Since weÂ’ve seen a lot of home networking questions lately IÂ’ve decided to write up a little basic networking guide, hope this helps anyone needing help
Networking is fairly simple if you know the basics of windows, you must also know the basiscs of networking which will be explained as followsÂ…
The easiest analogy to understand the way computers on a network are identified is to apply it to the thought of a City(LAN, or MAN), or the street of a city(LAN or peer-to-peer), or even a network of cities(WAN)Each network(workgroup) must have itÂ’s own name, this could represent a city. All computers on the network must share the same workgroup name in order to communicate. Each computer must have a unique name which can be similar to the last name of the owner of the house. Each name must be different for the network to function correctly. Each computer/house needs its own address to Identify it as a node on the network(IP Address). Each node also has a physical address(this is not the same as the IP Address) this address is a hexadecimal set of 6 pairs of characters that are hard burned into each network device(MAC Address) these addresses are hard burned into the network device, this could be thought of as the house numbers that are attatched to the house, these can be changed but not always and it takes work to change them, it also doesnÂ’t always make sense to change it thereÂ’s usually never a use for it, especially in basic networking. Each portion of a large network(especially WANS, and MANS) must have a subnet mask, which is used to identify which portion of the IP Address is the network address and which is the host number, this is probably the hardest part to explain about basic networking.
Subnet masks let the computer know which network its actually on. For home networking, if youÂ’re only going to connect 2 or 3 computers you could use the following example
Computer one
Name: Server
IP Address 215.10.10.1
Subnet mask 255.255.255.0
This means that the server computer is on the 215.10.10.0 network and itÂ’s host number is 1
Another example is this 215.10.15.1
Subnet mask 255.255.0.0
Here the network address is 215.10.0.0 and the hose number is 15.1
For home networking all computers should have the same subnet mask and the same network address. Make sure of this or your network will not function properly.
For quick and easy setup for transferring files across one another I recommend you use this example
Host 1
Computer name (put name here)
IP Address 169.254.178.220
Subnet Mask 255.255.0.0
Workgroup: Workgroup
Disable Windows Firewall
Host 2
Computer name (put name here)
IP Address 169.254.178.221
Subnet Mask 255.255.0.0
Workgroup: workgroup
Disable Windows Firewall.
This is a basic home networking guide, please post any questions and I will continue to update this as needed.
next section: cabling, Hubs, routers, switches and use of crossover cables.
Networking is fairly simple if you know the basics of windows, you must also know the basiscs of networking which will be explained as followsÂ…
The easiest analogy to understand the way computers on a network are identified is to apply it to the thought of a City(LAN, or MAN), or the street of a city(LAN or peer-to-peer), or even a network of cities(WAN)Each network(workgroup) must have itÂ’s own name, this could represent a city. All computers on the network must share the same workgroup name in order to communicate. Each computer must have a unique name which can be similar to the last name of the owner of the house. Each name must be different for the network to function correctly. Each computer/house needs its own address to Identify it as a node on the network(IP Address). Each node also has a physical address(this is not the same as the IP Address) this address is a hexadecimal set of 6 pairs of characters that are hard burned into each network device(MAC Address) these addresses are hard burned into the network device, this could be thought of as the house numbers that are attatched to the house, these can be changed but not always and it takes work to change them, it also doesnÂ’t always make sense to change it thereÂ’s usually never a use for it, especially in basic networking. Each portion of a large network(especially WANS, and MANS) must have a subnet mask, which is used to identify which portion of the IP Address is the network address and which is the host number, this is probably the hardest part to explain about basic networking.
Subnet masks let the computer know which network its actually on. For home networking, if youÂ’re only going to connect 2 or 3 computers you could use the following example
Computer one
Name: Server
IP Address 215.10.10.1
Subnet mask 255.255.255.0
This means that the server computer is on the 215.10.10.0 network and itÂ’s host number is 1
Another example is this 215.10.15.1
Subnet mask 255.255.0.0
Here the network address is 215.10.0.0 and the hose number is 15.1
For home networking all computers should have the same subnet mask and the same network address. Make sure of this or your network will not function properly.
For quick and easy setup for transferring files across one another I recommend you use this example
Host 1
Computer name (put name here)
IP Address 169.254.178.220
Subnet Mask 255.255.0.0
Workgroup: Workgroup
Disable Windows Firewall
Host 2
Computer name (put name here)
IP Address 169.254.178.221
Subnet Mask 255.255.0.0
Workgroup: workgroup
Disable Windows Firewall.
This is a basic home networking guide, please post any questions and I will continue to update this as needed.
next section: cabling, Hubs, routers, switches and use of crossover cables.