ManhattanTechSupport.com Blog

Create virtual networks via Homegroups

If you’ve ever used a house key, you know how to use Homegroups. OK, that’s Microsoft’s analogy, and the process isn’t quite that easy, but it’s close.

First, some background: The first time you connect a Vista PC to a network, you’re asked whether the network is Public, Work, or Home. If you dig deep into the bowels of Vista, however, you discover that there’s no real difference between a Work network and a Home network.

By contrast, Windows 7’s Home networks are special, because they allow you to set up Homegroups. It doesn’t matter whether the network is really in your home, your home office, or a camouflaged Winnebago parked outside the Pentagon. Home networks get treated differently. (In Windows 7, Work networks and Public networks function pretty much the same way they do in Vista.)

If you identify a network as a Home network, Windows 7 reaches out to all the other Windows 7 computers on the network and asks whether they’re part of something called a Homegroup. If Windows 7 finds a Homegroup, it asks you to provide the password for the Homegroup. Enter the correct password and — boom! You’re suddenly attached and sharing all sorts of resources with other computers in the Homegroup.

There are no weird settings to decipher and none of Vista’s 20 questions about Network Discovery, File Sharing, and Password-Protected Sharing. Just a nice, simple network — and creating it requires only a password and a couple of clicks.

If there’s no pre-existing Homegroup, Windows 7 offers to set one up. Other Windows 7 computers on the network identify it as a “Home” network and can link to it simply by entering the Homegroup password. Easy — you know, the way it’s supposed to be (thanks, Crosby, Stills, Nash & Young).

By default, computers in a Homegroup share their Pictures, Music, and Video Libraries. Note: I’m talking about Libraries, not folders. The Homegroup members also share their printers by default. However, you’re asked whether you want to share your Documents Library; some people will want to, while others won’t, primarily for security purposes.

If Homegroups sound like precisely the kind of sharing you want for your small office, remember to tell Windows 7 that you’re on a “Home” network. The rest of the process is as easy as falling off a log.

This entry was posted on Thursday, October 22nd, 2009 at 6:11 am and is filed under General. You can follow any responses to this entry through the RSS 2.0 feed. Responses are currently closed, but you can trackback from your own site.