Network Devices: Sharing Files and Peripherals

When you need to share files, printers, or an Internet connection between two or more PCs, you need to hook all your computers together into a network. Connecting multiple computers is actually fairly simple, and many new PCs come preconfigured with all the network hardware to do the job.

The most common type of network is a wired network using Ethernet cables and hardware. For this type of network, you need to install and configure a network interface card (NIC) in each of your PCs. If you're connecting more than two computers in your network, each network card then has to be connected to a hub, which is a simple device that functions like the hub of a wheel and serves as the central point in your network.

Also popular and more convenient, in many cases is the wireless network. Wireless networks use radio frequency (RF) signals to transmit data from one PC to another. To make your network wireless, you need to add a wireless router or base station, and then add wireless adapters to each of your PCs.

The main problems you run into with home and small business networks is setting them up. Although it's easier to set up a network on a Windows XP system than it is on most older systems, there is still a fair amount of technical configuration that you have to work through. After you have the network set up, however, the only problems you're likely to encounter involve the typical connection issues or, in the case of wireless networks, interference with other wireless devices in the vicinity.