A friend of mine operates a small musical hardware component manufacturing business out of his home. His manufacturing operation takes up all of his basement, so he has his business office and computers located upstairs in his house.
His business has steadily grown over the past couple of years and he is finding that managing his customers' orders is increasingly consuming more and more of his time. He has an Order Management System on his main computer upstairs in his office. He wants to be able to access the Order Management System data from his manufacturing area and quickly answer questions he receives from customers calling about the status of their orders or to place new orders. He's tired of running up and down stairs all day.
He wants to avoid running cables from his upstairs office down to his manufacturing area. The cable routing would be difficult. So, he asked me for ideas on various ways to connect a computer in the basement to the computer in the main office and not have to install any new cables?
Since this would basically be something of a peer-to-peer network, my first thought was to suggest a phone-line or power-line network configuration (e.g. Intel). As I understand the setup of these types of networks, they are basically NICs connected through the installed telephone or electrical line. Does anyone have any experience in installing and using either of these types of networks? If so, what are the advantages, disadvantages and limitations of such networks? Do these network configurations impact or conflict with internet modem links? Any suggestions as to which vendor(s) to consider?
The other thought I had was to suggest a wireless LAN. Like most of us he has several cordless phones, a microwave, and other assorted electronic gizmos that emit signals. The distance through the walls and floors would be about 100' between computers. My limited understanding of wireless is that some form of FM is the preferred technology. I gather that a NIC is hooked to a transmitter/receiver at each computer and the signal links between the two boxes. Does this configuration impact or conflict with internet modem links?
My friend tells me he only plans to connect one computer in the manufacturing area to the computer in the office. He wants to be able to enter and retrieve customer order information while he is manufacturing components. He further tells me he doesn't plan on adding additional computers anytime soon. However, my experience in this business suggests that users frequently find out they want to add additional computers to their networks. Thus, I'd like to suggest an approach to him which is cost effective (read cheap), but can be expanded if necessary over the next 3-5 years.
I'd much appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on which approach to recommend and what hardware/software components to consider.
Thanks in advance.
Ed
His business has steadily grown over the past couple of years and he is finding that managing his customers' orders is increasingly consuming more and more of his time. He has an Order Management System on his main computer upstairs in his office. He wants to be able to access the Order Management System data from his manufacturing area and quickly answer questions he receives from customers calling about the status of their orders or to place new orders. He's tired of running up and down stairs all day.
He wants to avoid running cables from his upstairs office down to his manufacturing area. The cable routing would be difficult. So, he asked me for ideas on various ways to connect a computer in the basement to the computer in the main office and not have to install any new cables?
Since this would basically be something of a peer-to-peer network, my first thought was to suggest a phone-line or power-line network configuration (e.g. Intel). As I understand the setup of these types of networks, they are basically NICs connected through the installed telephone or electrical line. Does anyone have any experience in installing and using either of these types of networks? If so, what are the advantages, disadvantages and limitations of such networks? Do these network configurations impact or conflict with internet modem links? Any suggestions as to which vendor(s) to consider?
The other thought I had was to suggest a wireless LAN. Like most of us he has several cordless phones, a microwave, and other assorted electronic gizmos that emit signals. The distance through the walls and floors would be about 100' between computers. My limited understanding of wireless is that some form of FM is the preferred technology. I gather that a NIC is hooked to a transmitter/receiver at each computer and the signal links between the two boxes. Does this configuration impact or conflict with internet modem links?
My friend tells me he only plans to connect one computer in the manufacturing area to the computer in the office. He wants to be able to enter and retrieve customer order information while he is manufacturing components. He further tells me he doesn't plan on adding additional computers anytime soon. However, my experience in this business suggests that users frequently find out they want to add additional computers to their networks. Thus, I'd like to suggest an approach to him which is cost effective (read cheap), but can be expanded if necessary over the next 3-5 years.
I'd much appreciate your thoughts and suggestions on which approach to recommend and what hardware/software components to consider.
Thanks in advance.
Ed
