What Does Your Network Look Like?

Published on April 26, 2009 By Island Dog In Personal Computing

Since we should hopefully be into our new house around June, I thought it was time to start planning out my new home office. With this new house, I had to give up a dedicated room for an office so the kids can all have their own room. No big deal though, as I have taken a part of the formal living room and made that the space for my new area.

I was wondering how my network was actually setup, and if there was anything I could do to consolidate some things, or if there was anything additional I might need.

One item that I need to address is the printer. It’s very difficult to print from various machines around the house, so a wireless printer might be the way to go. My router is old, and that is something that might need to be upgraded as well. If the internet coming in works as I instructed them to wire it, I will most likely be able to remove some items like the Xbox off wireless, and just plug them in to their own Cat-5. But until we actually get in it’s still a bit hard to tell exactly how I’m going to get this all setup.

So, what does your home network look like?

Comments (Page 1)

HG_Eliminator

on Apr 27, 2009

Fio's router ,all pc's hooking to it by wifi, printer sharing. nothin special..

RedneckDude

on Apr 27, 2009

Same as HG, except not Fio...but Lisa.

Teseer

on Apr 27, 2009

Mine is Ghetto nailed to the wall, utilizing the handle of a plastic bag also nailed to hold up my modem

Othello

on Apr 27, 2009

Looks good but you're definatly gonna need to replace that Wii with a PS3.

Orcnbeans

on Apr 27, 2009

Nice topic ID.

Island Dog

on Apr 27, 2009

Looks good but you're definatly gonna need to replace that Wii with a PS3.

I have no desire for a PS3. They are overpriced and offer no games that I can't get on the 360.

Shirley

on Apr 27, 2009

This is my office @ home. Yeah...

CarGuy1

on Apr 27, 2009

Shirley...you might want to concider going wireless.

DrJBHL

on Apr 27, 2009

Mine's a cross between:

and

Jafo

on Apr 27, 2009

Mine often looks like two computers and a bunch of wires and me standing there saying..... "why the !#$%^& aren't you two talking?"

mickeko

on Apr 27, 2009

Island Dog

reply 6

Looks good but you're definatly gonna need to replace that Wii with a PS3.
I have no desire for a PS3. They are overpriced and offer no games that I can't get on the 360.

Little big planet. It may not be worth the full price of a PS3, but really... It's pure genious.

indigoNecro

on Apr 27, 2009

I know you're asking more about what our networks look like than looking for comments on yours. I'll try and make up a nice chart and show you later on.. Right now:

-Use some print sharing or a wirless printer for your printing needs. Honestly, I'd go with the wireless printer.. It's a lot easier to set up and tends to work better. Usually HP printers would best for this (I've found)..

-The consoles (at least the ones you game online a lot with.. probably your 360) should infact be a CAT5 connection. The wireless gives you too much lag usually and it's a lot more fun to kill people on GoW2 when they are more laggy than you..

Other than that... you have a pretty solid network topology. Besides the printer being wireless (or shared.. bleh..) and the consoles being on CAT5.. Everything else looks pretty good.

Check out some of HPs wireless printers here: http://h20219.www2.hp.com/hho/cache/600943-0-0-225-121.html

The HP Officejet 6500 Wireless All-in-One Printer, Fax, Scanner, Copier for $199 is a pretty nice one overall.

EDIT: Had to fix up the link for the printer.. This one is good.

mickeko

on Apr 27, 2009

Mine is not like I would want to have it, but it works

INET (DL/UL: 50/10 Mbit) -> Wireless router (DI-524) -> [PC (wired)] [PS3 (wired)]

The wlan is mainly for friends dropping by with their laptops and stuff.

DrJBHL

on Apr 27, 2009

Cynthdivide

reply 12

I know you're asking more about what our networks look like than looking for comments on yours. I'll try and make up a nice chart and show you later on.. Right now:

-Use some print sharing or a wirless printer for your printing needs. Honestly, I'd go with the wireless printer.. It's a lot easier to set up and tends to work better. Usually HP printers would best for this (I've found)..

-The consoles (at least the ones you game online a lot with.. probably your 360) should infact be a CAT5 connection. The wireless gives you too much lag usually and it's a lot more fun to kill people on GoW2 when they are more laggy than you..

Other than that... you have a pretty solid network topology. Besides the printer being wireless (or shared.. bleh..) and the consoles being on CAT5.. Everything else looks pretty good.

Check out some of HPs wireless printers here: http://h20219.www2.hp.com/hho/cache/600943-0-0-225-121.html

The HP Officejet 6500 Wireless All-in-One Printer, Fax, Scanner, Copier for $199 is a pretty nice one overall.

EDIT: Had to fix up the link for the printer.. This one is good.

Excellent choice, Cynth! But I'd probably look for it on NewEgg.com to compare prices....

ShelbyGT_The_Car

on Apr 27, 2009

Well things at my place are bit more organized. Plus we use a N-router; but not all the system have N cable cards yet.

Soon I hope! But may be buying more stuff soon for Office and Living Room.

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