Home Area Network (HAN?)

For the geeks among you...

About our Home LAN

This diagram depicts the topology of our Local Area Network (LAN). It is ethernet based and uses the Microsoft networking components, TCP/IP is used as the network protocol. The configuration allows for shared concurrent internet access for all computers in the network via firewall/router, which also acts as a DHCP server. The office PC has a color printer attached, which is shared and can be printed to from any computer in the network.

In the following you will find a more detailed description on how I set up the LAN.

Why Do We Need a LAN at Home?

Well, to admit it right away: we don't. Really, nobody needs a LAN at home. However...

We have accumulated a number of computers in our home over the years - each of the boys has its own one - and so I wanted to try out networking them all together. After all, I deal with these things every day at work and wanted to make my own hands-on experience.

What does a LAN Buy You?

If you have several computers at home, there are some advantages when configuring them in a network, since all PCs in a network can...

1. Share the same internet access concurrently
2. Share one printer without having to reconnect the printer to the printing PC
3. Share files instead of storing them redundantly
4. Use the same CD-ROM, i.e. both kids can play the same computer game at the same time with just one CD
5. Play network games together (great fun)

So far for the theory, but how does is really work?

How do You Set Up a LAN?

It's easy, and it's also rather inexpensive. Ethernet is pretty much the networking standard today. I decided to go for the regular ethernet with a bandwidth (transfer rate) of 10 Mb per second, the faster version Fast Ethernet with 100Mbps costs a little bit more. I figured 10 Mbps is plenty for home use.

Hardware Configuration

After doing some research, I bought two ethernet network interface cards (NICs) in a kit from Netgear for $80, which included a 4 way hub (a little box with 4 cable plugs) and two long networking cables. Then I bought an additional NIC for the third PC, for $20 it also came with a cable. My laptop already had a NIC supplied in the PCMCIA slot.

The hardest part of the hardware configuration was drilling the holes through the walls to connect the three rooms. Other than that, the components just had to be plugged in:

• The NICs are easily installed into the PCs thanks to plug&play: Just disconnect the power cord from the computer; open the computer; plug the card in; power the computer up and follow the instructions on the screen.
• Then the cables are connected from each NIC to the network hub. This is even simpler, once the holes are drilled.

Software Configuration

The good news here: everything you need is already supplied with Windows95 or 98.

To configure each computer open the Properties window of the Network Neighborhood icon, and add

1. The Client for Microsoft Networks
2. The File and printer sharing (service) for Microsoft Networks
3. The TCP/IP protocol

Then open the Properties of TCP/IP and select DHCP server. After that, go to the Advanced tab and make TCP/IP the default protocol. Leave the TPC/IP Properties by clicking OK.

Now click on the File and print sharing button, and define that you want to share both printers and files. click OK.

Go to the Identification tab. This is were you specify the LAN resource name of your computer. Provide a computer name (e.g. Tim), a workgroup name (I used Home for all computers, but you may define more than one workgroup), and - if you wish - a computer description. Now click OK and let the computer reboot.

You can now share printers and folders by clicking on Sharing in their context menu. Once you define a resource as shared, other computers in the network can see it in the Network Neighborhood folder and use it.