Are you considering a peer to peer networking system ( P2P ) for your home or business computer?
A networked computer system, servers or other components make it easy for all of your devices to connect and communicate. These days there are several different kinds of networks available but how do you know which one will get the most out of the time and money you will undoubtedly spend setting things up? These types of networks range from the simple to the complex and peer to peer networking may be just the trick that finds the balance you need for your small business or home network.
If at this point, your needs are fairly basic – say for example you want to share a printer or an Internet connection then you may not need to go the whole (and very expensive route) of installing a client-server network. A peer to peer network may be ideal to handle all your networking needs.
* What is Peer to Peer Networking?
A peer to peer network doesn’t rely on a dedicated server or hierarchy among the computers that are linked together. Each computer that is linked to the network is responsible for its own administration so the users can decide who will be allowed access to which components on the network.
Each computer will make use of a network card but you can use the same cables, hubs and switches as well as identical protocols as you would if you were running a client-server network. The main way in which peer to peer networking differs is that there is no centralized server.
The Drawbacks of Peer to Peer Networking
The majority of the time, a peer to peer network will run swiftly and efficiently but before you go out and invest in one you need to take note of the following important drawbacks to this technology:
* Size – Less is…More!
Peer to peer networking is ideal for connecting a small number of computers together but if your computers number more than ten to fifteen you may experience some technical hitches.
* Security and Administrative Concerns of a Peer to Peer (P2P) Network
Peer to peer networking doesn’t offer the best in network security. Servers are easier to control and therefore security levels can be more easily adapted to your unique needs. If your network is vulnerable to being compromised by security deficits then peer to peer networking may not be ideal.
Each user will need to allow access to folders and they have the option of not using a password and this means that your users will need to be very skilled and well-trained to avoid a breach in security.
* Business Growth and Expansion
If you know your system is going to remain the way it is for some time then peer to peer networking is a good choice. However, companies that are expanding and evolving quickly often outgrow a peer to peer network system in under a year or less. Peer to peer networking isn’t recommended for companies that make use of more than ten or fifteen computers.
* Staff Training
Peer to peer networking makes use of users to handle administration so all the people who make use of its features need to be taught how to share files, folders, and printers. Simple issues like one user shutting down a computer can cause another user to be unable to carry out such functions as printing, for example.
* Hosting Resources
Peer to peer networking means that each computer that is linked to another computer, perhaps for printing or for file sharing, will use system resources on the hosting computer. If these resources are sapped to a large degree the host computer’s speed may be compromised. In this case you may need to enlist the services of a dedicated server rather than continue to use peer to peer networking.
Which Kind of Peer to Peer Networking?
If you think that peer to peer networking (P2P) is going to suit your personal or business needs then you won’t have too much hassle setting up your sharing system. Depending on the operating system you are using your setup will vary.
* Peer to Peer Networking on Macintosh Systems
Macintosh has peer-to-peer network capability included in its operating system. You can choose to set up the network with phone lines and very simple connectors.
For details consult the article entitled: ‘How to Create a Small Ethernet Network’ – A guide from Apple on setting up a small peer-to-peer network at:
http://info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=106658
* Peer to Peer Networking on Windows 95/98/ME/2000/XP Systems
Windows 95, 98, ME, 2000, and XP are all peer to peer network capable and you can set up sharing with limited hardware resource usage.
For more details consult the article entitled: ‘How to Use Windows 95 to Connect Computers on a Network’ – From Microsoft: a quick and easy guide to setting up a small peer-to-peer network with Windows 95 at:
http://support.microsoft.com/support/kb/articles/Q152/5/62.asp
* Peer to Peer Networking on Windows 98 Systems
For Microsoft instructions on setting up a peer-to-peer network using Windows 98 visit:
http://support.microsoft.com/default.aspx?scid=%2fsupport%2fwindows%2ftopics%2fwin98%2fnetwork%2fsetup%2fnetwork1.asp
* Peer to Peer Networking on Windows 2000
For guidelines on creating a Peer-to-Peer Network with Windows 2000 go to:
http://www.winnetmag.com/Articles/Index.cfm?ArticleID=8837
* Peer to Peer Networking on Windows XP
For a how to guide visit:
http://www.microsoft.com/windowsxp/home/using/howto/homenet/default.asp
* Cross-Platform Peer to Peer Networking:
If you want to connect your Macs to your PC network – and vice-versa follow the steps in the article entitled: ‘Connectivity between PC-Compatible and Macintosh Computers on a Network’ available at:
http://docs.info.apple.com/article.html?artnum=19652 or
MacWindows.com at: http://www.macwindows.com/
Peer to peer networking can be a great cost effective sharing solution for smaller businesses and it will definitely make life easier. However, if your company is steadily expanding think carefully before making the choice of installing peer to peer network systems or you may regret it later.