Stand-alone Computers and Network Hardware

A stand-alone computer is not connected to a network. It works on its own, so it cannot share files, printers or an internet connection with other devices over a network.

Computers like these can be linked together to form a local area network (LAN), but only once the right network hardware is in place. That hardware is a wireless access point, a router, a switch, a NIC and transmission media.

Each type has a different job:

Hardware	Job
NIC	Lets a device connect to the network.
Transmission media	Carries the data between devices.
Switch	Connects wired devices within the LAN.
Wireless access point (WAP)	Lets wireless devices join the network.
Router	Links the LAN to other networks.

For example, imagine a recording studio with a single stand-alone computer holding every finished track. Fit it with a NIC and run a cable to a switch. A second computer in the live room, also fitted with a NIC and cabled to the switch, can now join the LAN and play back the same tracks. Add a WAP and a wireless controller at the mixing desk can send recordings across without a cable. Add a router and the studio can send a finished track to a producer working in another building. Take the hardware away and each machine works on its own again.

A stand-alone studio computer on its own, then the same studio as a LAN: computers with NICs cabled to a switch, a wireless access point with a wireless controller, and a router leading to another building.

Only these five types of hardware are needed: hubs, modems, bridges and repeaters are not required.

Practise this