How to Setup a Network With a Server

Networking with a server

It is no longer complicated to set up a server for a simple network. Nearly any computer can be designated a server and connective technology is both built into contemporary computers and available at local computer and office-supply stores.

Things You'll Need

• Computer to act as "server"
• Computer(s) to act as "clients"
• Communications link common to all (e.g., Ethernet or Wi-Fi)

Instructions

Planning

1. Hand out the roles.
   Select a machine you wish to use as the server and understand which systems you will use as clients to that server. Remember that the clients ask the server for certain things and the server then responds. It is common to dedicate a machine to being a server because a machine that is currently responding to your mouse movement or painting a web page for you may struggle to serve your client's information at the same time.

2. Select the physical network.
   All the computers must be able to converse in some way. If all the machines have Wi-Fi, then this may be all that's necessary. A Macintosh running OS X 10.5, for instance, can be a network server across Wi-Fi without any additional hardware. You may, however, wish to use a network router or switch or wireless access point (WAP) to provide the physical link between your clients and servers.
   If you're using an Ethernet switch or a network hub, ensure your machines can physically plug into the switch or hub ports using a cable that's no longer than 100 meters or about 300 feet.

3. Select your protocol.
   Most every personal computer sold since 2004 has included a networking protocol called TCP/IP. This is the linking protocol, or communication language, used for the Internet. It's usually a safe assumption that TCP/IP may be used between your clients and your server. Ideally, your network servers give out the TCP/IP addresses to the clients using the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP). This allows for a simplified setup on each client.

4. Consider security provisions.
   It's important to consider whether the information on the server system should be specifically protected, and if so, to what degree it should be protected. If the network will be exposed to the Internet, it's probably a good idea to add a firewall to the network--between the Internet connection and the server. If there are certain things on the server that one client should see and another should not, then consider deploying user accounts on the server and requiring the clients to identify themselves as they connect to the server. Content on the server could be restricted by user account.

5. Enable server software.
   Having a network server means providing some type of information to clients on the network. Though most systems sold since 2004 have such software on them, that software is typically not active by default. Both Microsoft and Apple operating systems, for instance, can serve files and printers to network clients, but neither do so unless specifically instructed to do so. Ensure as you enable various server applications that you understand the security implications for that specific software, as it may not be true that protecting a file from one type of network access automatically protects it from all types of network access.