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Ancestry Daily News
6/6/2002 - Archive
RootsWorks: Basic Home Computer Networks
Computers don't last forever. Genealogists are frugal. Put them together
and sooner or later you have a person with two computers, one new one and one
old one that's just too difficult to throw away. Some statistics indicate that
half of U.S. households have a computer, and 20 million of those have more than
one. Other statistics indicate that the majority of PC buyers are current PC
owners.
It's only a question of time before genealogists are going to want to hook two
of them up. Add to that the confusion over whether to convert to Windows XP
and you've got more questions than answers. In this series of three articles,
we will discuss Basic Home Networking, Wireless Home Networking, and Upgrading.
What Is It?
Home Networking is connecting the computers that you have at home. It involves
sharing the resources on the network, including printers, hard drives, fax modems,
scanners, and Internet connections. I like to think of the basic approach as
connecting two Dixie cups with a piece of string. The computers are the cups,
and the string is one of several different kinds of wire.
In order to connect computers, you need several basic items. A network adapter
is often built in to newer computers. There is generally a cable or wire to
connect them. If you have more than two computers to connect, you might need
a router or hub to interconnect them. The links below lead to detailed explanations
of the different parts of a network. There are also simple diagrams on my website.
Name Two of Them
There are four ways to network computers at home. The methods and the standards
that they are based on are: phone lines (HomePNA), power lines (Home Plug),
Ethernet cables, and wireless (Wi-Fi and Wi-Fi5). For the purpose of simplicity,
I'm going to address the wired networks in this article, and wireless networks
in the next one. It is my opinion that all connections will be wireless, very
soon. All of the standards above, except Ethernet, are described as "No-New-
Wires" Standards. These things all run at about 4 megabits per second, except
for WiFi5, which runs about 20, and Ethernet, which runs at 10 or 100.
Which one is best for you isn't a simple thing to answer. You might already
own some of the hardware that you need, or you might care more about speed than
the number of cables. You can hook up two computers with a $70 Ethernet starter
kit, or you can spend ten times that. You can even mix methods, if you have
a good reason.
When you connect them, you'll have a Local Area Network, or LAN.
What's The Down Side?
First of all, it's complicated. Second of all, it costs money. The better the
features, the more it costs. Third, it's that much more stuff for something
to break, wear out, configure wrong, or mistake the compatibility. By now, almost
everyone knows someone who has hooked up a network. You would be better off
getting help from a friend who knows how to make one work, even if it's not
your favorite kind, than struggling with one you can't figure out. Be ready
for Windows to surprise you with a LAN where one computer can see the others
but not vice versa. Take heart – these things can work but there are a lot more
ways to get it wrong than there are to get it right.
What's The Genealogy Connection?
Even amateur genealogists are running an office. Do you take your laptop out
into the field to do research? Do you have a desktop computer at home? Do you
ever need to move documents from one to the other? Are you tired of using the
SneakerNet Networking Protocol? Do you only have one computer that has enough
space for scanned images of vital records, but another that you like to use
for your e-mail? Do you ever wish you could work on your genealogy while someone
else in the house is using the computer for AIM or Quicken? If you said yes
to any of these questions, you're in the market for a LAN.
Link Me Up (more stars is better)
About.com—Basic Computer Networking ***
compnetworking.about.com/cs/basicnetworking/
Links to a variety of resources, but not for all beginners.
Home Networking FAQ ****
www.homenethelp.com/web/faq/
This site has guidelines, configuration examples, you name it.
Home Networking Basics ****
www.howstuffworks.com/home-network.htm
Excellent for the first timer.
PC World No-Hassle Networking Guide ****
www.pcworld.com/features/article/0,aid,86935,00.asp
A recent article, covering all of the hardware.
Beau Sharbrough's Website ***
www.sharbrough.net/genealogy/homenet.htm
Contains some pages of basic information that expand on this article.
What Else?
There are security issues that we won't address in this article. Suffice it
to say that the Internet is crawling with people who think it's fun to walk
into your electronic house and fool with your stuff. Please consider a firewall
and an anti-virus program as required components of your home network.
Disk space is so inexpensive that you can cost-effectively use the "briefcase"
feature of Windows to keep a backup of your laptop's data on the hard drive
of another computer in your home. Updating that backup copy is a one-button
click for Windows users who set up the Briefcase. Whether you have a PC or a
Mac, you will find that desktop computer hard drives make great backup media.
One caution – you can modify documents on either computer, but if you use a
briefcase sync to do your updates, don't ever delete a document from the briefcase
unless you mean it. If you do, on the next sync, the version of the deleted
file on your laptop will disappear.
The RootsWorks series of articles focuses on genealogical applications for
generic technologies. Beau would like to hear from you at mailto:rootsworks@sharbrough.net,
but due to the volume of e-mail received, he is unable to answer every e-mail
message received. Please note that he cannot assist you with your individual
computer problems, as he is generally busy developing The Virtual Excuse, a
product to promote harmony in family life. Visit Beau's website for links to
previous articles and updates on TVE. Beau is the father of two college-age
girls who make excuses adroitly, and is a proud graduate of Texas A&M University.
Copyright 2002, MyFamily.com.
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