Contents at a Glance Part1: Networking Hardware for Windows Vista Part2: Managing and using your Network Part3: Securing Your Network Part4: Advanced Networking with Windows Vista Understanding Ethernet Networking ll computing topics begin, at some level, with hardware . No matter what you want to do digitally, you d it with and through hardware. From the computer itself and all of its internal components, to external devices such as the keyboard, mouse, monitor, printer, modem, an speakers, software requires hardware. But there’s one computing topic that is particularly hardware intensive, and that’s the subject of this book: networking. Although connecting a couple of computers together can be as simple as slinging a special cable between them, true networking requires not only a number of different devices, it also requires devices that work well together. To set up a network that not only works, but is also fast, reliable, affordable, and expandable, you need to make the right decisions at the start before your network is a going concern. (Although, of course, you can always modify your configuration if you’ve already got some kind of network on the go; it’s just more expensive that way.) This chapter will help you do that by explaining the hardware and devices you need to set up the wired portion of your network. Chapter 2, “Understanding Wireless Networking,” takes you through the devices you need to make wireless connections .