Understanding Network Buzzwords
No matter what type of
network you use, you're likely to stumble into some very odd terminology
when shopping or reading packaging. Here are translations for the most
common stumbling blocks:
Network adapter:
A gadget that attaches to your PC to send and receive network signals.
Wired network adapters transport the signals through cables; wireless
network adapters come with a small antenna for sending and receiving
network signals.
Router: An
intelligent box that links your PCs into a network, letting each PC
access both the Internet and your other PCs. Most routers today let you
plug in at least four PCs, as well as send and receive wireless network
signals to dozens of other PCs.
Routers make great firewalls. Because the router sits between your PCs and the Internet, the bad guys can't get in nearly as easily.
Network cables:
Wires that connect your PC's network adapters to your router. The
network adapter, router, and cables are the three main parts of any
network. If your PCs are too far away for cables to be practical, you
can use wireless, described next.
WAP (Wireless Access Point):
A device that transmits wireless networking signals between the
wireless network adapters on other PCs. Most routers now come with a
built‐in wireless access point to send information through the air to
distant PCs.
Local Area Network (LAN): A relatively small group of connected computers, modems, and printers.
Internet Connection Sharing (ICS):
A way that Windows lets several PCs share one PC's Internet connection.
All those piggybacking PCs slow down the original PC, however, so most
people prefer buying a router to send the Internet connection among PCs.
Gateway:
A connection between any smaller network and a larger one. A router,
for example, works as a gateway that lets all the PCs on your home
network connect to the biggest network of all: the Internet.
Switch:
A box that keeps track of which computer asked for which piece of
information and manages the flow of information accordingly. Most
routers include a built‐in switch that handles at least four PCs.
Encryption:
A coding method for keeping information private. Each computer on an
encrypted network uses a password system to scramble and descramble
information sent between them. Wireless networks use encryption to keep
miscreants from eavesdropping.
WEP (Wired Equivalent Privacy), WPA (Wi‐Fi Protected Access):
These two different security methods use encryption to keep
eavesdroppers out of your wireless network. Although Vista supports both
types of encryption, choose WPA — if your equipment allows it — as it's
much more secure than WEP.
IP (Internet Protocol) Address: Each computer on a network has an IP address — a unique identifying number. By routing information to and from IP addresses, the network enables everything to communicate.
Choosing Between a Wired or Wireless Network
Today's home network consists of a small box called a router
that links your PCs, letting them exchange information. Your biggest
decision is how to link the PCs to the router: with wires or wirelessly.
The answer is easy: look at the distance between your PCs.
If your PCs sit relatively close together, created a wired network. It's the easiest to set up, most reliable, secure, and best of all, the cheapest way to go.
If your PCs live too far apart to connect them comfortably with wires, choose wireless. Wireless networks cost more and require much more setup time, but they let you hop onto the Internet with your laptop from any room in the house — or even in the yard.
If
some PCs are close, but a few are far away, mix the two: The most
versatile networks combine both wired and wireless, letting your closest
PCs connect with wires and saving the wireless for the laptop or the
game console near your TV.
The hardest part of
setting up a network comes when looking at the dizzying number of wired
and wireless equipment available, so the next two sections explain your
options.
Understanding wireless (Wi‐Fi) home networks
Wireless is all the
rage today. People don't want to string wires across the hallways and
under the carpet anymore. They just want their computers to start
talking to each other. But because wireless networks come in three
main flavors, which wireless network is best? The next few sections
look at the major players, but keep these things in mind before coming
home with a bag full of wireless gear:
Wireless
networks work best in open spaces, such as outdoors or inside a big
room. Wireless signals lose speed and strength as they travel through
walls, ceilings, and floors. Consider the location of each computer
before choosing between a wireless or wired network. The best solution
often lets some PCs connect with wires and others wirelessly.
Wi‐Fi
devices communicate at a range of several hundred feet, depending on
how many barriers the signal must pass through. Many airports and
restaurants offer them for visitors who compute while having coffee. To
cater to the laptop crowd, small adapters like the Linksys Wireless USB
network adapter, shown in Figure 1 , stash easily into a laptop bag.
Wireless comes in three basic flavors, shown in Table 1 , all with a variation on the number 802.11. From slowest to fastest, they're known as 802.11b, 802.11g, and 802.11n,
each described below. Because all three are compatible, your wallet's
width usually determines the one you take home: The cheapest of the
three wireless types is the slowest, and the fastest costs the most.
Table 1: The Three Types of Wireless Networks at a Glance
| Standard | Speed | Range | Cost |
|---|
| 802.11b | Slowest | 100 feet | Lowest |
| 802.11g | Medium | 100 feet | Medium |
| 802.11n (Due in early 2008) | Fastest | 150 feet | Highest |
802.11b
Although it's the
slowest wireless network speed today, 802.11b provides enough oomph for
moderate networking and Internet needs. The 802.11b standard sends and
receives signals at 11 Mbps. (The lower the Mbps number, the slower the
connection.)
Compatibility:
802.11b devices can also talk with the faster 802.11g and 802.11n
speeds described next. But those faster devices must slow their chatter
to 802.11b speed when communicating.
An extension to the
802.11 wireless standard, 802.11b allows up to 11 Mbps communication in
the 2.4 GHz band with fallback rates to 5.5, 2, and 1 Mbps during signal
drops.
802.11g
This newer,
faster wireless standard tweaks the Wi‐Fi (802.11b) standard to add five
times the speed and a slightly wider range. The speed drops
dramatically the further it travels.
Compatibility:
Fortunately, 802.11g devices work fine with Wi‐Fi (802.11b) devices on
your network. They simply lower their speed to match the slower Wi‐Fi
speeds.
Yet another extension to the
802.11g standard provides speeds up to 54 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz band with
fallback rates of 48, 36, 24, 18, 12, 9, and 6 Mbps.
802.11n
The standards for the
even faster 802.11n wireless standard are still being hammered out, but
that hasn't stopped manufacturers from releasing Pre‐N
wireless equipment that guesses at the final standard. If you buy Pre‐N
equipment — network adapters and wireless transmitters — buy it all
from the same manufacturer to ensure it all works well together.
Compatibility:
The 802.11n wireless networks will remain compatible with the two
earlier wireless networks by simply slowing down when talking with them.
The fastest wireless
standard yet, 802.11n will provide speeds up to 540 Mbps in the 2.4 GHz
and 5 GHz bands with fallback rates to remain compatible with earlier
standards.
Unlike wireless
networks, which link groups of PCs, Bluetooth works to replace a
different type of wiring: the single cable that traditionally connects
two devices. Bluetooth's short‐range, low‐speed technology lets a cell
phone pair up securely with a headset, for example, or lets a mouse talk
wirelessly with a PC.
Bluetooth devices also communicate in pairs,
not groups. A digital camera with Bluetooth connects to a single
computer with Bluetooth, for instance, to dump its photos onto the
computer.
Stuck with a
Bluetooth gadget and a PC or laptop that doesn't support Bluetooth? Pick
up a Bluetooth USB adapter — a little stick that plugs into an unused
USB port. They usually cost less than 30 bucks.
Bluetooth works at
short ranges — less than 30 feet — and it's not compatible with Wi‐Fi or
other networks. Don't expect your Bluetooth camera to dump photos into
your Wi‐Fi enabled‐PC down the hallway.
|
Understanding wired home networks
The fastest networks
use cables. And because cabled systems have been around long enough to
work out most bugs, wired networks are relatively inexpensive, fast,
reliable, and compatible with each other.
Ethernet, a
relatively old, wired networking standard, shuffles information through
cables and connectors resembling phone lines, but with larger
connectors.
Although the term Ethernet refers to several types of networks, only two are widely used in today's home networks: Fast Ethernet and its older and slower cousin, which I refer to as simply Ethernet.
The newer Fast
Ethernet standard shuffles information ten times more quickly than the
older Ethernet standard. Fast Ethernet is heavily favored by people who
move around large files: sound, video, or graphics.
Both types of Ethernet work in a spider‐like layout, as shown in Figure 2 : A box called a router sits at the center, moving information to other computers through their individual cables, arranged like legs on a spider.
