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Home Computer Network Basics

DRAFT

Introduction

Whether you like it or not, if you have internet access at home, you have a home network. If you have a cable-modem and a wireless router, you have a home network. This comes with some personal responsibility, which the manufacturers of these devices have basically hidden from you so you don't have to think about it. The problem with that is that they also hide some of the other important details that would help you make more informed decisions about the hardware you're going to purchase so you have a reliable, rock solid home network to use for your internet needs.

Consumer Grade Equipment Sucks

I won't go into detail on this, except to say that those little plastic boxes you buy at Best Buy that have the fancy antennas on them are cheap, common, and unstable. The same can be said for hardware that boasts multiple functions. Basically, if a device has an "all-in-one" feature (like a printer, or a cable-modem/router), then they've compromised on quality by squeezing more hardware into a box that should only be doing one function. A printer should print. A scanner should scan. A fax machine should be thrown in the trash. Etc. Even the enterprise equipment that you might find at your corporate office, like that copy machine that scans, faxes, prints, and copies has it's share of problems. That's why those big ass machines come with the upsell of a maintenance agreement, and it's also why they cost so dang much.

Enough of The Bashing, What should I buy?

Making your home network rock solid and idiot proof is pretty easy, but there's a small up-front investment in the right equipment. It's best to separate ALL of your components from each other (not physically, but by function.)  Combining functions in one device is a sales tactic.  Your front door is not your cellar door...and if someone tried to sell you a front door that also worked as a cellar door (oooh...big benefit), you'd be cursing them every time you had to move the door from the front of the house to the cellar, and you'd be constantly replacing hinge pins. Capiche?

We'll call this the "Repentance List," (i.e. hardware that proves that you've turned from your wicked ways and are following the right path.)

The Core Requirements

  • Cable Modem:  Often a pile of junk supplied by Cox.  Get your own cable modem that does only that.  No "all in one" cable modem / router / wifi boxes.  That's a tech sin.  We don't want to be sinners in the digital world.  The cable-modem connects directly to your incoming cable wherever Cox (or your internet provider) wired it up from the outside of your house.  It's the big screwy TV coax cable that you might remember connecting to your TV to the wall when cable TV was first introduced.
  • Security Gateway: This is a little box that does two things.  It creates your internal network so all of your devices can talk to each other, and it securely bridges the gap between your internal network and the outside world (your internet connection).  This device connects directly to your cable modem.
  • Network Switch: This device is like the hub on your bicycle, connecting all of the spokes. The network switch is what you use to physically connect devices together.
  • WIFI Access Point: This is a device that provides a wireless connection to the rest of the network, allowing any wireless device to talk to any other device (Television, iPhone, LG Dishwasher, Phillips Hue Light Bulb, etc.) that is also connected to the network. It gives you one advantage. No cables between certain devices and the network switch (see network switch above if you already forgot.)

Your Personal Tools

Printer

Save yourself time and energy. Printers that connect to your WIFI network without a cable are problems waiting to happen. If you have a wireless network already, and you can use the internet in your Kitchen, or your Bathroom, or on a raft in your pool already, why do you need your printer to be wireless?. IT NEVER NEEDS TO GO ANYWHERE ELSE IN THE HOUSE.

Get yourself a simple printer (preferably a non-color laser printer) WITH A NETWORK PORT. No WIFI. If it comes with both, that's fine. Just turn off the WIFI feature. Your printer will plug directly into your network switch, which means it will be located near your network switch (or there will be a cable running through the walls to wherever you want the printer to be).

I use the LaserJet Pro M404n. It sits on a shelf in my workshop within 10 feet of my network switch and is connected to it with a standard RJ45 network cable. It does not need to be wireless. I can print to it from China if I need to.

Document Scanner

To date, my favorite document scanners have been Brother scanners because their paper feeds have always been rock solid. Get yourself a paper scanner that also has a network port. Put it near your printer and learn how to use it to:

  • a) Send a scanned document to your email.
  • b) Send a scanned document directly to a folder on your desktop, etc.

I use the ADS-2700W by Brother. It scans both sides of the paper simultaneously and has all of the fancy networking features anyone could ever want, like scanning to shared folders or directly to e-mail.

Cable Modem

Any consumer grade cable modem will do. If you receive one from your internet provider, make sure it's ONLY a cable modem, not a combination device with a built-in switch and built in router and built in WIFI transmitter.

Security Gateway