Easy Access Electronics   

Home   About Us   Products & Services    Contact Us

Pre-wiring a computer network throughout your house allows you to share data, and printers and simultaneously surf the internet from any computer in any room in your home.  Transfer files from one computer to another with just a few mouse-clicks.

What is a Local-Area Network?

A computer network that spans a relatively small area. Most LANs are confined to a single building or group of buildings. However, one LAN can be connected to other LANs over any distance via telephone lines and radio waves. A system of LANs connected in this way is called a wide-area network (WAN).
Most LANs connect workstations and personal computers. Each node (individual computer ) in a LAN has its own CPU with which it executes programs, but it also is able to access data and devices anywhere on the LAN. This means that many users can share expensive devices, such as laser printers, as well as data.
There are many different types of LANs, Ethernets being the most common for PCs. Most Apple Macintosh networks are based on Apple's AppleTalk network system, which is built into Macintosh computers.

The following characteristics differentiate one LAN from another:

topology : The geometric arrangement of devices on the network. For example, devices can be arranged in a ring or in a straight line.
protocols : The rules and encoding specifications for sending data. The protocols also determine whether the network uses a peer-to-peer or client/server architecture.
media : Devices can be connected by twisted-pair wire, coaxial cables, or fiber optic cables. Some networks do without connecting media altogether, communicating instead via radio waves.
 

LANs are capable of transmitting data at very fast rates, much faster than data can be transmitted over a telephone line.
We offer a one-stop solution for LAN systems. We have the full expertise from the initial planning stage, to the CAT 5e or CAT 6 UTP computer network cabling and network software installation. The network cabling is the most important part of a network installation and we follow internationally recognized cabling standards.

Some Computer networking terms defined:

Network - A computer network is two or more computers that are connected to each other. They may be connected directly to each other or through intermediary devices such as hubs or switches.

LAN & WAN - The two main types of networks in geographical terms are the Local Area Network (LAN) and the Wide Area Network (WAN). Typically, all the computers in a LAN are in the same building. A WAN includes computers that are not all in the same building. Usually telephone lines or radio waves are used to connect WAN computers located in different building locations. The Internet is one heck of a huge WAN.

Server-Client Network - In a server-client network, a central computer on a network called a server provides services to other computers on the network. If you use the Internet you already are familiar with a server-client network.
There, network servers such as an e-mail server, news server, FTP server, or Web server provide e-mail, news, FTP, and Web services to clients. Usually on the Internet, these servers are located at the facilities of, and operated by, Internet Service Providers (ISPs). You use your local-client computer (that's the one you use for Web-surfing, e-mail, and so forth.) to read files such as Web pages, e-mail, and news posts located on the server. When you send e-mail or post to a newsgroup you are sending files to the server from your local client computer.

Client-to-Client Network - In a client-to-client network there is no central server computer. Rather than any single computer on the network having the sole responsibility for providing services to other computers on the network, any computer on the network can provide services to any other computer on that network. Since all the computers connected on a client-to-client network are equals or peers, this sort of network is called a peer-to-peer network.

Kbps - Kbps or Kilobits per second indicates how fast data is passed along a network. If you have a modem you already are familiar with this term. For example a 33-Kbps modem provides up to a maximum 33-thousand bits of data per second to pass to your computer from an Internet connection. A 56K modem has a maximum data flow capacity of 56-thousand bits of data per second.

Mbps - Mbps or Mega bits per second indicates how fast data is passed along a network too. The more the Mbps, the faster is the network. One Mbps is 1,000 Kbps. Please keep in mind that bits are smaller than bytes. A byte is made up of eight bits. So a 56K modem passes data at a maximum of only 7-KB (7 Kilo Bytes) per second. A 100-Mbps (mega-bits) network passes data at maximum of only 12.5-MB (12.5 mega bytes) per second.

NIC (Network Interface Card) - You need a Network Interface Card (NIC) to connect a computer to a network. NICs are very much like video cards, sound cards, and modem cards, however, the NICs do it for network stuff.

PCMCIA / PC Card - You can use a PCMCIA (Personal Computer Memory Card International Association) NIC card to connect a laptop computer to a network. PCMCIA cards often more simply are called PC cards.

Hubs & Switches - Hubs and Switches are special central electronic junction boxes where you plug in the network cables from the computers. Switches are better than hubs.
 

Articles on Building the "Connected" Home:

"The Home Office" - Housing Zone

"Wired for the Future" - Housing Zone 

"Structured Wiring" - toolbase.org

[Home Automation]   [Structured Wiring]   [Integrated HVAC]    [Home Theater]

[Whole House Audio]   [Lighting Control   [Telephone Intercom Systems]

[Automated Motorized Window Coverings]   [Security Cameras / Nursery Monitor]

[Computer Networking & Broadband Internet Management]  [Generators]

 [Customer Training and Support]    [Consultation and Coordination]

Home   Contact Us