Even if you don't plan on letting the big, bad Internet anywhere near your PCs, a home network still has many uses. Many of the basics of setting up the two types of networks are the same. In fact, even if you are planning on sharing a broadband connection, the place to start is right here. Don't skip to the next section without getting the items in here working first. The best approach I've found for creating a Broadband Connection Sharing Network is to start with a working LAN and then add the Internet connection. That's the viewpoint from which these pages were written, and if you're trying to create a working home network using them, your journey will be more blissful if you proceed in the same manner.
This was probably the part of the home network that you suspected you needed. The hardware. The stuff that connects it all together. To create a home network you need a couple of things. If you're planning on installing a traditional wired network, you need 1.) a port (jack, connector) in each PC that you want to connect (or in every other device like an Xbox or DSL router), 2.) an Ethernet cable to connect each device to the network, and 3.) a router or switch (or combination router/switch) that lets you connect all the cables together. If you're thinking of installing a wireless network either instead of or in addition to a wired network you will want to make sure to read the section on.
This section discusses in detail the basic equipment needed for a wired network for both the LAN and Broadband Sharing networks, and outlines the differences where appropriate. If you are planning to have a wireless network, you will have somewhat different equipment needs. You'll still have to deal with a couple Ethernet ports and at least one cable, most likely, but much of what in this section won't be as applicable. You should skim the beginning of this section and then proceed on to the section on Wireless Networking Equipment. If your network is going to have some wired devices and some wireless devices, you get the fun of getting both to work, but start with the wired portion of your network first.
Whether it's a card that you install yourself, it came built in on your desktop or laptop, or it's some other type of Ethernet adapter, you need a physical Ethernet port for every device you plan to connect to your home network. These are analogous to the jack on the back of a telephone. Originally, a Network Interface Card or NIC (pronounced "nick") was a hardware card that was purchased separately and installed inside the computer to provide a physical Ethernet port outside of the case. However, it's now very common for new desktops and virtually all new laptops to come with an Ethernet port built in.
If you're hooking up fairly new equipment on your home network, you should first determine which, if any, devices are going to need to have an Ethernet NIC (a.k.a. Ethernet adapter) added. Look at the ports on the back of your desktop, laptop, or gaming console. The Ethernet port looks like a RJ-11 modem jack, but it's physically wider and has eight copper/gold connections inside instead of the two or four that a modem jack has. On newer desktops, a built-in Ethernet port is usually found near the USB or keyboard ports. The following table lists several different kinds of Ethernet adapters along with their features and uses.
If your desktop computer doesn't have an Ethernet adapter already, you can install a NIC (like the one shown to the right), the Linksys LNE100TX.
For those of you who have computers without built-in Ethernet ports and don't feel up to mucking around inside your computer to add one, there are also USB to Ethernet adapters like this one shown at the right. The USB end of this adapter includes a USB cable that plugs into any available USB (2.0) port on your desktop or laptop computer. The other end has of the adapter has a standard Ethernet port.
Another alternative for laptops without built-in Ethernet ports is a PCMCIA Ethernet card like the one shown to the right can be also used. This card slides into a PCMCIA slot on the side of your laptop.
Some terms you will often hear mentioned in regard to telephone and Ethernet ports (jacks) are RJ-11 and RJ-45, respectively. RJ-11 is the 4-wire (or 2-wire) jack used with telephone (modem) connections and RJ-45 is the 8-wire jack/cable used with Ethernet connections.
Once you have installed the Ethernet adapter and loaded any drivers to support it (if necessary), it's a good idea to check to make sure that the operating system has recognized the adapter, and all appears to be in working order. Do that by performing Testing the Ethernet Adapter section.