can use your designated "main machine" as an ordinary workstation, but it should be one of your fastest computers with lots of memory. If you're planning to have this computer host a Web site using Internet Information Services (IIS), it should have at least 256MB of memory.

Printers

You'll be able to share any printer connected to any of your Windows computers, and use it from any of your other computers. The printer cable will force you to locate the printer within 6 to 10 feet from the computer to which it's connected.

For an office network, remember that you can purchase printers that connect directly to your network so that they can be located farther away from your workstations. You'll pay up to several hundred dollars extra for this capability, but you'll get added flexibility and printing speed. Networked printers still need to use a Windows computer as a "print spooler," so you'll still need to leave their controlling computer on all the time. On the other hand, one Windows XP computer can manage quite a few networked printers.

Backup System

You must include at least one backup system on your network if it's for business use. You can use magnetic tape or external, removable hard disks, but whatever medium you choose, your backup system should ideally be large enough to back up the entire hard drive of your "main machine" on one tape. I recommend getting a Travan tape storage system and a better backup software package than the Microsoft Backup utility included with Windows XP Professional. The Windows Backup utility is almost adequate, but for business purposes, you should have something that is convenient, that lets you save different backup configurations, and that lends itself to automatic scheduling.

Some backup software can be configured to back up not only the machine with the tape drive, but also other machines, via your network. This type of backup works only when the computers are left turned on, but it can be a real boon in a business environment. A system that performs automatic daily backups of every computer in the office is a valuable insurance policy. I've used Computer Associates's Arcserve for this purpose; it's rather difficult to install and set up, but it's really a first-class system. Veritas Software's Backup Exec is another good bet.

To learn more about network backups, p. 603.

Power Surprise

One of the last things people think about when planning a network is the fact that every computer and external device has to be powered. You might be surprised how often people plan a network and get all their hardware together, only to realize that they have no power outlet near their computer or have placed 10 devices next to one outlet. The result can be a tangle of extension cords and a reprimand from the fire marshal.

Furthermore, your file server(s) or "main machine(s)" should be protected with an Uninterruptible Power Supply, or UPS. These devices contain rechargeable batteries and instantly step in if the AC power to your building should fail. When a power failure occurs during the exact instant that your computer is writing data to its hard disk, without a UPS you're almost guaranteed some sort of data corruption: lost data, missing files, corrupted database index files, or worsefried motherboards and dead hard drives.

TIP

I find it helpful to plug a power strip into a UPS when connecting several low-consumption devices like modems or hub power supplies. I write "UPS" all over these power strips with a red marker so that nobody uses them for laser printers or other devices that should not be plugged into the UPS.

Finally, in an office situation, if you clump your Server or "central" computer, laser printers, office copiers, and fax machine together as many people do, please call in an electrician to ensure that you have adequate power circuits to run all these energy-sucking devices.