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Prior to going through the Network steps that are required within Windows Vista, let's talk about some of the terminology involved in networking. Let's begin with some of the technologies. You will quite frequently hear people refer to a Wireless Network. Wireless networks use radio waves to send the information between computers. This varies from a normal wired connection. Wired connections are frequently referred to as Ethernet Networks. They're called Ethernet networks because the cables that are actually used are Ethernet cables. You will also hear these referred to as RJ45 cables. A lesser-known networking technology is HPNA, Home Phoneline Networking Application. We do not see this networking technology used too frequently. Phone lines tend to be unpredictable; as a result there is only minimum use of this technology out there. In conjunction with the technology we must also have our hardware. Our hardware consists first of the Network Adapter. The adapter is commonly referred to as a Network Interface Card, or NIC for short. The adapter actually connects the computer to the Network itself. Along with the adapter we will have hubs or switches. Hubs and switches join all of the computers together on a network. Switches tend to be a little faster than hubs, and also a little more expensive. You will commonly hear people talk about a switch as a Smart Hub. Switches have the ability to direct traffic to a minimum degree. We'll also have routers and access points on the network. Now, routers commonly connect your network to the Internet. Access points are used in the case of wireless networks. Modems are what actually sends and receives the data over your phone line, or cable lines, from your Internet service provider. Frequently a router will attach to the modem. The modem directs the traffic to the Internet, the router directs the traffic internally. Routers also have a tendency to be a means of protecting our security as they serve as a firewall. We will also use our Network cables when connecting our Network together. This, again, is: our Ethernet cable, or RJ45; adapters; a hub or switch; router or access point; modems; and cables. These are the necessary hardware for putting your connection together. When installing the network you will first want to put together all of your hardware. We'll need to connect our wires, our hubs, and our electricity. We can then actually set up the Internet Connection. This is a function of Windows Vista and we'll talk about it in detail in the next movie. After you've set up the Internet Connection and we connect the computers, we'll want to double check to make sure that all the lights are working properly. Then we can finally run a Setup a Wireless Router or Access Point wizard if we're going to use Wireless. If we're not using Wireless there's no need to do this and the Network is completed after we connect all the computers. Once your Network is running you will notice that there will be an Icon in the Notification Bar. The Notification Bar is in the lower right-hand corner of the screen. Here you are seeing three different versions of that actual Icon. The Network Connection are two computers that are placed side-by-side. When you see the computers with a globe, this indicates a connection to the Internet or to your network. If you see the actual computers themselves but no globe, this means that you cannot connect to the Internet, only to your internal network. Finally, if you see an X through the Icon, this tells you that you are not connected. Most common cause is your cable being unplugged. It is important to understand the terminology and the different connections. Remember: you're Currently connected to the Network; Currently connected to an unidentified network, which is Local Only; and Not Connected. It is common to see each of these terms appear on the Examination. Now that we know our terminology, let's go ahead and install the Network Connection inside of Windows Vista.