It seems more and more houses now have more than one PC, and it makes sense to link these up to share resources such as printers and Internet connections. Below is a brief outline of some of the current technologies and techniques available to connect one of more PC’s together.

Assumptions

For this article I will assume that we are connecting two PCs together, one has an internet connection via a cable modem or ADSL. I will also assume that this main PC is working OK.

Both PC’s have network interface cards (NICs)

Understanding of configuring windows networking and sharing. An article will follow on this.

  Location considerations

This is an important factor to take into account before you design and plan your network.

 PC’s physically close together, for example in the same room

This is the cheapest and easiest scenario to work with, as we have no holes to drill, cables to run etc.

Options

1). Cross over network cable.

This is a special type of network cable, most Cat5 Ethernet cables are straight through connections, but it is possible to buy a cross-over cable, these are mainly used for connected hubs, switches, routers etc. These days most network devices auto detect what type of cable you have connected. Plug your one end of your cross-over cable into PC1 and the other end into PC2, on both PC’s you should get the connect light on the NIC.

The two connect lights are normally a good sign of a physical connection, you now need to configure windows networking on both PC’s. (Not covered in the article)

2). Network switch / hub

This will link the PCs together with normal CAT 5 cables, this could be a good options if you will be adding more PC’s at a later date, they can be bought from 4 port upwards. They will need separate power.

Most ADSL / Cable modems have a network switch built in, normally 4 port. So if your Internet connection has this option then plus the PCs directly into your modem. Most switches as part of a modem will also handle DHCP, a dumb switch hub will normally not provide DHCP just connectivity.

3). Wireless

This is always an option, however I my opinion you cant beat a solid cable connection for reliability and security. As soon as you go wireless then you introduce many factors into the equation (interference, security etc)

 PC’s in different rooms

Following the same options as above I would take the view that a fixed cable connection will give the best performance over time, and should be looked at if at all possible.

CAT5 Box’s

Run the cat5 cable from one room to another, take the easiest and shortest route possible. (under floor, through wall, into loft, around edges of walls are just some ways).

This is the way I normally do this job as it can be expanded to more PC’s when required.

For every PC but two cat5 sockets, you can buy doubles.

Install a single Cat5 socket near the PC connect the cable (push fitting, either buy special tool or use a small screwdriver) at the other end of the cable near your switch / hub / modem. So you will have a cable running between the PC and switch with a back box and cat5 socket. This allows you to plug a cat5 cable from the socket to your PC at one end and switch at the other. Even if you have 4 PC;s in your house you will need two double socket at the switch and one each by each PC. This makes the connection look neat and professional.

 PowerLAN

As well as the options above LAN over power lines is becoming increasingly popular. Basically you buy 2 or more devices that plug into a standard mains socket in your house, and the network runs over the mains wiring.

My experience so far with these has not been great, I bought two to try which were 85Mbits but I could only get 10Mbits, also they ran very hot, ie the box was how. These could be a good solution in a small house or where cabling is an issue. 

More on home networking later.

I have been looking at encoding my DVD collection for quite some time, and finally found the time to do this. Below is a brief description of how I got on!  Lots of companies are now selling media extenders, I read lots of reviews and checked the specifications out, what surprised me most was the price to performance ration. I decided that by far the best value to buy a basic XBOX360 core system for £179.99 and get a great games console thrown in for free.  I had the added bonus of already having Vista Ultimate on a separate PC, so if you are doing this from scratch the price of a media PC will need to be considered. In any case you will still need some type of server/distribution PC for most types of media extenders.  I connected my XBOX360 up to my network, the Vista PC saw it straight away, after around 10 minutes of basic setup on the xbox and PC I could see my content on the XBOX360. 

The Vista PC has a TV tuner which has Freeview (UK), recorded TV shows using Vista, and some ripped DVD’s that we own.

On the XBOX360 I can do the following : 

            Watch and record Live TV very similar to Sky+

            Play MP3 files from my network

            Play recorded TV shows and ripped DVD’s

            Setup a slide show of digital pictures, even along to MP3 music which is great for family parties.

Play XBOX360 games

I also found some useful utilities on the net to help play other types of video, like avi, mpg etc Great program called Transcode360 which encodes different formats on the fly, we are very happy to give them a link for this great application http://www.transcode360.co.uk

Conclusion

 For me the XBOX360 was a good choice as a media extender which provides more functionality then most on the market, with the added advantage of being a top games console.

 Microsoft recently rolled out a DIVX codec, so now the xbox360 can also play most DIVX eccoded films.

Doing your bit for the environment, and savinng a few quid can’t be a bad thing. So I reckon these bulbs will be paid for in no time at all, and I will continue to make savings.