Sharing the Programs and Data in the Total Network

Often during the course of business it is necessary to share files and information. There are many different ways to share files with other users. When sharing files you must take several things into consideration. These include file size, speed of transmission and location of users. When users are in the same room, there are different options to transfer files. These can include the local network, Bluetooth transfer and flash media drives.

Utilizing the local network is the easiest and fastest way to simultaneously transfer files from one computer to another. The host computer can share a location on their system and other computers can access via the local area network. All computers in the room must have access to the network in order for this to succeed. Laptops can connect to the network via a wired or wireless connection, depending on the office setup. Most meeting rooms will have a limited amount of wired connection ports, so wireless is a better option. Alternatively, a switch or hub can be used in the room, where all the computers can attach to a single device. A switch is a better option as it will distribute the bandwidth evenly between all attached devices. Hubs will give the largest amount of bandwidth to the first user, and allocate decreasing amounts as more users connect. Hubs also work at half duplex. As noted by Meyer Computer and Consulting, "Switches also run in full duplex mode, which allows data to be sent and received across the network at the same time. Switches effectively double the speed of the network when compared to hubs, which only support half duplex mode" (Hubs vs. Switches). The transfer rate will depend on the network speed. Most modern offices will have Cat5e wired connections, with up to 1Gbps transfer rate. Wireless connections are generally 802.11a/b/g standard, with transfer rates theoretically at 54Mbps - however in reality it is generally about half that rate. (White, 2013). One other option for sharing via the network is to use cloud storage, such as Google Docs or Microsoft SkyDrive to upload and download files.

Bluetooth transfer is an option if all the laptop computers are configured with Bluetooth, or if users have a Bluetooth USB dongle. Bluetooth is limited to a distance of 4 inches to 30 feet and the transfer rate is about 2Mbps (White, 2013). Because of the slower speed, it is recommended that files be kept under 2mb. A Bluetooth Personal Area Network (PAN) can be set up with 8 or fewer devices. This is also called a piconet (White, 2013). One major disadvantage of using Bluetooth is that "the current technology is still having problems with getting multiple devices to synchronize data with each other" (White, 2013). Because of this limitation, the transfer may need to be done one or two computers at a time, rather than having all the meeting participants trying to connect and download at the same time.

One final option is the