Easy Home Networking Tutorial! (Version 2.0)
This tutorial will explain how to set up a small computer network for file and printer sharing using NetBEUI. It can also be used as a troubleshooting guide if your network if it is not functioning. The navigation choices on the bottom of each page will help tailor this tutorial to your needs. You can also skip around the tutorial using the article navigation bar on the left hand side of the screen. Links within this article can take you to other parts of the site to explore certain terms and technologies deeper.
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The first thing you must decide is what kind of network you need and how it will be connected. This sometimes called your network architecture. The major points to keep in mind while making this decision are 1) ease of cabling 2) network speed and 3) price.
Computers can me connected together with many different network types, but the three most common are 
Ethernet, PhoneLine (HPNA) and Wireless Ethernet (WiFi or 802.11b). If you do not know what kind of network you need, read over our “Choosing a network type for your home” article. You can also view our collection of network diagrams if you are unsure how to hook everything up.
Ethernet, PhoneLine (HPNA) and Wireless Ethernet (WiFi or 802.11b). If you do not know what kind of network you need, read over our “Choosing a network type for your home” article. You can also view our collection of network diagrams if you are unsure how to hook everything up.For many people, network speed is the least important issue. Most cable and dsl connections only transfer at about 1.5Mbps (1 and 1/2 an Mbps). Any of these network types transer much faster than that so your speed bottleneck will always be your Internet connection itself.
SPEED | COST | Wiring Ease | Perhipheral Availablity | |
Ethernet | Fastest
10 or 100Mbps | Least Expensive | Difficult if computers are in different rooms | Many and inexpensive |
Phoneline
HPNA 2.0 | Moderate up to 10Mbps | Moderate | Easy of phone jacks are close to computers | Few and moderately priced |
WiFi Wireless Ethernet | Moderate up to 10Mbps | Most Expensive | No Wires | Moderate amount, moderate to expensive prices |
Since Ethernet is both the fastest and least expensive, ethernet networks are the most common network type. The rest of this article will talk about Ethernet networks but keep in mind, they all work the same once you plug everything in.
My Type Network is
Wireless Ethernet (soon) Note:
This article is wrtitten for NetBeui but TCP/IP can also be used for file and printer sharing; especially if your computers are all Windows 2000 or XP. If you have an environment that includes 9x machines, it is easiest to use NetBeui. When only TCP/IP is used on 9x machines, they somtimes have a hard time seeing each other.
