My Definition Of Networking – the art of connecting two or more computers together to connect to the Internet, share data and other devices such as printers. When I first started networking computers or using ICS [Internet Connection Sharing] it was a black art. If you got it working you kept your fingers crossed, said a prayer to the network Gods, and made sure no one touched your network settings under penalty of death or worse. 🙂

But as we entered into the era of broadband connections and inexpensive routers, most of these problems seemed to disappear. Routers were able to handle the IP addressing and outside of some minor configurations basically worked very well. Yet over the past several years, there are still many inquires in the forums from new network users, trying to find their way around the networking game. So with this in mind, here are a few tips that may just make your networking chores a little simpler.

Let us first start with the basics. Google is your friend. There are more networking sites available today to help the newbie in networking than ever before. The first place to start is to understand how networking works, what an IP address is, naming conventions for workgoups and why they need to be the same, naming your computer[s] and what a router does. Sounds simple enough. But for those of us who see the same questions pop up over and over again, these simple steps seem to be ignored by the casual computer users. They seem to not want to take the time to learn the simple things which only causes them problems down the road.

Start here with this site. Ezlan.net covers all of the basics that you will need to get started. If you know how to properly configure your computer[s] before you start, you are going to save yourself countless hours of frustrations down the road. As an example, if ALL of the computers do not have the same workgroup name, it flat out won’t work.

Routers. Besides networking they also provide a hardware firewall to protect your system from outsiders. For cable users, it is a simple one check box feature. But for DSL users, the router needs to be configured for your ISP. Most ISP’s have this information posted on their websites. Also the router manufactures normally have this information posted as well for all major ISP’s. Read your router instructions and learn how to access the router settings to make the modifications you may need to get your router working.

Brands of routers. Everyone has their favorites. Last year I was reading a post in a forum where the user was having trouble getting his DLink router connected to SBC DSL. The first few comments were for him to throw away the DLink router and buy a Linksys. Rubbish. I answered his post and gave him the correct settings for SBC and he connected immediately with no problems. Beware those who advise throwing one brand away and replacing it with another, until you are 100% positive the router is in fact faulty.

Windows networking. I once went to a business that was having networking problems that had 11 computer systems running variations of 95, 98 2000, XP and Apple systems. To throw some variety into the mix, the systems were connecting to a NT server. I was then advised that I was the 4th person they had called for help. The other 3 had advised that because of the mix of systems, networking was going to be near impossible. So my advice was to call 1-800-HOUDINI ! Though all versions of Windows should network together, this is not always the case. Your mileage may vary.

Still having problems? You may wish to post your problem at the LG forum for further assistance.

PS This was just posted on one of the forums this AM which confirms what I have been saying:

Hi guys

Ok i just moved into a new place that have a 4 computers hooked up to a 4 port dlink router.  i wanted to hook up my second computer but that would require another router to the network.  i was reading once a new router is added i would need a network address because i would be creating a new subnet.  what i wanted to know was how would i go about creating a custom subnet mask so i can get the network address for the second router.  Also which computer would i create the custom subnet mask on.   That was my understanding of the information i read so i hope it’s right.

Had the poster taken the time to learn some simple networking techniques they would of realized that two routers can not be connected together and that a switch was what they need. I am not be critical of the question. Just critical of the person who doesn’t do their homework and learn simple networking techniques before posting a common and easily answered question. Or am I being to critical?
Comments welcome.

[tags]networking, windows, google, router, [/tags]