Hardware
Review of: |
| With
the availability of higher speed Internet connections, and the lower cost
of PCs, more people are considering adding a second or third computer to
their home. Adding more than one machine brings up the issue of networking,
or connecting the machines together in order to share resources, such as
files, printers, and even Internet connections. Two of the main areas holding
them back are the cost, and the effort in setting things up.
The cost of networking includes not only the hardware associated with the computers, but the cabling necessary to connect them. If you have two computers in the same room, the solution is simple. Install two NICs (Network Interface Cards) inside the computers, and use a “crossover” cable to connect the two NICs. Install the appropriate software, and you have a basic network. A 10/100 fast T NIC can be purchased for as little as $14.00, and a “crossover” cable for about $8.00, so you see, this really is low cost, and easy. The expense goes up, maybe WAY up, if you have the computers in different rooms. The NICs cost the same, but connecting them is the problem. How do you do that? You buy bulk cat 5 cable and connectors, and a sharp drill bit! The cable will have to be run through some walls. Three possibilities exist here; drill through the wall at one computer location to the outside of the house, then around to the receiving computer, through that wall to the receiving computer; through two inner walls, if the two computers are in adjoining rooms; or do the job properly by doing what is called a wall drop. This is done by going into the attic, drilling down through the appropriate braces, and cutting a hole in the sheetrock (drywall) to install a wall plate, much like a cable, or phone jack. You then “drop” the cable down to the jack plate and connect it to the wall. I recently helped a friend do exactly that. He wanted to network his computer with his wife’s computer in order to share an Internet connection. The total cost for all the necessary hardware was around $138.00. This included three NICs, three cables, a hub (to connect three computers), fifty feet of cat 5 cable (for the wall drop), and appropriate connectors and wall plates. Notice that he decided to add another computer. Now that is not very expensive, but remember, we did the labor for free. My buddy assured me that it would be easy, as he had installed a dish with a wall drop, and his attic was large and easy to move around in. It turned into an all day job. The wall where his main computer was located, was adjoining a restroom, and had additional bracing, which blocked the “drop”. It did not help that his homebuilder had a sense of humor, and heavily insulated, with fiberglass batting, that particular inner wall. I will not go into the story further. If he had paid professional installers to do that job, the cost would have been hundreds more. The good news however, is that they now have three networked computers, sharing files, printers, and a DSL Internet connection. If you are intimidated by either the above cost, or the effort involved, but really want a network, and a shared Internet connection, I may have a solution for you. There are several companies that make a kit to do the above using existing telephone lines inside your home. The basic starter kits typically include two PCI Network Cards, 2 RJ-11 phone cables, software, and a user’s guide. You install the cards inside each computer, using an available PCI slot, then connect the RJ-11 cables from each card to an existing wall phone jack. The phone is then plugged into an outlet in each card. This allows the phone signal to pass through without interference from your computers. Since the signal from the Network Cards operates at a different frequency than the phone, there is no interference problem, and you can use your phone, answering machine, or fax without problem. Well, actually there is one problem, but is an already existing one. If you use a dial up modem connection, you are already aware that your phone will not work while you are online. It is an either-or proposition. This setup does not change that. You can, however, use the network capabilities without problem. Obviously, you need to have two or more existing phone jacks, otherwise, the cost is in favor of a real network setup. The only downside to these phone nets, is speed. A 10 base T (standard EtherNet) is rated at 10Mbps transfer rate, while these phone nets only rate 1Mbps. If you transfer data between machines now using Zip disks, or especially floppies, this speed will seem like warp speed, just nowhere near as fast as an EtherNet setup. I tried a system from Farallon called HomeLINE. The installation was just as described above. After installing the two cards inside my machines, and connecting the cables to the phone jacks, I installed the software. The software includes a basic network setup, and ISS from Intel for sharing an Internet connection. No problems were encountered during either hardware or software installation. My phone and answering machine both operated normally, as did my DSL connection. That is, when I was able to get the Internet connection to work. Sharing files, and operating applications on the other machine, both part of networking, worked flawlessly. An important part of networking, printer sharing, did not. Part of the set up is a procedure called “mapping”, where the computers “look” at each other to find out what resources are available to be shared. I connected a printer to the client machine, and tried to access it from the server. The printer showed up on the network, and I was able to print from the client machine, but not the server. A print job appeared to spool up, and transmit to the printer, but it never printed. I was also having trouble connecting to the Internet. Sometime it would connect, but most of the time, I received the message that the server was unavailable, even though it was. For the client to access the Internet, the server MUST be on. After troubleshooting using the manual, online help, and the web site for Farallon, uneventfully, I sent an e-mail to Farallon. After no response for two days, I called a non-toll-free number. Surprisingly, I had a living, breathing person on within thirty seconds, and was promptly transferred to a product support technician. After the necessary registration information, I outlined my problems. Right up front, I was told that the person who normally deals with this was not in, and my tech really did not know much about this product. He asked if I could hold a minute, and I agreed (what choice?), and he promptly came back on. He suggested I move the printer to the other machine to see if that solved the printer problem. I suggested that was missing the point; that a network should work the way I want, not the way it wants, and I should be able to put the printer anywhere on the network. He then asked for the version of the software I received with the product. It was version 1.00, whereupon he said it should be version 1.04, and he thought version 1.00 was not released. When asked about an upgrade, or patch, he said he knew nothing about it. He then suggested I remove the included software, and use the built in networking in Windows 98, as it was better than what was included, and see if that solved the printer, and Internet connection problems. The yugo of operating systems was better than their own software? Gulp! I swallowed a brave pill (chocolate chip cookie-extra chips), and let ‘er rip! CRAAAASH! The only truly reliable feature of Windows showed up. To get my machine to even boot, I had to remove the network cards, and re-install everything pertaining to the Farallon system. After, I was back to where I started, namely a functioning network, minus shared printer, and a sometime functioning Internet connection. I need to mention that the hardware functioned perfectly, just had problems with the software. I e-mailed Farallon, reporting the results, and have yet to hear back from them. I am still working on this, as I am sure I will find a setting that will allow this product to work. I also should point out that the person I talked to was friendly, and polite. Being told that the person who normally deals with this particular product was out, seems to indicate either an abnormally high product satisfaction (no problem phone calls), or a shortage of qualified help. Should you buy it? The only way I can recommend it would be if there are reasons preventing a standard network. Reasons such as living in an apartment, where you are not allowed to drill holes in walls, having to drill through brick or masonry, or some other installation difficulty, or only one phone jack. The cost of hardware is about the same for both, so that is really not an issue. I checked on the Internet, and this type of product does work, and the main criticism, is speed. System requirements
This product can usually be found locally at stores like CompUSA, and carries a suggested retail price of $108.98. Farallon Communications
No computers were harmed during this review (with enormous restraint). Russell Albach |