PC Networks Come Home
Consumer PCs make the connection
-- by Joseph C. Panettieri
Corporate networking history may soon repeat itself in millions of homes
and small offices. From Microsoft to 3Com Corp. to Cisco Systems,
numerous high-tech heavyweights and several tiny Silicon Valley
start-ups are striving to network your home PCs, mobile laptops and
related peripherals.
How hot does home networking promise to be? A whopping 11 million U.S.
homes have two or more PCs, according to market researcher Dataquest.
But so far, few users have networked their home systems because Ethernet
adapter cards and hubs are typically too costly and too complicated for
home use, and stringing new networking cable throughout a house simply
isn't practical.
Now, Microsoft and tiny partner Tut Systems are teaming up to pioneer a
new, less complex means for home networking. It involves transforming
existing RJ-11 phone jacks and phone lines throughout your home into
low-speed Ethernet connections. What's more, you can continue using your
telephones even when your PC network is online.
The technology family, known as HomeRun, is a variant of Ethernet that
transmits data at 1.3Mb per second, or roughly one-tenth the speed of
conventional Ethernet networks. HomeRun supports lengthy 500-foot
connections, and Tut Systems says it offers more than enough bandwidth
for sharing files, printers and Internet links within a small home
network.
Microsoft agrees, and is developing HomeRun drivers for Windows 95,
Windows 98 and a not-so-secret consumer version of Windows NT that's
expected to debut early next century. The consumer NT (often called NTC
by Microsoft insiders) will offer point-and-click networking and the
beginnings of a new social interface help system that may include voice
recognition technology.
Ready to go
Of course, HomeRun could find its way into thousands of U.S. homes long
before NTC ships. The HomeRun product line will include Plug-and-Play
ISA and PCI adapter cards and an optional 10BaseT interface that links
HomeRun networks to standard 10Mbps Ethernet networks. The cards, which
also support cable modem and ISDN connections, should be available
around the time you read this for less than $100 per connection. As
HomeRun sales increase, Tut Systems expects that prices will fall below
$50 per connection.
While promising, HomeRun faces competition on at least two fronts. For
one, a Silicon Valley start-up called Epigram is reportedly developing
similar technology that links PCs, TVs and peripherals to speedy 20Mbps
networks using standard telephone lines. Also, some tech-savvy consumers
may opt for conventional Ethernet technology because prices for such
gear are spiraling downward. SMC, which specializes in departmental
networking hardware, expects Ethernet connections to cost less than $40
per user (that is, about $25 per adapter card plus $15 per hub port)
within the next few months, down dramatically from about $75 per user
just last year.
Safe and sound
Regardless of which networking hardware you bring home, chances are
you'll need new security devices that protect your private network from
probing eyes on the Internet. Several companies, including 3Com and
Cisco Systems, are working to address that need.
Sources within 3Com's U.S. Robotics subsidiary say the company may embed
firewalls and other nifty security gear directly into consumer modems
within the next year or so.
Likewise, a spokesperson for Cisco Systems, the king of corporate
networking, says the company is close to forming a consumer division to
explore home networking opportunities.
Of course, Microsoft and Tut Systems will take the field first with
HomeRun. Are you ready to step up to the plate?
c 1998 Windows Magazine
February 1998, page 46. |
