This is it, my friend: The article with the bravado and the chutzpah to actually show you how to set up a home or small office network in Windows XP! Setting up a network gives you many advantages, including saving money by sharing resources (such as printers and an Internet connection) and the added convenience of file sharing. You’ll find that a working network note that I stress the word working quickly becomes as essential as Tabasco sauce (or insert name of your favorite condiment here). By the way, if you find that word working to be more elusive than you first expected, I include a section at the end of this article that highlights common problems experienced by folks running their own network . . . as well as several possible solutions for each, of course. After your network is purring as smoothly as the proverbial kitten, you’ll walk proudly to the closest person on the planet and proclaim proudly, “I am . . . a network administrator!” (Feel free to throw confetti or have a T-shirt made. If you like, send me an e-mail message at ohmyitworks@mlcbooks.com, and we can celebrate together.)

A Quickie Ethernet Primer

Of all the supposed techno-wizard technologies connected with PCs, Ethernet networking is the easiest to master. Windows XP has come a long way in taming the home networking beast. Sure, you used to need a gold medal in the Tech Olympics to install a small home network, but that was in the days of DOS and Windows 3.1. We’ve come a long way, baby. In fact, Ethernet has been around since the days of stone-tipped spears. The first widely used network structure, it’s still the most popular structure for homes and offices with around 25 PCs or less. Sure, faster networking designs exist these days, but old faithful Ethernet is also the cheapest to set up and maintain, and it’s directly supported within all flavors of Windows. So how does Ethernet work? Surprisingly, it’s much like ham radio. A PC that wants to share data (as in moving or copying a file, or sending and receiving stuff from the Internet) actually broadcasts that data across the network cabling in discrete bursts called packets. Each packet is marked with an address much like how an e-mail message always has a To address of the receiving computer. When the PC with the matching address receives the packet across the network (along with tons of other packets bound for other locations), it processes it; other computers simply ignore any packets that aren’t addressed to them. This sounds just nifty, but here’s the catch: If two computers on your network try to broadcast packets at the same time, a network collision occurs, and everything stops until one computer successfully gets its data across the network. Collisions slow down the transfer of data, and that’s why Ethernet networks are slower than other types of networks. (Of course, you’ll see far fewer conflicts with fewer machines, so if you have only four PCs on your network, you’ll typically get great performance. It’s only when 25 PCs are all trying to talk to each other at once that conflicts start slowing things down dramatically.) The first step when installing a small network is to create a chart that lists which computers need to be connected and where they are, plus the approximate distances between all the players.

Hardware That You’ll Need

Another advantage of Ethernet networks is their simplicity. You won’t need a degree in Advanced Thakamology to install your network, and you can put four PCs in a simple Ethernet network for under $75 if you buy a kit. In this section, I discuss the basic hardware requirements of any small Ethernet network. Cables In articles that I’ve written that cover Ethernet networking, I discuss two different kinds of cabling that connect computer to computer (or connect a computer to a network device):

-  Coaxial (coax) cable: This is the same type of cable used to connect your TV to your cable box. Coax is thick stuff and not easily routed or hidden. Also, each end of a coax Ethernet network must have a terminator to mark the end of the network circuit, which is a hassle (a small one, granted, but a hassle nonetheless).

-  Twisted pair cable: Twisted pair cable looks almost exactly like telephone wire or the cable that runs between your PC’s dial-up modem and the telephone wall jack. It’s easier to hide and much easier to route. The one downside to using a twisted pair Ethernet network is that you need a hub, which acts as a central connection point. I used to cover coax cabling, but in this article, I cover only twisted pair cabling. It’s by far the cheapest and the easiest to install, which makes it the most popular standard . . . and that explains why Ethernet networks that use coaxial cabling are rapidly disappearing from the face of the globe. In fact, you’ll have to go out of your way to find a late-model network interface card (NIC) that has a coax connector on it. (As the MCP said so eloquently and frequently in the classic movie Tron, END OF LINE.) If you’d rather eschew cables altogether well, almost altogether consider a wireless network. Although it’s a bit slower, you’ll have freedom of movement undreamed of by the wired crowd. (Plus, alternate wired networks can use your home or office’s existing telephone or AC power lines. No, really!) I cover all these marvels of wireless (or almost wireless) networking. Hubs As I mention earlier, a hub is essentially just an overgrown connection box, linking (via cabling) each computer on your network to all the other network computers and peripherals (like a printer). However, you need either a hub or a switch for a twisted pair network. There’s not much need to include a picture of a hub in this article. Imagine the most boring, nondescript box that you can, add a few lights and several RJ-45 jacks, and you’ve got a hub. At least they’re cheap how much you’ll pay depends upon how many ports the hub provides (typically 4, 8, or 16 ports), ranging from about $50 to about $300. NICs You need a network interface card (NIC) for each computer on your network. If your desktop PC doesn’t have a built-in NIC, an internal adapter card is probably the best choice, but installing a NIC doesn’t necessarily have to involve opening your PC’s case. You can get a Personal Computer Memory Card International Association (PCMCIA; or PC Card) NIC for your laptop, and other network adapters can be connected through a Universal Serial Bus (USB) port. However, you might not actually need to buy a separate NIC for your PC because most PCs now include a built-in network connector. (Check your PC’s manual or look for a port labeled Ethernet 10/100 or Network on the back of the computer.) NICs are rated by the speed of the network. Most home networks will use a 10/100 NIC (meaning that your network can operate at either 10 Mbps or 100 Mbps), which will set you back about $40 to $50. The third speed, called Gigabit Ethernet, runs at a whopping 1000 Mbps, but you probably won’t need such throughput. (Gigabit hardware is also as expensive as a meeting with a good lawyer, which is another reason why it’s not a big hit with the home networking crowd.) When shopping for your card, check the manufacturer’s Web site and verify what drivers the card uses. The card should support Windows 98, ME, NT, 2000, and XP. (For me, the value of a NIC is in direct proportion to its compatibility.) Also, check how often those drivers are updated; two-year-old drivers are not a good sign. In general, most manufacturers display certification statements (both on the box and on the company’s Web site) that guarantee that a NIC will work with specific operating systems.

Switches

A switch is kind of like a super-hub. In fact, a switch looks like a slightly bigger hub, but it’s about as visually interesting as a shoebox. On the inside, however, a switch is a mighty leap in performance because a switch prevents those dastardly collisions that I discuss earlier in this article. In effect, a switch narrows the broadcast of a packet to only the PC that needs it, so it’s much more intelligent than a simple hub. A switch really isn’t that much more expensive than a hub, but a switch is only really necessary if you have more than four computers on your network or if the PCs on your network are constantly using network resources. This is why most switches are equipped with eight ports. A typical switch costs about $200.

Heck, let’s buy a kit!

Ah, now you’re thinkin’ smart! I always recommend that those folks installing a network from scratch buy a kit rather than trying to cobble together the components I describe in the previous section. Kits are much more convenient, and the various components are guaranteed to work together. A typical kit comes with  -  Two or four NICs  -  Premade cables  -  A hub or switch  -  The drivers for the NICs  -  Complete instructions, an installation program, and diagnostic software As an example of an Ethernet starter kit, I often recommend the D-Link Network Kit in a Box, which includes two NICs, a four-port hub, cabling, drivers, and even a few network games to try out. (Because we all know what networks are really for.) You can buy the Kit in a Box directly at the D-Link Web site (www.dlink.com) for a mere $70 or so.

Doing the Cable Dance

You have far fewer hassles when installing a twisted pair network as opposed to a coaxial network, as I mention earlier in this article. But even considering that the cables are easier to handle, I still have a number of time-tested recommendations that I can make from experience:

-  Always draft someone to help. If you’re wiring a small office, enlist the help of a steadfast friend (as a gopher, general cable handyperson, and sympathetic ear).

-  Always buy premade cables! Building a cable yourself is like cutting a diamond yourself it can be done, but you’d better be experienced or you’ll ruin a perfectly good . . . well . . . length of cable. Plus, first-timers can very easily create a cable that appears to be correct but doesn’t work or that introduces all sorts of spurious problems later on that will be practically impossible to track down. (Can you say electrical short? I knew you could.) Instead, do what I do (and everyone else who’s already built one or two small networks does as well). Walk into your local computer store or online Web shop and buy premade cables in the lengths that you need.

-  Always buy extra cables. Having a few spares never hurts. Hey, they’re cheap. And buying cables that are at least a foot or two longer than what you think you’re going to need is a wise idea.

-  Always test a cable before installing it. Of course, you can buy a twisted pair cable tester (usually called a remote cable tester), but for those with a life other than networking, simply connect the cable between your hub (or switch) and a laptop to check it.

-  Always consider pets! Does Fluffy spend time in your home office unattended? Then prepare for the likelihood of chewed network cabling. (This can really test the relationship between pet and person.) To avoid such moments, use cable ties and anchors to run your Ethernet cabling underneath desktops and above the floor level whenever possible.

-  Always avoid exposed cable. Make sure that your cables are well out of reach of clumsy feet. Also, never cover a cable with tape or a rug where it can become a victim of foot traffic. The stress on the connectors and the wear from contact will destroy even the best cable over time and will likely result in eventual network errors. Don’t forget that your hub or switch is a powered device, so it needs to be located close to an AC outlet.