Home and small business networking with Symantec products

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Home and small business networking with Symantec products

Situation:
You are thinking about creating a home or small business network--or already have one set up--and wonder how Symantec products fit in. For example, you may wonder which product version is appropriate for a particular network, how many licenses are needed, or how products interact with each other.

Solution:

Introduction
This article describes some basic concepts of home and small business networking, (here called "home networking"), and informs you how Symantec products can add security and convenience to your network. After reading this article, you should have a general idea of the benefits and challenges of home networking, how Symantec products can make things easier or safer for your network, and where to go for more detailed information.

People who already have home networks recommend planning for security from the beginning. This includes protection against viruses, data loss, and more. For help on this issue, see "How can I make home networking safe?" in the question and answer section.

If you want:

Background information on home networking, see — "Home networking questions and answers."
References to more detailed information about home networks and Symantec products, see — "Symantec products and home networks."
Web sites and books on home networking, see — "Annotated resources."

note: Networking terms are bolded at the point that they are explained in this article. A good source for more detailed definitions of these and other terms is: http://www.pcwebopedia.com

Home networking questions and answers
What are the benefits of home networking?
Home networks can:

Save money — Peripherals like printers and modems can be shared among computers. High quality Internet access might cost too much for each computer to have, but be affordable when shared by a network.
Save time — Instead of downloading files to a floppy disk or Zip drive and physically carrying them to another computer, networks can allow other computers access to the file.
Promote the sharing of information — Does someone else need to work with a copy of your report? Your report can be available on the network.
Open up new possibilities — Easily make backups to another computer. New, more convenient ways of scheduling meetings and doing other tasks become available.

What can I share over a home network?
What can be shared includes:

Content — Data, voice, audio, and video
Connections — Internet, including cable
Peripherals — Printers, scanners, modems, Zip and Jaz drives, fax machines, art tablets, CD ROMs, DVD, digital cameras, special monitors, video converters, storage space for files and programs

What are the major types of networks?
There are many ways to categorize networks. For our purpose, the biggest difference among networks is whether they are peer-to-peer or as client/server. This decision sets a framework for other decisions, such as how computers are physically connected to each other, the software and hardware that's necessary to make the network function, and how Symantec's applications are run.
The major types of networks are:

Peer-to-peer network — In peer-to-peer networking, all computers have the same role. Instead of setting up one computer to provide resources for the others, permissions are set up to allow users to access resources on each other's computers.
Client/server network — Here, there are two different roles. Most computers function as clients, using resources that the server (host) provides.

Many people begin with peer-to-peer networks, especially if they are linking a couple of computers.

How do I connect the parts of my home network?
In order for two or more computers to communicate with each other in a home network, each computer must have a Network Interface Card (NIC) or some other hardware device, other than a modem, that allows communication. An alternative is Home Phoneline Newtworking (HPN) devices, which may connect by using the parallel port or USB port on your computer, offering a proprietary networking connection.

The Network Interface Cards or alternative hardware are connected by cabling of some sort. Most Local Area Networks (LANs) in business use Category 5 cabling, also called "twisted pair." Category 5 (or Cat 5) cabling has four twisted pairs of copper wire terminated by RJ45 connectors. (The ends look like a phone line, but with a slightly larger jack.) If you wire your home with this, you can set up a faster network that should keep up with your computing needs.

If you don't want to rewire your house, there are many Home Phoneline Networking solutions entering the market. In this network solution, you install a card in your computer (or plug a peripheral into your USB port) that then plugs into your home phoneline jacks. Your computers then communicate on the same wire that brings your telephone calls into the house. You can use the phone and your computers simultaneously since the HPN devices use a different frequency on your telephone line. There are more solutions available if you can't or don't want to use Home Phoneline Networking. Some network alternatives are wireless, transmitting your network around the house in a similar fashion to your 900 MHz cordless phone. There are even some solutions that transmit your network over the power cabling in your house, allowing you a network connection anywhere that you have a power outlet.

I have network interface cards and cabling. Now what?
If you have more than two computers, there are a variety of patterns for connecting them. Each connection pattern, called a topology, has advantages and disadvantages. Some examples of these patterns are bus topology, ring topology, and star topology. For more information on topology, visit http://www.pcwebopedia.com The type of topology you set up is largely dependent on what type of network you have (peer to peer or client/server).

Peer-to-peer networks are often easier to set up than client/server, but they are more limited in what they can do. For example, large networks work better with the client/server configuration, which allows one computer to be dedicated to providing resources like file sharing, with the other computers taking advantage of those resources. Client/server networks can be configured in complex patterns to meet special needs, but they usually require additional hardware, like hubs, and more expertise to run.

It's possible to mix these two types of networks, but it's important to keep in mind which parts of a network are functioning as peer-to-peer, and which parts are functioning as client-server.

How does my network connect to the Internet and to other networks?
Currently, most home networks connect to the Internet by modem. Those who want a faster line and are willing to pay more can subscribe to:

An Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) line
A modem that operates over TV lines (cable modem)
A Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)
An Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL)
A fiber optic connection, in some areas

These types of connections leave your computers wide open to outside intrusion, unless you have appropriate security.

Is security really a problem for home networks?
Yes. Viruses and intrusion can become problems anywhere that lacks appropriate protection. At one time floppy disks were the main source of viral infection. Now, because of macro viruses, the Internet is the most common source for viral infections. Good antivirus software such as Norton AntiVirus is essential to protect your work from being infected.

However, good antivirus software does not protect against intrusion into your system. Now that cable modems and xDSL connections are more common, computers are connected to the Internet 24 hours a day. To protect against hackers, large businesses use what is known as a "firewall." A firewall acts as a wall between the network and the outside world. Norton Internet Security (NIS) is a personal firewall that can be used on small networks and single machines. NIS prevents hackers from getting into your system, protects your privacy, and actually make surfing the web faster, thanks to its advertising blocker. You can manage Internet access on a user-by-user basis, thus preventing children from accessing inappropriate material. NIS allows you to prevent confidential data, such as credit card information and your address from being sent out by the wrong individuals.

How can I make home networking safer?
Don't wait until the next virus scare or power outage and then worry. Plan a comprehensive program to protect all your data from loss and intrusion:

Use surge protectors
Schedule a download of virus definitions every night — Norton AntiVirus' LiveUpdate can be set to do this automatically
Do regular backups of your data — "Backup" comes free with Microsoft 95/98
Realize that Internet connections, particularly some of the faster ones, leave your data open to intruders, and use applications like proxy servers and firewalls to lower that threat — Norton Internet Security (NIS) includes several important services to meet these needs

What software and hardware do I need to create a home or small business network?
That depends on several factors:

The capabilities you want your network to have now, and in the future — For example, it may make more sense to go with a client/server configuration now if that's the direction you're going anyway.
The software, hardware and cable you already have.
How many computers you network.
What you're willing to spend, in time and money, to set it up and keep it running.

After gathering information, a good place to begin is deciding whether you will have a peer-to-peer or a client/server network. This decision sets the framework for many subsequent decisions.

If you want "real" client/server, you'll need to buy a network operating system (NOS), like Microsoft NT, or Novell NetWare. If you want peer-to-peer, the capability is included in most operating systems, including Macs, and Windows 95/98.

Symantec products and home networks
For more details about using Symantec products on home and small office networks, see these articles:

How to Use Norton Internet Security on a Home Network

How to Use Norton AntiVirus on a Home Network

Annotated resources
Networks in general

IBM Pervasive Computing: White paper - Discovering devices and services in home networking http://www-3.ibm.com/pvc/nethome/networking.shtml	This white paper discusses: --the requirements for successful home networking, in particular, ease of use; --how self-configuration addresses ease of use; --how service discovery its protocols enable self configuration; --the challenges of the growing number of service discovery protocols in the industry, and solutions to overcome these challenges.
Home Phoneline Networking Alliance http://www.homepna.org/	The Home Phoneline Networking Alliance is an association of companies working together to ensure adoption of a single, unified phoneline networking standard and to rapidly market a range of interoperable home networking solutions.
Home-Automation.org http://www.home-automation.org/	This directory of home automation Web sites includes over 500 links to topics such as: home networking, installation and configuration, and hardware.
homePCnetwork http://www.homepcnetwork.com/hard.htm	Articles an both client/server and peer-to peer networks. Topics like: reviews of hardware products, links for home network information, networking PCs and Macs. Home networking discussion groups. Glossary at: http://www.homepcnetwork.com/glossary.htm
Small Office and Home Office Networking with ISDN http://www.digitalMX.com/wires/	Networking using ISDN lines. Topics like: cable modems, hints for crawling under your house, remote control, sharing a modem without a router, tools, routers, netmasks. Discussion forum. Some on peer-to-peer networking. Definitions of some more technical terms: http://www.pronet.no/sverre/wires/terms.html
*Networking for Dummies*, Doug Lowe, IDG Books, 1994	Uses the client/server model, with details that small business networks are apt to need. Topics like: choosing a network, what to do when your network is down, email, planning your servers, security, network performance, protecting network data, frequently used NetWare commands, glossary.

Peer-to-peer networks

homepclan http://www.homepclan.com/	Step-by-step to creating peer-to-peer networks with Windows 95/98. Topics include network cards, types of cabling, hubs and switches, proxy servers, answers to common questions, and much more. Many of the items are pictured, and they answer some questions sent in by users. They sell network and computer supplies.
*Networking Home PCs for Dummies,* Kathy Ivens, IDG Books, 1998	Basic networking with Windows 95/98 using standard cable or phone lines; includes information on NIC cards and software. More advanced topics include user profiles, communicating across the network, sharing hardware, backups, using Windows tools. Its CD includes Eudora Light, WinGate 2.1d, trial version of Norton Utilities 3.0, Address Organizer, two games, and more.

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Document ID: 1999111613122639
Last Modified: 06/06/2005
Date Created: 11/16/1999
Product(s): TS_GEN