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Contact: chris@araucaria.org.uk
Frequently asked questions about networking for small voluntary organisations
1. What do you mean by a network?
2. Why would we want one?
3. What kinds of resources can be shared?
4. What kinds of network are there?
5. How are the computers linked together?
6. What do we need?
7. How much will it all cost?
8. Are there any drawbacks?
1. What do you mean by a network?
A computer network is simply a system which allows computers to exchange information and share resources. In this context, we’re talking about a local area network or LAN, which connects together computers within one office or building. (The Internet is another example of a network — this time on a much wider, even global scale.)
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2. Why would we want one?
If you have an office with more than one computer, you probably often have to move information from one to the other. It’s merely inconvenient if the file you need is on the computer at the other side of the room. But what if the file is too big to fit on a floppy? With a network, you can open the file without moving from your desk.
Perhaps you have details of your clients on a database: either the database sits on one computer and only one person has easy access, or you have copies on several computers which quickly get out of sync. With a network, the database stays on one machine, but everyone can access it to view and update information.
Access to the Internet is becoming more and more important — but what if you only have one phone line free for Internet use? With a network, one computer with a modem is connected to the phone line, but everyone can access the world-wide web and send email (all at the same time, if they want). Faster Internet connections such as ISDN and ASDL lines can also be shared.
If you travel around, or work from home sometimes, you may use a laptop. Very convenient, until you have to transfer files to and from your desktop machine or print a document. But once you plug your laptop into the network, all your files are easily available, as are printers and Internet connections.
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3. What kinds of resources can be shared?
Files of all kinds: custom templates, forms, logos and graphics, standard documents like contracts, letterheads, office manuals and policy statements are some obvious examples, but just about any document that needs to be accessed by more than one person. As mentioned above, it is particularly useful to share access to databases.
Printers can be shared so they are available to the whole network. Rather than having a printer on every desk, a small office might have one inkjet printer capable of colour and one fast laser printer capable of big black and white jobs, both available to all the computers on the LAN.
An Internet connection can be shared using software which comes as part of Windows, allowing web access across the network. Email is a little more complicated: a basic setup will allow everyone to access separate email accounts, but a much better solution is to use an additional mail server program to route the messages to the correct recipients.
Finally, one big advantage of a LAN can be for backup. Even in the most disciplined office, if everyone is responsible for backing up their own data, something is sure to get missed. An alternative is for one person to go round each machine (often with a portable Zip drive in tow), disturbing all the other workers in the process. A much better solution is to centralise the backup process on one machine, with files that need to be backed up from all the computers being stored on a backup device such as a CD writer or tape drive.
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4. What kinds of network are there?
Smaller LANs (say up to a dozen computers) work well as peer-to-peer networks. This means that no computer has a special role: they all run the normal versions of Windows and can be used to do everyday work, but in addition they can share files, printers, etc with other machines on the network. Peer-to-peer networks are inexpensive and straightforward to set up and run, but if many people are trying to access the same resource (a central database, say) it can overstrech the machine where that resource is located.
The alternative is a server-based network. A server is a specialised computer, usually with a large hard drive and designed to be very reliable. It normally runs a specialised server operating system like Windows 2000 or Linux. It would not normally be used to work on directly — instead it is dedicated to providing files and other resources to users working on other computers. The advantage is that files, etc are stored in a secure central location, allowing clear organisation and making backups much simpler.
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5. How are the computers linked together?
There are various systems for connecting the computers. Perhaps the most commonly used nowadays is a 10 Base T network using Cat 5 UTP cabling, which looks a little like the cable used for telephones. This system also requires a piece of equipment called a hub — basically a box which sits at the centre of the network. Cables radiate out from the hub to the computers in a star formation.
An older cabling system called 10 Base 2 or thin ethernet uses coaxial cable (similar to the cable used for TV aerials). No hub is used — the computers are connected together in one long chain. I would not recommend using this system when setting up a new network, as it can be less reliable.
Whichever system you use involves routing cables round the office. The simplest method is to run the cables round the walls; neater, but more expensive, is to use cable trunking or route cables under floors or through ceilings. An alternative is to use a wireless network, which sends the data via radio waves. This is very flexible and convenient, though still more expensive.
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6. What do we need?
For a basic office network you will need a network interface card to fit inside each computer, a device called a hub which connects everything together, and enough cable to connect each computer to the hub. For a small peer-to-peer network, you don’t need any additional software: everything you need is included with Windows.
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7. How much will it all cost?
For a small office with six computers, budget perhaps £90 for the network cards, £30 for the hub and around £20 for cable. I would charge around £160 to install and configure everything (about a day’s work), so something in the region of £300 should cover it.
If you contact me to discuss your exact requirements, I’ll be glad to give you a more precise quote.
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8. Are there any drawbacks?
While a server-based network has advantages in terms of efficiency, reliability and security, bear in mind that you may need someone with more specialised skills to administer it. Servers usually use operating systems like Windows 2000 or Linux, which are rather different from the desktop versions of Windows that many people are used to. Although a properly set up server should be very reliable, remember that if it does go down not much work will be possible, as no-one can access their files. Probably only medium to large organisations will have the resources to go down this route.
But for a small peer-to-peer network, there are not many drawbacks beyond the initial outlay. Once the system is up and running there is very little that can go wrong. But there are a few points to bear in mind:
- You will want to give some thought to the best way of organising files, and decide whether some files (personnel records for example) ought not to be available to everyone. (This isn’t really a problem: you can decide which folders are available to be shared over the network, and access can be limited by a password if you like.)
- Not all programs are designed to be used on a network, and there could potentially be problems (crashes and/or loss of data) if two people try to make changes to a document at the same time. Most common office applications (such as Microsoft Word and Excel) are designed to prevent this happening, so in practice it isn’t a big problem.
- Staff may need a little extra training to allow them to use the network effectively.
- You will want to ensure that basic security measures like virus scanners and backup systems are in place and working properly — of course these are things you ought to be thinking about network or not!