Chapter 15. Connect the Dots: Upgrading to a Wired or Wireless Network

IN THIS CHAPTER

• Understanding networks

• Creating a wired network

• Creating a wireless network

When you need to share files or printers or an Internet connection, you need to hook all your computers together into a local area network, or LAN. Networks have always been popular in the corporate environment, but they're becoming increasingly so in the home, as well. That's because more and more of us are living in multiple-computer households; you have a PC, your spouse has a PC, even your kids have a PC (or two or three). And even though you have three PCs, you don't want to invest in three printers or install three separate Internet connections. No, the thing to do now is to learn how to share which is where the network comes in handy.

With all your computers connected together, you can share all your big peripherals printers, scanners, you name it. You can also share that expensive broadband Internet connection. And you can share your data files and folders, so that someone on one computer can open and work with files stored on another PC.

Although installing a network used to be technically daunting, today's home and small business networks are relatively easy to set up and configure. The equipment involved has come down in price, and is a lot easier to use than it used to be. You can even skip running a bunch of cables and go with a wireless network; if you only have a handful of PCs, you shouldn't have to spend any more than $200 $300 for the whole network.