| Q. |
What is a
home network? |
 |
| A home
network allows the PCs in your home or office to be
connected so they can communicate with each other and
share resources, such as printers, drives, files/folders
and Internet services. |
|
| Q. |
What are
the benefits of a home network? |
|
With a home
network, you and the others in your household can:
- Explore different Web sites simultaneously without
the need of multiple modems, phone lines, or ISP
(Internet Services Provider) accounts.
- Share a printer and other peripherals that are
connected to your network. You can save money by
sharing peripherals.
- Play head-to-head, multi-player games together.
- Transfer files over the network easily, instead of
running disks to and from each of your PCs.
- Share files/folders simultaneously.
- Access files/folders remotely.
|
|
| Q. |
How do you
know if you need a home network? |
|
Ask yourself
these questions:
- Do people in your household ever need to access
the Internet at the same time?
- Do you need to schedule time to use a computer
with a printer connected?
- Do you ever want to play computer games together?
- Do you ever want to share files/program folders
between computers?
- Do you ever need to transfer large files from one
PC to another?
If you answered 'YES' to any of these questions, you
will benefit from a home network. |
|
| Q. |
What types
of home networks are there? |
|
| WIRED—Your
PCs and peripherals are connected via wires and cables
that run from one computer to another.
WIRELESS—Your PCs and peripherals are
connected via products that use wireless technology,
thereby eliminating the need for any wires or cables.
|
|
| Q. |
What’s
the difference between wired and wireless? |
|
| A wired
network requires wires and cables to run from computer
to computer. To share broadband access, files and other
networked peripherals such as printers and scanners you
need the BroadGuard™ and an Ethernet networking card
for each desktop or laptop you are networking.
If you are networking computers in different rooms or
on different floors, you might want the convenience of a
wireless solution. It gives you greater flexibility to
move your computers anywhere you want in your home or
office (and still have them be networked). A wireless
network uses no wires but requires a wireless networking
card to be installed in each PC in order to be connected
to the network. It also requires a CableFREE NetBlaster,
which acts as a wireless bridge for your network.
Of course, you can also mix and match wired and
wireless technology based on your specific needs.
SOHOware offers you that flexibility.
|
|
| Q. |
What
products do I need to network my home or office? |
|
Wired
Network
First, you will need a BroadGuard™ to serve as the
core of any broadband networking solution - wired or
wireless. BroadGuard™ allows up to 253 users to share
a single high-speed Internet connection. It also offers
built-in firewall protection, so the information on your
network remains secure from hackers. Another benefit of
BroadGuard™ you’ll appreciate as a parent is that is
allows you to monitor your children’s Web activity and
regulate access to inappropriate sites.
You will also need to install a PCI Network Interface
card in every desktop computer you want to be networked
and a PCMCIA card for every notebook or laptop computer
you want to be networked. If your computer has a USB
connection instead of a Ethernet port connect, you will
need a USB adapter.
If you have five or more computers in your home or
office, you will need a 5-port or 8-port hub or switch.
The difference between the two is that a switch gives
each computer its own dedicated bandwidth. Which means
there will be no bottlenecks when you’re downloading
or sharing large, data-intensive files (like you use
with multimedia, CAD/CAM, and other complex
applications).
Wireless Network
You will need the CableFREE NetBlaster, which acts as a
wireless bridge for your network. Connect it to the
BroadGuard™ and you will have the freedom to surf the
Web from anywhere in your home or office. You will also
need to install a Wireless PCI Network adapter in every
desktop computer you want to be networked and a Wireless
PCMCIA Network adapter in every notebook or laptop
computer you want to be networked.
|
|
| Q. |
What is a
broadband Internet connection and why would I want one? |
|
| In the
simplest terms, broadband (broad bandwidth) is a
high-speed Internet connection that allows access to the
Web up to 50 times faster than with “dial-up”
methods. Best of all, broadband means that your Internet
access is always on and always available. There is no
need to dial, tie up a phone line, or be “booted
off” line, because your Internet connection is via a
special high-speed modem supplied by your broadband
service provider (BSP). Broadband means users can enjoy
video conferencing, interactive games, music downloads
and even voice applications over the Internet. |
|
| Q. |
Can I share
a single broadband high-speed Internet connection? |
|
| With
broadband home networking products like those offered by
SOHOware, multiple computers in your home or office
(laptops, desktops or both) can all share a single
high-speed Internet connection. This means that multiple
users can all enjoy the benefits of the Web at the same
time. |
|
| Q. |
Will
wireless home networking products work with my existing
computers? |
|
Yes, if they
meet the following specifications:
- 486 or better PC (Pentium preferable)
- Windows 95/98 or Windows NT 4.0 Operating System
- Minimum 10 MB hard disk space available
- Available PC card slot for laptop PC
- Available ISA/PCI slot for desktop
|
|
| Q. |
What type
of technical support is available from SOHOware? |
|
| You can call
SOHOware quality technical support for free support and
software upgrade. We’re here to help answer any
question or offer assistance should you run into any
difficulties. The number of our toll-free support
hotline is 1-888-785-8222. (We’re open seven days a
week, from 8 a.m. to 12 midnight Eastern Time) |
