Home Networks:

Home users connect multiple computers and devices together in a home network. Home networking saves money and provides conveniences. Approximately 39 million homes have more than one computer. Many vendors offer home networking packages that include all the necessary hardware and

software to network a home using wired or wireless techniques.

Three types of wired home networks: Etherneti, power line cableii, and phone lineiii ( (Travis)Traditional Ethernet Networks require that each computer have built-in network capabilities or contain a network card, which connect to a central network hub or similar device with a physical cable. This may involves running cable through wall, ceilings, and floors in the house.

The hardware and software of an Ethernet network can be difficult to configure for the average home user ( (Deakins)

A phone line network is an easy –to-install and inexpensive network that uses existing telephone lines in the home.

A home power line cable network is a network that uses the same lines that bring electricity into the house. This network requires no additional wiring.

Two types of wireless home networks: Home RF and Wi-Fi (source: (Shelly and Cashman)Wireless networks have the disadvantage of interference, because walls, ceiling, and other electrical devices such as cordless telephones and microwave ovens can disrupt wireless communication.

A Home RF (radio frequency) network uses radio waves, instead of cables, to transmit data. A Wi-Fi network sends signals over a wider distance than the Home RF network, which can be up

to 1,500 feet in some configurations.

Works CitedDeakins, Frank A. Home Networking. New York: Current Press, 2008.

Shelly, B. Garry and J. Thomas Cashman. Wired and Wireless Networks. 23 April 2008. <www.scsite.com/wd2007/pr2/wc.htm>.

i Ethernet “a trademark for a system for exchanging messages between computers on a local area network using coaxial, fiber optic, or twisted-pair cables”

ii Power line cable “a measure of the rate of doing work or transferring energy, usually expressed in terms of wattage or horsepower ”.iii

? Phone line “a telephone line or telephone circuit (or just line or circuit within the industry) is a single-user circuit on a telephone communication system”.

Travis, Mark A. "Wired vs. Wireless Networks." Modern Networking (2008): 24-29.