When deciding on what computer network you want for your home or business, it’s important to consider both wireless and wired options. Wireless networks can be the better choice if you don’t require a super fast internal connection between different computers, and are particularly effective if you have a lot of mobile devices. By contrast, wired networks can provide an efficient way of creating a secure local area network for businesses, with many options available for cables and switches from suppliers like Comms Express. It’s worth taking a look at wireless and wired networks in more detail below:

Wireless

Most wireless networks can be rapidly set up using a router, which will transmit an internet connection to different devices in a building. Depending on the number of devices that you need to connect, and the cost of your internet connection, you might require a super-fast broadband line to provide a strong enough quality signal to avoid lag. Wireless networks are easy to install, and offer a relatively low cost entry point for homes and small businesses.

In this context, wireless networks are perhaps best suited to small buildings where there isn’t a need for a high speed connection to be maintained as consistently as one using internal cables; wireless networks are similarly recommended for anyone that wants to use a lot of mobile devices to access the internet. For businesses, wireless encryption keys and passwords can be set up to reduce the risk of interference and security issues for WI-fi.

Wired Networks

Compared to wireless networks, wired networks offer a more substantial infrastructure; cables are laid within a building to enable physical connections between devices. This can be quite time consuming, and is generally more costly than just buying a wireless router. However, for companies that want added security and control over connections between computers, wired networks can provide higher speed connections without interference, and can also be used to prevent outside hacking.

Some of the disadvantages, then, of wired networks can be offset by the enhanced security and the speeds that you can enjoy. Larger businesses and anyone that wants to more safely secure their data can opt for this solution, while remembering that, although time consuming, cabling a building can be relatively low cost if you can find good deals on equipment. Moreover, once a network is established, it’s possible to build an internal local area network that can be carefully managed to best suit the demands of a company.

There’s also the point that the two approaches to networking can be easily combined; for example, you can build a wired network that has wireless options. While you can connect to the internet, internal servers and other computers using cables, you can also enable wi-fi to link laptops and other portable devices to the same internet connection. Taking these approaches can help you to create a more robust network, whatever capacity you need to handle.

Author Bio:

Robert Jones is a freelance technology blogger. He’s currently working with Comms Express to promote good networking practices. He also blogs about the effects of new gadgets in the workplace.