When you start to design your home network, you’ll be immediately faced with a wide array of choices. Many of them have cryptic names and obtuse descriptions. But don’t be put off by all the techno-babble. Make an effort to get familiar with some of the names because they’re associated with options that affect the design and value of your home network.

The first, basic choice is between a cabled network and a wireless one. The choice used to be made for most everyone, given the once high prices and complexity of wireless equipment. But costs have come down and putting a wireless network together today is no more complicated than the more traditional type.

Cabled networks today usually run along Ethernet cables. Most Ethernet cabling used is designated by the name: Cat-5. There is another option, though, and that’s to use fiber optic cabling. For home network designers, the extra cost and potential reliability issues aren’t worth the benefits.

Ethernet cables will support speeds ranging from the traditional 10 Mb or 100 Mb up to 1 Gb or more. (Here, 10 Mb = 10 megabits/sec = 10/8 megabytes per second.) 10 Gb is not unknown and one company has now produced a wired device that operates at a theoretical speed of 100 Gb. (1 Gb = 1 gigabit/sec = 1/8 x 1024 megabytes per second = 128 MB/s.)

The speed is theoretically limited by the cable, but in practice the attached devices are more of a limiting factor. Other factors, such as number of simultaneous users, protocol used and other factors are often even more important in real-world applications. The faster speeds are typically found only in professional networks, however.

Wireless devices are often 802.11b or 802.11g type today. The technical definitions are complex, but the practical meaning for the home network designer is simple: 802.11b operates at 2.4 GhZ and 11 Mb and 802.11g at 2.44 GHz/54 Mb.

Both numbers are important, the frequency (measured in Ghz or 1,024 million cycles per second) and the throughput, in megabits. (1 Byte = 8 bits)

The frequency gives you a clue about the likelihood of interference. Some cordless phones and other popular home devices can interfere with your network. That means that when the phone rings and you answer it, your network may see a hiccup. The problem tends to occur more often with wireless cards in laptops, however.

The throughput is important, since the numbers are theoretical ratings. The real data transfer rate of, for example, 802.11b tends to be between 6-7 Mb/s, despite the rated speed of 11 Mb/s. For comparison, that’s roughly 1/5 to 1/2 the speed of a DSL or cable Internet connection. So, if you know how long it takes you to download, say, a 10 megabyte file off the Internet, you can easily estimate how fast data will get around your home network.

Other systems have been in the experimental stage for several years. One uses the wiring in your home to carry network signals. All you would have to do is plug a special device into an electrical outlet then plug your computer, printer into that via a short cable. Though some use wireless technology as part of the system. It’s possible to obtain the equipment, but major vendors don’t yet offer this option. For now, it’s best for most home network designers to stick to the standard choices.

Related posts:

1. Essential Home Networking Equipment
2. Home Networking – Wireless Network Pros and Cons
3. How Does Home Networking Work?
4. Home Networking – Protocols Made Easy
5. Guidelines For Building A Simple Home Network

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