A Guide to Network Equipment

To the home user there is a multitude of networking equipment on sale. The naming and specifications of these devices can be confusing to the novice. The following guide is designed to cut through all the jargon and explain the terms, names and specifications making it easier to make the correct decisions when setting up a home or small office network.

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What is a Network?
A network usually consists of multiple computer devices which can communicate with each other enabling the sharing of information or data between them. With today’s technical advances networks are not limited to computers and laptops as they have extended to televisions, stereo equipment and even mobile devices such as phones and tablet PCs.

Wired Networks
Before the advances in wireless technology networks would mainly be “wired”. This would involve various devices between computers that would allow cables to be plugged into the machines enabling communication. These cables would limit the movement of the devices and on home networks would be impractical as it would usually require the drilling of holes.

Wireless Networks
In the last few years wireless networking has improved and now operates at speeds that allow networking of equipment reliably and more easily than ever before.

Network Speed
Network speeds are important when deciding which way to go when building a network for the home or office. Wired networks currently run at three speeds. These are measured in Megabits Per Second, the current speeds are 10Mbps, 100Mbps and Gigabit which runs at 1000Mbps. 10Mbps is very outdated in today’s networks as it cannot really cope with the transfer of data required by today’s applications and file sizes. 100Mbps can still be acceptable as long as there is not too much multimedia requirements as these files are large and usually take up a lot of network bandwidth.

There are currently four wireless standards for use around the home or office, 802.11a, 802.11b, 802.11g, or 802.11n. The first two standards 802.11a and 802.11b are very slow and also very insecure to the point where they should not be used on networks at all. 802.11g operates at 54Mbps and is still useable on networks. It will work adequately when surfing the internet and handles the transfer of data at home or in the office. 802.11n is the latest standard to be introduced and can operate at speeds up to 100mbps. This is the standard that should be implemented if using wireless networks.

Network Equipment

Cables
Wired networks require special cables or network cables to function. The computer, laptop or network equipment has to have a network port to enable these cables to be connected to them. The port is called a RJ45 port. There are a couple of types of network cable that can connect network enabled devices to a wired network, these are CAT5, CAT5e and CAT6 cables. For the majority of uses the CAT5e should be used as this can handle all network speeds including Gigabit 1000Mbps speeds. Note that CAT5 does not support Gigabit networking.

Network Switches
A network switch is used to connect multiple computer devices using network cables. They usually have a number of RJ45 ports used to connect the devices to the switch. They can come in various sizes and have a differing amount of ports built-in. A network switch can have as little as four ports for home or small office use but they also can come with 8, 16, 32 and 48 ports, obviously the larger switches are usually found on larger business networks.

Some switches come with a management interface which can be accessed via a web browser allowing certain settings to be manipulated in the switch such as enabling and disabling ports. It will also allow segmenting of the network but this is not usually a requirement for home and small office networks.

Network Routers
As the name suggests, the role of the network router is to route traffic around a network. They take the data being transmitted around the network and analyse it and then send it to the required destination.

Typically a home router will interface with the various network equipment around the home and manage the passing of information between these devices and even the internet via the modem. Before the common application of modern routers, internet connection sharing between multiple devices was long winded and very unreliable. These days many ISPs (Internet Service Providers) supply a router as part of their installation or package.

A router may also have wireless technology built-in allowing the connection of wireless devices to the network. These wireless devices then have the ability to access and share resources on the network via the same router.

A typical home router will have four RJ45 ports, a port for connecting it to the internet and wireless capabilities allowing it to become the central networking device around the home.

Network Attached Storage
NAS or network attached storage was once only used for business to store data shared amongst devices on the network. There are now devices designed to do this for home use. The network attached storage is basically one or more hard disk drives contained in a box which interfaces with the home network using a cable. These can be connected to the router or switch. They have an interface that can be accessed by a web / internet browser allowing simple configuration and backing up etc. These devices are accessed by computers, laptops etc using built-in networking allowing browsing, copying of files to and from the network attached storage directly.

Media Players
These are some of the latest network devices that can be installed around the home. They can interface with the home television and even stereo equipment allowing movies and audio files to be played. Media players are put to good use in conjunction with network attached storage accessing media files and playing them around the home.

Network Cards and Adapters
These devices are used to connect a device to the network. They can be wireless or wired. A modern PC should come with these fitted by default. If a computer / laptop does not have network capabilities or does not have the required capabilities for the network to which it is connecting then an adapter can be purchased to enable the connection to be added.

Summary
There is a lot of varied network equipment that can be used around the home or office and hopefully this article has cleared up some of the confusion about the technologies available. If you are unsure of your requirements then a simple search will bring millions of results enabling research and advice from other users who have created their own network.

The author has worked in the IT industry for approximately 15 years and has worked in various support roles for companies and public bodies. The company, IvoryEgg for which he now works is a supplier of Networking Equipment and consumer electronics.

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Google Reduces Costs by Repurposing Hardware, Using Passive Cooling

As cost reduction trends continue to emerge in the data storage market, Google appears to be leading the pack with some extremely innovative and creative methods. Striving to make their data centers more efficient, they have implemented several plans to negate environmental impact and reduce spending.

Google isn’t bashful about their cost effective strategy. On its data center website, Google states, “our approach is to reduce, reuse, and recycle as much as we possibly can.”

To reduce their environmental impact, Google has built a data center in Hamina, Finland that uses passive cooling from the ocean as well as outside air. Frigid ocean water from the Bay of Finland is be pumped in to cool the data center, which Google says is cost and energy efficient.

This data center may also include another very important element of Google’s cost saving strategy: repurposed data hardware. Google has been repurposing servers since 2007, and says “Before we buy new equipment and materials, we look for ways to reuse what we already have.” This wise choice has helped Google avoid purchasing over 90,000 replacement machines.

How can cost saving strategies from Google work for you? Ocean water cooling systems may not be convenient (or even feasible!) for your enterprise, but repurposing data hardware can provide you with tremendous cost savings.

Repurpose and Extend Legacy Systems

One common misconception is that system arrays need to be replaced per a manufacturer’s suggestion when storage arrays reach end-of-life. Usually, this action is associated with a costly system purchase that requires users to purchase a brand new storage arrays at exorbitant costs, even when the old array still meets current data requirements. However, this is not the only option.

Storage arrays can be repurposed, and the life of a legacy system can be extended as long as it continues to meet data requirements. Storage arrays should only be replaced when they no longer meet data requirements. Want to start repurposing your hardware like Google does? Here are three ideas for repurposing legacy storage equipment:

1. Disaster Recovery:Replacing a legacy production system gives storage managers a great opportunity to beef up the disaster recovery plan. Often, upgrades made in production need to be matched at disaster recovery to ensure all critical applications are properly protected. Alternative storage vendors can provide equipment, but can also help with data migration.

2. Archive Capacity: Legacy equipment can be repurposed as an archive target for low-performance data with long retention periods. Swapping fibre channel for SATA high-capacity disks is one way to breathe new life into a storage array.

3. Consolidation: Often, your existing disk drives can be repurposed and consolidated into larger systems. Depending on the upgrade path of your current storage array, the disks may meet increased performance demands when housed in a newer storage array.

Avoid purchasing a new system that costs between $50,000 and $500,000. Storage vendors like Reliant Technology are here to help you repurpose as much of your current data hardware as possible while increasing your savings.

Need help planning or additional information? Talk to a dedicated Reliant Storage Specialist today to get expert advice and ensure you have the storage you need at a price you can afford.

Kari Fuller is a Marketing Coordinator at Reliant Technology. The industry leader in the delivery of alternative data storage hardware solutions, Reliant Technology offers a full slate of hardware, software, experience and expertise to meet your storage needs today, tomorrow and into the future. For more information, please visit the Reliant Technology website or call 877.227.0828.

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Often the big dogs acquire companies just to hire their best employees. You could say they are Acqhuired, the way they call it these days.

How about the people who get lured into a dumping their startups for prominent technology jobs and huge companies? Didn’t they start their startup hoping to be the next Google or Facebook? How could they merely settle for a few million dollars? And how about these venture capital firms that invested in them?

They hire talent for the very best technology jobs these days in just this way.

There is no one place that we go to, usually. What makes things really difficult usually is that there are always multiple ways in which to achieve anything. We usually learn the hard way to do something and think that it’s the only way – unaware that there’s a far easier shortcut available that some people know of. It would save people so much time and heartache if they knew these secret technology tips. And that’s what the following paragraphs are about.

Facebook and Google could just hire good talent for a regular salary for their technology jobs or they could get true visionaries for astronomical figures. If they do spend millions acquiring companies just for their founders, they could stand to make billions by making improvements to their product. It’s a no-brainer.

Tiny startups do the same thing – except that they can only afford to offer talented people iPads or other modest freebies. Every technology company out there wants the best talent.

It’s hard to say who has overpaid for what acquisition. Facebook for instance has spent hundreds of millions of dollars on these star employees. To make everything back though, they just need one employee to have a spectacular idea. They could make everything back in an instant.

Nothing? Of course you would rather get an education without having to spend any money, but the reality is we eed to invest in our future.

Fortunately a lot of people feel that way because there are many educational grants and scholarships to help students pay for heir education.

A grant is a special opportunity that can help cover the educational expenses and prvide opportunities for those that may not be able to afford going to school. That’s a good thing!

Sometimes when you hear politicians talk they seem to care less and less about helping students get educated in higher learning institutions. This is just plain dumb because education is number one in the USA.

It’s the future that holds many challenges for us and if we do not help those who need helping gain a wealth of knowledge and skills we are just doomed to be dumbos.

Applications for college – they should each be coupled with a financial rewaed upon successful acceptance.

More on articles at Expensive Education – goals and opportunities for advancement in eduation.

As evident with the sheer volume of users, the internet has turned into a very useful tool most people use daily. It can be used for play or it can be used for work. It can also be an invaluable resource for college students needing information about a college loan. Student loans com is one of these resources that students and parents can utilize to find information about an education loan or a consolidation loan to help fund college.

College is very expensive. Even if the student receives a scholarship to pay for books and tuition, what about room and board? There are still many other expenses to consider. If a student is taking a heavy class load or is involved in extracurricular activities, such as sports, there can be little time for a part-time job to help pay for the other things. Many college classes now require access to a computer or a laptop. Scholarships and grants do not pay for this additional expense, so as a way to help combat these costs, many students and parents turn to a Stafford loan or to a private college loan.
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