College Crunch

It is actually very easy today to share Internet access with your dorm mates, roommates or other friends and family that come over.

There are two main choices when it comes to sharing Internet access. The first is through wired connections and then of course there is the much more popular wireless connections.

Depending on what you want to do, and who you need to provide access to, a combination of both or a single solution will be your best choice.

The first consideration, for either connection type is to take note of what equipment you have. If you have laptops that support a wireless connection, or desktops that only support a wired connection, that will sway the equipment choices you will need to make.

Typically, you can expect to spend upwards of one hundred and fifty dollars if you need all of the required equipment related to setting up a network for a single computer. I have been able to get the stuff I have needed for an average price of around thirty-five dollars for just a wireless router, as I had all of the other pieces.

Wifi

Wireless connections are fairly standard these days, with almost all laptops in the last year being released with a 802.11G wireless card. The numbers aren’t really the important aspect with regards to wireless. Instead, it is the letter following them that you will want to pay attention to.

Older laptops might only have support for A or B. What this means for you when setting up your home network is an issue of compatibility. If you have a laptop with a Wireless B network card, you are okay because wireless routers that are listed as Wireless G, also support the Wireless B type.

Wireless A is the slow, old, but long range brat of the pack, and isn’t directly compatible with other devices, unless explicitly listed on the packaging. There are wireless routers that support the A, B and G connection types. There is also new routers that are under the new N standard, but because this communication protocol hasn’t been finalized yet, I am still hesitant to promote it to the general public. If you are a wireless gamer, then it might be worth looking into, but don’t be surprised if a year down the road, your new laptop can’t talk to your older router.

Different connection types will have different default ranges and connection speeds, but for most consumers, that isn’t very important.

I do suggest trying to match up brands when working with any networking equipment. If you don’t have a wireless network card, and need to purchase one, buying one that is the same brand as your wireless router will reduce the chances of having issues or compatibility issues.

Equipment Needed

• Wireless Router
• Wireless Antenna USB/PCI Card for desktops or laptops that don’t have a wireless card
• Check to make sure Laptops have built-in wireless cards

Cat 5e Cable and Router

While still considered by some to be “old school” with regards to networking computers together now that wireless connections are nearly everywhere. Wired connections can provide faster connections, with lower latency, and less dropped connection issues.

Like wireless connections, there are three different types of connections, but this time, they are numbers and they directly correspond to the speed of transfer that the device can perform. Devices will come in 10, 100 and 1000 mbps transfer speeds. The 1000 mbps rated equipment might also be sold under the Gigabit connection speed rating. They are one and the same.

Again, like the wireless equipment, sticking to all of the same speed rating is your best bet for maximum performance. For the most part, you won’t notice any difference in your Internet speed between any of these pieces of equipment, and so the real difference is in transferring files from computer to computer. So if you don’t need to transfer files between the computers in your house, any equipment, including the very old ones, should be just fine.

Equipment Needed

• Router with enough ports for everyone
• Lengths of Cable long enough to run from router to desktops
• Ethernet Cards/Ports on laptops or desktops

Conclusion

Sharing your internet connection these days is fairly simple. I highly suggest going for a good wireless router with a brand that you feel comfortable with. Make sure everything you own will support the wireless router you choose, and place the router in a central location if at all possible to maximize the signals ability to hit everywhere you are living.

Don’t be afraid of setting up a network. It can be a bit frustrating sometimes, but it is so inexpensive, and most of the time can be set up trouble free.