How to Host a LAN Party

You've got friends coming over to play some serious network game. They're toting their boxes from the four corners while you... well, you have some sort of responsibility. You've already thought of all of their human needs, such as food, drinks and comfort. Now you've got to work from a more technical angle.

Instructions

1. Get technical info on the boxes ahead of time. If someone is bringing a Mac over, and you're sporting a Linux box, you'll need to be aware of potential networking conflicts and work-arounds.

2. Label everything ahead of time. The cables should all have tags that identify which machine enters which port on the router or the machine.

3. Figure out the power needs ahead of time. With model names, you can estimate based on power needs for the box and an average monitor. From there, you'll need to position people so that they aren't all crowded around one outlet.

4. Set up your box for managing the switches and maximize its networking potential. Trim off any fat that would slow your machine down in the routing department, which should include giving it a fresh boot before starting and upgrading memory and CPU, if necessary.

5. Demand virus scans from everyone that hooks up prior to joining the collective. This keeps down the likelihood of the fun ending early and makes everyone remember the good stuff when they go home.

6. Connect each machine individually and run utilities to make sure everything's running smoothly before adding the next machine.

7. Add the software, if necessary, for the game you'll be running. Deny internet access, if possible, to prevent people from clogging up the lines with unrelated traffic.

Tips & Warnings

• Keep an extra fuse handy, just in case.

• Get top grade equipment.