a home network or home area network (HAN). is a type of computer network that facilitates communication among devices within the close vicinity of a home. Devices capable of participating in this network, for example, smart devices such as network printers and handheld mobile computers, often gain enhanced emergent capabilities through their ability to interact. These additional capabilities can be used to increase the quality of life inside the home in a variety of ways, such as automation of repetitive tasks, increased personal productivity, enhanced home security, and easier access to entertainment.

Establishing this kind of network is often necessary for sharing residential Internet access to all networked devices. Based on techniques to mitigate IPv4 address exhaustion, most Internet service providers provide only a single wide area network-facing IP address for each residential customer. Therefore, such networks require network address translation in the network router.

DHCP is used in a typical personal home local area network (LAN) to assign IP addresses within the home subnet. The DHCP server is a router while the clients are hosts (e.g. personal computers, smart phones, printers, etc.). The router receives the configuration information through a modem from an internet service provider, which also operates DHCP servers with this router as one of the clients.

create a Home Network

1 – Have everything ready before you begin creating your network.

2 – Determine which connectivity method will work best to create your home network.

3 – Install your network interface cards (NICs) into the appropriate slot of each computer.

4 – Be sure you have enough Ethernet cables available for the job, as needed.

5 – Network 2 computers together using an RJ-45 crossover cable.

6 – Configure your connection.

7 – Install network software.

8 – Follow the prompts to set up your computer.

9 – Restart the computers after you install the software.

10 – Create a profile for both Ethernet and wireless connectivity.

11 – Set the mode to either ad hoc or peer-to-peer, if you’re not using an access point.

12 – Purchase a high-speed router for your Ethernet wired or wireless solution.

13 – Connect your home network to the web.

14 – Pop a second Ethernet card into the computer that will host the ICS.

15 – Plug the bridge cable directly into the second card, unless you have a router.

16 – Install the CD software that came with your home network kit.

17 – Install the network configuration software.

18 – Repeat the installation process on every computer in your network.

19 – Restart your computer to complete your connection.