Defining Home Networking

The introduction of the personal computer to the consumer market has resulted in computers becoming one of the basic implements of every household. In fact, it is not new to know a house with a computer in every room, save perhaps the bathroom. Of course, a home networking solution is a necessity.

Home networking has a lot of advantages for a home with several computers. For one thing, a home networking setup can allow for Internet access to every computer in the house, even though only one computer is physically connected to the modem and, through that modem, to the Internet. In fact, one of the most important factors that dictate setting up a home networking solution for homes with lots of computer is in order to share the Internet connection among computers.

A home networking setup can also allow efficient exchange of information for each computer user at home , other use for this is for computer gaming. Computer games can be very entertaining, and it can even be more exciting if several computer users connect with one another to play.

A home networking solution can also be used in order to solve storage solutions for the computers. Oftentimes, computer users store a lot of files in their computer. Over time, these files can add up so that the current hard drive of the computer is filled. Sometimes, the best solution is to move these files to another computer, possibly a computer designated as a “file server,” through the home networking setup. Thus, every time the file needs to be accessed, the computer user needs only connect to the file server. This can greatly free up the disk space of the computer, and data handling is simplified as there is only one data storage location.

Home networking usually requires manual setup. Most commonly, a home networking installation is achieved through the use of connecting cables and hubs, routers, or switches. The cables, of course, provide the interconnection among the computers in the home networking setup. A hub, router, or switch interconnects the computers so that they can share information among themselves. These three devices act as the “distributors” of information.