Designing a Home Network
While designing a proper network is at some level a process very much driven by experience and lessons learned the hard way, there are a few pointers that we've come across through our computer experience and internet research.
- Plan, plan, plan! Don't do anything on impulse when working with your network. Think carefully about your needs, then decide what type of network you'll be using before you make any purchases, hardware or software. Think about what security measures you'll be using, and how each device will connect to the others.
- Double check compatibilty. Home networks can have a significant number of devices on them, so it's important to make sure--ideally before you buy anything--that what you're planning on using will work together. Generally, you want to check for compatibility in areas like operating systems, wireless broadcast standards, security/encrpytion types.
- Individualize your network. Realize that while there are a lot of things that remain constant from network to network (and we've tried to cover a lot of them on this site), you'll likely have to make changes to get your network to work the best. For example, many will find that the initial placement of their wireless router was too far or too impeded from some devices to function properly (many buildings have very thick walls that can block wireless signals and drastically reduce performance). Don't be scared to try to innovate with your network, and plan new ways to solve problems, even if it means moving devices around.
For further reading particularly with regards to wireless networks, see Wi-Fi.org, specifically their section on setting up a network.