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Networking Your Home |
Connecting your home computers lets you share drives, printers, and a single Internet connection among the connected computers.
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Benefits of a home network |
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The Gateway Connected Home |
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Connection types |
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Your connected home shopping list |
Using a home network
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Share a single Internet connection |
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Share MP3 audio and MPEG video files |
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Share computer drives |
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Share a printer or scanner |
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Play multi-player games |
Sharing a single Internet connection
A home network makes sharing the Internet easy. Each computer or Internet appliance that is connected to the network can share the same modem and telephone line or broadband connection and access the Internet at the same time. This saves on the cost of installing another telephone line for your second computer and paying for a second Internet Service Provider (ISP) account.
Sharing MP3 audio and MPEG video files
With a home network, you can store MP3 audio and MPEG video files on any networked computer, then play them on any of the other computers or devices connected to your home network. Add a digital music player such as the Gateway Connected Music Player, and you can integrate your home stereo system into your network as well.
Sharing drives
With a home network, you can copy files from computer to computer by copying and pasting or dragging and dropping. You will no longer waste your time transferring files by using diskettes. In addition, you can map a drive from a remote computer on the network to a drive on a local computer, and access the file as if it were located on the hard drive of the computer you are using.
Sharing a printer or scanner
Each computer that is connected to the home network can share the same printer or scanner. Select print from the computer you are currently using and your file is automatically printed on your printer no matter where it is located on your network.
Playing multi-player games
With a home network, you can play multi-player games. Load a game like Microsoft Midtown Madness 2 on your computers, and in minutes, you and your friends can race in competing cars through the streets of San Francisco.
Introducing the Gateway Connected Home
The Gateway Connected Home connects all your computers and other devices so that you can share files, programs, peripherals, and much more from any computer in your house. The picture below shows an example Gateway Connected Home.
Components of a Gateway Connected Home
The Gateway Connected Home begins with two computers and a connection. From there, you can add computers and devices to fit your specific needs. You can connect:
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Any or all of your connected computers to your Internet connection simultaneously. |
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A Gateway Connected Touchpad to your connected home so that more than
one screen name can log onto America Online simultaneously.
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Your notebook computer to your connected home so you can share files
and print at home. |
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A Gateway Connected Music Player to your connected home to play MP3 audio files, located on any connected computer, anywhere in your home, either through your stereo system or through powered speakers. |
Selecting a connection
One of the biggest decisions you will need to make when creating your Gateway Connected Home is what type of connection you will use. Gateway supports two types of wired connections, HPNA and Ethernet.
What are HPNA and Ethernet?
HPNA
Creating an HPNA connected home is as easy as knowing where your telephone jacks and computers are located. HPNA uses your home's standard telephone lines and telephone jacks instead of special cabling to connect computers. You can use your connected home computers at the same time as you connect to your ISP, send a fax, or talk on your telephone. For the best performance, your computers or Internet appliances should have HPNA 2.0 network cards or jacks for connecting to your connected home.
If you have more than one telephone line in your home, make sure that all the computers in your connected home are connected to jacks that share the same telephone number.
Ethernet
Ethernet is a type of connection commonly used in offices around the world. This type of connection can also be used to build small computer networks in the home. Ethernet is available at two different speeds: standard Ethernet, which runs at the same speed as HPNA 2.0, and Fast Ethernet, which runs up to ten times faster. To create an Ethernet connected home, you or your electrician must install special cables in your home. Your computers or Internet appliances must have Ethernet cards or jacks for connecting to a 10 or 10/100 Ethernet switch or hub. If you are connecting just two computers, you can eliminate the switch or hub and use a special crossover cable.
Check local code requirements before installing Ethernet cable or other wiring in your home. Your municipality may require you to obtain a permit and hire a licensed installer.
Broadband Internet connections
You can use your computer's Ethernet jack for more than just networking. Many broadband Internet connections, such as cable modems and DSL modems, connect to your computer's Ethernet jack. Typically, if one computer is connected to the Internet, other networked computers also access the Internet through the shared Internet connection. A broadband, versus dial-up, connection adds speed and an "always on" connection to your home network.
Assessing your connection needs
To select the type of connected home that will work best for you, consider how you will use your connected home.
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Your home has a telephone jack with the same telephone number in each room that has a device you want to connect |
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You have several Windows-based computers that are used for drive sharing, printing to a single printer, or surfing the Internet |
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Your notebook computer has one of the following: |
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An HPNA jack for connecting to a telephone jack |
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A USB port to connect to a HPNA adapter |
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Your connection needs are less than 8000 Kbps (see "Comparing data transfer speed") |
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You are building a new home or your existing home already has Ethernet cable installed in each room that has a device you want to connect |
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You have a combination of Windows-based computers and non-Windows-based computers that are used for drive sharing, printing to a single printer, or surfing the Internet |
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Your notebook computer has an Ethernet jack for connecting to the network |
Comparing data transfer speed
When deciding between HPNA and Ethernet, compare the different data transfer speeds provided by each to the programs you plan to run in your connected home. The following table shows programs that you may run in your home and the connection speed each requires.
Program Speed Required
Source: Computer Shopper, January 2001
The following table shows the Gateway-supported connected home type and the maximum speed each will attain.
Connection Type Typical Maximum Speed
Source: Computer Shopper, January 2001
When comparing the speed at which your connected home will need to run to the speed you can get from the connection type, you should consider which programs may run at the same time in your connected home.
For example, you have stored several MP3 audio files in your connected home. You typically play music on your Gateway Connected Music Player, and at the same time your teenager may play music on another computer. Playing two MP3 audio files simultaneously requires 200 Kbps + 200 Kbps = 400 Kbps. If at the same time you are playing two MP3 audio files, you also print a file to your printer, the speed required increases to 200 Kbps + 200 Kbps + 200 Kbps = 600 Kbps).
A comparison of the two tables on the previous page shows that both HPNA 2.0 and standard Ethernet can handle most programs in a connected home. If you anticipate using a combination of programs that regularly exceed 8000 Kbps, you should consider installing Fast Ethernet for your connection.
Connected home shopping list
HPNA
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An 
HPNA card installed in each computer- OR - An HPNA/V.90 combination card installed in each computer - OR - |
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USB HPNA adapter attached to each computer
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Telephone cable going from each computer to the closest telephone jack |
Ethernet
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An Ethernet card installed in each computer |
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An Ethernet hub or switch with enough ports for each computer and device in the connected home (hubs are slightly cheaper than switches but may run slower than switches) |
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Ethernet cable going from each computer to the hub or switch |
For more information
For more information about the Gateway Connected Home, discuss your particular needs with your Gateway Country Store representative. In addition, several books and Internet sites are dedicated to home networking. Refer to these sources for more information about networking your home with either HPNA or Ethernet.