If you've got more than one PC or mobile device - a desktop PC and a laptop or tablet, say - you need to get a network up and running. Besides allowing you to share a single Internet connection between multiple machines, a home network also allows you to quickly move files between systems, play mulitplayer games and even stream films, music, and photos to your TV.

Many Internet service providers offer free routers with their DSL or cable broadband packages, which include wireless and wired networking capabilities. If you have got one of these, you're most likely set - but what happens if you run out of ports, or need something a little more powerful?

For the home user, networking equipment is broadly split into two categories: wired and wireless. Each of these two self-explanatory categories is further broken down into different devices: hubs, switches, and routers. Which bits of kit you need to buy depends largely on what you're trying to achieve. Read on, and ITReviews will explain all.

WIRED NETWORKING
Wired networking is, typically, faster than wireless - and it offers a guarantee of security, with ne'er-do-wells unable to hijack your Internet connection or sit and watch your web browsing habits unless they're physically located in your house. It does, however, require that you physically connect a cable to every system in your network - which is why increasing numbers of users are choosing to use wireless networking for portable devices such as tablets, laptops, and smartphones, enabling them to roam around the house and gain access to the internet or printing and other facilities whether they're in the spare bedroom or on the sofa.

The majority of wired networking equipment on the market today uses the Ethernet standard at a speed of 100Mbit/s. When you're out shopping for equipment, you may see it written as "10/100 Ethernet" - this refers to the fact that 100Mbit/s gear will also work with the earlier, slower 10Mbit/s standard. If you're looking at the more expensive end of the market, you may see 1000Mbit/s equipment, also known as 1Gbit/s or 'Gigabit Ethernet.'

The speed you require depends largely on your usage. If you're going to be sharing an Internet connection, 100Mbit/s will be plenty - very few homes in the world are able to receive an Internet connection faster than that, so 100Mbit/s is enough to ensure that all computers on your network can access the full speed of the Internet connection.

If you're going to be using it for transferring large files between a laptop and a desktop, however, you're going to want to get the fastest connection possible - in which case paying extra for the gigabit hardware can be a worthwhile investment.

Backwards compatibility
When looking at networking equipment, always check to see what hardware you already have. Most laptops and desktops on the market these days include in-built Ethernet networking, but many at the cheaper end are 100Mbit/s - meaning that if you do want to use a gigabit connection you'll have to buy a new network card. More expensive laptops, however, typically have gigabit Ethernet included as standard.

Switches
The first type of device you're likely to see when buying equipment is a switch. While network hubs still exist, they're becoming increasing uncommon - and share the bandwidth between their ports, meaning that they're slower in operation than a switch. With a small, five-port switch often costing less than £20, there's little reason to buy a hub.

A switch is used to connect multiple PCs together to share data. They contain little in the way of 'intelligence,' and aren't much use for sharing an Internet connection. For that, you'll need a router - either instead of or as well as a switch.

Available in sizes from small desktop five-port models to enterprise-grade 48-port rackmount switches, it's important to consider how many computers you're likely to network. Buy a switch that's larger than your needs now, and if you get an extra PC in the future you won't have to add a second switch or upgrade your existing switch to accommodate it.

Routers
If you want to share an Internet connection, you'll need a router. These are more intelligent than switches - they often come with an in-built four- or five-port switch as well - and contain the equipment needed to assign networking addresses to PCs and laptops, as well as ensuring that all systems on the network can access the shared Internet connection.

When buying a router, always check the type of Internet connection you have: ADSL or cable. If you buy an ADSL router, it won't work with a cable connection - as many people on Virgin's broadband network have discovered - and vice-versa. Once that's sorted, the same advice applies as with switches: find one that has enough ports for your needs. If you can't, you'll need to buy a switch as well - this can be connected to the router in order to increase the number of ports on offer for additional computers.

Cable
Both wired switches and routers rely on a special type of cable to connect them, known as 'twisted pair' cable. The quality of the cable affects the speed of network it can handle, with the most common being Category 5E, also known as Cat-5E. This will handle 100Mbit/s networks easily, and gigabit connections over shorter distances. If you need gigabit support over a longer distance, you'll need to look for Category 6, a newer - and more expensive - twisted pair cable standard.

Both Cat-5E and Cat-6 come in two flavours: shielded, or STP, and unshielded, or UTP. For most household uses, unshielded is fine - the shielded variant is for use in places like factories where large motors can interference into the wire if shielding is not used.

For houses where it's difficult to run cabling, but where wireless isn't an option, there exists another category of product: powerline networking. These devices, sold under names such as HomePlug, allow the electric cabling in your house to act as network cabling - transferring data without the need to run cables. The devices are expensive, however - and usually operate slower than a 'true' Ethernet network.

Although some networking devices use esoteric cables, such as optical fibre, these are typically not used in a home environment - and thus are a little out of the scope of this Buyer's Guide!

Tags: data communications wireless network personal computer universal serial bus windows xp wi-fi home network wireless