Setting up a network

Remember when the only bit of tech families fought over was the TV remote?

Now they fight over computer time.

So, you got a second computer. And now they fight over a using the printer, or using the phone line for the Internet, or using the scanner, or . . . It only got worse.

The solution - a network.

I've always wanted to put together a network in my house and recently, after cobbling together an extra computer from spare parts lying around my study, I had the opportunity. I plan to outline my little project, and at the end of it, you will hopefully be able to also set up your own 10 to 100 Mbps peer-to-peer 10base2 Thin Ethernet coax network at home.

More importantly, you'll even know what that means.

Unfortunately, this is a rather large subject and I'm afraid it has to come in two parts. I personally hate two-parters, but I'm told it's either that or publish my own magazine. And that sounds like way too much work.

In this first installment we'll cover the types of networks available to home and home-based business computer users, the parts needed to create your own small network and how to hook those parts together. In the second part, we'll see how to install the software needed to make the network run and how to share resources on the network, including printers, hard drives and Internet connections.

Networks, once the domain of big corporations with hundreds of computers, have now become an important tool for the home and home-based businesses. With a network, users can share printers, Zip drives, CD ROM drives, modems, scanners, simultaneously connect to the Internet, work on projects collaboratively, and of course most importantly, battle for the freedom of the universe.

Computer games are probably the biggest reason anyone installs a home network.

It's possible to share some resources without building a network. If sharing a printer is enough, a simple printer switch is cheap option. If you only need to transfer files, you can use the direct cable connection option available in Windows 95 and Windows 98 to link two computers with a serial port cable. You can also use a variety of software packages like Carbon Copy, LapLink, PCAnywhere, Timbucktu, etc., to connect through a serial, parallel or USB cable or telephone line and modem.

The trouble with any of these solutions is that they don't provide the full power and perks offered by a true network.

The easy way to get linked is to buy one of the many prepackaged networking kits available at your local computer store or through the Internet. There are a variety of technology choices. D-Link's $119 Home Network In a Box, for example, uses a traditional Ethernet networking cable and hub. Intel's $100 AnyPoint system sends signals through your home's existing telephone wiring; and WebGear's $199 Aviator 2.4 uses radio waves. There are even systems that allow you to link computers through the home's electrical wiring system. The system you pick depends on your needs. D-Link's superior speed and performance make it the best bet for home offices and big-time network gamers. Intel's AnyPoint system is a a breeze to set up and a good choice for the technically challenged. The Aviator 24 system may be of special interest to users who want to be free of wires and cables, as well as those who want to bring notebook computers into the system. (Intel, it should be noted, also offers a wireless option).

There are also drawbacks to each system. Traditional networks using cable and Ethernet cards require you to string cable all around the house - not a big problem if all the computers are in one room, but a bit of a chore if you have computers located in different rooms throughout a building.

Phone line networks suffer from a lack of speed. They generally run at 1 Mbps, compared to Ethernet's 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps. (Recently, however, Intel has come out with a 10 Mbps phone line system).

Wireless networks also have speed problems as well as limits on the distance between computers. Their biggest problem, however, is interference from walls and large metal objects.

And networks using a home's power lines, a relatively new technology, could have a security issue if a neighbour shares the same power transformer supplying your house with electricity. In theory, they could become part of your network. The system is also affected by power line fluctuations, such as when an air conditioner kicks in.

While all these kits offer powerful solutions to home-networking needs, a lot of users, especially non-business compu-families, might find kicking out $200 or more to play Duke Nukem 3D over a network a bit pricey. That's why I decided to do it the hard way. The hard way is to buy the separate components yourself, and then figure out how to put the mess together.

You might discover, as I did, the hard way is not so difficult at all and you can save a couple bucks to boot.

Before you start buying equipment, you should decide on your network needs and how you plan to control the system.

In one form of network, called a client-server system, one main computer rules the entire chain. This kind of system, however, is only available with Windows NT or Windows 2000.

A more common approach for a home system is a peer-to-peer network. It operates more democratically, where all computers are equal and the information flow is not centrally controlled. You can set up a peer-to-peer network using Windows 98 or Windows 95.

From here on in, we'll be talking about peer-to-peer systems. The first thing you need to get is an NIC (network interface card) for each computer on your network. One of the nice things about these cards is that not every NIC on your network has to be made by the same company or even installed the same way. They must, however, have the same type of cable connector.

The cards, depending on speed, can cost $100 or more. However, some bargains can be found. I recently picked up a couple of 10 Mbps Ethernet cards for $16 each. Make sure that the cards match the type of bus connection used on your computer motherboard, the place where you will be attaching the device. Most newer computers use the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slot type - which are usually white and have a divider about three quarters of the way down. Even some new computers use the old Industry Standard Architecture (ISA) slots, which are black and longer than the PCI slots. Finally, make sure the network card is a plug-and-play model. Otherwise, you are asking for a whole lot of headache when it comes time to install networking drivers.

Then you have to decide on the kind of cable you plan to use. The most common cables are twisted pair, also known as 10BaseT cable and 10Base2 Thin Ethernet coaxial cable. Twisted pair cable looks like an oversized telephone cable with giant telephone line connectors. The cable comes in several grades - the higher the grade, the better and more reliable the cable. The 10Base2 Thin Ethernet coaxial cable is an alternative to twisted pair. It looks like your cable TV line, only a bit thinner.

The one advantage a coaxial cable has over a twisted pair cable is that the coax does not need the network to include a hub. In a twisted pair system, all the cables converge at a special central collector device called a hub, which, depending on the number of connections it allows, can cost from $40 to $200. If you plan on doing things on the cheap, the coaxial option might be the best choice. But remember, your NIC must have a coax connector. Buying a combo network card ensures that you have both twisted wire and coax connectors.

Twenty-five feet of networkcoaxial cable might cost you about $10 to $15.

Believe it or not, you now have all the parts needed to set up a network. So far, in making my own two-computer network, I've spent about $45.

Now, lets put the pieces together.

First, install the network cards. If you have never installed a peripheral device inside your computer, or haven't even opened your computer case, my best advice here is to go find someone who has. (You should also find out if opening your computer case voids some kind of warranty).

For those who have, a couple refresher caveats may be in order. Install the network cards into the appropriate bus slots - taking care to prevent static electricity discharge, and being careful not to damage the card or motherboard while gently, but firmly, inserting it in the slot. Oh yeah, make sure you also turn off the computer and unplug it first.

After the cards are installed in all the computers on your network, you now have to run the cable. We've decided to use coax because it allows networking without a hub. However it should be noted that if you decide to use twisted pair cable and are only connecting two computers, you can also avoid using a hub by using a special "crossover" or "cross-pinned" cable. Sometimes this kind of cable is hard to find, but many computer stores are able to make it for you.

But back to the coax. At the end of each coax cable is a male BNC (barrel node connector) which has a pin in the middle and a rotating outer ring. This ring has two grooves. This connector attaches to a BNC female connection which has two small stubs and no outer ring. You join the male and female connectors by sticking the male connector into the female connector and rotating the ring on the male connector clockwise to lock the two together. (I don't know about you, but this kind of talk always makes me a bit . . . well, never mind.)

To hook on to the network adaptor which you installed in the computer, you attach it to a T-connector which probably came with the card..If it didn't, you can pick them up at most computer stores for about $3 or $4. The T- connector has a female connection on each arm and a BNC male connector at the base, which hooks onto the network card. The cable connects to one of the female connectors. Any unused connection has to be capped with a terminator, also available for about $4 each. Otherwise, the electronic signals would be lost.

Now everything is hooked up. The cards are in the computers. The cables are hooked to the cards. It would be nice if all we had to do was start the machines up and get busy. Unfortunately, there's more to do. Your network needs drivers - software that lets the network cards communicate. And you also need to set up you computers to be able to share resources like hard drives, printers, modems etc. But you've done enough already. We can get back to all this later, say in the next column, when we will complete our network and learn how to share devices and services.