We can provide your business with complete network installations

 We can advise you to choose the optimal system for your business and cover all aspects of the tasks from:

* Choosing Systems
* Delivery of Hardware and Software
* Cabling
* Installation and Testing
* Support and Staff Training

 This line of work we treat as ‘project’ work as the amount of work and hardware involved is dependant on your needs and the size of your business.

 Please call our office  or email us and book an appointment, we will visit and inspect the premises and provide you with a quote

Many people have a computer at home, some have more than one. As soon as you have more than one computer, networking is worth consideration. Networking your computers will allow them to share peripherals, and allow one computer to backup the data of another. You can, if you are cunning, allow a single computer to act as an Internet access point for the whole network, which is more convenient than fitting a modem and a telephone extension for each computer. All manner of computing operations can be carried out more conveniently and flexibly.

Network cabling principles

Networking computers involves connecting them together with cables and connectors. At the time of writing all practical small networks are based on electrical cables, although optical fibers may soon be competitive. Although in principle there is a number of different connection schemes to choose from, in practice everyone uses a scheme called ethernet. Ethernet has been around for about 30 years, and completely dominates the local-area networking market. Although ethernet derived from a proprietary standard (Xerox Corporation) it is now non-proprietary, and many companies make ethernet equipment. Therefore it is relatively inexpensive.

 The ethernet system defines a signaling strategy (the way signals are carried on wires) and a low-level protocol (the way data is converted into signals). It does not define the type of cable or the speed of transmission. In practice, however, everyone now uses twisted pair cables, with speeds of either 10 megabits per second, or 100 megabits per second. For a domestic installation, the earlier `coaxial' cabling scheme may be more appropriate, but it is getting increasingly difficult to find compatible equipment, so I will assume that you are going to use twisted pair cabling like everyone else. Happily, the hard part of the installation (laying the cables and connecting the hubs) is the same whether you go for the 10 or the 100 mbits/sec option.
 

Twisted pair cable is available in various categories and either with, or without, a screen (`shield' in the US). The category dictates the maximum transmission speed and distance that the cable will tolerate. The most common sort of cable, which is used in nearly all domestic and commercial installations, is category 5 unscreened twisted pair. You will usually see this abbreviated to `CAT5 UTP' in trade publications. Although in principle CAT3 cable could be used with the lower-speed ethernet, there is no real advantage to this as it isn't any cheaper. Screened twisted pair cable is used in some industrial installations, where there is a high level of electrical interference. There is unlikely to be a good reason to use it in domestic or commercial work.

 So, in practice, you will almost certainly need to use CAT5 UTP cable for your installation.  If you have only two PCs, and they are side-by-side, then you should probably buy pre-assembled `patch cables', rather than a cable drum,
 The connector used with CAT5 UTP cable is called an `RJ45'. It looks a bit like a telephone connector, and you may be able to plug it into a telephone socket. Don't do this, however, as the voltage on the telephone line is about 50 times too high for an ethernet interface, and won't do it any good. A pre-assembled CAT5 UTP cable with an RJ45 on each end is often referred to as an `RJ45 cable' or a `patch cable'. These are available in various lengths and colours.

Network adapters

To take part in a network, your computers will need to be fitted with network adapters.

Hubs

UTP ethernet installation centers on hubs. A hub is a cable connection centre, into which the various computers are plugged, either directly (using patch cables) or indirectly. You can also connect hubs together to extend the system.
      As far as installation (not performance) is concerned, the most important features of a hub are (1) the number of ports it has, and (2) the power supply arrangements. Hubs are usually available with 4, 8 or 16 ports. Often a hub will have an `uplink' port (for connecting two hubs) in addition to the standard ports, but sometimes you will have to use one of the ordinary ports for uplink. You will need a minimum of one port for each computer that is to be connected, plus one port for each hub-to-hub connection. In practice, however, a flexible system will provide more ports than computers, for exactly the same reason that a well-designed mains system has more power outlets than you have appliances. You may want to move your computers from one room to another, or add computers at a later date, and you don't want to have to rewire whenever you do that. This issue will be discussed in more detail later.
      Hubs may be mains-operated (sometimes indirectly by a small transformer) or powered by a computer. The latter is usually cheaper, but it limits the location of the hub to within cable reach of a computer. Such devices are usually connected to the PC keyboard.