What Types of Networks Are There?

What Types of Networks Are There?

There are two types of networks, wired and wireless. Both types of networks have advantages and disadvantages. If you decide to create a home network, you'll have to weight the benefits and drawbacks of both types to determine which is best for your situation.

Wired Networks

Wired networks are faster than wireless networks, and are generally very affordable. If the computers are far apart and/or your house is big, you will want to consider the cost of the cable. While cable is not very expensive, the cost of having someone to install it can be.

Wireless Networks

Wireless Router
Wireless networks use radio waves instead of wires to transmit information. A wireless router receives the information and then sends it to the Internet using a wired connection, an Ethernet cable.

One of the primary advantages of this type of network is that it offers you a great deal of flexibility. If you have a laptop, you can move it from room to room in the house, and sometimes right outside the house, without having to worry about connecting network cables. Also, installation is really very quick and easy.

The disadvantages of this type of network is that wireless connections are typically slower than wired connections, and can also that the connection can sometimes fail due to range issues.

Ethernet Cable

If you compare security between the wired and wireless networks, you might guess that awired network is more secure; however, if you use a wireless network you can take additional steps to ensure that the information you communicate over the network is safe. This is an extra step that is necessary when dealing with wireless networks.