How to change a small office network (wireless)

Changing your small office network to a wireless network is a task that may seem daunting at first, but once you have the convenience of a wireless network you will be glad that you made the effort to make a change.Exactly how you change a small office network to a wireless network will defer depending on the equipment, software, programs and wireless service provider that you choose.However, the steps are generally the same and below you will find one example of the steps needed to change a small office network to a wireless network.

To begin, you will need a base station (also called a router) and a network adaptor for each computer in your small office network."Wi-fi" products are among the most commonly used when it comes to setting up a wireless small office network. You can purchase base stations and network adapters from major computer retailers, office supply stores, or electronic stores.Most base stations and network adaptors come with instructions for set up. Once you have followed the instructions for set-up, you can start configuring your network. Configuring the network is what distinguishes a computer from simply being wireless and a small office network of computers that are connected to be able to interact and transmit information to each other wirelessly.

The steps that follow describe setting up of workgroups, files and print sharing.These principles can actually apply to both wireless and wired networking.In order to facilitate the sharing of files that exists in a workgroup, you will need to first set up the workgroup itself.As you set up workgroups in your wireless system, it is important to remember that a workgroup name must be the same for all computers in the network and that each new workgroup name must be different from any other name in the network.Individual computer names in the network must also follow the above mentioned two rules associated with naming.

Wireless sharing of files, folders and drives makes vital information accessible to all in the network who are permitted to use it regardless of the computer on which the file was created.Sharing resources in this manner makes the flow of information run smoother and contributes to a more efficient working environment.You can wirelessly share folders or the entire drive of your computer with other computers.For shared files to be available to others, the computer with the files must be turned on and logged on to the network.Also, in many cases you must have administrative privileges on your computer to share files and you will need to specify whether or not you would like to allow others to edit your files.

When you change a small office to a wireless network, you will need to change the accessories to the computer over to the wireless network as well. Equipment such as printers and scanners can be connected to your wireless network through a device called a print server rather than a particular computer.Remember also that appropriately naming each printer and scanner in the network is important to avoid confusion.

Security and rules for use are essential for wireless small business networks.With accessibility so easily placed at people's fingertips there is more of an opportunity for your precious business information to be compromised.Fortunately there are some things that you can do to protect your small office wireless network.One example is to install a firewall between the internet and your network to help provide security while allowing unrestricted file sharing over the local wireless network. Assign passwords to folders you want to protect so that only those with permission to use those folders will be able to access them.