Black Box Explains... Building a small network.
Building a small network.
Never fear—it’s easy to build a twisted-pair Ethernet network. In fact, it’s the simplest and most inexpensive network you can build, and it’s worth installing for even just two or three PCs. Your small network doesn’t have to be slow either—many of today’s Ethernet devices support 100-Mbps Ethernet as well as the traditional 10-Mbps Ethernet. These dual-speed devices often sense and adjust to the speed of connected devices automatically.
Build a basic Ethernet network.
The most basic Ethernet network uses an Ethernet switch to enable two or more PCs to communicate directly with each other. This very simple network, which operates without a network server, is called a peer-to-peer network.
All you need are an Ethernet adapter card for each connected PC, an Ethernet switch, and some CAT5e unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) cable. If your PCs have built-in Ethernet like many of today’s PCs do, you don’t even need Ethernet adapters.
To build your network, connect the Ethernet port on each PC to a port on your Ethernet switch using the CAT5e cable. Snap-in, modular connectors make connecting the cable to the PCs and the switch as simple as plugging in your phone. If you need more ports, just connect another switch to the first.
And don’t worry about software—if you have Windows® 95 or later, you have all the software you need for a small peer-to-peer network.
Add a print server.
Even a very small network can benefit from the convenience of a print server, a specialized network device that enables network users to share one or more printers. It accepts print jobs from users and manages these jobs on each printer.
Typically, a print server is a freestanding device that’s connected between the network and the printer. A freestanding print server is very easy to install—just connect it to your Ethernet switch using CAT5e cable, then connect the printer using a parallel printer cable.
Print servers are often tiny devices. Some are so tiny they sit directly on the parallel port of the printer. A print server for a small network may also be built into another device, such as a switch or a broadband router. Some newer printers even have embedded or internal print servers so you can connect the printer directly to the network without using a separate print server.
Your print server will probably come with software utilities to install on your PC, and you’ll need to do some configuration to set it up. But, once installed, it’s virtually transparent to network users.
Connect your network to the Internet.
A remote access router enables your entire network to share a single Internet connection. The small remote access routers used in small and home office networks are usually referred to as broadband routers because they connect your network to broadband DSL or cable modem Internet services.
A remote access router enables two or more computers to share an Internet connection by using a technology called Network Address Translation (NAT), which enables all the computers on your network to share a single IP address.
Although the primary reason to install a remote access router is the convenience of having all network users share an Internet connection, a router also helps keep your system safe from hackers. NAT masks your true IP address, providing firewall protection between your network and the Internet.
You install the remote access router between your Ethernet switch and your DSL or cable modem. The DSL or cable modem is usually provided by your Internet service provider and has an Ethernet port, which may be a regular LAN port that can be connected by straight-pinned CAT5e cable or may be a WAN port that requires a special cross-pinned CAT5e cable for connection to the Ethernet switch.
Remote access routers normally require extensive setup and configuration but, once installed, operate transparently.
Some remote access routers also have a POTS connection and support dialup connections. These routers enable remote users to dial into your network over a dialup line—a useful feature if you wish to connect to your network while traveling. Broadband routers for small networks also often feature a built-in Ethernet switch and print server. This means you only need the broadband router plus some cable to turn a few unconnected PCs into a secure, multifeatured Ethernet network.
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