Phone line networking is similar to power line networking in that it uses
already existing wiring in your home to connect computers together. Rather than
using power lines, however, it uses phone lines.
In order to connect your computers to a wall-jack, you must either have a
special phone networking card installed in your computer (a regular modem jack
won’t work) or have a phone line adapter that will allow you to plug in the
phone wire into another port. Most phone networking products use cards that
must be installed into the machine (making phone networking more difficult that
power line networking).
Once you have your card installed or your adapter ready, you need merely
plug in all computers into the nearest phone jack, and they will then be able
to be configured for your LAN. (Note that if you have two or more lines in your
home, the computers must all be connected to the same phone line).
Wi-Fi Networking
The newest technology in the networking field is wireless networking, or
Wi-Fi. With Wi-Fi, you require no cords, cables or lines at all. Computers talk
to each other via radio signals.
Computers cannot talk directly to each other via a Wi-Fi network; however,
they must have a router in between them. This is a small box that you plug in
at some location, and is generally also where you plug in your DSL or cable
internet connection if you want to share internet between computers.
The router has a range of about 100 feet, which should cover most every area
in your house. The signal sent by the router is not affected by floors,
ceilings, walls, doors, etc., so you do not need direct line of sight between
computers and the router.
Once you have your router installed, you must have your wireless adapters
installed into your computers. These adapters generally plug into either a USB
or ethernet port. Once router and adapters are in place, you are ready to set
up your LAN on your computers.