Wireless Home Networking - Index of

In This Chapter
Chapter 4
Planning a Wireless
Home Network
� Determining what to connect to your network and where to put it
� Getting connected to the Internet
� Putting together a wireless home network budget
� Planning for security
We’re sure that you have heard this sage advice: “He who fails to plan,
plans to fail.” On the other hand, management guru and author Peter
Drucker says, “Plans are only good intentions unless they immediately degenerate
into hard work.” Because you’re going to be spending your hard-earned
money to buy the equipment necessary for your wireless network, we assume
that you want to do a little planning before you start building your network.
But, if you prefer to shoot first and aim later, feel free to skip this chapter and
move on to Chapter 5.
In this chapter, we show you how to plan a wireless home network — from
selecting the right wireless technology (there are several variants), to deciding
what things to connect and where to connect them, to the all-important
act of budgeting. You also find out about other issues you should consider
when planning your home network, including connecting to the Internet;
sharing printers, other peripherals, and fun, noncomputer devices; and security.
When you’re ready to begin buying the wireless home networking parts
(if you haven’t done so already), head to Chapter 5, where we give detailed
advice about buying exactly the equipment you need. In Part III, we show you
how to set up and install your wireless home network.