The home network has moved from the esoteric into the near ubiquitous. Nowadays with so many handheld components, media interactivity, and wireless capability that if you have even just two devices a home network is almost a necessity. The big question is: how do you set it all up?
Stage 1: one computerIt may seem strange, but even one computer with a connection to the internet is a budding network. Not much to do here. Connect your computer to your modem and your typically good to go.
Stage 2: two wired desktopsAs soon as you introduce a second computer into your house you run into a problem; how do they both connect to the internet? The answer is: a router. A router does exactly what it sounds like: it routes the internet connection from the modem to each computer attached to it. Why do you need a router? Two reasons: 1) look at the back of your modem. There's only one output port and putting a splitter on it doesn't work. 2) it's not just a matter of getting a signal, the network needs to be able to assign an address to the computer.
Every computer, or device, attached to a network is identified by an IP (Internet Protocol) Address. Think of it just like your home address. If you house didn't have an address it would be hard to find. On the internet if your computer doesn't have an address it's impossible to find and to add insult to injury, your computer won't be able to find anything either.
Setting up the router is relatively easy. In stage 1 you connected the modem to the computer. Remove that cable from the computer and plug it into the WAN, or Internet, port on the back of the router. Your router will typically have 4 numbered ports. Get a new Cat 5 cable and plug it into port 1 (one). Plug the other end of the cable into one of your computers; it doesn't really matter which one. Plug a cable into port 2 on the router and your second computer. You can keep doing that until you run out of ports.
That should be all there is to it for stage 2. If one of the computers won't connect to the internet still it could be that it didn't pull an IP Address from the router. Simply reboot the machine and 99% of the time you are okay. If this happens to be the 1% power down everything; the computers, the router and even the modem. Wait about 30 seconds. Power up the modem and wait for all the lights to go green. Power up the router and give it about 30 seconds to boot. Now power up each computer. Again, you should be okay now. Other possible problems include: a bad cable, a bad network card in your computer, a firewall on your computer (turn it off to test, but turn it back on when it's all working).
Stage 3: wireless!Now things are getting interesting. Depending on the wireless router you bought it will be capable of a, b, g, or n signals. You've probably come across 802.11g, or 802.11n, the most. In fact, 802.11n is now being split up as N-150, N-300, and N+. What does all this mean? It's all about speed and price. How fast of a connection do you want versus how much can you afford. There's an old adage with computers: buy the highest capability machine you can afford because it's already obsolete. The same goes for routers. N+ is currently top of the line. If you can afford get it. Step down from there.
Compatibility is probably not an issue. Most "N" routers will also put out a signal that "b" and "g" receivers can pick up. Check with your vendor before purchasing though. They can most likely look up the specs of your machine even if you don't have it with you. What this means though is that if you have a "g" receiver (slower than "n") and an "n" router you will only get a "g" speed connection. If you want your laptop to have an "n" speed connection you'll need an "n" speed receiver, or adapter.
Now let's set it all up.
If this is your only router it's essentially the same as the stage 2 setup. If you have a wired desktop you'll need to connect that first and get the internet working. The router will come with instructions to set up the particular model. If you don't have a wired desktop, but do have a wireless laptop, you'll most likely need to connect the laptop to the router via wire to initially set it up.
Once all that's done, disconnect your laptop from the router (if it's connected) and turn on it's wireless device. If you are running Vista, or Windows 7, it will automatically tell you that wireless networks have been found. If not, look for a small graphic at the bottom right of your screen that looks like two computer monitors. Click on it once and a menu will come up giving the option to "connect, or disconnect". Click on it. This will bring up a window showing all the available wireless networks. Sometimes you'll even see your neighbor's network. Don't be rude, click on yours.
It takes about a minute for the connection to be made, but once it is those two little monitors in the corner will have small globe on top of them. Any other symbol means there was a problem connecting. If there is a problem click on the graphic again and select the "Network and Sharing Center" option. This will bring up a window with some trouble shooting options.
Are we all connected? Whew!
Stage 4: iPod TouchThis is where it can get frustrating. I recently set up a network with three wired desktops, one wireless laptop, and two iPod Touches lurking in the shadows. To top it all off the laptop had an "n" adapter, but the iPod Touch only receives a "g" speed connection. What do I do? To maximize the signal I set up three routers. Without three routers either the laptop wouldn't connect, or the iPods wouldn't connect, or the laptop wouldn't connect at the best possible speed.
Here's the setup: Router #1 is the router that will be assigning those IP Addresses I was talking about. This is important because Routers 2 and 3 will want to assign addresses too, but that option will need to be turned off. There are ways to leave it on, but that's another blog post.
Router #1 is wired and connected directly to the modem. In Router #1 we make the following settings: 1) Set it's IP Address to 192.168.1.1, 2) Set it's DHCP range to 192.168.1.2 to 192.168.1.97. DHCP is the service that assigns the IP Addresses.
Router #2 is connected to Router #1 and broadcasts a "g" signal. In Router #2 we make the following settings: 1) Set it's IP Address to 192.168.1.99, 2) turn off the DHCP service, 3) setup the wireless network by giving it an SSID name different then the network name of Router #1. SSID is the name that you will see in the "wireless connections available" window.
Router #3 is also connected to Router #1 and broadcasts an "n" signal. In Router #3 we make the following settings: 1) Set it's IP Address to 192.168.1.100, 2) turn off the DHCP service, 3) setup the wireless network by giving it an SSID name different than the other two routers.
Connect the modem to the "WAN", or "Internet" port of Router #1. Connect a cable from Port 1 (one) on the back of Router #1 to Port 1 (one) on the back of Router #2. Do not use the "WAN", or "Internet" port on the back of Router #2, or #3. These ports will never be used in this configuration. Connect a cable from Port #2 on Router #1 to Port #1 on Router #3. Your wired desktops can plug into any of the three routers. Turn on all your devices and they should pull their IP Addresses and you'll be on the internet.
Setting up a home network can be terribly frustrating because the only feedback you'll get is no connection. However, with a little bit of patience you can have a Stage 4 network up and running in a half hour. Don't let the machine win. Range and Security are also a consideration. We'll deal with those in later posts.
As is always the case with computers since there are so many brands, configurations, and software changes the above information may not work for you. I have recently set up each of these networks and they are working smoothly. If you have any questions I will do my best to answer them. Just drop me an email at clifford@rockpaperweb.com.
Happy Networking!
Labels: 802.11, home network, iPod, iPod Touch, router, wireless
System Requirements
Recently a friend of mine was installing a game for his daughter. The installation
would appear to go smoothly and then end without warning. Unsure of whether
the game installed he tried to run the game and received an error that files were
missing.
Repeated attempts to install the program ended the same.
What was the issue? There were no error messages during installation, the
CD did not appear to be scratched and the computer itself was operating just fine.
I had him check several things: How much RAM (memory) does the computer have?
How much space is available on the hard drive? He assured me that he had recently
upgraded both.
We then checked the system requirements of the game against the specifications of
the computer. What we found revealed the problem. Even with his recent
upgrade the computer did not have enough RAM, and the CPU clock speed was not fast
enough to run the application.
What does this mean to you?
Most stores that sell software will not allow you to return the software if the
box is opened. There's just too much pirating going on. They will require
you to either pay a restocking fee, or exchange the software for other software
of equal value. It's a good idea (and will potentially save you time and money)
to know the specifications of your computer before you buy any software.
Things you need to know before you purchase (if you are using Windows XP, or Vista):
Processor / Clock Speed
DescriptionThe Processor is the centerpiece of your computer. It's what makes all the decisions and does all of the calculations. The faster the processor, the faster the computer. Here's the key, you don't need to worry too much about the type of Processor your computer has, just check the clock speed. If the game requires a 3Ghz clock and you have an 800Mhz clock, the processor brand won't matter. Most off the shelf desktops today have a 2.8Ghz clock, or better. Most laptops today have a 1.8 Ghz clock, or better.
How to check it:Right click (use the right mouse button) on the "My computer" icon and select "properties" from the pop-up. This dialog will give you both the processor/clock speed and the RAM.
RAM
DescriptionRAM is the short term memory of your computer; It's what the computer uses to store information while the computer is turned on. Turn off the computer and the RAM is erased. Every time. The rule of thumb with RAM is: the more the better. In fact, if you have a slower processor you can increase the speed of your computer by increasing the amount of RAM.
How to check it:Right click (use the right mouse button) on the "My computer" icon and select "properties" from the pop-up. This dialog will give you both the processor/clock speed and the RAM.
Hard Disk SpaceDescriptionThe Hard Disk is the long term memory. Information is stored here until you delete it. When the disk gets more than 85% full you're going to start having problems. The first problem is that your computer is going to slow down drastically. The next problem is that you won't have enough room to save new information, edit existing information, and even delete large files. When the drive gets critically full the monitor can start to act strange and your computer may even have trouble booting up properly. So keep that hard drive under 85% full.
How to check it:
Double click on the "My Computer" icon. This will bring up a window listing all of your drives. You might have several drives, but typicaly you want to look at the "C:\" drive. Check to make sure the available space is more than 15% of the drive. The CD or DVD drive should be listed just below the "C:\" drive. If it doesn't give you a clue here, look on the front of the drive itself. If you see the CD logo it's a CD. If you see the DVD logo, it's a DVD. If you don't see either, it's a CD.
Drive Type
DescriptionYou'll most likely have to have at least a CD-ROM installed on your machine and possibly a DVD-ROM. If you intend to create MP3 or audio CD's, you'll need a CD writer. If you intend to create video DVD's you'll need a DVD writer.
Video Card
DescriptionThis is a guideline for the average user: you only need to know the on-board RAM of your video card. Serious gamers and video editors need to know a lot more about the card, but they probably already know that.
How to check it:Right click (use the right mouse button) on the "My computer" icon and select "properties" from the pop-up. Select "Device Manager" either from the tabs at the top or the menu on the left (you will see one, or the other, depending on your version of Windows). A tree of items will appear. Find "Display Adapters" in the list and click on the
"+" next to it. The name of your video card will be displayed. At this point you will need to look up the specs for the video card either in the documentation for your computer, or by searching for it online.
Sound Card
DescriptionTypically just make sure you have a sound card. Again, serious gamers will want a surround sound card with all the bells and whistles, but the average gamer really just wants a card with stereo output and they all have that.
How to check it:(continuing from the video card instructions) Now, look for "Sound, video and game controllers" in the list and click the "+" next to it. The name of your sound card will be displayed. To get the specs for the sound card you will also need to check your computer's documentation or search for it on the web.