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Home Networking Do-It-Yourself For Dummies

by Lawrence C. Miller

Home Networking Do-It-Yourself For Dummies

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Copyright 2011 by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published by Wiley Publishing, Inc., Indianapolis, Indiana

Published simultaneously in Canada

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Library of Congress Control Number: 2011924145

ISBN: 978-0-470-56173-7

Manufactured in the United States of America

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About the Author

Lawrence Miller, CISSP, has worked in information security and technology management for 20 years. He is currently the Director of IT for a sports and event retail merchandising company and recently completed his MBA at Indiana University Kelley School of Business. He has previously worked as the IT Operations Manager in a large U.S. law firm and as a consultant to various industries in the U.S. and Japan, and was a Chief Petty Officer in the U.S. Navy. Larry has written several other For Dummies books covering numerous topics, including information security and unified communications.

Dedication

To Michelle Louise Kirkiewicz if beauty were only skin deep, you would be the most thick-skinned woman I had ever known. But true beauty is in the heart, and you are truly the most beautiful woman I have ever loved.

Authors Acknowledgments

Thank you to all the wonderful people at Wiley I have worked with on so many projects over the years. You all make writing so enjoyable and fulfilling: Amy, Blair, Carrie, Dan,... E, F, G,... Heidi, I, Jen, Katie, Laura, Mike, N, O, Paul,... Q, Rev, Susan,... T, U, V,... W, X, Y, and Zoe!

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Introduction

F ifty years ago, most households had only one television and one telephone. As the price of these technological marvels dropped, families began purchasing additional televisions and telephones and the home network was born!

Think about it: Your televisions are basically networked together on a cable network. Okay, not a perfect analogy in the early days you had rabbit ears, which are more of a wireless network except its not exactly a network. Your telephones are wired together in serial multiple phones with one gateway (your telephone number).

In the not too distant past, the home computer sat on a desk in a study or family room and everyone went to the computer to use it. Today, computers have become the next technological commodity, and it is not uncommon to have multiple computers in a single household. And with wireless networks, the computer goes with you to wherever its most convenient for you to use.