Last time, we discussed the many different ways that you can copy files, programs and data from one computer to another.  The last one we mentioned didn’t come with too much detail last time . . . mainly because it deserves its own article.  By using network technology, you can connect two or more computers so that they can share files, data, printers, other peripheral equipment, and even a high-speed Internet connection from HunTel.net®.  In this week’s article, we’ll discuss how to do that.

The first thing you would need is devices in all your computers that would allow them to connect with other networking equipment.  These devices are usually called network adapters or network interface cards and will generally be installed inside the computer.  You will see a rectangular jack somewhere on your computer’s back panel that is slightly larger than a telephone jack; this indicates that your computer has a network adapter and is ready to connect to a network.

Next, you will need cables to connect all your computers to each other (except in the case of a wireless network, which we’ll discuss later).  These are usually referred to as Ethernet cables and come in different lengths depending on the location of all your computers (and in many cases, you can have them installed within the walls of your home or business).  These cables would either plug directly into your computers’ network adapters, or in the case of cabling within your walls would terminate in a wall jack, which you would then connect to your computers’ network adapters using a shorter Ethernet cable.

Lastly, you will need a device to which all the Ethernet cables would connect.  The type of device you will need depends on whether you are using a high-speed Internet connection as part of your network.  If you are not, you will need a network router to connect all the cables; this device performs several complex (but necessary) networking functions such as directing the data traffic, specifying the network protocols, and determining which data packets need to go to which computer.

If you have high-speed Internet access, this gets a little trickier.  Some DSL modems and/or cable modems are configured to function as a router; if you are using one of those, you will just need to connect your modem and all your computers to a separate device called a network switch/hub.  Other modems are configured to function as a bridge instead of a router; if you have one of those, you will need the router.  Note:  the terms “bridge” and “router” are often used interchangeably, but they are different devices and do perform different functions; you can see more specific and technical definitions of both a bridge and a router at these links.  So the bottom line is that you would connect all the Ethernet cables from your computers and your high-speed Internet modem (if you are using it) to either a network router or a network switch/hub, depending on which you need.

Now it’s time to start configuring your individual computers to work on your network.  Each computer has to have a distinct name on your network (so that they don’t conflict with each other).  In addition, each computer has to be assigned a workgroup name that is the same for all computers (so that they can see each other on the network).

You can take care of both of these by right-clicking on your My Computer icon and choosing Properties off the pop-up menu.  On the Properties screen, click the Computer Name tab located at the top.  There you will see blanks for both the computer name and the workgroup name; type a name for the computer (remembering that each computer needs a different name) and for the workgroup (remembering to use the same workgroup name for all the computers on your network) and click OK at the bottom.  You will probably need to restart your computer after changing its name and/or the workgroup name.

Then you can set up individual folders or printers on each computer to be shared across your network.  You would do this by finding the icon for either the folder or the printer you want to share (folders can be found in the My Computer window, printers in the Control Panel window).  Right click on that icon and choose Sharing and Security from the popup menu.  You will then see a window with options to share that folder/printer (they will be set to “Do not share” by default); click on the option labeled “Share this folder/printer” to turn on sharing.

Once you turn on sharing, you can then specify a share name for the folder/printer and any security options you want.  After you have set it up, that folder/printer will be available on the network and any other computer connecting to it will just need to point to \\computername\sharename (or find it by clicking the My Network Places option, going to Entire Network, double-clicking on Microsoft Windows Network, double-clicking on your workgroup name, double-clicking on the computer name, and double-clicking on the share name).

If you have any questions at all about setting up a home network, our trained technicians at HunTel.net® are available and are happy to assist you.  You can contact us by phone at 402-533-5777 (Washington County and Omaha) or 1-888-491-9115 (toll free throughout our service area); by E-mail at techsupport@huntel.net; or through our live support chat service at http://www.huntel.net.  Normal support hours are 8:00 a.m. to 10:00 p.m., Central time, 7 days a week.