Working from home means that you have to set up a proper home office network. Having only a laptop and connection to the Internet is a simple home office network, but as you add more pieces of equipment to that network, it will become much more complicated.
How to design a home office network? Designing a home office network means to properly connect multiple devices such as laptops, tablets, printers, PCs, etc., to each other, properly positioning the router and connection to the Internet with a sole purpose of having the best information flow.
Usually, people who are working from home or are owning a business that runs from home, are lacking IT knowledge or support from IT professionals. It is recommended to hire an IT consultant who will establish the whole network environment, deal with all arising computer issues on a part-time basis and train the in-house employees to maintain the network.
An ideal office network for this kind of business should be easily managed, highly functional and with reasonable costs.
Even though no two small business is the same nor has the same needs, their network is more vulnerable to spyware and viruses than the larger networks, because of the software that does not have strong security. For any type of network, it is important to have up-to-date software that will fight off all the viruses just as having routers and hardware with top quality.
When designing your home office, the first thing you should consider is the internet connection, which is your connection to the world. You need to make a decision on how fast you want your internet to be. Of course, the faster the better.
Wireless or Wired Network ?
Home networks before 2008 were mainly wired networks. These networks are using Ethernet over UTP cable and are faster than the wireless networks. This point should be taken into consideration for the jobs that don’t accept network lag.
Wired networks are reliable and secure, but don’t work well with devices that don’t have a port for an Ethernet, such as mobile phones and tablets. They are a bit difficult to set up, due to the connecting cables everywhere around the office.
Also, visitors or clients can’t access your internet with their remote devices (laptops and phones). The wired network can be used as a backbone, which means connecting diverse networks, routers, switches as well as different access point for wireless on different floors.
Wireless networks are using Wi-FI, they are really easy to set up, since there are no cables lying around the office, and are a bit slower in comparison with the wired networks.
These networks are allowing easy access for different types of remote devices (phones, tablets). The downside of the wireless networks is that there is a chance to set them up insecurely and they are not as reliable as the wired networks if they don’t have a proper configuration.
Wireless networks can be used for connecting different types of peripheral tools and devices. It is especially useful when it comes to connecting multiple computers with one printer that has a wifi connection, instead of using just one computer for one printer.
It is recommended for home office networks to use a mixture of wireless and wired networks.
Components and structure of setting up a home office network
The main components for setting up an office network are:
- Secure and fast internet connection from the provider of the Internet;
- DSL modem;
- Router for connecting the network to high-speed internet;
- Switch or ethernet hub for connecting devices equipped for Ethernet;
- Wireless access points for connecting devices equipped for using wifi network;
- Phone cable or fiber optic;
- Broadband filters;
- Software for security and firewall.
Usually, the wireless router or ethernet hub (switch) that connect the home office network to the Internet are the main components of the network, sometimes the only components.
A lot of home business owners get confused when choosing the right hardware for their network. So the main difference that they should know is between switches and routers.
A switch is a device that is allowing all devices in the network to communicate with each other and share data. Switches are tying together all the devices that have ethernet cable port into one network such as PCs, servers, printers, scanners, VoIP etc.
A router is much smarter than a switch. By definition, a router means connecting together different types of networks. At the same time, it is incorporating an ethernet switch, wireless access point and a DSL modem in a single box. Also, it is protecting your network devices from cyber attacks.
A DSL modem is a device that by converting digital signals into analog, makes them suitable for sending them over the telephone line. This device is usually incorporated in the broadband router and can’t be acquired as a separate component.
Broadband Filter is filtering telephone signals from DSL signals so it enables you to use the telephone and the internet simultaneously.
Usually, the firewall is built into the router, for small or home office networks. Its purpose is to pose as a digital gate that is blocking unauthorized access to your network from internet intruders on one hand and allowing your network devices to connect to internet devices on the other hand.
Location of the Wireless Router
Since the wireless router needs to be connected to the telephone line, cable or fiber-optic network, most people locate it near the telephone socket. Instead of using this location for your router, you can use WAN cables or long phone cables. The wireless router is providing the wireless access point, so it is recommended to place it in a central location.
Don’t install your router behind the sofa, or next to microwaves, motors, cordless phones or hide it in a cabinet.
There are different apps that can help you in testing the wifi strength in different locations, so you can move the router in the best possible location to get the best connection.
Extending your home office network
If there is a need for extending the home office network in your house, due to an increased number of devices connected on the network, you will have to buy additional components for the network. Your home network can be extended by installing more wireless access points, or running cables in the rooms you need more coverage.
Setting up your router
To set up the router you need to access it through a web browser and log in with a designated username and password. Then you should make some changes to the basic parameters of your router, such as setting a name and password of the router so it can’t be accessed by anyone.
How to Test Internet Connection Speed?
There are a lot of online tools for testing the speed of your internet connection. When you buy a new modem, run the test for the internet speed, and save those results. If it looks like the network speed is getting slower in the future, these results will pose as a base point. It’s preferable to use the same tool for testing your internet speed.
Bear in mind that the speed in any network is determined by the component that is slowest. So for example, if you have one computer with a network card of one Gigabit, talking to a computer with a network card of 100 Mbit/s, the network speed is restricted to 100 Mbit/s.
How to Protect Your Network Security?
Working with clients means that you need to share information and files that are crucial for their business. So protecting both yours and their data, it’s highly important and should be an integral part of all operations. An unencrypted or unprotected network connection with old software, no matter its design, makes the network vulnerable to different types of proxies, malware, spyware, phishing, botnets, spam etc. All of these threats might do damage to the entire business.
- Encrypt the network connection using passwords that are complex through WEP (wireless encryption protocols);
- Set some restrictions and authorization access to some of your employees;
- Set some limitations to the router’s access;
- Make sure that the software for security of the network and virus protection is up to date;
- Set up a separate wireless network for your guests;
- For remote computer access use VPN.
What are the Main Network Design Types ?
- LAN (Local Area Network) – This type of network is connecting local devices that are close to each other like in an office or an office building. Usually, the Ethernet connection is using LAN;
- WAN (Wide Area Network) – This type of network is connecting devices that are far from each other, even by a few miles;
- MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) – This type of network is used for city-wide network and schools;
- PAN (Personal Area Network) – This type of network is built for home offices, and is connecting multiple devices such as desktop computers, laptops, mobile phones, printers etc.
- CAN (Campus Area Network) – This type of network is connecting LAN within a certain area, usually universities and schools.