Wireless Networking Hardware and Software Technology for our Homes – everything you need to know
Wireless networking is hot. It’s now as popular as the term “instant” used to describe foods that are easy to cook. Wireless TV, wireless router, wireless microphone, wireless devices; name a communication device that is not wireless or has no wireless equivalent and you’ll end up with almost nothing. With the advent of wireless networking hardware, software, equipment and technology, it is easy to imagine that our homes and offices will soon become a network of wireless things.
Setup
Setting up a home or small office wireless network will only require you a few stuffs. You will need a wireless router or access point, a broadband modem, network interface cards or adapters, ethernet cables, laptop or desktop PC to configure the network, and optional devices like printer, network hard drive, and wireless repeaters. Connecting these devices wouldn’t take much of your time. Connect the modem to the internet port. Plug in the router to the modem using an ethernet cable. Configure the router on your laptop or PC via the web-based console. Setup your desktop PC with network interface card (NIC) or USB adapter. If you’re using Windows, you can setup a home network by going to Control Panel>Network and Internet. You can add other wireless devices on your home network using the Add a device setup wizard.
Upgrade
You can always upgrade your wireless networking hardware. Usually, what will trigger you to do this is when your wireless devices start to grow in number. You’ll observe that your Wi-Fi network is becoming slow or some of your devices can’t easily establish a connection to the network. If you have good background in server network management, you may want to upgrade your internet speed by investing on network acceleration and optimization software. You may also want to add network appliance like wireless switch, computer server and wireless antennas if your plan is to expand your network. To maximize your investment, it would be great if you will consult to a network engineer or someone who has in-depth knowledge in computer networking.
Explore
Sometimes, your love for new devices or technology coming out in the market will drive you to try out new stuffs in your network. However, take extra caution as this craze might compromise the performance of your wireless networking hardware. If you like smart TVs and media streaming devices like Chromecast, Amazon Fire TV stick and Apple TV, adding this to your network might result to a significant increase on your network traffic. Gaming consoles like Xbox 360 and Nintendo Wii (which can be setup with wireless adapters) uses higher bandwidth compared to other devices so they may degrade your wireless network throughput. If you’re working from home and members of your family have deep obsession on these entertainment stuffs, you should consider upgrading your wireless networking hardware to avoid future problems. As a tip, selecting hardware with excellent scalability can save you a lot of money in the long run.
Protect
Network security is becoming a big concern nowadays. While many wireless networking hardware have advanced built-in security features, you still need to ensure that these features are always active. Wireless routers have features like MAC filtering, Quality of Service (QoS), Wi-Fi Multimedia Support, Dynamic DNS, and Network Address Translation (NAT). Make sure they are performing their duties in your home network. More importantly, always turn on your firewall for it is your ultimate guard against hackers, viruses, and worms that try to reach your computer over the internet. Investing on anti-virus and anti-phishing software can also improve your network system’s protection against network attacks and threats.
There are so many engaging stuffs that you can do to optimize your home wireless network – the possibilities are endless. Home automation system, for example, heavily relies on the technologies embedded on wireless networking hardware. Our smartphones can now be used to control stuffs inside our homes. If there is a perfect time to indulge yourself in wireless networking technology, that is today.
