I'm asked a lot about networking, so please accept my "canned" explanation in the spirit of help!

In most churches, computers reserved for Christian education use are rarely networked. Need and Cost is usually prohibitive, with the exception being larger labs.

We recommend networking in labs for:
a. printer sharing in labs larger than 4 computers. (But this type of networking can be done with special printer cables).
b. to perform "system maintenance" only if you have 6 or more computers. (The simple fact of the matter is that CE lab computer require less operating system maintenance because they are not used everyday.)
c. you require internet access (and that type of networking is a bit different)
d. you want to hook into the church office computers (but doing so has its own caveats).

We caution churches considering networking when:
a. the reason is driven by an attempt to circumvent buying extra copies (i.e. stealing)
b. a company is trying to sell you on networking
c. a techie in the church is recommending networking without good reason.

Most people, including many so-called "techies," do not fully understand the concept of networking, what is involved, how a computer program works across a network (or doesn't), the cost, or the pros and cons of networking. Most people's network experience is with simple data file sharing in an office environment with office software, or shared internet/email access, operating system maintenance across a network, or shared database access. These things are not the same as the real-time multimedia file access and instantaneous performance expectations that happen when you put a CD in the computer at which you are sitting. The simple fact of the matter is that a CD drive only has one 'read' head inside it. If two computers are trying to tell one CD drive what to read, one computer will end up waiting, and waiting.

Some believe networking is a way to save money on software. But in fact, there are extremely few "site licenses" offered for Christian education software. A site license is a specific document you purchase along with the CD giving you permission to install that CD on X number of computers at your site. Many people call a "site license" a "network copy" or network license mistakenly thinking the program sits in one spot while several computers access it. In fact, the site license gives you the right to make X number of copies of the program.

Why are there few site licenses for Christian software? The Christian software market is much smaller than the office product market. There's no incentive to offer a site license on a $20 CD when the average church only needs two or three of them. Quantity pricing is the solution. Microsoft offers site licenses on its office products, but those cost hundreds of dollars and their market is giant.

Networks CAN be used to COPY a CD to another computer, but there are some problems:

One- it is stealing if you buy one CD and install it on more than one computer without the written consent/license of the developer/owner. When you buy a software program, you are actually only buying the right to USE the content. You do not have the right to copy the content any way you feel. Think of your software like books or music. Just because you can copy it, doesn't make it legal. And churches of all places should obey the 8th Commandment, as well as Federal Law.

There are some in the church who see no problem teaching the gospel with stolen materials. They believe it is OK to steal because the church is a not-for-profit, or because it is 'for the kids', or because they 'aren't going to use it that much', or they think the software is too expensive. All excuses to illegally copy software are bad excuses. (If you are contemplating networking as a way to circumvent the law, shame on you. If we learn that is what you are doing, you will cease to be our customer.)

Two- Some programs are designed to require the CD be present in the CD-drive of the computer where the program is running.

Three - The "time savings" by installing over a network to various harddrives is minimal where there are fewer than 6 computers.

Four - The average computer savvy volunteer in your church doesn't know that much about networks, or how to fix them when they go down. Volunteer techies are usually excited for the first six months. The reality in most churches is that when you add layers of complexity, you add potential problems, cost, and downtime.

There are examples of networkable office programs that sit on a central server (fast computer) and several different computers access. This type of network is called "Client/Server." A client/server network is one in which services and facilities such as email or a database are controlled by a separate, purpose-built computer called a server. This is common in large corporate and large educational institutions. In the old-old days, a client computer might have just a keyboafd and screen, and be accessing the 'central brain' in another room. In those cases, you would buy a 'network version' of a program. My first wordprocessor in our church was that way.

Nowadays, each office typically has its own quite capable computer. The church buys a "site license" so that each computer can have a copy of Word or Excel. This is called a "Peer to Peer" network. The computers are connected to each other, but each is its own master. Most networks are designed this way because the individual computer is better equipped these days to run its own software and multimedia. Multimedia software in a Client/Server network is almost unheard of. For one thing, it's quite expensive. Peer-to-peer is the recommended 'way to go' by most computer experts for the average network situation.

*In some special cases, it may be reasonable to invest in special multimedia server. They are expensive! And you still need to buy the correct number of copies of a program for the number of computers where you want the CD's contents to be used.

Dear Pastors, Educators and Teachers.... I've been working with church labs for many years. Ie've pretty much heard it all, the good, the bad, and the ugly. My best advice to you is this: unless there is a compelling reason to network your computers (such as one of those listed above), I recommend you don't. If you are still confused after this brief discussion of networking, feel free to ask more questions. That's part of my ministry. If you'd like to put your technical volunteers in touch with me, I'd be happy to talk with them.

<>< Neil MacQueen
www.sundaysoftware.com, neil@sundaysoftware.com

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