This tutorial will explain how to set up a small computer network for file and printer sharing using NetBEUI. It can also be used as a troubleshooting guide if your network if it is not functioning. The navigation choices on the bottom of each page will help tailor this tutorial

to your needs. You can also skip around the tutorial using the article navigation bar on the left hand side of the screen. Links within this article can take you to other parts of the site to explore certain terms and technologies deeper.The first thing you must decide is what kind of network you need and how it will be connected. This sometimes called your network architecture. The major points to keep in mind while making this decision are

1) ease of cabling

2) network speed and

3) price.

Computers can me connected together with many different network types, but the three most common are Ethernet, Phone Line (HPNA) and Wireless Ethernet (WiFi or 802.11b). If you do not know what kind of network you need, read over our “Choosing a network type for your home” article. You can also view our collection of network diagrams if you are unsure how to hook everything up.

For many people, network speed is the least important issue. Most cable and DSL connections only transfer at about 1.5Mbps (1 and 1/2 an Mbps). Any of these network types transfer much faster than that so your speed bottleneck will always be your Internet connection itself. 

 Note:
This article is written for NetBeui but TCP/IP can also be used for file and printer sharing; especially if your computers are all Windows 2000 or XP. If you have an environment that includes 9x machines, it is easiest to use NetBeui. When only TCP/IP is used on 9x machines, they somtimes have a hard time seeing each other.

Reliable servers, flexible design, and the backing of industry-leading component manufacturers make the our Server line an excellent choice to power your network. you can see the specific model, Rackmount chassis,motherboard,       processors, other type features and style of three servers      such IP Intel Platform, OA Open Architecture, Fault Tolerant(FT) Server. 

IP Intel® PlatformChoose from the Intel Pedestal or Rackmount chassis, motherboard, and processor, providing tier-one type features and style. The IP family of server models provides a stable, reliable platform to run your network. Each model features motherboards, processors, and chassis designed by Intel, the recognized leader in server technology. Models range from entry level Pentium 4 pedestal servers for small networks, to Quad Xeon rackmounts with the horsepower to drive multiple virtual server sessions. 

OA Open ArchitectureUsing a third party Pedestal or Rackmount chassis, the OA model line of servers are designed to provide both specific solutions unavailable in the IP line, and also some “no frills” models. Some examples of the unique models available include storage rackmounts capable of supporting up to 12 hotswap drives, legacy P4 models with ISA support, and P4 models with redundant power, providing redundancy in an entry level model. Also included in the OA series is the increasingly popular offerings from AMD, in single, dual, or quad Opteron configurations. 

Fault Tolerant (FT)ServersWhen downtime is not an option, Seneca Data recommends the NEC Express 5800/ft series of FT servers. These servers provide an innovative solution to address planned and unplanned downtime for mission critical IT infrastructure worldwide. Through full system redundancy, NEC’s FT servers leverage the Intel server architecture to achieve continuous availability, which delivers unprecedented system integrity, transparent failover, and a low total cost of ownership (TCO). NEC’s fault tolerant servers offer many advantages in situations where applications or information need to be available 99.999% of the time.

The business laptop or notebook computer is fast becoming an essential tool for business.  They are becoming a major feature in almost any work place you can imagine and for good reason. The business laptop offers many features not present in their desktop cousins – mainly portability and compact size -making the business laptop ideal for traveling, presentations, and wireless networking. In order to stay competitive, companies

 must start taking advantage /of these little workhorses or fall behind.What to look for when buying your Business Laptop or Notebook:Portability, Portability, Portability, One of the major reasons you should be considering buying a business laptop or notebook computer is portability. You must make your business portable. Perhaps, the most significant factor and the main reason you’re buying a notebook computer is Portability. You can take it anywhere. You can take your records, reports, presentations or products where ever they need to be. For the business traveler or ‘road warrior’ – the notebook computer is an essential tool for their business. When buying their notebook of choice – these ‘road warriors’ look at the portability of their notebook. Size and weight are very important. You want something that’s light and small – yet powerful enough to do the job. You will probably look in the Ultra-Portable and Thin and Light classes of notebooks to make their choice. Notebooks in those categories are usually under 5 pounds, around 10 by 14 inches in size and approximately an inch thick. It’s small enough to throw in a briefcase or tuck comfortably under your arm. They won’t drain your energy even if you have to lug it around all day!Battery LifeYou also have to look for a notebook computer that will last long enough to get the job done. You want sufficient battery life for those long plane trips. Fortunately, battery life is increasing; you can now get up to 5 or more hours on high quality notebooks. Buy the highest numbered cell battery, and buy any optional built-in battery extras that will increase battery life.  ConnectivityYou want something that’s easy to connect to the Internet so connectivity is another important factor. Being in constant contact with all your employees can be a determining factor in your choice of notebooks. Communication is vital. Most high quality notebooks come with Wi-Fi (Wireless Fidelity) connections; many have a tri-mode 802.11a/b/g wireless system. Some newer models, like the Sony’s New Ultra-Portable  VAIO VGN-T350P, are raising the bar – it has the world’s first ‘Built-in Cellular Modem’. You can use your cell phone to connect to the Internet. This may be a great advantage since finding a ‘Hot Spot’ in some parts of the world can still be difficult.PerformanceYou need to consider the performance level of your business computer. Can it handle all your company’s demands, can it handle heavy graphics, charts, diagrams, spreadsheets, etc. Check out the RAM – higher RAM will be better for graphics and video. It’s generally agreed that you need at least 256MB for Windows XP and Mac OS X. You will only need 128MB for other operating systems in Windows or Mac. Most notebooks come with plenty of storage space, 60-80 GIG hard drives are common. External drives are also available if you need extra space. Other tasks may be important to your line of business. For example, if you need to take notes in the field – i.e. real estate agents, engineers, doctors or medical personnel – then a slate or a convertible tablet may be a better choice for your company.SturdinessThis is important if you want a notebook for a lot of road work or business traveling. Your notebook should be sturdy or ruggedized to be able to take a good pounding. Many notebooks have some novel sturdiness features such as IBM’s Active Protection System which is designed to protect the hard drive from falls and spills for those accident prone notebook users in your company.SecurityLiving in today’s world demands safeguards and security measures be put in place to protect your company records and files. Not to mention, to guard against the theft of your notebook computer itself. Along those same lines your notebook computer should have advanced security features. Many notebooks such as the IBM/Sonoma ThinkPad series include an integrated fingerprint scanner for biometric authentication that uses an Embedded Security Subsystem and Password Manager.Image/Style At first glance this may seem like a superficial buying point- but not really. In today’s business world image or style does count and contribute to your button line. Sad but true! You want a notebook computer that matches the image of your company.There is one to fit your needs; you have a whole range of styles of notebooks to choose from, whether it be conservative black or blazing race car red.  Most businesses are ultra-conservative (nature of the beast) and should pick a notebook along those conservative lines – other businesses may want to promote a sharper or cooler image such as in fashion, creative arts, music industry…PriceEconomy or Deluxe Similar to the style, another major buying factor is price. You can go from inexpensive notebooks to luxury models. It all depends on your company’s resources and the image you want to project. You can choose from the relatively inexpensive but very capable DELL notebooks…  All the way up to notebook manufacturers like the British based Rockdirect Notebooks which offers upper end products that can be custom made to your specs. You can even choose your own colour! Like any company purchase, especially if you’re buying in bulk, getting a good special volume price may play a role in your choice of notebook. Always check with these notebook companies for a group or company order – you may be pleasantly surprised at the savings.However, don’t sacrifice performance for a special price, make sure the notebook computer you’re buying has all the desired qualities: portability, performance, battery life, connectivity, security and style, -all the features you want in your company’s notebook computer. If you consider all these factors, your next business notebook computer purchase should just be a little bit easier. No reason why you can’t put this little modern workhorse to work for your business or company. Used properly, the business laptop can make for a well organized and cohesive work force that will pay big dividends down the road, delivering a great return on your initial investment.Need more information? Click Here:Tips For Purchasing Business NotebooksTop Recommendations:  IBM ThinkPad T43 |Pegasus 665 | Sony VAIO VGN-T350P | IBM ThinkPad X40
 HP Compaq Business nc6000 | Fujitsu LifeBook P7010D | IBM ThinkPad T42 |  

The personal computer (PC) is one complex piece of machinery. Its made up of many individual components that will baffle the uninitiated. To learn about PCs, one has to have a desire to learn and experiment – it took me at several years before I got comfortable

with building and maintaining my own computers. This is not to say that PC technology is terribly hard to learn. All you need to know is the how a basic PC is set up, and what components are required. After learning the basics, its a matter of  experimentation and reading – with time, you’ll be one of the pros! This article aims to provide you with at least some basic knowledge of PCs so that you can move on to learn more if you wish. 

 The Motherboard

The motherboard is one of the most important components in your PC. The motherboard is the glue that brings all the separate PC components together. There are several factors you need to look at when choosing motherboards, like the form factor (usually ATX), supported CPU, bus speed, supported RAM, form factor, built-in sound/video/LAN. You can learn more about how to select good motherboards in my motherboard guide. 

The CPU

The CPU is another important component, since it is the ‘brain’ of your PC. You’ll want to look at either Intel or AMD CPUs. The latest CPU from Intel is the Pentium 4, while that from AMD is the Athlon 64. Both are excellent processors. For further reading, you may also want to check out my CPU guide here. 

The Computer Case

The computer case is your computer’s housing. You need this to store your components, the largest of which is your motherboard. These days, the PC cases out there come in ATX form, which means they can accomodate ATX motherboards. Learn how to choose a good computer case here. 

Computer Memory

Computer memory is also called RAM (Random Access Memory) – think of it as the storage area in the computer’s brain. Typically, RAM sizes nowadays come up to 512 MB to 1 GB on average. Computers which are run as full servers typically have memory in the range of 4 GB or more. What are the factors to consider when selecting computer memory? You’ll find out in this article on computer memory. 

The Monitor

The monitor will be the most expensive component in your system. Newer monitors tend to have large 17-inch or 19-inch LCD screens which are easy on the eyes. There are also conventional CRT monitors which are bulkier but cost much less. If you want to know more about the difference between CRT and LCD monitors, this article on computer monitors will be of help to you. 

Hard drives and Floppy Drives

A hard drive is essential for storing your system’s data, including the operation system software. Hard drives are extremely sensitive devices and prone to failure, so get your hard drives from respected brands like Seagate, Maxtor and IBM. Floppy drives are important for reading 5.25 inch diskettes – these are fast becoming obsolete with the increasing commercial adoption of USB storage devices like Pen Drives. Still, for a basic computer, I’d still say the floppy drive is necessary. You’ll also want to read more about selecting a good hard drive here. 

CD-ROM Drives

A CD-ROM drive used to be an ‘optional extra’ in computers – it is no longer so. Most software packages come in CD format, so you must have a CD-ROM drive to read them. Typically, CD-ROM drives today need to be at least 24X speed to keep up with the newer software applications out there.

The Video Card

Unless you have built-in video on your motherboard, the video card is a must have component because it displays images on your monitor. The latest video cards support 3D graphics rendering and games – they are also the fastest changing technology in the PC world. Learn more about selecting video cards here. 

The Keyboard and Mouse

These two input devices are obviously needed, otherwise you can’t interact ith the computer system. These components are fairly standard stuff and can be purchased at pretty cheap prices. Optional ComponentsNext, there are the optional hardware components that need not be in every computer setup. These include: the sound card, the LAN card, as well as CD writers and DVD writers. Without them, the computer system will still be able to function.

The Sound Card Some may argue that the sound card is an essential component in the PC, since it translates digital signals into analog audio for your listening pleasure. Well, that’s true, if you want to play games or run multimedia applications in your PC. Otherwise, it may not be necessary, especially in business environments. The one brand that stands out for sound cards is Creative Labs, I’d recommend you get one of those. And guess what, I’ve got a guide on choosing sound cards too! Read it here.The LAN CardAlso known as the NIC (Network Interface Card). Once used only in corporate environments, the LAN card is now increasingly used at home for connecting various computer together to form a network. Many motherboards now also feature built-in LAN ports so you don’t have to buy a separate card. The CD Writer and DVD WriterThese two devices, especially the DVD writer, are selling like hotcakes in the market. Essentially CD writers allow you to burn images of your data into a 600 MB to 700 MB CD, which is really handy for performing data backups. DVD writers are even better, since they allow you to burn data onto a 4.7 GB DVD. ConclusionWow, that’s a lot of components we’ve covered! Considering the huge array of computer products out there, it can prove to be very confusing to the beginner. I hope this article sums up the types of PC hardware available in the market and gives you some idea of what you will and will not need to buy