Create Your Own Home Networks

Create Your Own Home Networks

by Eli Lazich
Released December 2005
Publisher(s): Sams
ISBN: 9780672328329

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Book description

You have a family computer for e-mail and browsing the Internet. Your son and daughter have their own computer for school work and your spouse has a laptop that he or she brings home from work every day. With your family spread out all over the house on their computers, wouldn't it be nice if you could make them all work together? Create Your Own Home Networks  is a unique book that will show you how to make your home computers talk to each other while sharing files, music and printers. The most common networking tasks are presented in project-format that doesn't require any in-depth understanding of computer systems or networks beyond that of a typical computer user. You will learn how to setup your computers to:

  • Share printers, files, and Internet connections

  • IM one another instantly

  • Get your e-mail in and out of your network

  • Create a network jukebox

  • Roam your house with wireless

    • You'll also get tips on choosing the right networking equipment, hiding wires and patching holes in your drywall, and when to call the pros. Create Your Own Home Networks is all that you need to get started on creating your very own home network.

    Table of contents

    1. Copyright
      1. Dedication
    2. About the Author
    3. Acknowledgments
    4. We Want to Hear from You!
    5. Introduction
    6. 1. Understanding Basic Networking
      1. Getting Computers to Communicate
      2. Why Set Up a Home Network?
      3. Security
      4. Deciding How to Set Up Your Home Network
        1. What You Need for a Wired Network
        2. What You Need for a Wireless Network
      5. Summary
    7. 2. Project 1: Making Your Computers Talk to Each Other
      1. Understanding Network Speeds
        1. Bits and Bytes
      2. Wired Ethernet Networking
        1. Choosing Your Ethernet Cables
      3. Wireless Networking
        1. Wireless Networking Hardware
          1. WAPs
          2. Wireless NICs
        2. Wireless Networking Standards
          1. The 802.11b Wireless Standard
          2. The 802.11a Wireless Standard
          3. The 802.11g Wireless Standard
      4. Choosing a Network Type
      5. Configuring Your Computers for Wireless Access
        1. Testing Your Computers’ Connectivity
        2. Testing Your Internet Connectivity
      6. Summary
    8. 3. Project 2: Sharing Files, Printers, and Other Stuff on Your Network
      1. Running the Network Setup Wizard
      2. Sharing Files on Your Home Network
      3. Accessing Shared Files on Your Home Network
      4. Sharing Printers on Your Home Network
        1. Sharing Your Printer
        2. Connecting To and Using a Shared Printer
      5. Summary
    9. 4. Project 3: Creating a Network Jukebox
      1. Installing iTunes
      2. Working with iTunes
      3. Using the iTunes Library
        1. Adding Music to Your Library
      4. Sharing Music by Using iTunes
      5. Accessing Shared Music
      6. Creating and Using Playlists
        1. Creating a Playlist
        2. What You Can Do with Playlists
      7. Summary
    10. 5. Project 4: Instant Messaging in and out of Your Home Network
      1. Getting Started with Windows Messenger
      2. Setting Up Windows Messenger
      3. Having a Windows Messenger Conversation
      4. Summary
    11. 6. Project 5: Creating and Sharing Video on Your Home Network
      1. Preparing to Get Your Videos to Your Computer
        1. Video Capture
        2. Capture Considerations
      2. Getting Started with Windows Movie Maker
        1. Capturing with Movie Maker
      3. Editing with Movie Maker
        1. Adding Effects
        2. Adding Transitions
        3. Adding Titles and Credits
      4. Adding Finishing Touches to Your Movie
      5. Summary
    12. 7. When Your Network Doesn’t Work the Way It Should
      1. Addressing TCP/IP Problems
        1. The Network Diagnostics Tool
        2. Command-Line Tools
      2. Fixing IP Address Problems
      3. Diagnosing and Fixing DNS Problems
      4. Fixing Problems Connecting to Other Computers on Your Network
      5. Optimizing Network Performance
      6. Fixing Unresponsive Applications
      7. Summary
    13. 8. Bonus Project: Creating Your Own Website
      1. Running Your Own Web Server
        1. Understanding the World Wide Web
        2. Installing IIS
        3. Exploring IIS
        4. Looking at IIS Configuration
      2. Creating Your Own Website
        1. Creating a Web Page by Using Notepad
        2. Creating a Web Page by Using FrontPage
      3. Summary

    Product information

    • Title: Create Your Own Home Networks
    • Author(s): Eli Lazich
    • Release date: December 2005
    • Publisher(s): Sams
    • ISBN: 9780672328329