Home Networks Helps to Share Files, Printer, Input and

Output With Two or More Computers...

...connected by the network. You may be anxious to know how the network performs those functions.    Home network performs in the same way as that of Local Area Network used by private companies to connect their computers

Designations called IP address and some easy to remember host names are used to know what is going on while sharing.

For instance, when a computer 10.1.1.5 sends a file to another computer having address 10.1.1.6, then the software and hardware components cooperate among themselves to know where and how to send the files from the first computer to second.

Home networking follows the same principle used in post office.

Every home has an address and the letter is sent by some others to a home, to which it is addressed. The return address on the envelope helps to make a response.

The same practice is followed in home networking as well. Hence, the name of the routing data is referred to as packet. actually its much more complicated  then this, but you get the idea.

A home network is done in any of the two ways- either cabled  with (category cat 6) "make sure you use the cat 6 cable" which is the standard or go wireless.

In a cabled network, the connection is made with Ethernet cables that have connectors on either a network interface card in the computer, printer or into a switch or router.

The switch is typically an important device that permits physical connections between various components of network

There are routers to perform much complicated tasks like connecting to the internet. The routers contain special types of software and circuitry too. In the wireless network, as the name itself implies does not need any cables.

 It uses a compact device called as transceivers. Transceivers is the short form of transmitter and receiver. The device performs both the function of sending and receiving information via radio signals.

You may spend thousands of dollars to acquire a laser color printer.

Hence, it is common that you wish to share the printer with all the computers in your wireless home network.

This can be done via two ways. The first way involves the printer to be attached physically to one computer.

The alternative way is a bit different. You need to attach printer to the network and not with the computer.

The first set up is said to be local and the computers can share the printer easily under this method.

This is just like sharing files within computers in a network. It however requires software on the hosting system to permit sharing the printer.

The printer is attached to a switch or router in the second case and as it has its own (network interface card) NIC, it is highly possible to do so.

The scanners, fax machines and other computers follow exactly the same principle to share.

All of them require software to be configured so that its functions are accessible by multiple computers in the network.