| 1. | Home networking: choices, choices, choices |
| 2. | Why network? |
| 3. | Ethernet |
| 4. | RF solutions |
| 5. | Phone line solutions |
| 6. | Power line solutions |
| 7. | USB solutions |
| 8. | More information |
In the not-too-distant past, home networking was unheard of, and business networking consisted primarily of large-scale client-server models and some small-scale proprietary peer-to-peer installations. With the introduction of Windows 95 and then Windows 98, with their built-in networking functions, economical peer-to-peer networking became a reality for many small businesses. There followed a flood of small business networking hardware, further reducing costs. Now users are seeing a similar situation in the home-networking arena. Dozens of products representing five different technologies are flooding the market, giving home users an unprecedented selection from which to choose. And this is the just the first wave; research and development projects to extend home networking functionality abound. The future looks bright. Industry experts claim that the percentage of homes with multiple PC’s that will be networked will rise from 2.4% in 1998 to 19% in 2002.
The question should be: "Why not?" With plummeting PC prices, many families are opting to purchase new computers, and shifting older computers to children or relegating them to more menial tasks. The result: multiple family members printing, emailing, web browsing, or gaming at the same time (or, at least, trying to).
What are the advantages of networking your computer systems at home? Most products listed in this report allow the following functions:
No longer will a family member have to run into another room to use the printer. Families can install a laser printer on one machine and a color ink jet on another, and have both available across the network. Transfer large files from machine to machine (especially helpful for those that can’t be easily saved to a single floppy disk). Users can share a ZIP drive across the network or share larger drives on other machines. All networked computers can share a single ISP (Internet Service Provider) and phone line, eliminated the need for duplicated services and hardware (e.g. modems). A worker can bring an office laptop home and quickly connect it to the home LAN (Local Area Network).
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The following instructions on setting up an Ethernet system refer specifically to a peer-to-peer network on either Windows 95 or Windows 98. Built-in support in these operating systems allows quick and easy setup without the need for a separate server. One of the advantages of using standard Ethernet components for configuring a home or small office network is the wide availability of compatible pieces. A user does not need to buy all the individual network components such as the adapter cards, cable, and hubs from the same vendor or even manufacturer. The widespread usage of 10Base-T (10 MBPS – Standard Ethernet) and 100-Base-TX (100 MBPS – Fast Ethernet) networks in the business arena has changed the parts to commodity items. Not only are the varied pieces fully compatible, prices have dropped so low that one can buy an adapter card for a street price of $10. It had never been cheaper to install a high performance network. However, unlike phone line adapters that use your pre-existing telephone jacks, and the RF units that require no wiring at all, Ethernet systems require the use of Category 5 (CAT-5) network cabling. Any home or office wishing to install an Ethernet system must wire the premises (either permanently, in-wall, or temporarily, room-to-room). Luckily, the cable is inexpensive and termination relatively simple. It is no more difficult than wiring a house for television cable. Individual cable lengths should not exceed 150 feet, but this is not a problem in most homes.
The first choice that must be made before building your network is the preferred speed. Even the slower 10Base-T specification is ten times faster than the currently available phoneline products certified under the Home Phoneline Network Alliance (HPNA), which are being touted specifically for home use. In general, all 10Base-T products are cheaper than those for 100Base-TX. Use of a 10/100 hub with speed sensing allows the user to upgrade any workstation on the network from 10 to 100 by simply changing the workstation’s adapter card. It is the user’s choice to plan (or not plan) for the future. For home use, the only application that may benefit from the use of the fastest 100Base-TX network is multi-user game playing, where "real-time" has some meaning.
Since Ethernet solutions require that a network adapter card be installed in every node workstation, the user has another choice to make. Adapter cards can be obtained for the two standard PC desktop buses, ISA (found in all older computers, but rarer in newer ones), and PCI (standard in all newer computers, but may be lacking in older ones), and for portables, in the form of a PC Card (formerly PCMCIA). Steps must be taken to determine the available bus slots before choosing the appropriate hardware.
Most adapter cards available today are Plug ‘n’ Play, meaning automatically configured under WIN95 and WIN98. Installation could not be more simple:
After the machine has booted and the operating system is running, the "New Hardware Found" dialog will appear. All appropriate drivers will be installed automatically. If the adapter is not seen on boot up, run the Add New Hardware option in Control Panel and answer "Yes" when asked whether WIN95 (WIN98) should search for new hardware. Refer to the specific installation instructions supplied with your network adapter card for more information or if problems arise with configuration. The user may require a driver disk supplied by the manufacturer with the network adapter card.
Now the user must setup the software for the new network. Using the Network option in Control Panel, select the Configuration tab and click Add. The previously installed adapter should show up on the list of installed components. Add the Client for Microsoft Networks and the IPX/SPX, NetBEUI, and TCP/IP protocols, and File and Print Sharing for Microsoft Networks, if not already installed (some or all are installed automatically when the hardware adapter is installed – you do not have to do it twice). Each must be added separately. Click on the Identification tab and enter the specific name for your computer and the Workgroup name. All workstations (computers) on the network must use the same Workgroup name if they are to see each other over the network, but the individual computer names must be unique. Access Control allows the user to specify whether to require passwords before access is allowed to shared files or to control who else on the network should be allowed access.
Needless to say, this procedure must be followed for every computer to be included on the network, if those capabilities have not already been installed. To gain access to your printer installed on another machine on the network, be sure to add it from Settings…Printers as a network (not local) printer and to set it as the default (unless you also have a local printer).
Your network is now ready to fly!
All of the products listed in this section use radio waves (at varying frequencies) to send information from one PC to another, operating as miniature radio transceivers utilizing the same principles as used by portable telephones. For more information check out the Home RF Working Group web site.
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All of the products listed here use standard phone lines to connect across the network without interfering with normal phone usage at a data rate approaching 1 MBPS. Most require the addition of an ISA or PCI card to the computer, but Intel additionally offers a version to connect over the parallel port, eliminating the need to open the computer. All are covered under the Home PNA (Phoneline Networking Alliance), the consortium that has introduced these standards to the home networking public. They have plans to extend the speed to 10 MBPS, making them on par with existing 10Base-T technology, without the need for CAT-5 wiring and hubs.
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This solution uses the house’s power line to carry the network connection between computers, so is one of the easiest to connect.
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These solutions allow the user to connect two USB-configured computers in the same room using economical adapters, configuring a mini-network.
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GSC Associates has extensive experience in all aspects of computer networking and computer communications. One aspect of our consulting practice is assisting our clients (including home builders, developers, start-ups and major corporations) in understanding networking technologies and applications as they apply to the home and small office markets. We have helped our clients plan and develop products and product lines as well as analyze competing products. We have special expertise in helping clients address the usability issues associated with home networks.
©Copyright 1999 GSC Associates All Rights Reserved
GSC Associates
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80435-7914, +1-970-262-1429 (phone)
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