Consumer Reports – Home Networking
A network allows a single broadband account that is shared throughout the house. Unfortunately, this interconnection is impractical with dial-up Internet service – one of several reasons you might want to consider broadband.
What's Available
Home Networking is getting a boost from improvements in the range, speed, and cost of wireless networks. If you own a laptop computer that has connection capability LAN, a wireless network, allowing you to surf the internet at broadband speeds from most places in your house, patio, or apartment. Leading brands wireless routers include D-Link, Netgear, Linksys y. Networking Wired far from obsolete, however, since it still offers the most secure and reliable connections. In fact, for many households the best solution for sharing a broadband connection – or a printer, music files or digital photos – among others computers could be a network that includes both wired and wireless.
Ethernet, or cable networks. Wired networks are very secure in themselves, no special security measures. They are reliable, and generally immune to interference. They offer the fastest data transfer – up to 94 megabits per second for 10/100 ordinary enough to virtually any data application.
IMPORTANT FEATURES
A disadvantage is that you can not easily move your computer at home. Routing cables throughout the house can be a hassle or expensive. Price Range: $ 50 to $ 100 from a router and a cable to connect two fairly new computers. There may be additional costs to bring the cable through the house. Wi-Fi, 802.11g (Wireless). No cables to connect or loss to a wireless network, and there is a minimal cost of installation. Mobility is the key – the provision of wireless network signals virtually anywhere around the house. You will have to take other measures in terms of security, without which their data is vulnerable to hackers. The thick walls can reduce the strength of the signal, which can vary in different areas of the house or even inside a room. Wi-Fi phones could interfere with wireless baby monitors, and other wireless devices. These networks are only 25 per cent faster than Ethernet, but remain very well for typical network applications, such as web browsing and email. Price Range: $ 200 or less of a router and client cards to allow two computers to use the wireless network
HOW TO CHOOSE
Plan your network. If you wish to locate the router near the source of their broadband service – usually a cable modem or DSL. The router and the modem is connected via an Ethernet cable. But the connections between the router and the computers on the network can be wired or wireless.
Choose a wireless router. This is the official term for models that support Ethernet and Wi-Fi. Even if you do not need wireless capability now, the acquisition costs a little more (maybe 10 dollars or less) compared to a standard cable, and could spare you having to replace the router if you want to add a wireless device to it in the future.
Stick with the 802.11g wireless standard. Wi-Fi is evolving, with new rules designed to increase range and speed of diffusion, increasing network capacity to handle new types of information. The name of the rule is usually on the package of the router as a suffix letter to the technical term Wi-Fi, which is 802.11. Currently the most common standard known as 802.11g. We believe it is the best option for most people.
Networks 802.11g we tested all had enough range and speed to provide coverage throughout most homes. The data were measured speed fell below the speed 802.11g standard. But all the routers were much faster than the typical speed of a connection to broadband Internet.
If you already have a wireless network using 802.11a and 802.11b standards, two older, consider upgrading only if you find the autonomy, speed, or reliability of the network you want.
At the other end of the spectrum are the routers that use early versions of the latest Wi-Fi standard, 802.11n. Often referred to with terms such as "MIMO" "Super G" or "pre-n", these models may not be compatible with the current "n" standard, which is due in late 2006. Also require that you purchase matching network adapters, even for computers with built-in 802.11g.
Consider one of these new routers only if you wide problems that can not be solved in other ways. In our tests, which were better at penetrating walls 802.11g routers, and some offer data speeds were two times faster. But they were equally likely to influence (or receive interference from) wireless phones and other devices.
Consider whether and how you share a printer. A network lets you avoid the cost of putting a printer in each room sharing one. To do this, you can use a printer with capacity integrated network.
You can share a network printer not connected to the network through a print server, a device that costs $ 70 to $ 100 and is the size of a paperback book of great size. There may be interference problems with some printer software management, however. Any PC connected to a printer can also act as a print server for other computers on the network, but have to leave that computer when printing.
Consider the possibility of network problems for other devices. A growing number of devices that typically connect to a single computer – PDA, printers and gaming consoles – are Wi-Fi compatible. If you are connecting to any of them to your network, make sure they are compatible with the security of the network you want to configure.
Check if you need to buy adapters. Each computer on the network adapter is required to enable it to communicate with the network, the question is if you already have one built in. If you use Ethernet to connect a computer purchased in the last three years or so, the adapter will most likely be incorporated into the unit. The same applies to recent-vintage laptops, I should have built 802.11g.
If you need to buy an adapter for your desktop, you can choose between an internal PC-card version, which requires openness of the computer case for installation, or a USB version that plugs into a USB port. Laptops can use a PCI card or USB adapter. In all cases, the cost should be no more than $ 60.
Resist provide professional installation. computer retailers might try to sell professional installation its new network, starting with a cost of $ 150 or less. But aside wiring, today's networks are so easy to install that you should not assume in your bid if you are comfortable with technology.
network gear usually comes with instructions and free access 24 / 7 technical support. And you can always return to the store to help troubleshoot the network if necessary.
Shop by return policy. For all your best efforts, the network computer you bought is not compatible with home. For example, the walls and floors can be particularly resistant to wireless transmission (which could be the case if you have high humidity, metal or other material high conductivity in them.) Before buying, check the store return policies. Consider a retailer with a liberal.
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