PC Magazine - 2009 04.pdf - Libertad Zero - Blog

Home
Networking:
A Refresher
Course
Rebuilding your
home network
doesn’t have to be
tough, if you follow
our steps.
By Oliver Rist and
Eric Griffith
If you’re reading this story, chances are very good that you already have a
home network. You’re a PC Magazine reader, after all. So why the refresher
course on why you need one and how to set one up? As we all know, the
times they are a-changin’ constantly in the tech world, and with so many
new products and services being offered, some of you may want to rebuild
your home network to accommodate all that you want to do with it.
You may also have a home network but have always wondered about its
mechanics—like what goes on in the brain of that little router of yours, or
how the router’s wireless radio actually works. We’re here to explain what’s
going on inside your devices.
Beyond the basics of letting you share high-speed Internet access with
computers and devices in the house, home networks allow you to control
what the kids are doing on the Web, share data and multimedia files, automate
backups for all of your PCs, and even use webcams to see what that
new puppy is doing in the living room while you’re at work. The bedroom
computer upstairs can print to the color printer in the downstairs study, and
the media PC in the living room can show a movie on the PC-connected TV
in the basement rec room.
Adding on network-oriented products and peripherals makes the setup
even more useful. Network attached storage (NAS) lets you create shared
folders for each family member; these folders can be accessed both from the
home network or from the Internet if you’re away from home. NAS devices
also make efficient places to store all those backup files. In this story, we’ll
review some of the hottest new NAS devices, as well as the newest routers,
network printers, and media devices, all for your home network.
APRIL 2009 PC MAGAZINE DIGITAL EDITION 31