Why You Want Your Own Network - What Networks Really Are
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So just what is a network, anyway? And how does a home network compare to an office network?
These are both good questions that get right to the heart of the matter. Let’s start with the first question.
A network is nothing more than something that provides the means for different things to communicate with each other. You already use one of the world’s biggest networks whenever you make a telephone call. Your phone number is the key that enables other people to pick up their phone, dial your number, and talk to you from virtually anywhere on the planet. Computer networks function very much like the telephone network because they were actually modeled after the telephone network to a large extent. Figure 1-1 gives you an idea of how home networks function, and Figure 1-2 shows how the telephone network is quite similar.
Figure 1-1 A Home Network Connects your PCs and Other Devices so that they can communicate.
Figure 1-2 The Telephone Network Functions Much Like Your Home Network Except on a Larger Scale
It’s true that when you use a computer network, you typically aren’t expecting another person to be at the other end of the line, but you don’t always expect that with the telephone network, either. After all, haven’t you ever made a phone call hoping that you would get some-one’s answering machine instead of talking directly to that person? When you do get the answering machine, you’re interacting with that machine in much the same manner as if you were using a typical computer network and the devices on that network. Similar to how two network devices might communicate, the answering machine gives you a message, waits for your response, and then saves your response so that it can be picked up later.
So, if networks aren’t all that unfamiliar, it’s time to answer the second question regarding how home networks compare to larger networks like those in an office. Actually, the typical home network is very similar to an office network, but in a generally simpler, friendlier, and far less expensive package. That is, a home network still allows your PCs to talk to each other and share things such as files, printers, and Internet connections, but the manufacturers of home networking gear, such as Linksys, have concentrated on reducing the complexity so that you don’t have to be an engineer to make it all work. In addition, home networks typically use a much simpler security model that doesn’t require you to put up with complications like usernames, passwords, and deciding who gets to share what (unless you want to).
 This chapter is from Home Networking: A Visual Do-It-Yourself Guide by Brian Underahl (2004, Cisco Systems, Inc. Reproduced by permission of Pearson Education, Inc., 800 East 96th Street, Indianapolis, IN 46240.). Check it out at your favorite bookstore today. Buy this book now. |
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