It doesn't seem all that long ago that I would meet clients who had no Internet connection in small offices, and were still using a sneakernet to get things printed. Fortunately, for most of us, those days have passed, but lately I have been amazed by exactly how mature the market for small office and home networking has become, and how affordable.

For the most part, there is no good reason for any small business or home office to not have a high-speed Internet connection at this point. In fact, with the exception of consumers that fall into the very lowest tier of Internet usage, this is true for everyone as you can make a very compelling case for hi-speed being cheaper than dial-up for most people. Of course, as the number of high-speed users has gone up, so has the need for networking for the home and office, and the need for better more affordable products.

For the most part, up until about this summer, there was no real change in the products available. Early on, you would get a hub for under $150. which allowed you to network your computers and share your Internet connection. About 2 years ago, routers costing around $150. replaced hubs, which made sharing cheaper for both the providers and the users on a monthly basis. Wireless products hit the markets 2 years ago too, but they were neither reliable nor cheap.

In 2002, wireless took off and by the middle of the year, prices on these types of gadgets were falling, while at the same time prices on routers and other network devices dropped. Just two years ago, a client of mine spent $300. on a print server device that allowed the 5 computers in her office to print to a printer without it being hooked up to any individual computer. At the time, there was a competing Hewlett Packard product that cost $500. and prices on devices like this had been higher for years. Sometime in the middle of 2002, this same device got added on to routers, perhaps adding $10. to the overall cost. I don't know what shocked me the most, that this happened, or how little tech press it has received. I would bet that 20% of you have asked me about sharing printers at one time or another, so imagine the market for a product like this.

More recently, wireless access points (WAPs) have been added to routers, again not adding significant cost. WAPs allow you to connect to your router, and thus the network and Internet, without running Ethernet cable. I'm going to talk more about wireless networking in part 2 of this, but for now, if you want to share your wireless networking experience with me, fire off an email in the next few days.

Anyway, as I sit here in February of 2003, there are now these wonderful products from most of the major small office/home networking vendors that combine several features that as recently as a year ago would have cost several hundred dollars into one box for less than $100.

Typically, these devices combine a standard 4-port cable/DSL router with either a print server and/or a WAP, and generally have a firewall and some other gimmicks built in as well. My only complaint is that I have yet to find one that has both the print server and the WAP built in. Still, if you need both wireless and print server functionality, the one you don't select as part of your main device can be added for less than another $100, which is still a pretty good bang for the buck.

These products are cool, and one thing I really like about having wireless access in my home is the ability to check email on the Axim while I'm on the other end of the apartment in the room where I do most of my reading and writing. I've also gotten in the habit of using that for a quick email check when I'm just home for a bit and don't want to be bothered to turn on a computer. It's a little convenience, but if you ask me it provides a great bit of functionality for those of us who primarily use the computer for email and the internet as opposed to production.

On the flip side, as much as I am enamored with the low cost convergence, and convenience of wireless, it still not my preferred modus operandi for networking. For sure, it is a pleasure not to have to deal with cables to any degree. Unfortunately, wireless is still not reliable enough for me to really recommend it as the primary means for most people to network their home or small office. This is particularly true in the case of brownstones and other architectures where pesky walls and ceilings block wireless signals more effectively than in buildings constructed of cheaper more modern materials. Wired networking on the other hand is a more or less proven commodity which tends to work effectively.

Of course, we now have the best of both worlds, so for many, some combination of the two is most effective. Unfortunately, one thing about networking remains true, wireless or wired, they are fallible. The best advice I can give any of you about your networks is neatly encapsulated in these four points...

1.Know what the indicator lights on the modem, router, and network cards indicate.

2.Have a general understanding of where the wires should go, know what the relationships between the various devices are.

3.Understand how the software for your router works. Keep the manual handy.