A computer network is an essential element of modern business, and it’s increasingly indispensible in the home, too. A network lets your computer connect to the Web so that you can check e-mail, update a website, or teleconference. It also lets you communicate locally with other computers on the same local network.
Setting up a network is a good way to get more use out of your computers and peripherals, particularly for small and home business users.
+ Networks allow you to share a single broadband internet connection among multiple computers and PC users, and they are able to share files among computers more easily and share software resources such as diaries.
+ Networking also allows you to use a printer connected to a different computer, and access media and other resources, such as images and music, which are stored remotely or across the office.
Wired, Wireless or Both?
More small to medium-sized enterprises (SMEs) are using wireless networking equipment, particularly since it has fallen in price and become easier to configure and use. Wireless networking allows you to have a more attractive and arguably safer office environment with fewer cables around. It gives you more flexibility about where you locate your IT kit, and you can use your laptop from anywhere in your office. It also allows you to offer visitors wireless internet access or hot-desk facilities.
However, Ethernet-based wired networking can still have the edge over wireless equipment in being more reliable, lower cost and offering faster connection speeds. Wireless signals, on the other hand, can vary depending on the layout of an office, the thickness of the walls and sometimes even the weather.
Network Security
After we setup a network, we ensure it is protected. We do this through the security settings in the router, or the operating system. Also using technologies such as wireless encryption protocol (WEP) for a wireless network, which uses passwords to encrypt the network traffic.
Other options are using:
+ Windows and network log ins and passwords to limit access to the network to authorised users.
+ Using hardware security such as fingerprint recognition, security and password keys, and full disk encryption to further protect the network.
We take network security very seriously. When it comes to using the internet, we set your browser security and privacy settings to ensure that the network is protected from from viruses, spam and hacking attempts.
There are other additional security packages to protect and maintain the network perimeters, checking for attacks from both the outside and the inside. These packages are deployed depending on the scale of your network.