Small Business Networking For Dummies? (For Dummies (Lifestyles Paperback))

Few technologies will do more to boost small-business efficiency than a local-area network (LAN), which enables an organization's computer users to pool and share information easily and to communicate inside and outside the company. This book approaches networking from the point of view of an owner of a small business whose employees have been using computers for some time. The owner suspects that a LAN would make things easier but doesn't have the technical knowledge to build one or the money to hire a network consultant to do the job. After reading this book, such a small-business owner will know what decisions he or she needs to make (about network protocols, for example), what needs to be purchased, and how everything gets put together.

Weadock begins by explaining the advantages of LANs--advantages that probably are already familiar to readers of this book. He quickly moves into a discussion of the costs and benefits of LAN ownership, and it's this kind of material that distinguishes this book from regular Dummies titles. The author then reviews the technology decisions (peer-to-peer or client-server? Ethernet or Token Ring?) and purchases that you'll need to make based on those decisions. All the major network operating systems, including IntranetWare and Windows NT, get intelligent coverage. A companion CD-ROM includes a two-user trial version of IntranetWare and various other utilities and sample programs. --David Wall