1. Additional Networking Functions
Besides sharing files between computers, there
are several other things that you can do with a network. In the next few
sections, I outline some additional features you might want to include
in your network.
Printing and Faxing
Shared printers simply need to be connected to
their host Windows computers with a standard USB or parallel printer
cable. Other computers can then reach the printer through the network.
However, If you need to put a printer farther than about 10 feet away
from a networked computer, beyond the reach of a standard printer cable,
you have three choices:
Get
a really long cable and take your chances. The electrical signal for a
USB or parallel printer connection is not supposed to be extended more
then 10 feet, but with parallel cables I’ve gotten away with 25 feet in
the past. Buy a high-quality shielded cable. You might get data errors
(bad printed characters) with this approach.
Use
a network-capable printer and cable it directly to your network switch.
Some printers have networking capability built in. For some printers,
you can buy an add-on network printer module. Alternatively, you can buy
a “print server” module, which connects to the printer’s USB or
parallel port and to a network cable. Network supply catalogs list
myriad such devices. Some of the newer DSL/cable-sharing routers and
wireless access points have a print server built in. These are great for
small offices.
Use
a printer-extender device. These devices turn a parallel port signal
into a serial data connection, somewhat as a modem does. I don’t like
these devices because they result in very slow printing.
If several people on your network need to send
or receive faxes, you might want to set up a network-based faxing
system. Unfortunately, Windows 7 does not let you share your fax modem
with other users on your network, as Windows Server does. If you want to
share a single fax line with several
users on your network, you have to use a third-party solution. The
easiest approach is to use a “network-ready” all-in-one
printer/scanner/fax unit. If you shop for one of these, be sure that its
faxing features are network compatible. There are also third-party
software products that can give network users shared access to a fax
modem. The former gold standard product was Symantec’s WinFax Pro, but
it’s been discontinued, and most of the products still on the market
seem to be oriented toward large corporations. For a small office
network, you might consider products such as Snappy Fax Network Server
from www.snappysoftware.com or ActFax from www.actfax.com.
Providing Internet Connectivity
You’ll probably want to have Internet access on
your LAN. It’s far less expensive, and far safer security-wise, to have
one connection to the Internet for the entire LAN than to let each user
fend for himself or herself.
Windows 7 has a built-in Internet Connection
Sharing feature that lets a single computer use a dial-up, cable, or DSL
modem and make the connection on behalf of any user on your LAN. You
can also use an inexpensive hardware device called a router to make the
connection. I strongly prefer the hardware devices over Windows Internet
Connection Sharing.
Providing Remote Access
You also can provide connectivity to your
network from the outside world, either through the Internet or via a
modem. This connectivity enables you to access your LAN resources from
home or out in the field, with full assurance that your network is safe
from outside attacks.
If you need to access your network from outside
and you aren’t planning to have a permanent direct Internet connection,
you might want to plan for the installation of a telephone line near one
of your Windows 7 computers so that you can set up a dedicated modem
line for incoming access.
2. Installing Network Adapters
If you’re installing a new network adapter,
follow the manufacturer’s instructions for installing the product for
Windows 7. If there are instructions for Windows Vista but not Windows
7, the Vista instructions should work. And if there are no instructions
at all, just follow these steps:
1. | If
you have purchased an internal card, shut down Windows, shut off the
computer, unplug it, open the case, install the card in an empty slot,
close the case, and restart Windows.
If
you are adding a PCMCIA or USB adapter, be sure you’re logged on with a
Computer Administrator account, plug it in while Windows is running,
and skip ahead to step 3.
|
2. | When
you’re back at the Windows login screen, log in as a Computer
Administrator. Windows displays the New Hardware Detected dialog box
when you log in.
|
3. | In
most cases, Windows should already have the software it needs to run
your network adapter. If it doesn’t, the New Hardware Detected dialog
box might instruct you to insert your Windows 7 DVD. If Windows cannot
find a suitable driver for your adapter from this DVD, it might ask you
to insert a driver disk that your network card’s manufacturer should
have provided (either a CD-ROM or a floppy disk). It may also offer to
go online to get a driver from Windows Update. If you have an Internet
connection up at this time, the online option is very useful.
If you are asked, insert the requested disk and click OK. If
Windows says that it cannot locate an appropriate device driver, try
again, and this time click the Browse button. Locate a folder named
Windows 7 or Windows Vista (or some reasonable approximation) and click
OK.
Note The exact name of the
folder containing your device driver varies from vendor to vendor. You
might have to poke around a little on the disk to find it. |
|
4. | After
Windows has installed the card’s driver software, it automatically
configures and uses the card. Check the Device Manager, as described in
the next section, to see whether the card is installed and functioning.
|
Checking Existing Adapters
If your adapter was already installed when you
set up Windows 7, it should be ready to go. Follow these steps to see
whether the adapter is already set up:
1. | Click Start, right-click Computer, and select Manage.
Note If you see an exclamation point icon in the Network Adapters list, for tips on getting the card
to work before you proceed. Here’s an additional tip: Network adapters
are really inexpensive. If you’re having trouble with an old adapter,
just go get a new one. |
|
2. | Select Device Manager in the left pane, and open the Network Adapters list in the right pane.
|
3. | Look
for an entry for your network card. If it appears and does not have a
yellow exclamation point (!) icon to the left of its name, the card is
installed and correctly configured.
If an entry appears but has a yellow exclamation point icon by its name, the card is not correctly configured.
|
4. | If
no entry exists for the card, the adapter is not fully plugged into the
motherboard, it’s broken, or it is not Plug and Play capable. Be sure
the card is installed correctly. If the card is broken or not Plug and
Play, you should replace it.
|
Installing Multiple Network Adapters
You might want to install multiple network adapters in your computer in these situations:
You simultaneously connect to two or
more different networks with different IP addresses or protocols. You’d
use a separate adapter to connect to each network.
You
want to share a broadband cable or DSL Internet connection with your
LAN without using a hardware-sharing router. I strongly recommend using a
hardware router, but you can also do it using one adapter to connect to your LAN and another to connect to your cable or DSL modem.
You
have two different network types, such as phoneline and Ethernet, and
you want the computers on both LAN types to be able to communicate. You
could use a hardware access point, but you could also install both types
of adapters in one of your computers and use the Bridging feature to
connect the networks.
I suggest that you use the following procedure to install multiple adapters:
1. | Install,
configure, and test the first adapter. (If you’re doing this to share
an Internet connection, install and configure the one you’ll use for the
Internet connection first. Be sure you can connect to the Internet
before you proceed.)
|
2. | Click
Start, Control Panel, Network and Internet, Network and Sharing Center.
Click Change Adapter Settings from the Tasks list on the left side of
the window. Select the icon named Local Area Connection and choose
Rename This Connection in the ribbon bar. (Or right-click the icon and
select Rename.) Change the connection’s name to something that indicates
what it’s used for, such as “Connection to Cable Modem” or “Office
Ethernet Network.”
|
3. | Write
the name on a piece of tape or a sticky label and apply it to the back
of your computer above the network adapter, or to the edge plate of the
network card.
|
4. | Install
the second adapter. Configure it and repeat steps 2 and 3 with the new
Local Area Connection icon. Name this connection appropriately—for
example, “LAN” or “Wireless Net”—and put a tape or paper label on the
computer, too.
|
If you follow these steps, you’ll be able to
easily distinguish the two connections instead of needing to remember
which Local Area Connection icon is which.
