Networking Hardware

SOHO LAN hardware is more than just a NIC. Other behind-the-scenes SOHO LAN components include the following:

  1. Hubs

  2. Switches

  3. Cable/DSL modem routers

  4. Servers

  5. RAID servers

Each LAN component performs a different function or role in building a SOHO LAN. Small LANs need fewer components, while bigger LANs have more hardware components to perform a greater variety of services and functions.

Another LAN component is Network Attached Storage (NAS). NAS is a disk server attached directly to the network. NAS devices are not explored here because those devices seem to have either limited capacity or they are very expensive. This is typically beyond the budget for a home office and even a small office user. A more cost-effective approach ...

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