Microsoft Vista Home Networking Setup and Options
The most daunting part of upgrading to Windows Vista may be trying to figure out where in the layers of menus the networking and file-sharing options are hidden.
Tips for Securing Your Home Router
Seemingly minor and easily overlooked settings can still have profound security implications. Here are some steps you can take to make sure your wired or wireless home router — and by extension, your network — is as secure as possible.
Most Popular Reviews
Microsoft Windows Home Server
If you have a home network, you'll welcome the easy file sharing, remote access and the image-based backup features of Windows Home Server.
Iomega StorCenter Network Hard Drive
Iomega's fourth generation StorCenter Network Hard Drive brings many of the features found in higher-end storage devices down to an attractive price.
MikroTik's The Dude
This free tool delivers many of the same capabilities that you'd find in pricey network monitoring tools. As long as you don't mind tinkering, The Dude is a decent network utility that should be worth the download.
Phone line network product companies did the right thing
and quickly agreed upon a standard. The HomePNA
standard has allowed this form of alternative networking to quickly
stabilize. The earlier HomePNA 1.0 products had some performance and
interoperability differences and were mostly based on a chipset from AMD,
with some products using other vendors' chips. The second generation
HomePNA 2.0 products, however, are all based on the Broadcom
BCM4210 chip and drivers. This is good for you
since it means that the only difference among products is documentation,
warranty, support, installation aids, and software bundles. They all
work the same, so you can shop by price and mix products from different
manufacturers in your network if you like. You can also mix HomePNA1.0 (1Mbps) with HomePNA2.0
(10Mbps) adapters. They'll talk to each other just fine. Just
make sure the products carry the HomePNA
certification
.
HomePNA adapters come in PCI, USB, PCMCIA (PC
Card), and Parallel connection formats. Don't bother
looking for ISA compatible adapters... there aren't any! You can
also buy HomePNA to Ethernet bridges that allow you to
interconnect the two kinds of networks, but be sure you buy one of the
newer HomePNA 2.0 (10Mbps) bridges,
such as the NETGEAR PE102
or Linksys
HPB200.
Most kits
require Windows, with a few exceptions:
Farallon has a phone-line networking
kit for Macs and PCs
(both PCI and USB adapter versions are available, but they are 1Mbps
only)
Still not sure if HomePNA is for you? Here's some info that may
help you decide:
You can use the same phoneline at the same time for HomePNA and
either voice or dialup networking calls. See this Intel
FAQ for more info.
If you
have DSL service, you can still use HomePNA products, but you might want
to read this first.
You can connect together HomePNA and Ethernet
networks. Go to this page for more info and example setups.
TIP: If you're having trouble getting
phone-line adapters to talk to each other, try connecting the two adapters
directly
together using a phone cord. This will eliminate the uncertainty of
your home's wiring, and you can concentrate on wrestling with the
installation software! Also remember that these products must
be connected to the same phone line to work! Note that the
phoneline doesn't have to be an active one (doesn't need to have a
dial tone), but the wires need to be connected between all the jacks
you plan to use.
TIP:
You can mix HomePNA1.0 and 2.0 (1Mbps and 10Mbps) devices in a
network, but you won't get 10Mbps operation from your
HomePNA2.0 devices. See this
for more info.
An HPNA 2.0 network can support about 50
devices according to this HPNA
FAQ.