Check both check boxes: I Want to Be Able to Give Others Access to My Files and I

Part II ✦ Planning and Setting Up Networking — Hardware and Software your cable modem or DSL modem’s connection into the bridge and to a phone jack, and you can then access the Internet from your phone line network. The Linksys HomeLink Phoneline bridge is an excellent product; however, the bridge costs around 185. The bridge is compati- ble with any operating system, as long as the computer has an Ethernet port. NETGEAR’s Home Phoneline Adapter NETGEAR has a home phone line PCI adapter card you can use to turn your computers into a network. The card works on the phone lines without disturbing or disrupting your phone ser- vice. NETGEAR says the technology makes it possible to have a 10 Mbps connection. You can share your modem with this phone line network, and the card is compatible with Windows 98, NT, and 2000. It costs around 30 per card. Linksys PC Phoneline Adapter Card If you use a notebook on your phone line network, you can get Linksys’ HomeLink Phoneline 10M Integrated PC Card. This card can connect to any 1 Mbps or 10 Mbps network. The CardBus PC Card uses two standard RJ-11 telephone ports. You can use the card to share files, printers, CD drives, and Internet access cable modem, DSL, andor dial-up. This card is compatible with Windows 98, 2000, and Me. The cost is around 65. Phone line adapters for Macs and Linux You can use many phone line network cards with a Linux machine; however, the problem is finding the correct driver for your distribution. More and more phone line NICs are becoming supported. You can find the appropriate drivers by searching the Internet under your specific distro. Many phone line cards are available for the Macintosh, depending on your operating system and the required driver. Generally, all you need is a USB port and an adapter to connect nearly any phone line card to a Mac. ✦ For around 60, the Diamond HomeFree Phoneline External Adapter works with either a PC or a Mac. The Diamond doesn’t interfere with incoming phone calls and lets you share resources, such as scanners and printers, between computers. ✦ For around 90, you can use the Farallon Home Phoneline Adapter, which will work with Windows 98 or a Mac operating system. Xcom, D-Link, and others also make phone line NICs for Macintosh. Using Your Home’s Electrical Wiring for a Network You can also use your power lines for your home network, if you’re certain your home’s elec- trical lines are high quality, safe, and reliable. In a power lines network, you use electrical out- lets in your home to attach computers for sharing files, printers, Internet accounts, and peripherals. Don’t use a network that runs on your electrical wiring in a small-business office. The connec- tion is slow and the heavy use of other wired products in your business will most likely inter- fere with data transmission; for example, a company that has fax machines, copiers, shredders, and other electrical devices drawing the power is not ideal for a power line network. Small Business Tip Chapter 8 ✦ Using Alternative Cabling Methods Looking at power line networking Power line networks have solved earlier problems with interference and speed. As little as 3 years ago, you could expect speeds of only 350 Kbps with your power line networks. Now, depending on the technology you use and the specific power line network, you can expect data transmission speeds of 1 Mbps up to 12 Mbps. However, some problems with using your power lines still exist. The noise ratio is often high, which limits not only the number of computers you can attach to the network but affects the data transfer over the network as well. However, some companies have developed new tech- nologies to speed the transmission of data over power line networks. Linksys, for example, uses Orthogonal Frequency Division Multiplexing OFDM. OFDM simply means that several signals of different frequencies combine to form the signal for data transmission. When looking for a power line network, make sure the networking devices have the following: ✦ Are approved by the HomePlug Powerline Alliance. The alliance is an organization that certifies products to work in most homes — safely and efficiently. For more information about the HomePlug Powerline Alliance, see www.homeplug.org. ✦ Uses 56-bit encryption for security. ✦ Guarantee that if power line characteristics change during a session, the product con- tinues to provide a good network connection. Looking at power line products Many power line products are available for use in your home. Many of the manufacturers that produce products for Ethernet, wireless, and phone line networking also make products for power line products. Following are some of the more popular ones. If you can use an adapter for Ethernet, you can usually use it for Linux as well. The problem you’ll find is in the drivers; but power line products do not always need drivers. Use bridges and USB adapters for Linux or Macs. Power line networking data signals cannot pass through electrical transformers without being changed. Therefore, data signals become unreadable when the building connects to the regional power grid. If you’re the only occupant of a building, your data is safe from peo- ple down the street. However, if you’re in an office, apartment, or condo, other occupants might be on your side of the electrical transformer; so if they plug a power line networking device into their wall socket, they could read your data. NeverWire 14 OX-201 Phonex Broadband Corporation makes a HomePlug-compliant device called NeverWire for the Macintosh or PC to use the bandwidth of standard electrical wiring. You can attach multiple computers to your power lines, share peripheral devices, play games, and share the Internet. Since NeverWire uses no software drivers, the device supports both the Mac and Windows systems: Mac 8.6 and up including Mac OS X, TCPIP, and AppleTalk. Caution Tip