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admin on Wednesday, April 14th, 2010 |
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If you have not decided already,you will soon want to network your two or more computers in your home. You want to be armed to the teach with knowledge of just what it takes to connect your computers to one another.
You first should decide which network is best your you. If your computers are in the same room,the Wireless network should not be considered.The wired by cable network should work just fine.
Computer that may be close to each other but cannot be seen may and have phone jacks close by can easily be networked with the HomePNA Network.While PCs that are far from each other can be connected with the powerline network,assuming wall outlets are nearby.
And when there are computers in different rooms and you want the convenience of moving the systems from room to room,the more expensive Wireless Network is the way to go.After you decide on the type of network that is best for you,knowing what components you’ll need to purchase will be a great help.Let’s take a look at each network and the components needed to get it up and running.
The WIRED ETHERNET NETWORK
If your computers are in the same room,the basic network kit can wire your systems together.Be sure to carefully open any kit or component you purchase and do not damage the box it came in.The purpose for this is to make it easy to return the component if needed.
Basic kits will have instructions and software for the network… Read the rest
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admin on Monday, March 15th, 2010 |
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There are many ways to get any of the large number of network certifications now available. There’s not only software certification like those offered from Oracle, Java, Microsoft, etc. but there’s also direct network hardware certifications from strong companies like Cisco and then there’s the server administration, hardware repair, security and several sub category type certifications. All are available but the question is if these have any real value in the marketplace.
The answer, unfortunately is not simple. This is because while many companies demand a certain certification, they will also bend the requirement and allow you to get certified once you have the job. There’s also people in the marketplace who are strong proponents of certification or another. The reason for this is usually because they have that certification and by requiring it, they somehow believe it validates their decision to obtain the training and pass the tests.
The reality is that like a good resume and education pedigree, certifications help get you in the door. Think about it for a moment. If you were hiring a network administrator, you would probably ask for the usually experience and basic education and some type of networking certification. If 100 people claiming the same skills and experiences levels all apply and all have at least the single required certification while 10 have not only the network cert but also maybe several MS and a security certificate, which candidates applying would probably get scheduled for interviews? Right! It would be the… Read the rest
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admin on Tuesday, March 9th, 2010 |
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A computer network is a collection of two or more computers with communication between them through a medium. The communication medium can be through radio waves, wires, infrared, optical fibers etc.
Computer network is an integral part of our daily lives, with the most important reason being that of communication. The use of computer networking is to share resources like fax machines, printers, modems, files etc., and its other uses are database server, computer server, email, chat, internet etc. The computer to which the resources are attached is called the server and the other computers that access the resource are called clients. In peer-to-peer computer networks there are no servers.
The sharing of fax machines, printers, and modems amongst many computers and users reduce the operational cost. A database on a computer network is a very important application as it stores and runs many important data and jobs. Emails and chats can be used for instantaneous communication and sending of files on a computer network.
The computer networks are classified, depending upon the size, as Local Area Networks (LAN), Wide Area Networks (WAN), Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) and Personal Area Networks (PAN). The topology (topology is the way the computer networks and network resources are connected) of the networking can be classified as Bus Network, Ring Network and Star Network.
The networking hardware basically consists of wiring, network cards and a hub. Computer network cards are required so that one computer can understand what the other computer is “talking”. Network… Read the rest
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admin on Wednesday, January 13th, 2010 |
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Cabling of data and voice systems is often ignored by many companies until the last minute just before relocation or new building takes place. Many information systems professionals view it as a low priority or something that just takes away from their budget for real network components such as servers or software. However having a state of the art easy to manage cabling system is just as important as good reliable servers on a network. Cabling is the backbone of any computer network; it ties all the components of the network together therefore it should receive as much careful consideration as any other network component.
Mistake number one ? Blindly choosing the lowest bidder
This is the most common mistake made when installing voice and data network cabling. Often the lowest bidder is the contractor who is the smallest, has the least experience or the one that made a mistake on their bid. Prior to making this decision you should know your contractor. Find out how long they have been in business, visit some of the large installations they have done and by all means go visit their offices and warehouse. A site visit to their office will tell you most of what you need to know about an organization. Make sure your contractor has completed jobs of similar scope and size.
Mistake number two ? Choosing the manufactures product that will be installed
Many companies have tried to standardize on a particular manufacture of cabling system. Some of the… Read the rest
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admin on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 |
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There are more and more individuals opting to work from home than ever before. The advantages to this are many including avoiding the morning and evening rush hours, being able to spend time with your kids and significant other, and doing everything on your own time. Though the pitfalls are many, the one that I will be focusing on in this article is that of setting up a secure wireless network for your home based business. Right now somewhere out there, there is someone with a receiver waiting to pick up on an unsuspecting person’s wireless local area network. Their hope is to garner some sensitive information that may lead to identity theft, and stolen proprietary business information.
Most businesses owners are not technically inclined, though they may be power users, in general security settings is not one of the first things they want to mess around with in their day to day operations. This makes most wireless LANs a great target for information predators.
Here are some general guidelines to follow in setting up your wireless network. Though it may vary from vendor to vendor, the gist is more or less the same:
1. Setup the wireless access/router point via a wired client.
2. Always change the factory setting password to something difficult for someone to guess.
3. Enable 128-bit Wired Equivalency Privacy (WEP) encryption on both your access point and network card. From time to time change the WEP key entries. If your hardware does… Read the rest
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admin on Wednesday, December 9th, 2009 |
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Cabling your home for computer network – still a requirement?
With proliferation of wireless networking and communication equipment it is oh-so-tempting to cut the cord and save a significant sum of money in the process. But is everything that a regular computer networking user needs can be done using just wireless network? Let’s take a look at some pros and contras:
1. One important advantage of having a cabled network is the available bandwidth or simply speed. At the present point in time the speed of connection via a simple and inexpensive CAT5E cable can be 1000Mbit/sec, whereas the best that IEEE802.11g (one of the many flavors of Wi-Fi) can offer is only 54Mbit/sec. It may not seem so significant if you think you are only browsing Internet, and the DSL speed available to you is 1.5Mbit/sec. However, if you need to print via your network connection on a remote printer, you should realize that the print jobs, depending on the amount of graphic data in them, can easily reach dozens and even hundreds megabytes. Since 1Byte=8bit one 100MByte print job will take 15 seconds (and in reality this time can be much longer) to transmit via a Wi-Fi wireless connection, and this time shrinks to mere 1 sec or less on wired 1000MBit/s Ethernet connection. Same principal applies to transferring files, backing up files on other computers in the network etc.
2. It is not possible today and with all probability will not be possible in the future… Read the rest
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admin on Saturday, October 10th, 2009 |
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People have more flexible time due to wireless network. Thanks to the invention of wireless. People can now work from home while taking care of their kids or doing house works. No more stress from traffic jam anymore. Is this great?
Well, there is something you should realize. Working from home while using a wireless local area network (WLAN) may lead to theft of sensitive information and hacker or virus infiltration unless proper measures are taken. As WLANs send information over radio waves, someone with a receiver in your area could be picking up the transmission, thus gaining access to your computer. They could load viruses on to your laptop which could be transferred to the company’s network when you go back to work.
Believe it or not! Up to 75 per cent of WLAN users do not have standard security features installed, while 20 per cent are left completely open as default configurations are not secured, but made for the users to have their network up and running ASAP. It is recommended that wireless router/access point setup be always done though a wired client.
You can setup your security by follow these steps:
1. Change default administrative password on wireless router/access point to a secured password.
2. Enable at least 128-bit WEP encryption on both card and access point. Change your WEP keys periodically. If equipment does not support at least 128-bit WEP encryption, consider replacing it. Although there are security issues with WEP, it represents minimum… Read the rest
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admin on Thursday, September 10th, 2009 |
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The Answer To The Media Access Control Question
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Over the past few weeks I have received quite a few e-mails about Ethernet cards, both wired and wireless, and more specifically, about Media Access Control (MAC) addresses. I think the main reason I’ve received so many questions about Ethernet cards and MAC addresses is people trying to secure their home wireless networks and their desire to use MAC address filtering. This type of filtering in wireless networks can be configured to allow or deny specific computers to use or attach to the wireless network, based on the MAC address.
My first thought was to write an article just about MAC addresses and wireless Ethernet. After thinking about it I decided to expand on this and go over some specific information about Ethernet cards and communication.
Different Ways Of Finding Your MAC Address And More
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There are several ways of finding your Ethernet and communications protocol information. Many Ethernet card manufacturer’s have proprietary software that can reveal this information but they work differently depending on the manufacturer. So we will use the Windows 2000 and XP “ipconfig” utility since this is available in the majority of Windows Operating Systems.
First, go to “start” -> “run” and type “cmd” without the quotes. Then hit the enter key. At the command line type “ipconfig /all”, again without the quotes. Actually, just typing ipconfig without the /all will work but will only provide you with abbreviated information regarding your… Read the rest
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admin on Saturday, August 15th, 2009 |
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In a previous article we discussed the basics of what a router did. We’re now going to get into a more detailed, and yes technical, explanation of how packets are transmitted as well as a few other tech specs of how routers work. So put on your learning caps because you’re in for a real mind bender.
Internet data, whether it be in the form of a web page, a downloaded file or an email message, travels over what is called a packet switching network. Basically what happens is that the data is broken up into individual packets because there is only so much data that can be transmitted at one time. Each packet is about 1500 bytes long. Each packet contains quite a bit of information including the sender’s address, the receiver’s address and of course the information being sent which includes the order of each packet how it should be put back together so that the end user can make sense of the data. The packet is sent off to its destination based on what the router believes to be the best route to follow, which is usually the route with the least amount of traffic and if possible, the shortest route. Each packet may actually given a different route depending on conditions at the time, which in a high traffic network can change every second. By doing this, the router can balance the load across the network so that no one segment gets overloaded. Also, if… Read the rest
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admin on Monday, August 10th, 2009 |
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The idea of reading email while lounging by the pool, text or instant messaging while doing the laundry, or lounging in the Jacuzzi listening to your MP3 collection is appealing to us all.
Unfortunately, many, or even most, wireless units don’t come with security features already functioning. This may not seem like a big issue to someone who is simply setting up a home network, but there are a number of potential problems you should consider.
The most serious problem is the increase in identity theft. If your network is unsecured, the personal data on your wireless electronic equipment is also unsecured. The order you just placed for a book at Amazon may have given your contact and payment information to an unscrupulous hacker!
Nearly every town in which “WiFi” is common will have “War Drivers” and “War Chalkers” at work. These are people who walk or drive around town with wireless equipment, searching for unsecured networks. The “Chalkers” then live up their name, marking curbs and other public items with chalk so that others can more easily find and exploit your network.
Not all “War Drivers” are hackers, of course. Many just want to use your network for free, but the risk is high if you don’t learn how to protect yourself. You can usually find quite a bit of free information as to how to secure your network at the website of your router’s manufacturer, or by doing a search in a search engine for a phrase like… Read the rest