Computer Networking

Operating Systems

Introduction

A workstation is a computer that is a member of a network. At homes and small businesses, the most regular operating system, at the time of this writing, is probably Microsoft Windows XP Home Edition. Other regularly used operating systems from Microsoft are Microsoft Windows XP Professional, Microsoft Windows 9X, and Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional. On this site, we will mostly cover Microsoft Windows XP Professional.

When preparing to get or acquire your workstations, you may be in one of the following scenarios.

Using New Computers

If you get a contract to build a network for a small business or you are going to create a new network for a home, you may decide to purchase brand new computers. If you haven't bought the computer(s) but are planning to, refer to our section on purchasing or acquiring new computers in the Lesson 4.

Using Existing Computers

If you already have one or more computers that you plan to use as workstations, in the previous lesson, we reviewed how you can get it ready for Microsoft Windows XP Professional. Once the computer is ready with the appropriate hardware, you can prepare the operating system. Because Microsoft Windows 9X, Windows Me, and Windows XP Home Edition have only limited security, on this site, we will mostly consider only Microsoft Windows XP Professional. Based on this, if you have a computer with Microsoft Window 9X, Windows Me, or Windows XP Home Edition but plans to apply a good level of security in your network, you should upgrade it to either Microsoft Windows 2000 Professional or Windows XP Professional.

Router Rix 802.11n Routers

Router Rix 802.11n Routers 

In our last router roundup, way back in November 2007, we wrote, “We’re months away from a final IEEE 802.11n standard.” We never imagined that months would stretch into nearly two years before that standards body would finally finish ironing out all the details. But now that the spec has been ratified, 802.11n routers abound—and their prices have dropped dramatically.

Back then, the average price of the 802.11n Draft 2.0 routers that we reviewed—all of which had single-band radios—was $130. The average street price of the six single-band 802.11n routers in this batch has dropped to less than half that. The even better news is that the cheapest router in this roundup also delivered the best real-world performance.

You’ll want to consider features as well as benchmark numbers, of course. If you have complex routing requirements, you’ll want a model with tweaker-friendly firmware. And if you rely on VoIP for telephone service, play online games, or stream video over your wireless network while downloading files using BitTorrent, you’ll want a router with robust quality-of-service features. One of the models we tested allows you to share a printer over your network; another boasts advanced parental-control features.

And then there’s the certification issue to consider: Each of the routers in this roundup implements features of the IEEE 802.11n standard, but not all of them carry the Wi-Fi Alliance’s 802.11n certification logo. We’ll go into more detail about this in our buyers guide.