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. The host computer and workstations must be running Mac OS X or Windows 7 & 8, and Vista.

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.