Average Joe Home Networking - Intro to Hardware
This is going to be a multi-part series with the amount of installments being a number divisible by 0 and starting and ending wherever I damn well feel like. In other words, just read, learn, and shut it. The scope of these documents is simple everyday usage of a home network. I am not going to delve into subnetting (it’s been awhile anyway) or talk of Cisco devices but merely basic networks and how to set them up to be very functional and do some troubleshooting. Starting with picking out the hardware…
Right before we get to the fun stuff I want to include just a basic layout of what a typical home network will look like.
ISP –> Cable/Fibre/Phone Line —> Modem –> Home Router –> Switch –> Devices
The line in from the service provider will be done by them and then connected to a device you usually either buy or lease. That line is then split to your home network by a router and can be expanded with a switch or multiple switches. Some companies do the Modem/Router all in one but most people will not have that type of setup. With the exception of the line to the modem everything is wired together with Cat 6 or 5/5e.
Cables
Cables are pretty easy. Just buy them and go! Well, pretty much. Cat 6 has really taken over from Cat 5e. There is nothing wrong with Cat 5e but Cat 6 is inexpensive and runs 100mhz faster or better than Cat 5e in addition to having better shielding.
Build or buy? BUY! I still have 1000 foot of Cat 5e sitting in a spool that I will never use. Making cables is not the most difficult thing in the world but it’s just not worth it anymore. 7 feet of Cat 6 is about 2 dollars today and the agony of having shotty cabling just sucks.
TIP: It’s nice to pick out cables you think are pretty but coloring can be great for organization. If you’re running a number of cables for different devices think of grouping them by colors. You can do something like Living Room is purple, Basement is blue etc etc.
NIC
First - it is Network Interface Card so stop saying NIC Card(s). I’m going to make this pretty simple…
Intel - 10/100/1000 adapters are the shit. I used to think it was a myth but Intel network cards are easily the best I’ve ever used. Their desktop gigabit adapters are usually $30 or less from Newegg.com and are VERY well worth it. If you are running Windows you can grab two of them in load balancing with the Intel drivers.
Wireless NIC?
Little bit more tricky here since the market is flooded. The easy rule of thumb is to get whatever goes with your router. Generally, the wireless adapters that accompany a particular router will function a little bit better. If you have a laptop, the built in wireless should work just fine. Sorry so sparse but most will work well and this would turn into a book.
Hubs and Switches
Hub vs Switch - I said this is for the average Joe so let’s keep it that way… Switches are faster and hubs are pretty much obsolete so buy a switch. Easy!
The very basic difference is that a hub shares its available bandwidth and a switch has dedicated bandwidth for each port. Hubs are still usable but they are not really mainstream anymore.
So what do you look for in a switch?
1. Number of ports - You will need at least as many ports as devices. This can be acheieved with one switch or you can connect multiple switches together with a cable. You don’t want to have 5 devices with a 4 port switch, doh!
2. Speed - 10/100 - 10/100/1000 - what to get? I would definitely say suck it up and go for 10/100/1000. You want your network to move as fast as possible and be future proof so do it right from the start. 5 Port switches start at about $30 so you won’t be breaking the bank.
Note: You might see a listing like 10/100 2-1000 Port Uplinks. You can skip on these for home use and go right for the plain 10/100/1000
3. Features - Jumbo Frames - If you have the money opt for a switch with Jumbo Frames support. This should get your networking moving along a little quicker. Unmanaged, Managed, Web-Managed? 95% of people can grab an unmanaged switch. Honestly, most of the people opting for the managed devices aren’t in the scope of this article.
4. Brand - With so many companies out there making products what should you buy? I’d say on the cheap end TrendNET isn’t too bad for switches and on the higher end look at HP. I’d also look at Dell when they are on sale. Most of the rest like D-Link, NetGear and Linksys are all about the same. They are neither fantastic nor bad most of the time and are readily available at Wal-Mart, Circuit City, and BestBuy.
TIP - Determine your port needs, 10/100/1000 for speed, Jumbo Frames are tasty, and HP makes a darn good switch.
Routers and Access Points
I’m going to just assume that you’re buying a Wireless Router since most will. So, what should you buy? Most people would do very well with a stalwart like the Linksys WRT54G. It’s one of a few pieces of hardware that almost has its own legend. Fast, reliable, inexpensive, readily available, and hackable all in one package. Since it is a G capable router just about anything should be able to connect to it and it supports WPA2. Here’s a list of things to look for…
Ports / Speeds - If you don’t plan on using a seperate switch the devices will just plug right into the back of the router. Most routers are 10/100 so if you do not get a seperate switch you might want to look for something with 10/100/1000 ports in it.
802.11A,B,G, WHAT? - I will make this really simple… 802.11N for faster WLAN speed 802.11G for price, value, and compatibility. 802.11N is still a draft but the routers are now working very well. If you get an 802.11N router look at matching wireless NICs as previously stated to get the most out of it. Any wireless router will work more than fast enough to get the most out of your internet. I’ll leave it at that since the protocols could be a whole other article alone.
TIP: Buy a router that supports WPA2 to get the best possible security out of your system. Most newer routers do and it is easy to setup.
If you already have a router but want wireless capabilities, more range, or just faster wireless connections check out an access point. An access point basically can make your network wireless or repeat your already exsisting wireless signal. A device like the TrendNET TEW-637AP that is capable of 300 mbps is a great option at $50.
Modems
I will just throw this in here for cable customers. Just about any cable modem at the store will work. I would say to get something that is just a modem and not a modem/router/bread maker just to seperate the devices. Motorola has been making great modems for years and are generally the least expensive or close to it. DOCSIS2.0/1.1 compatiability is what you’re going to need for most companies (DOCSIS 3.0 is gaining ground so you might want to call your provider first). Don’t forget, you will have to call your ISP to tell them the MAC address of your new modem which is usually stamped on the bottom or back of it.
Hopefully this helps out someone just in time for the holiday. Our next article will move on to IP addresses and basic troubleshooting!
Technorati 
Del.icio.us 
StumbleUpon 
Digg 
Facebook 
Mixx 
Reddit
Tags: Networking, Routers, Switches, Tech, Wireless
If you enjoyed this post, please consider to leave a comment or subscribe to the feed and get future articles delivered to your feed reader.
6 Responses to “Average Joe Home Networking - Intro to Hardware”
Leave a Reply
You must be logged in to post a comment.
December 16th, 2008 at 9:50 pm
Not sure the cost diff right now, but Docsis 3.0 will be widely in use within a year, so definitely check into it.
December 16th, 2008 at 11:01 pm
Thanks for the info, Scuzz, and it’s definitely something people should consider!
December 18th, 2008 at 10:26 pm
Step 1. Buy a Mac.
Step 2. Buy an Airport.
Step 3. Plug Airport into your modem.
Step 4. Use Internet.
Let the flaming commence…
December 18th, 2008 at 11:34 pm
Hahah
Really not that much different in PC land but I was trying to make it a little more informing than that ha
December 21st, 2008 at 1:38 pm
I’ll have to stand up and say that I’ve only been doing wireless with laptops for a couple of years, mainly for work, hotels…blah blah blah, but even as easy at it is on Mac and PC, for whatever reason, I never have problems with my Mac wireless. It always finds and connects period. Using my work laptop, which is a Dell, about 2 out of 10 times, it will just basically initiate an armed uprising on me and refuse. Generally, it’s all this dell vs MS shit where Dell wants their own wireless networking utility installed and then it fights the windows utility. Then at work, if I have to go wireless in the building I have the use the Dell utility, sometimes Im out and cant get connected with the Dell utility and have to disable it and go the Windows utility. I wish I understood one iota of it, honestly. Now that I’m 5 months or so back into the Mac world, I’ve never had one ounce of issue with the Macbook. It always finds the closest network and I’m on with absolutely no configuration. I’ve been bouncing around on the Windows dark side for 10 years, but now that I’m back in the hippie zone, I’m regretting have ever left…and wireless is the least of those reasons.
That’s why Hyper’s the computer expert I guess.
In defense of the article, it really is relevant to any home network regardless until you get down into the nitty gritty of what shit to put in the machine.
December 22nd, 2008 at 8:04 am
Chances are pretty good that you have a Broadcom chip in there if you ever felt like looking it up you might have better success with some of their newer drivers. I have to admit I’ve been really have with the Intel wireless in my Toshiba laptop. Great range and no problems