How Home Networking Works

Once, home networks were primarily the realm of technophiles -- most families either didn't need or couldn't afford more than one computer. But now, in addition to using computers for e-mail, people use them for schoolwork, shopping, instant messaging, downloading music and videos, and playing games. For many families, one computer is no longer enough to go around. In a household with multiple computers, a home network often becomes a necessity rather than a technical toy.


A home network is simply a method of allowing computers to communicate with one another. If you have two or more computers in your home, a network can let them share:
Files and documents
An Internet connection
Printers, print servers and scanners
Stereos, TVs and game systems
CD burners
The different network types use different hardware, but they all have the same essential components:


More than one computer
Hardware (such as a router) and software (either built in to the operating system or as a separate application) to coordinate the exchange of information
A path for the information to follow from one computer to another

Source:computer.howstuffworks.com/home-network.htm