Broadband / NetWork Installations

Some people are probably wondering why I am mentioning Dialup connections, simply because it's where the internet started from and the fact that unfortunately some people insist that they don't need anything faster!
I won't go into why some people say they don't need anything faster, but instead will list the pro's and con's of Dialup versus Broadband...

Pro's Of Dialup

Cheaper, but only if you are receiving emails with no attachments!

Con's Of Dialup

Requires full use of the telephone line, so you can't make phonecalls while using your Dialup internet connection unless you use your mobile or get a second telephone line.
Slower than Broadband, by at least 10 times for the average Broadband connection.
You are holding back the rest of the internet, if Dialup was abolished, the internet speed would dramatically increase as bottlenecks for the ISP's would reduce from not having to wait for the slow connections.
Only one PC can access the internet at one given time, unless you use one PC as a shared internet connection, meaning it needs to be on as well.
You have to "dial" into your internet connection which usually takes at least 1 minute each time you connect to the internet.

Broadband is basically a super fast connection the the internet that replaced Dialup connections. As with Dialup, I will list the pro's and con's below...

Pro's Of Broadband

Faster than Dialup, on average from 10 times faster!
Uses ADSL or DSL, ADSL is telephone line based and keeps your telephone line freed up for your phonecalls whilst still being able to use the internet, DSL is "Cable" internet that runs completely seperate from the telephone line.
Many PC's can use the same internet connection when used in conjunction with a Router.
When using a router, you aren't required to "dial" into your internet connection, as most routers keep it active 24/7 whats commonly known as a "nailed up" connection.

Con's Of Broadband

More expensive than Dialup generally, though well worth the extra "speed on tap" when you need it most.

I gave up on purely wired networking when I switched to Wireless Networking, the main reason is simple, there are no carpets to pull up, no unslightly cables running about the house etc. which most people simply do not want going on in their home.
There is only one major drawback with Wireless Networking...the coverage of signal in the home, I've found wireless to be very "hitty missy" in bigger homes, or simply due to where the client wanted the wireless router located in their home (the best position being the central location of all wireless devices).

The alternative?

If you don't want cables but you are in a very large home where wireless simply wouldn't cover the area effectively, the only alternative is to use "Mains" networking. How this works is to allow the client to connect all computers and internet etc. via the electricity cables within your home/business, requiring only a free power socket for each of the network adaptors to plug into. These adaptors are encrypted and highly secure as well as very safe considering they depend on your electricity supply to network from one place to another. The beauty of this option is simply the fact that you don't need to have the network adaptor in one specific socket in the house, if you wanted to, say for example, go upstairs instead, you can simply unplug the mains network adaptor and walk upstairs with it, plug it back in and away you go again. The only down side to these devices is the fact that they aren't used very much so they are still reasonably expensive compared to network cables etc. or even an extended wireless solution. Then again, if you think on how much time and effort and possibly cost of getting a carpenter in to lay the cables under the carpet etc. wouldn't be cheap either so it may work out cheaper in the long run, and remember the flexability of it! Not only can you run 1 computer though one plug socket, but using a network hub, you can then run more than one computer from each plug socket, handy if you are a business thats looking for a way to expand the network without having to close shop for a week!

This is an example of a main network adaptor below...

Wireless is still quite new when it comes to the home user. But with more and more people going wireless, its a job I am now very happy to do for those that don't wish to get their brains boiling trying to figure out how to configure the reasonably complicated process of wireless networking. There are a couple essential parts to a wireless network, these are...

Wireless Router - This is the main interchange between the networked PC's and the internet.
Wireless Adapters - If you are using a computer which doesn't have wireless capabilities, then you will need one of these adapters to connect to your network wirelessly. They usually come in the form of USB, PCMCIA or PCI.

Of course, you can still use RJ-45 (Ethernet) connections on a wireless router incase you aren't going wireless everywhere. In addition to this you can get really clever and get a router that supports printers, web cams and a few other networking devices for whatever reason you need it for, at a great expense in those cases.

One question I get asked a lot is, "What about security?"

The answer is pretty simple,

If you buy a wireless router from a computer shop, it will rarely have any security enabled by default, there is a good reason for this, the main reason being that the regular user would be pulling their hair out trying to understand the security and how it works. Now that more ISP's (Internet Service Providers) are providing wireless options for their packages, they are coming complete with security enabled, usually providing the relevant information on the bottom of the router to make things easier for the installer, though not always easy enough for the average PC user.

This is where I can help in a big way,

Since the start of my company, I have installed 100's of various wireless networks and configurations which as you can imagine is a huge learning curve for me and provides the best possible installation procedures for my future clients, decreasing my installation times, security testing and diagnostic skills for quickly finding out wireless issues that may arise during an installation, so that you aren't put off by the prospect of using wireless networking.