Once the sole domain of technical gurus and elite network administrators, networking is being demystified and simplified at an astonishing pace. The small and medium enterprise sector was the first to feel the benefits of the intuitive networking products, but only once it had proved itself as a financially viable market.
Now networking vendors are turning to the last untapped revenue stream - home networking.
Enter the players
The competitors in this big consumer race will raise the eyebrows of the old-school networking pundits. Cisco, known for its big routers and switches, is one of the surprise participants.
3Com, Microsoft and Sun will also play in the market. Even Novell, the traditional network software player and now directory platform vendor, will be present through its alliance with Sun.
In addition, the myriad of disk drive vendors, cabling companies, traditional electronics companies, telcos and even house builders will all be in on the game. There will also be a plethora of start-ups all sniffing out new markets, with new, innovative product offerings.
The name of the game
The necessary components for a home network include physical communication, a protocol and an operating system. A gateway device is also important.
Firstly, the network has to run on some form of physical communications. The prerequisites for whatever method is chosen include the need for minimal structural changes in the home, low cost, safety, scalability and ease of use.
Many technologies are being put forward for this, but wireless looks to be about the safest bet. It does cost a lot more than other solutions, but the scalability is enormous. If vendors` predictions (or self-fulfilling prophesies) come true, almost every appliance in our homes will one day be networked. There are already enough cables coming out of the back of the computer, and most people don`t want the same glut of cabling from other devices. It also allows roaming, which is great for smaller, mobile devices.
Most likely a combination of the above will give the solution one needs.
Peer pressure
The first level of software needed for communication on a network is a protocol. This is the agreed method of transferring data across the network and connecting all the little home devices.
The choice of protocol is a serious matter for vendors, as incompatibility will result in a Beta/VHS-type battle, with the consumer being the ultimate loser.
Fortunately, software can be more easily manipulated than hardware. Middleware can be used to translate between two different software protocols to allow them to communicate. Although technically important, protocol disputes should not concern the end-user.
Operating the system
The most important application for a home network will be, initially, to link up more than one PC. Every PC requires an operating system (OS) to run, and this will in turn link the user to other PCs and networked devices. Due to what is called a hardware abstraction layer (HAL) that is built into the OS, this software becomes more important than the choice of hardware when choosing a desktop that will work within a home networking environment.
When the appliances market grows, however, there will be a need for a device that handles all of the communications between the appliances and out to the Internet. This is where networking vendors can sell small, relatively cheap devices to control the whole bundle.
Generically referred to as gateway devices, they have stringent requirements and will need firewall capabilities, content filtering and a modem to communicate with the Internet. They also need to know where all the devices are and what they are capable of.
The total solution
Although every player would like to think it could be all things to all people, it is more realistic to envisage a fair share of mix-and-match when it comes to building a home network.
Each vendor and each solution has its niche area in the home environment. Although multi-vendor solutions complicate things when it comes to compatibility and figuring out who to complain to when something goes wrong, the IT community`s experience has shown that heterogeneous environments are the way to go.
The early adopters will, as always, be the ones to get hurt by any pitfalls that home networking will encounter. It would be wisest to wait for the technological glitches to be ironed out, which may take a few years, before embarking on an across-the-board home networking initiative.
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