If you enjoy playing games against your friends or family, sharing files, sharing your internet access, or other fun network activities, a small ethernet network is the way to go. A small Mac network is actually pretty easy to set up, and even easier to maintain if you do it right from the start. In this article, I will explain how to set up a network, and explain how to do various networking activities.

Hardware

A diagram of what a network setup would be.

The first thing you will need to get is the appropriate hardware. Two or more ethernet capable Macs (older generations of PowerMacs came with AAUI jacks that need special adapters, which run about $35), ethernet cables (the ends of the cables have connectors that look like very large phone line connectors), and a hub/switch are required. You can directly hook up two Macs with an ethernet crossover cable, however, that limits you as your needs grow, and is not worth it, IMHO.

Alternatively, if you are thinking about sharing your broadband Internet access, you should really think about getting a hardware router with an ethernet switch. These devices do what a router does, plus lets you VERY easily share an Internet connection among up to 253 Macs. More on Internet sharing via hardware or software later.

The way you set up a network is quite simple. Take one end of each cable, and plug them into your ethernet ports on your Macs. Then, take the other end of each cable, and plug then into the hub. You can add more hubs by hooking them up just like a computer, and hook up more computers off that. If you will be using a router, you will have to plug the cable or DSL modem into the special WAN port of the router. This is all there really is to setting up an ethernet network.

Software

Once you have the hardware setup, you need to set up the software for your particular use. In the next few paragraphs, I will describe how to set up simple file sharing, Internet sharing via a software or hardware router, and printer sharing. Of course, you can do all of these things, or a combination of them. It's entirely up to you.

  File sharing:

The File Sharing control panel (click for larger image).

To share files over your network, you will first have to make sure AppleShare is installed, AppleTalk is active and set to ethernet, and that you have the file sharing components installed. In the File Sharing control panel, you will have to give yourself an owner name (and owner password is only really needed if you have a large network, with people you may not be able to trust), and your machine a name. Note: each computer needs a different owner name. Then, you will need to turn file sharing on via the File Sharing Start button. There is also a button for program linking which can be used if you want to run applications from the shared folders. Can come in handy to save disk space. When the file sharing is done starting up, you will need to set up some users and groups. Depending on which version of the Mac OS you are using, you will either have a User & Groups tab in the file sharing control panel, or a separate Users & Groups control panel.

For each computer you know will be connecting to your computer, you will need to make a user for them. The user names should be the same as the other machines' owner names. Also, you may want to create a group, so that multiple computers can connect to you at the same time. With a small home network, you can safely put each user into one large group (omitting passwords can help speed up connecting), which will be used for the folder's or drive's permissions.

The users and groups control panel (click for larger image).

A typical group (click for larger image).

Once you have your users and groups set up, you can move on to file permissions. This is up to you. If you want to set up a whole hard drive, that is fine, but also setting up one or two folders works well. I prefer only setting permissions for one folder, to keep maintenance to a minimum, and machine speed at a maximum. To set up the permissions, select the drive or folder you want to share, and get info on it. For the newer versions of the Mac OS, you should select Sharing from the pull down menu. On older versions of the Mac OS, select the drive or folder, and use the Sharing command under the File menu.

This is where you will set up permissions (click for larger image).

In this window, you should see a check box labeled "Share this item and its contents." Check that box, and all of the grayed out stuff below it, will become active. Here is where you set up the privileges for the owner (you), a specific user or group, and for everyone. Your choices here are Read/Write, Read only, Write Only, or none. This is your control over what happens with that drive or folder. Only give write access to people you really trust. The button on the bottom of the screen can be useful, and dangerous. That button will copy all of the privileges to every folder contained in that folder. If you spend alot of time settings up privileges, and hit this button, your setup time will be lost, as you will have to do it all over again. Next, the other computers will have to mount your served folder/disk on their computers.

This is what a shared folder/drive looks like on the remote machines.

The process of mounting a shared folder/disk changed with Mac OS 8.5. That revision of the OS brought us a fun application called the Network Browser. Apple placed this gem in the Apple Menu for quick access. Open up the Network Browser, double click AppleTalk, double click on the shared computer's name, and finally, double click on the shared folder/drive. On older versions of the Mac OS (this will also work with the newer versions), you need to open up the chooser, click on AppleShare, and double click on the shared computer's name. Either method will bring up a user name/password dialog box that will insert your computer's owner name as the user name, and needs the password set up in the shared computer's Users & Groups. Enter the pertinent information, and hit enter to mount the drive. From here, you can make an alias of that shared folder/disk, so only a double click is required to mount that volume.

Once file sharing is turned on, and the privileges are set up, a shared folder will look like this.

This is where the real fun begins. Depending on how you set up the privileges, users can now easily transfer files back and forth. This is one of the main reasons I like sharing an empty folder. It allows everybody to add files, and download files from one computer, without being able to accidentally mess something up. From here on out, you will have a ton of fun sharing your files with your family members at blazing speeds. This set up has an infinite number of uses.

  Internet Sharing:

A typical broadband router.

With broadband Internet on the rise, and multiple Macs in the home, it's almost silly not to share your connection over all your Macs. No more waiting for another person to finish with the net, playing online games is much more fun with people you know, and serving web pages is easier than ever when you can have a dedicated server. The easiest way to accomplish this is to use a router instead of a hub for connecting your Macs together. A router will be able to split up your 'Net connection, letting you turn on and off Macs that will instantly connect to the net, install a personal firewall, and pretty much do all the work for you. These devices run for about twice the price of a normal ethernet hub.

Your other option for sharing a net connection is to set up one of your Macs as a server, and install a software router on it. The most popular software routers are IPNetRouter and SurfDoubler. These are normally cheaper than hardware routers, however, they do have their drawbacks. Software routers are harder to set up, require the "server" machine to be turned on, and connected to the net before the other computers can connect (this also means that if the server crashes, the other computers will lose their connection), and software routers take their toll on the server's total system speed. However, software routers will allow you to share 56k connections as well as broadband. If you are a broadband user, I would recommend you get a hardware router over a software router.

  Printer Sharing:

The simplest way to share a printer is to get a printer that is networkable (via ethernet). With this kind of printer, it's as simple as plugging the printer into one of the hub's ports, install the printer's software onto all of the Macs that will share the printer, restart the Macs, and select that printer from the chooser. If the printer comes with print sharing software, install that as well so you can name, and configure the software to your liking.

However, if you don't have the extra money to spend on an ethernet capable printer, you can also hook up LocalTalk enabled printers, serial printers, and USB printers. Each one of these has there own little tricks to setting them up, so either refer to the printer's documentation (or the printer's manufacturer's website), or select your type of printer from the list on this page.

That's it!

Now that you know the basics to setup home a home network, you might as well get started. Continuing the Mac tradition, networking is quite easy to do with Macs, and can be set up in very little time. Once you have it set up, you will wonder how you ever lived without it. Sharing your Internet connection with other family members is a great way to end disputes. Sharing a printer is perfect for saving money with multiple Macs. File sharing is great in an unlimited number of ways. Plus everything else you can do with your network. Don't delay, network today!

Resource Links:
• Three Macs and A Printer
• MacWorld Home Networking
• Practically Networked Home
• TechTutorials: Mac Networking