Essay, Research Paper: Home Computer Network

Have you ever needed to have more than one home computer for you and your family? Do you have two or more computers, but need to copy and/or share files and/or programs between them, but you don t know how? Do all of your computers need Internet access, but you don t want to have a phone line installed for each of them? Well, you can do all of this. I know, because this is what I did at my home. After doing research I found that there are several advantages for having your own Home Computer Network. Following, are several reasons to do this in your house.
First, by having an in-home computer network, and a file server, you can have a central location for storing all of your information. So, if you need more than one computer to access certain information, such as fonts, financial files, games, etc., you can do this through the network. This also eliminates the need for copying files to floppy diskettes, hand-carrying them to the other computers, and copying the files one-floppy-at-a-time to each, individual computer. This would be a very slow process, compared to a fast network speed. Additionally, if one computer on your network crashes, you can move to another computer and continue your work. So, if you use your network and file server effectively, you can have a high degree of reliability, security, and efficiency.
Second, an in-home computer network can allow you to have only one Internet connection while giving Internet access to all computers on your network. This is very important if you only have one phone line. If you were to add an additional phone line for each computer you wanted to be connected to the Internet, well, let s just say that this would be a costly alternative. By using your file server on your network, as a PROXY server, you can just use one phone line to connect to the Internet. All you have to do is install a small PROXY program that says, I am the Internet connection for this network. Everybody aim their Internet browsing at me! It s really that simple. By doing this, it fools the other computers on your network into thinking that the file server IS the Internet. In addition to being connected via one phone line, and one computer, your file server can have what is called a Firewall. This eliminates outside intruders from invading your network. This would only have to be installed on your server, not all of the computers, saving money. So, you can see how beneficial it would be to have only one connection to the Internet versus two or more.
Finally, if your file server is using Microsoft Windows NT Server, you have a high degree of file security. Windows NT is a government-approved, high-security operating system that will protect your files, or die trying! You can totally keep your kids out of your important financial records, while giving your spouse read-only rights. This keeps your kids from destroying them, and allows your spouse to read, but not change, your records (if this is what you wish). Windows NT is also a true 32-bit operating system that handles memory differently than other Windows operating systems. This makes it much more stable, which in turn, gives you more reliability and less crashes. With the NTFS (NT file system), the file structure is also different than Windows FAT or FAT32, which makes it more secure and impenetrable. And, similar to the above-mentioned firewall, only one virus software package is needed to protect your network. This can also be installed just on the file server. It will scan, protect and disinfect your entire network from one location. So, your data is safe and you have peace of mind with your Windows NT Server.
These are only a few of the reasons that having a home computer network will benefit your home. I know that it has helped my family to utilize our computers more effectively, keep our files safe, and save us money on Internet connections. I am quite confident that it will do the same for you.