I am about to set up a home network (for the first time) and I am looking for some sage advice. Any words of wisdom are greatly appreciated. I will be networking three PC’s. I am wondering whether to run Cat5 cable through the house or go with a wireless setup. I am starting from scratch. Anything I should watch out for?

Also, my ISP is going to be installing a “high speed” cable to the house that “could run between 256Kbps and 2Mbps”. That doesn’t sound very fast to me, is it?

TIA :)

Hardwire is fastest, absolutely, if you can do it....I run 4 computers on my lan, my main computer is connected to a Linksys wireless router.

I use the wireless links on one PC and one laptop. Two other PC's are hardwired in.

I have had no problems with the wireless router/cable modem hub whatsoever.

We are running three different operating systems, WIN98, WinMe, xp, and all work quite well together.

I tried using the "wireless" system that you plug into the phone lines (to avoid stringing more wires ) and I never could get it to work.

I run a home network with 2 Desktop PCs and a Laptop. I use Cat 5 cable with an 8 port hub. Bit of a pain running the cable between PC and Hub as the PCs are at opposite ends of the house. Cat 5 cable has been around for a while as is well proven and reliable.

Not used wireless but it is more expensive over here and not as fast. Recommend for ASDL you use a router/hub to share the internet connection.

256Kbps and 2Mbps is pretty fast over here (UK) but we're somewhat behind you in broadband access. It really depends on what you're used to - if it is a dial up modem, you will find it pretty slick. If you're used to broadband, 256 is towards the bottom end but 2 Mbs is quite respectable.

I have Wireless LAN at home as well as DECT phones. No cables, no fuss and can surf from the kitchen/garden if I want to.

Downside, as mentioned, is the speed of interlinking the devices but I am able to connect to my music server and play MP3's all day long without an issue.

B

It all comes down to your personal preference on cabling your house. Wireless networking runs at 11Mb/s max, but will degrade with distance, up to 100m. The ranges are generally 11Mb/s between 0-25m, 5.5Mb/s for 26-50m, 2Mb/s for 51-75m, 1Mb/s 76-100m. Usually in a home environment you won't need more than 25m range, so you will be at 11Mb/s speed all the time. A wired network doesn't change it's performance over distance, but is still restricted to 100m range from a single hub. You have a choice of 10Mb/s or 100Mb/s, but remember that this will not benefit you when surfing the net, but will help communicating between PCs within the home.

Wireless network cards tend to be a little more expensive than wired network cards though, so there are pros and cons for both options. Some network hardware vendors offer DSL/cable gateways that have a wireless hub built in. If you are planning to go wireless, I would recommend one of these, as you will benefit from multiple features in one box, i.e. hardware firewall, DHCP server, wireless hub, NAT server, etc.

Personally, I run a wireless network at home but it is really a lot to do with personal preference.

If you need further information about setting up a wireless network at home, feel free to e-mail me and we can go into it a little deeper.

256k is a little slow for broadband, but is still fine. 2Mb/s is very fast. BTW, cable modems are usually rated to go up to ~38Mb/s, if the ISP allows it.

S/w - and in conjunction with what FlyByWireless says above - imho you should go for a wireless setup.

The currently approved favourite in Europe is the 802.11b standard - this nominally runs at 11Mb/second.

Of course in the USA I believe that you now have access to the 802.11a stanard which, depending on where you get your info, runs at anything between 56Mb/sec and 100Mb/sec (i.e. just as fast as a hardwired network - albeit that 1Gb switches and cat 6 cabling are becoming available for hardwire).

Now if you're using 802.11b (running at 11Mb/sec) then yeah, it's not as quick as being hardwired with RJ45/Cat5 cable direcly into a 100Mb network switch (a hub by any other name).
That said when your Internet access is running at a max of, say, 2Mb /sec, you're hardly going to overwhelm your routers bandwidth, i.e it'll easily cope with transferring anything on your LAN that you can download from the Internet.
The only time that you might like the increased speed of a 100Mb LAN is if you're transferring massive files between you PC's on a regular basis - which imho is unlikely for a home user.

I should point out that a 2Mb Internet connection is pretty impressive, e.g. I've recently ordered a 2Mb leased line (a private dedicated circuit) for my company, for use as both a VPN (a two way street) and for all our Internet / Email comms; and to give you a further idea about bandwidth, at home I have a 500 kbs broadband Internet connection (BT Home 500) - and which seems more than adequate (though one of course would always like a faster connection - it just costs more).

Actually my home LAN setup is as follows: -

A wire from a plug in the wall which carrys the connection for the broadband - this is plugged into an 'Alcatel Speed Touch Pro' Firewalled Router.

Into that router, via a short piece of RJ45/Cat5 cable ( e.g. only about 12"), I have plugged my desktop PC, i.e. from it's LAN card. into the router.

I also have a Belkin Wireless Access Point plugged into the router, again via a short piece of RJ45/Cat5 cable.
This device allows me to connect to the router (and thence to the Internet) from my laptop - which has a WLAN PCMCIA card in it - (or indeed any other wireless equipped PC on my home LAN) all without the need for any wires.

Nb. You can now get a combined WirelessLAN/Router unit, and so can negate the need for two pieces of kit (see above) where one will do.

I can't recommend a WLAN enough, e.g. nothing beats sitting in the garden, whilst working from home, with a cold beverage in -hand, and fast internet access !

As a final note, please ensure that if you do elect for a Wireless LAN (WLAN) please ensure that you do configure the both the SSID and the (64/128bit) encryption key(s) - and prior to making any purchase also ensure that the equipment that you purchase supoports the encryption level you need - lest somebody with a wireless 'sniffer' hacks your private LAN !

For speed and cost I'd say go for cables, if you don't mind hauling up carpets and drilling holes in walls for sockets. If you're not looking for a fixed solution and want mobile devices and flexibility, go for wireless. I've just wired my flat with Cat 5e and wall sockets in all the rooms, connected to a Netgear 6 way hub. 300m of cable on a reel was only about £35, the sockets about the same and the 10/100 hub about £70. 100Mb network PCI cards are only about £15 a piece these days if you've not already got the capability on your motherboards. Verrrry swift LAN - I'm mainly using it to spread DSL around the flat and connect my main PC with my MP3 jukebox. And the odd LAN game with my flatmate. System is Windows XP and Windows NT 4 with ZoneAlarm for security.

The only pain is installing the cabling so it's invisible, if you can combine it with laying new carpets then all the better :)

Thank you all. It is very helpful information. :)

The cable guy is coming tomorrow. I’ll know if cables can be run then. I have an open architecture house. I may have to go with wireless.

I can find 802.11a wireless access points but no routers. Are there any 802.11a wireless routers availble?

SW,

Not too sure I'm afraid. My head is firmly stuck in 802.11b at the moment. No exposure to 802.11a unfortunately. Will post anything that I find though.

FBW.

Even if wireless degrades with distance, 5.5Mb in the back garden if you're surfing will not be a problem if you've got less than that to the internet anyway.

Anyone know where to get cheapo UK-spec wireless kit with decent encryption from ? Appeals to me, now summer's coming . . .

TNF - Have a look at the recent ZDNet Review of wireless products: Wireless networking kits (http://reviews.zdnet.co.uk/review/6/1/601.html) and click on the 'Check Prices' links if any takes your fancy.

Wow - what detailed responses. After reading all of them I am not even going to attempt to add any wisdom as it's been well and truly covered. Me thinks a change of career from Network Consultant is required !!