In your home or small office, you might have more than one computer. You might also have other hardware devices such as printers, scanners, or cameras. With all of these computers and devices, sharing files, folders, and your Internet connection is the ideal solution.

A home or small office network is a way for you to use other computers or equipment without actually being at those computers. You can work on photos and files with other family members or co-workers while surfing the Internet at the same time.

Using Windows, there are numerous ways to connect computers or create a network. For homes and small offices, the most common model is peer-to-peer networking.

Structured cabling design and installation is governed by a set of standards that specify wiring data centers, offices, and apartment buildings for data or voice communications using various kinds of cable, most commonly category 5e (CAT-5e), category 6 (CAT-6), and fiber optic cabling and modular connectors. These standards define how to lay the cabling in various topologies in order to meet the needs of the customer, typically using a central patch panel (which is normally 19 inch rack-mounted), from where each modular connection can be used as needed. Each outlet is then patched into a network switch (normally also rack-mounted) for network use or into an IP or PBX (private branch exchange) telephone system patch panel.