If multiple users will be simultaneously accessing a company file, it should be stored on a host computer where it can be accessed across the network from Macintosh workstations. The host computer and workstations must be running Mac OS X.

Setting up hubs, cabling computers, and configuring network hardware and software require expert knowledge. If setting up a network for the first time, show this appendix to a networking expert.

This section starts from the point where the network is already set up. A local area network (LAN) can be set up in many different ways, so this section describes only the common situation of a LAN protected from the external Internet by a firewall on a router or gateway computer.