Top 3 Tips for Building a LAN for Computer Gaming

Building a LAN for computer gaming isn't as complicated as many gurus make it out to be: LANs for small networks are generally composed of the same equipment, and wiring has become less complicated than in the past. You really must only be aware of a few guiding tips in order to create a great LAN environment for computer gaming.

Avoid bottlenecks - when you're creating a LAN, especially for computer gaming, you need to be very careful of bottlenecking your connections. Obviously, if you've only got one switch running your network, you don't need to worry about bottlenecks; however, if you're going to be running a bigger network, you'll need to pay special attention to bottlenecks. Specifically, you'll need to pay attention to where your game servers are located and how much bandwidth you have between them and your client machines.

Supply ample power - people generally don't consider power for the LAN equipment until the last second, and then they end up creating a daisy-chain of power strips (which is not only a dangerous fire hazard, but knocking one strip out knocks out everything behind it). Instead of hacking a power solution together, create a power wiring plan along with your LAN wiring plan. This way, you'll not only know how much juice is pumping out of each outlet, but you'll also avoid dead by daisy-chain.

Go gigabit - gigabit Ethernet technology has finally come down in price enough to be a readily accessible high-bandwidth option for all of your machines; but, if you're a bit strapped for cash, then you don't need to have every piece of LAN equipment gigabit capable. For a more modest budget, remember that almost every computer is equipped to handle 10/100 megabit Ethernet, and most games won't even push that. Save the gigabit Ethernet for your game servers and switches so you can avoid dropped-packet bottlenecking.

Building a computer gaming LAN isn't difficult, it just takes patience and know-how. Applying these tips to your LAN building plans will help you avoid the three major pitfalls of all gaming LANs.