Assignment 2: A Complete Home Network
Jonathan Scholl
Strayer University
CIS106
Professor Jamshid Haghighi
June 7, 2016

A Complete Home Network
Introduction:
I believe this is way more than enough money for an entire home network, but it also comes down to what the needs of everyone in the household are. If you have gamers or those with workstations, then you’ll definitely need to take into consideration that you’ll need better than average hardware. But some family members may only need a simple notebook, tablet, or even their smart phone to connect to the internet. Most people enjoy streaming applications such as Hulu, Netflix, and Crunchyroll. Before you start, you need to figure out what the network will be used for and tailor it to the needs of everyone who uses it. For this example, I’m going to use my own family’s network. It’s a simple network that will most likely be sufficient for the average family. Starting out, you need to research the internet service providers (ISPs) in your area. These can range from large companies to small local companies. If you do a lot of video streaming and gaming, then you’ll want a fairly good connection speed. I’d recommend going with at least 20Mbps download and 5Mbps upload. The company we use is a local company called Forsyth CableNet.
Hardware:
You’re ISP can provide you with rental modems. I believe this to be a great option because modems can be costly to replace if they’re damaged. It usually means adding a little extra to your monthly bill, but the ISP will be responsible for replacing it if damaged. Also, they’ll most likely provide the coaxial cables and Cat5 cables necessary for connecting to the modem. For our network, we use a simple Belkin router along with the modem our ISP provided. Wireless Dual-Band N+ isn’t anything terribly expensive, but it gets the job done. We can stream content of our devices throughout the house. Me and my family have different needs. The rest of my family streams movies and does basic e-mail and web browsing. Our network is more than enough for their needs. My dad has a simple HP laptop for whenever he needs to use the Internet. If has a built in Wi-fi adapter. For video streaming, he uses a Chromecast device for his TV. He also has a smart phone which is capable of doing the very same thing. My mom has an HP all in one PC with a touchscreen monitor. It has a built-in WiFi adapter. Since all she does is simple web browsing, it’s enough for her. Also, she has a Samsung smart phone, but she rarely uses the internet on it. It has built-in Wi-Fi capabilities as well. My sister does have a Nintendo Wii. She doesn’t use it for online gaming, but it is connected to the Internet only to stream Netflix. I, on the other hand, have a lot of hardware for gaming and other projects. I have two video game consoles PS4 and Xbox One. On my Playstation 4, I need Internet access for playing games on the Playstation Network. It can connect either by Cat5 cable or through Wi-fi. Xbox One is also the mostly the same. Xbox Live needs to be connected to the Internet via cable or Wi-Fi. Since I’m concerned with connection strength of the Wi-Fi, I do have a Cat5 cable ran to my room. Although it may seem inconvenient, I use that one cable for both since I can’t really play both at the same time. Both of the consoles also have the capability of streaming videos from sites like Netflix, Hulu, Twitch, and YouTube. I have two custom built PCs that I use for gaming, video editing, programming, video rendering, doing school work, and other basic functions. My hobbies call for me to have PC with higher end hardware. I plan on making videos for YouTube and I want my videos to be high quality. This means a powerful CPU, GPU, and plenty of storage will be necessary. The highest end handles playing games, recording the gameplay, real-time audio editing, and Skype calls to those I’m collaborating with. Depending on the project, sometimes I have to do this all at once! It also has a 1TB HDD and 500Gb SSD. The lower end PC, also technically a gaming PC, can’t handle the highest graphics settings for games. I decided I would use it mostly for web-browsing, e-mails, and doing school work. It’s also fairly powerful, so it will also be used for video editing, video rendering, photo manipulation, and programming projects. For storage purposes it has a 1TB hard drive. Mostly I backup information on my Toshiba Canvio 1TB external, but I don’t really have too many files other than school work which are important. Everything else can be replaced. I also have the HTC One M8. All these devices are used for streaming and gaming. Lastly, I use a Belkin Wireless Adapater for connecting my PCs to the Wi-Fi. Occasionally, I need to get on both at one time, so one uses the adapter and the other is hard wired.
Backup:
Back up support really isn’t too much of an issue with my family’s network. We don’t really have any important data that needs backing up. Norton Anti-virus provides a simple backup solution for my PC and it’s stored on my external hard drive (Canvio 1TB) along with anything else I need to save. My family doesn’t really have any important files, they only use the network for basic e-mail, web-browsing, and video streaming. I’ll admit that I’m lacking in this area. After learning about how important backing up data is, I definitely need to address this issue.
Network Enhancements: First and foremost, I would upgrade the router. Our Belkin router gets the job done, but after taking this course, it’s the most lacking area and needs to be addressed. Router should have a strong signal and the setting should be modified for the best security. I’d go with the ASUS RT-AC88U. It has all the bells and whistles to ensure that you get smooth streaming and low latency online gaming. It costs about $299 dollars. Next step, although I don’t feel like it’s completely necessary for what I do, is to upgrade my storage and redundancy solutions. For my family’s I would advise getting external hard drives. That should only cost an extra $100. For me, I have to consider the possibility of using my PC for work someday. I would invest in setting up RAID 0 set up in my higher end for better performance. I’d add a couple of 1TB solid state drives at about $300 dollars a piece. Also, I’d need plenty of storage for raw uncompressed videos and large games. I’d add a WD Red Pro 5TB for this. My low end would most likely be used for work projects. I’d add 2 hard drives for RAID 5. Simple WD 1TB hard drives will do for this.

Basic Network Item | Cost | Retailer | Belkin Router, Wireless Dual-Band N+ | $59.99 | Amazon | 2 Cat5 cables (5ft, 50ft) | $32.00 | Amazon | N600 DB Wireless Dual-Band USB Adapter | $39.99 | Amazon | Xbox One | $299 | Gamestop | PS4 | $349 | Gamestop | WII | $100 | Gamestop | Chromecast (x2) | $70 | WalMart | Custom PC 1 | $2,000 | Newegg | Custom PC 2 | $800 | Newegg | HP All-in-one PC | $300 | Amazon | HP Laptop | $300 | Amazon | HP Deskjet 2514 | $50 | Amazon | 3 Smart Phones | $300 | ATT | External Hard Drive 1TB | $40 | Amazon | Total Cost | $4,807.97 | |

Upgrades Item | Cost | Retailer | WD Red 5TB | 191.89 | Newegg.com | (2) Toshiba External Hard drive | $80 | Newegg.com | ASUS RT-AC88U | $299 | Newegg.com | (2) SAMSUNG 850 EVO 2.5" 1TB | $600 | Newegg.com | Total Cost | $1200 | |

References
Case, L. (2010, May 11). The Ultimate Guide to Home Networking. Retrieved June 07, 2016, from http://www.pcworld.com/article/196049/the_ultimate_guide_to_home_networking.html

Gechlik, K. L. (2010, March 18). A Simple Guide To Setting Up A Home Wireless Network. Retrieved June 07, 2016, from http://www.makeuseof.com/tag/simple-guide-setting-home-wireless-network/

Griffith, E. (2016, March 24). The Beginner's Guide to PC Backup. Retrieved June 07, 2016, from http://www.pcmag.com/article2/0,2817,2363057,00.asp

Shaw, K. (2013). 10 biggest home networking mistakes (and how to fix them). Retrieved June 07, 2016, from http://www.networkworld.com/article/2167574/small-business/smb-10-biggest-home-networking-mistakes-and-how-to-fix-them.html