This is limited to 450 kbps, the standard speed of a serial port. It operates with a dual ended serial cable, and to each computer the connection operates as if it was a standard external dial-up modem. This is slow, and hardly ever used because of its slow transfer speed and 2 computer limit.

The most popular network technology because of its speed and flexibility. Often referred to as Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP), this network uses cabling similar to telephone cable. Each cable is ended with RJ-45 connections, which look vary similar to phone jack connectors. The difference between RJ45 (UTP Ethernet) and RJ11 (telephone) connectors are that RJ45s are much larger because they have 8 pins instead of 4. The maximum distance between nodes or hubs is 185 meters.

Twisted pair networks are more flexible than BNC/coaxil Ethernet because it allows for the connection and re-connection of nodes without the need to shut down the entire network. And unlike coaxil Ethernet networks, instead of connecting nodes in series, each node has its own separate cable linked directly into a hub or switch. Hubs and switches duplicate and strengthen the incoming signal, and send it to its destination. Switches are more efficient because they send the signal to only the path which it needs to take, while hubs re-transmit the signal to all nodes.

10BaseT
This is exactly the same as 100BaseT, except for that is is only able to transfer at speeds of up to 10MBps. It uses the same UTP cabling, but only requires the use of cable that category 3, instead of catagory 5. Catagory 3 cabling is the same cable that is used for telephones, and operates at speeds up to 10MHz.

Fast Ethernet 100baseT
Exactly the same as thin Ethernet, except that it operates at 100MHz, instead of 10MHz, allowing up to 100Mbps transfers. It also requires the use of category 5 cabling, which is know as Cat5. There are also, higher speed Ethernet connections that can transfer at speeds of 1 GBps and 10 Gbps, but they are usually very uncommon for use with computers other than servers.

Fast Ethernet 100baseTX
A type of Fast Ethernet that uses only 4 connections instead of 8. It still has the 2 twisted pairs, but no longer uses ground wires. Not very widely used because it can be less reliable than 100baseT.

This network design is often referred to as "cheapernet" because of its limited bandwidth and multiple design flaws. Thin Ethernet uses coaxil-cable to connect multiple computers in series. Each network card has a BNC connector which is used to allow the network to extend beyond it. Because coaxil cable is very sensitive to grounding problems, the chain of networked nodes has to be properly terminated at each end for it to work reliably. To do this, a BNC terminator has to be used on one end, and a BNC ground has to be used on the other. Thin Ethernet chain is limited to up to 30 nodes. Each thin Ethernet chain can be connected using a repeater and the total throughput is limited to 10Mbps transmition speed. Thin Ethernet doesn't require the use of hubs making it cheaper then UTP, but since it is unable to travel the distances that UTP is it usually isn't used that often.

Some newer network products allow a building's existing phone lines to be used as a network. It operates in the same way as DSL does, in that it uses the unused frequencies of the existing wires, allowing the phone to operate normally. The frequency used also, with most products, does not conflict with DSL frequencies. This technology currently allows up to 10Mbps transfers, which is comparable with 10baseT. The advantages of this is that no hub is required to connect multiple computers, and no extra cabling is required. Each computer on the network has to have an adapter that is plugged into a telephone jack. Distances should be nothing to worry about because they are able to operate at up to 185m.

Every house and computer uses power outlets, so this technology seems the most mobile. The technology is very similar to telephone line based networking, except wall outlets are used. The current products are limited to 500 kbps or less, and are able to operate at distances up to a quarter mile. Because the power lines for all houses in a city are connected, each packet must be encrypted so that other, unauthorized computers cannot capture it. The speed of this technology is limited because power lines suffer from sever fluctuations which can make signals unreliable. A possible advantage of power line and wireless technology over all of the others is its ability to travel between houses. If you want to set up a dedicated network with one of your neighbors, this is probably the best bet.

Wireless networking is a convenience because it offers hardly any restrictions to how computers have to be networked. Wireless networking communicate by high frequency radio waves in the 2 GHz to 6 GHz range. These high frequencies allow for the signals to pass-through most objects, such as walls, floors, ceilings, and across surprising distances. Depending on the quality of the networking product, computers can be up to 150 feet away indoors, or up to a mile apart outdoors. Like all non-hardwired connections, every packet is encrypted so that other networks will not be able to decode them. Transfer speeds are in the 5Mbps to 15Mbps range, and most devices attach to the computer via an ISA or PCI card.

The current USB standard is limited to 12Mbps, and so USB networking is as well. This allows for an easy 2 computer network, and operates similar to a null-modem cable. A dual ended USB cable is used, one end plugged into each computer. The benefits of this is that it is easy to install and requires no extra, and expensive hardware. The down sides of this is that it is limited to 2 computers and only an medium/slow transfer speed. This more a qiuck, temporary networking solution than it is a permanent one.