Home Networking - jude-lindale/Wiki GitHub Wiki

  • A wired network uses cabling and connectors to establish the network connections. A wireless network uses radio signals to establish the network connection.
Network Advantages Disadvantages
Wired network 1) Faster network data tansfer speed (within the LAN). 2)Relativly inexpensive set up. 3)The network is not susceptible to outside interference. 1) The cable connections typically require the use of specialized tools. 2) The cable installation can be laor-intensive and expensive.
Wireless Netowrk 1) user mobility 2) simple installations 3) no cables 1) Security issues 2) The data transfer speed within the LAN can be slower than in wired networks
  • IEEE is the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers. These are the most common IEEE wireless standards:
    • 802.11a (Wireless-A): This standard can provide data transfer rates up to 54Mbps and an operating range up to 75 feet. It operates at 5GHz.
    • 802.11b (Wireless-B): This standard can provide data transfer rates up to 11Mbps, with ranges of 100–150 feet. It operates at 2.4GHz.
    • 802.11g (Wireless-G): This standard can provide data transfer rates up to 54Mbps up to 150 feet. It operates at 2.4GHz.
    • 802.11n (Wireless-N): This standard provides data transfer rates up to 4 × 802.11g speeds (200+Mbps). It operates either at 2.4GHz or 5GHz.
    • 802.11ac (Wireless-AC): This is the latest wireless standard. It provides single-station data transfer rates of 1.3Gbps and operates in the 5GHz frequency band. 01fig10

Several issues should be considered when planning for a home network, including the following:

  • Data speed: The data speed is determined by whether you chose to implement a wired or wireless home network. Wired networks offer the best data transfer rate inside the home network, up to 10Gbps. The best data transfer rates for a wireless home network can be obtained using 802.11ac (Wireless-ac) technology. This is the next generation of high-speed wireless connectivity, providing single-station data transfer rates of 1.3Gbps.
  • Cost: Implementing a high-speed wired network can be quite expensive. With the networking hardware, cabling, and related hardware, you can incur unexpected additional costs in implementing a high-speed wired home network. The cost of switching to or implementing a Wireless-ac network is minimal, and such a network is a suitable alternative to a wired network. But remember that the maximum data rate for a Wireless-ac network is still much lower than the possible maximum data rate with a wired LAN.
  • Ease of implementation: A wireless home network is probably the easiest to implement if the cabling and connectors for a wired network are not already installed. The time required to install a wireless home network is usually minimal as long as unexpected problems do not surface.
  • Appearance: A wireless home network offers the best choice in regard to appearance because there won’t be cables and networking hardware scattered around the house. The wireless home network requires a wireless router and an external wired connection to the ISP
  • Home access: The choice of wired or wireless technology does not affect home access. However, while a wired network offers the best data transfer speed internal to the network, a wireless network offers the best choice for mobility.
  • Public access: The choice of wired or wireless technology does not impact public access. The data rate for the connection to/from the ISP is the limiting factor for the data transfer rate for public access.

It is not uncommon for a wired or wireless home network to stop functioning, although the downtime is usually minimal. The steps for troubleshooting wired and wireless home networks include the following:

  • Step 1 Check to ensure that the proper lights for your networking device that connects you to your ISP are properly displayed. Incorrect lights can indicate a connection problem with your cable modem, DSL modem, or telephone connection. Your ISP might also be having a problem, and you might need to call the ISP to verify your connection.

  • Step 2 Next, to fix basic connection problems to the ISP, you should reboot the host computer (the computer connected to the router) and reboot the router. This usually fixes the problem, and the correct lights should be displayed. In some cases, you might also have to power down/up your broadband modem. (Note that the broadband modem might be integrated with the router.) Once again, check to see whether the correct lights are being displayed.

  • Step 3 Verify that your hardware cable or phone connection is in place and has not been pulled loose. Make corrections as needed. You should also verify that all wireless units have network connections. The following are steps to verify wireless connectivity for Windows 10/8/7, and Mac OS X:

  • Step 4 Sometimes you might need to verify your network settings. This can happen if your computer has lost the data for the settings. In this case, follow the steps provided by the manufacturer of your broadband modem or your ISP.

Securing a Home Network

The following are some basic measures that can be used to help protect a home network:

  • Change the default factory passwords. Wireless equipment is shipped with default passwords that are set at the factory. These default settings are known by the public, including people who would like to gain access to your network and possibly change your settings. It is best to select your own password that is a combination of alphanumeric characters.
  • Change the default SSID. The service set identifier (SSID) is the name used to identify your network that is used by your access point or wireless router to establish an association. Establishing an association means that a wireless client can join the network. The SSID can be up to 32 characters and should be changed often so hackers who have figured out your SSID no longer have access to your home network.
  • Turn on encryption. Probably the most important thing to do is turn on the security features such as data encryption. These options include Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP), Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA), and WPA2. WPA2 is a product certification issued by the Wi-Fi Alliance. It uses a stronger encryption than WPA and is also backward compatible with adapters using WPA. Wi-Fi Protected Setup (WPS) simplifies the configuration process, enabling the user to set up WPA PSK without having to enter a long string of symbols, random numbers, or letters. Although WPS helps protect wireless networks, it is susceptible to brute-force attacks.
  • Turn off the SSID broadcast. Wireless systems broadcast the SSID so that the network can be easily identified as an available network. Hackers can use this information to possibly gain access to your network, so you should turn off the SSID broadcast. The exception to this is in hotspots where public access is available. Note that hotspots make it easy for the user to gain wireless access, but hackers can also be on the same network, so it is important to have encryption turned on.
  • Enable MAC address filtering (MAC filtering). Every computer device has a unique MAC address that identifies the device. This address can be used to select which devices can be allowed access to the network. When MAC address filtering (MAC filtering) is turned on, only wireless devices that have specific MAC addresses are allowed access to the network.

The following are some things that can be done to protect a home network from outside threats:

  • Network address translation (NAT): With NAT, an outsider sees only the router’s IP address because the IP addresses of the internal networking devices are not provided on the Internet. Only the ISP-assigned IP address of the router is provided. The home network typically uses a private address that is not routable on the Internet. (Private IP addresses are blocked by the ISP.)
  • Firewall protection: A common practice is to turn on firewall protection. The purpose of a firewall is to prevent unauthorized access to your network. Firewall protection is available in both the Windows and MAC operating environments. A type of firewall protection is stateful packet inspection (SPI). This type of protection inspects incoming data packets to make sure they correspond to an outgoing request. For example, if you are exchanging information with a website, data packets that are not requested may be rejected. The topic of firewalls is covered in more detail in Chapter 12, “Network Security.” -** VPN connections for transferring sensitive information**: A virtual private network (VPN) establishes a secure network connection and helps protect your LAN’s data from being observed by outsiders. The VPN connection capability is available with Windows 10, Windows 8, Windows 7, and Mac OS X. A VPN connection enables a remote or mobile user to access the network as if he or she were actually physically at the network. In addition, the VPN connection is encrypted, providing privacy for the data packets being transmitted.