Create a home network

Posted on 8 Apr 2009 at 14:53

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The problem with Ethernet is that, to use it all around your home, you have to install dedicated wiring. This is potentially expensive and difficult to do. For that reason, Ethernet is best suited to being used by devices that are close to your router.

Wired (powerline)

If you don't want to wire your house up for Ethernet, powerline networking is a great alternative. This uses your home's existing power lines as network cables, so you get all the benefits of a wired network without having to do any rewiring. The technology works by using network adaptors that plug into your power sockets. You then simply connect any devices that you want to use into these adaptors using Ethernet cables.

There are two competing powerline networking standards: HomePlug and UPA DHC. Both standards have several versions that run at different speeds. Although the current maximum for both is 200Mbit/s, you're likely to get transfer speeds of only around 60Mbit/s.

There's little to choose between the two standards, but HomePlug products aren't backwards-compatible with previous versions, whereas UPA DHC products are. For that reason, we recommend 200Mbit/s UPA DHC products, such as D-Link's DHP-301 kit (£65 including VAT from www.dabs.com), which will also work with the upcoming 400Mbit/s standard.

Getting started

Armed with this information and the diagram of a typical home network, you should have a pretty good idea of how each device in your home will be connected, so it's just a matter of putting your network together.

The first thing you should do is buy a wireless router, if you don't already have one. These devices are designed to share your broadband connection with multiple computers, but they're an essential investment even if you don't have a fast internet connection. The reason is twofold: first, wireless routers provide both wireless and Ethernet networking; second, a router takes a lot of hassle out of networking. For example, every wireless router has a built-in Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) server. This may sound like a horrific bit of jargon, but what it means is that any computers connected to it will automatically be given an IP address. In layman's terms, that means they'll just work.

An IP address can be thought of as your computer's unique postal address on the network. Each computer has to have one in order to exchange information with other computers on the network. Without DHCP, every device you connect to your network has to be given an address manually. With DHCP, this is done automatically in the background.

When choosing a wireless router, you need to make sure you get one that will work with your broadband connection. If you have cable internet from Virgin Media, you'll need to buy a cable internet router, which has an Ethernet port for connecting to the cable internet modem that comes with the service. If you subscribe to ADSL broadband, you'll need an ADSL router. These have built-in ADSL modems and connect directly to your telephone line in place of the modem with which you were originally supplied.

We recommend that you buy an 802.11n router. This is the latest standard of wireless networking and has speeds of up to 300Mbit/s, although in practice you're likely to get slower speeds. If you're using ADSL, SMC's SMC7904WBRA-N bundle is a great choice. It comes with a wireless router and USB adaptor and costs £50 including VAT from www.lambda-tek.com/componentshop. If you're using cable internet, D-Link's DIR-615 (£53 including VAT from www.kikatek.com) is a great choice.