Let's put into practice

Let's put all things together

To set up a little home LAN you need:

1) a modem (if you want to access the Internet)
2) a hub (or switch) to connect your computers
3) ethernet cables to connect everything

If you want to allow all connected computers to access the Internet, you need a router:

1) a modem (if you want to access the Internet)
2) a router (if you want to allow each host to access the Internet)
3) ethernet cables to connect everything

There are modems that have a built-in router anyway. Obviously, each computer must have a network adapter (ethernet card). To connect your computers to the router ports you have to use straight-through cables. If you are connected to the Internet by means of a DSL line, I suggest you to use a DSL modem with a built-in router and a built-in firewall. In fact prices are not so high by now and you can get a such kind of DSL modem easily. Your router will be the DEFAULT GATEWAY. The default gateway is the unique access point to the Internet (or a network that is different from your LAN). Since you are setting up a C class network, you should use the 192.168.x.x IP addresses range. So you could set up 192.168.0.1 as an IP address for your router. A computer connected to the router could have 192.168.0.2 as an IP address assigned. A second computer could be 192.168.0.3, a third one 192.168.0.4 and so on. Each of them should use the 255.255.255.0 standard netmask. So, to summarize:

1) Router: 192.168.0.1, netmask 255.255.255.0 (AKA 'default gateway')
2) computer 1: 192.168.0.2, netmask 255.255.255.0
3) computer 2: 192.168.0.3, netmask 255.255.255.0
4) computer 3: 192.168.0.4, netmask 255.255.255.0
5) DNS: your ISP's DNS server

and so on. If you don't feel comfortable setting up IP addresses manually, you could use DHCP. DHCP stands for Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol. It takes care of IP addresses for you. In fact it assigns IP addresses dynamically. When a new host connects to the network, the DHCP server assigns a new IP address (within your network IP addresses range) to it. If you want to use DHCP you must set up your router as a DHCP server whereas computers must be set up as DHCP clients. Anyway I suggest you to avoid DHCP and manually configure your network for security issues. That is especially true if you are setting up a wireless network (WLAN). In fact if you don't like to see cables everywhere and you want to move anywhere in your home (remaining always connected to your network), you should consider a wireless network. To set up a wireless network you need another device called ACCESS POINT. An Access Point is a device wired to a DSL modem that connect computers to a network without having to install cables. It transmits information by radio. You can think about it as a radio station: computers that have a wireless card are radio receivers. Each computer connected to a wireless network must have a wireless network card (also known as wireless adapter card or wifi card). Almost all laptops have a built-in wireless network card by now. There are 2 main wireless protocols: 802.11b and 802.11g. Devices 802.11b compatible can send/receive information at a maximum theoretical transfer rate of 11 Mbps (Megabits per second) whereas devices 802.11g compatible can send/receive information at a maximum theoretical transfer rate of 54 Mbps. If you want to set up a typical wireless LAN connected to the Internet via the DSL protocol, you must have:

1) a router
2) an access point
3) 2 or more computers with an inserted wireless network card

Now connect the router WAN port to the DSL line (e.g., your phone line), plug one end of an ethernet straight-through cable to the router LAN port and the other end of the cable to to your access point port (WAN port). If you are using a desktop computer, you have to place a wireless network card inside of it. As said before, almost all laptops have a built-in wireless network card by now. So you have not to worry about wireless network cards if you are using a laptop. Once all cables are plugged, you have to configure all devices. First of all configure your router. Usually, any router has a default IP address that is 192.168.1.1. Anyway, some DSL modems and router come with a different default IP (e.g. 10.0.0.1). Refer to your router manual to know the right IP address to be used. You can always change your router default IP address, but you must pay attention changing it or you couldn't connect to the router anymore (remember that all devices sharing the same network must use the same IP addresses range so if your computer IP is 192.168.1.2 and your router IP is 192.168.1.1, changing the router IP address to let's say 10.0.0.1 you will make it unreachable. In this case you have to set up your computer with an IP address like 10.x.x.x or a hardware reset will be needed). To configure your router open your favorite web browser and type 192.168.1.1 in the address field. Disable firewalling at first, so troubleshooting will be simplified. When you are sure that all things work fine, enable firewalling. Now you have to configure your access point and all connected computers. If your router IP address is 192.168.1.1, your access point IP address could be 192.168.1.2. In this case your first computer IP address will be 192.168.1.3, the second one 192.168.1.4, the third one 192.168.1.5 and so on. Use the standard 255.255.255.0 netmask.

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