Devices on a wireless network use radio waves instead of cables to communicate with each other. For a device to be able to communicate wirelessly, it must have a wireless print server attached or installed that lets it receive and transmit radio waves.
How are home networks configured?
For desktop computers, laptops, and printers to communicate with each other over a network, they must be connected by cables and/or have wireless network adapters built in or installed in them.
There are different ways a network can be set up. Five common examples appear below.
Note: The printers in the following diagrams represent printers with internal print servers built in to them so that they can communicate over a network.
Wired network example
•A desktop computer, a laptop, and a printer are connected by Ethernet cables to a hub, router, or switch.
•The network is connected to the Internet through a DSL or a cable modem.
Internet
Wireless network examples
Four common wireless networks are:
•Scenario 1: Laptop and printer connected wirelessly with Internet
•Scenario 2: Desktop computer, laptop, and printer connected wirelessly with Internet
•Scenario 3: Desktop computer, laptop, and printer connected wirelessly without Internet
•Scenario 4: Laptop connected wirelessly to printer without Internet
Scenario 1: Laptop and printer connected wirelessly with Internet
•A desktop computer is connected to a wireless router by an Ethernet cable.
•A laptop and a printer are connected wirelessly to the router.
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