When it comes to a home or small-office networking, you just want the technology to work without your having to think about it. Since small and home offices generally lack IT support, you need a network that is easy to configure and manage. The network must be functional, highly secure, and scalable. Experts say networking everything can relieve you from being concerned about technology so you can focus on work. This checklist shows you how Windows® 7 Professional helps:
- Share information easily. Your small or home-office network should provide easy ways to share information as well as share printers and other peripheral devices. For example, the HomeGroup function in Windows 7 Professional allows you to connect two or more PCs running Windows 7 and automatically start sharing music, picture, video and document libraries with other people in your home or office.
- Make printing a no-brainer. Location-aware printing can detect if you're on your work or home network and automatically send documents to the right printer. You choose a default printer for each network, and Windows 7 remembers your choices as your move among networks.
- Secure it. Backup, virus protection, file encryption and update management should happen automatically, helping to keep your network secure from intruders and your data safe in the case of mishaps. "You have all sorts of important intellectual material on your PC, from business documents to pictures of your kids," says Carl Mazzanti, president of eMazzanti Technologies in Hoboken, New Jersey. "This is the Achilles heel of business, but there are inexpensive options that allow your material to be automatically backed up." Here's another tip from Lee for optimal security: "It's important to set up passwords and change them periodically rather than use the manufacturer defaults for PCs, wireless units, and Internet routers."
- Check bandwidth needs. In determining bandwidth requirements, think about all the ways in which your network will be used, Lee says. For example, will your teenage children downstairs be tying up network bandwidth watching YouTube videos when you need to make an important video-conference call?
- Go business class. For hardware, Mazzanti recommends getting the professional or business versions rather than the consumer versions of products. Sure, the purchase price may be 20% higher on average. But they come with longer warranties and typically the manufacturers carry parts for business versions longer. As a result, the more robust equipment pays for itself with higher performance, less maintenance and a longer life.
