PC Magazine Guide to Home Networking

Rating:
Summary: Broad appeal
Review: Directed at a very general audience. Freed does not assume you are proficient with either hardware or software related to building out a home network. He gives careful exposition of a wired ethernet LAN and of the increasingly popular wireless LAN.

For the wired LAN, he really does start from the basics. There is a closeup photo of an RJ-45 connector, as a good example. This is one of those things that computer professionals have known for years. And once you know something like this, you've subsumed the knowledge so thoroughly that it is axiomatic. So it's easy to forget that for many people, RJ-45 is forbidding gibberish. That is just one case. He follows it up with a photo of common cable tools. In other words, you can take this book to an electrical supplies store and find the items. Some of you may laugh at this. But there are people out there who really need this basic advice. (Perhaps you?)

Most of the book is this way. Broad appeal.

Rating:
Summary: Great guide - even if you are not a beginner
Review: This is a very thorough guide to the variety of home networking options available. Both wired and wireless networking is covered (in their own chapters,) and it offers good advice on selecting equipment, as well as complete step by step instructions for setting up the network, installing computers and other machines (like TiVo, Media Servers, networked DVD players and more,) sharing internet access, printers, all the configuration and troubleshooting - everything you need to get up and running with a home network.

But for me, the thing that really sets this book off from other home networking books is the Home Networking Cookbook section. This part provides instructions and setup for a dozen different network configurations ranging from the basic LAN with router, to separate modem and router locations, to expanded wired LAN with wireless access points, secure remote access configurations and more. This alone was worth the price of the book as in each configuration it outlines the equipment needed, the network layout, configuration and setup.

If you are new to home networking, this book is perfect for you and will get you up and running in no time. If you are a bit more experienced, you will still find the troubleshooting and configuration sections useful, and for me the Cookbook section was the quickest and easiest way to set up a variety of configurations.

Rating:
Summary: Great guide - even if you are not a beginner
Review: This is a very thorough guide to the variety of home networking options available. Both wired and wireless networking is covered (in their own chapters,) and it offers good advice on selecting equipment, as well as complete step by step instructions for setting up the network, installing computers and other machines (like TiVo, Media Servers, networked DVD players and more,) sharing internet access, printers, all the configuration and troubleshooting - everything you need to get up and running with a home network.

But for me, the thing that really sets this book off from other home networking books is the Home Networking Cookbook section. This part provides instructions and setup for a dozen different network configurations ranging from the basic LAN with router, to separate modem and router locations, to expanded wired LAN with wireless access points, secure remote access configurations and more. This alone was worth the price of the book as in each configuration it outlines the equipment needed, the network layout, configuration and setup.

If you are new to home networking, this book is perfect for you and will get you up and running in no time. If you are a bit more experienced, you will still find the troubleshooting and configuration sections useful, and for me the Cookbook section was the quickest and easiest way to set up a variety of configurations.

Rating:
Summary: Basic information
Review: This is an OK book for a beginner who knows little or nothing about networking. It does describe the various types of home networking available today, with a lot of information about wireless technologies. It could have been better organized by covering ethernet and wireless in separate sections. It is neither very clear for one getting started in home networking nor very helpful for one with basic knowledge who is looking to establish a more complex home network. It is an easy read and the "tips" inserts are helpful--really the best informative parts of the book. However, unless you are brand new to computers and networking, that is about all that is useful. Otherwise, save your money.