Whether you’re a home based user looking to connect several machines for printer and file sharing, or a business professional looking to establish connections between employees (even at multiple locations) following proper Chicago computer networking principles can help you arrive at a solution. When connecting multiple locations, the service is called a wide area network or WAN. At a local level a local area network or (LAN) can be used to connect computers and devices that are in the same physical location. This article goes over LAN technology to give you a better grasp of local area networks.

The Scope of Local Computer Networks

Local area networks can be used for many purposes including shared Internet access, file sharing, print sharing and several collaborative applications. LANs can be protected using firewalls which will limit the users that are authorized to enter your network from outside of the building.

There is both a technical and software based implementation to a local network, varying according to the setup. Most commonly today’s networks are linked by wireless connectivity which connects computers to a centralized data-clearing server access to this server provides the means by which multiple computers are able to communicate. Importantly, companies and households are allowed to set individual computer level access to the network, ensuring that users only have access to the files and applications intended for their user. These features are very helpful limiting access to confidential data or keeping children off of the Internet when un-supervised.

An internal network, or intranet, is usually in the form of portal based communication software which allows users to access a series of shared applications. Additionally, access to extranets (such as web browsing) can be limited according to filters and parameters set by the network administrator.

Proper Implementation for a Local Area Network

To setup a local area network at your small business or office, you can implement a share set of resources (such as files or a printer) which can be accessed by each individual user. Devices can either be connected via a wireless router or hardwired using ethernet cabling. Due to advances in wireless technology and security, many companies choose wireless over wired applications.

Computers that are authorized on the network transparently log into a shared router. Since access to the LAN is password protected, individual users are able to access the shared resources only with proper authorization. Many networks today have specified public or shared drives which can be access universally on the server, providing an opportunity to easily collaborate, review and update documents across an organization. Each individual folder can be shared only with the people that require access to perform their job duties. Network administrators can connect even to users outside of the building to troubleshoot problems and keep your technology running smootly.