Installing a network
Not many of the teaching rooms we visit have their computers networked - perhaps due to the misconception that a network is difficult to set up and maintain. But networking has many potential benefits, for example:
- only one copy of teaching materials needs to be updated - all students access it over the network
- students can sit anywhere yet still save and access their own files
- new software and patches can be installed over the network, simplifying maintenance
- students learn a real-world skill - how to use a network!
Personally I would rather cut down on the number of computers in a room rather than forgo installing a network, that's how important I think it is.
Over the years there have been various network "topologies" in use, but these days a simple Windows network will generally use twisted-pair cable, RJ45 connectors and a central hub - and network cards in each PC of course. This set up is simple, reliable and fairly cheap. Each computer connects to the central hub with its own cable, so if a cable fails, only one computer is affected. If the hub burns out, then the whole network goes down of course...
Windows ships with perfectly adequate peer-to-peer networking software built in, so there's no need to look for additional software. You may like to install a more secure client-server set-up if you have the experience, but it's really not necessary for the classroom or most small offices.
There are basically three stages to setting up a network:
- install network interface cards (NICs) in each computer
- install and configure the network software on each computer
- run cables between each computer and the hub
None of these steps is difficult if you do some basic planning and then work systematically, so let's press on...