Basic Home Netowrk
Most networks are born from the desire to allow two PCs to share a broadband internet connection, and usually progress to sharing files and printers. This is the scope of this article. In most cases, a basic home network consists of a DSL or Cable Modem, a router and two or more PCs with everything connected with CAT5 ethernet cable.
Since most home networks begin with a broadband internet connection, we’ll start there.
Modem – Whether you use DSL or Cable as your connection technology, your interface to the Internet is a modem. The modem converts high frequency analog signals to digital signals that your network components can understand. The modem can be directly connected to one PC, but that isn’t really a home network.
Router – To create the home network with two or more PCs, a router is used. The router transfers and routes data within the network and handles network administration chores such as issuing IP addresses and maintaining tables of network devices and their characteristics. The router is the gateway between the WAN (internet side) and the LAN (home network side). Its most important function is to act as a gateway between networks. The router for your home network should also have built-in firewall functionality which provides an important layer of protection.
Switch – In a home network, a network switch is usually integrated into the router, but I’ll describe its functions separately. A network switch can be loosely thought of as a splitter so that the one inbound connection from the router is made available to several different devices. The switch receives data on one port and redirects it to the port that is connected to the appropriate receiving device. Some networks may use a hub instead of a switch. Their function is similar, but a hub doesn’t direct its outbound data only to the specified device, but to all ports which reduces overall bandwidth.
Which Modem?
Recently, manufacturers have combined the modem, router, switch and even wireless functionality into one device which can be really handy if space is an issue, but for our purposes, I’ll treat them separately. The modem you will use should be approved by your ISP. In some instances, they will provide one to you as a part of your service fees. If not, they will have a list of suggested modems that you can buy. If you do buy one, make sure that it does not use USB to connect to your PC, it needs to have ethernet in order to complete your network. The ISP will provide you with specific setup and test procedures that help you get connected. Most of these procedures only encompass a single PC directly connected to the modem, which is fine because for now, we just want to make sure that the modem is working and you can get online with one PC. Once we get this sorted out, we’ll add the rest of the hardware.
Connect Modem to Internet.
The procedures to establish your connection to the internet are similar for both DSL and Cable.
1. You may need to tell your ISP your Computer Name or MAC address, and they will provide specific instructions.
2. Once you have complied with the ISP’s requirements and have followed their setup instructions, you can power up the modem. There are a series of LEDs on the Modem that show its status. Refer to the manual for the modem to determine the LED activity that indicates that there is an active connection to the internet (WAN).
3. After you are synchronized and have a good connection, connect the CAT5 cable to your PCs network port and turn on your PC. Once you’re booted up, open up your web browser and, if all has gone well, you should be able to see the internet.
4. Try entering a URL into the address bar and press enter. I always try www.google.com because they have a very quick loading home page and the site is rarely down. If you get an error or no response, refer back to your ISP’s setup instructions. They may need you to make some modifications to your network card’s settings, so make the changes and try again. If still unsuccessful, your best bet is to give your ISP’s support line a call. They should be able to walk you through the setup.
At this point, you should have have one PC connected to the internet, so you know that the modem and the first PC’s network card are working. If the other PC is available, go ahead and unplug the CAT5 cable from the first PC and try it with the second PC. Knowing that it works will assist us in troubleshooting later on.
Let’s add the Router.
1. Power down the PC and disconnect the CAT5 cable.
2. Plug the cable into the router port that is labeled “WAN”, “Uplink” or “Internet”. If none of the ports are labeled as such, refer to the manual to determine which port needs to be connected to the modem.
3. Plug in another CAT5 cable to any of the other ports and connect it to your PC.
4. After the modem is connected to the router, plug the power cord into the router and press the power switch if it has one. Wait for a minute or so until the the router completes its self test.
5. Turn on the PC and wait for it to start up.
6. While waiting, consult the router’s manual again to determine what IP address that the router uses for its administration utility. Many routers are reached by entering “http://192.168.1.1” or “http://192.168.0.1“.
7. Open up your web browser and enter the proper IP address into the address bar and press enter. Once again, you will need to refer to the manual to determine the default username and password (make sure to change them later!).
8. Navigate to the section of the administration utility (check the manual again) that alows you to enter your ISP related settings and enter them. That should be everything.
9. Save your settings and exit out of the administration utility.
Your network is almost complete. You have a working modem, router and PC. The last step is to connect the second PC to one of the other empty ports on the router. Turn on the PC and check for connection by using your web browser and opening some internet sites.
You now have a working network. In the next article, I’ll talk about sharing files, printing and other network tasks.
