Wednesday, January 2, 2002

Single high-speed connection serves multiple PCs

As the number of PCs in homes increases to meet the entertainment, homework and business needs of all family members, so does the need to provide all of these machines with ready access to the broadband Internet.

But meeting this need by purchasing a separate account for each PC is expensive and difficult to support, while an alternative-designating a PC as an Internet sharing server and leaving it on continuously-is not a viable solution either in most households.

Fortunately, a new technology that can simultaneously deliver secure, high-speed Internet access to multiple users in the home is becoming increasingly popular.

That solution a broadband router lets a single broadband connection be used by all PCs in the home, and at the same time, allows common PC add-on devices, such as printers and backup storage systems be shared or networked throughout the home.

Although the thought of creating a home network that offers these benefits may seem daunting to all but the most experienced home computer users, these routers can be set up in less than 15 minutes-with no technical experience or training whatsoever.

A case in point is the newly released family of SpeedStream broadband router products from Efficient Networks Inc., a wholly owned subsidiary of Siemens.

With wired and wireless models that can support from one to four PCs, or more, these devices were developed with the home PC user in mind.

"We understand that most home PC users are not technically inclined and are more focused on using their PCs than in figuring out how they work," says Patrick Fitzgerald, director of product marketing for Efficient Networks Inc. "That's why every member of our SpeedStream broadband router family comes pre-configured, letting the homeowner link all PCs in the home to a broadband modem with fewer than four mouse clicks. And for some installations, the auto-detect features of these devices eliminate the need for any mouse clicks at all-simply plug the device in, connect it to the broadband modem, and you're ready to roll, or, more accurately, to surf."

To prevent unauthorized access to the home network, broadband routers offer integrated security features that can be easily set up, again with fewer than four mouse clicks. In addition, before making a purchase, be sure the router under consideration supports the interactive games, music download systems and SOHO applications (such as NetMeeting and MSN Messenger) you use.

"The more PCs a home contains, the more cost-effective broadband routers become because they let computer users in the home share a secure broadband Internet connection," Fitzgerald says. "With a SpeedStream broadband router, the end user can minimize the costs and hassles of keeping everyone in the home satisfied with easy access to applications they want, such as Web surfing, e-mail, gaming or downloading music."

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