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Naim Audio HDX Hard Disk Player – Network Setup
Networking Basics
All devices that connect to a network have an Internet Protocol (IP) address. This address is
used as a unique identifier on the network and allows communication between devices to
be routed correctly. IP is the standard used by all network devices.
A typical home network will use a Modem/Router to connect to the Internet and will have a
number of devices connected directly to the Modem/Router. The Modem/Router acts as a
switch to allow intercommunication between the devices on the home network (LAN) and
allows each of the devices to access the Internet (WAN). The Modem/Router also offers
significant protection to the devices on the LAN side as they cannot be contacted directly by
a computer on the WAN side without the LAN side device initiating the communication.
The
HDX should never be connected directly to the Internet without a Router in place
.
It is usually the Modem/Router that allocates IP addresses to the different devices on the
home network. The process of dynamically allocating addresses to devices is known as
DHCP
and the part of the Modem/Router responsible for this is the
DHCP Server
. This system allows
devices to be connected and disconnected without the user having to make any
adjustments to the device configurations. Because this system is the most common and
convenient for home use
the HDX ships with DHCP mode enabled.
Below is a diagram of a
typical home network setup:
The Home Network
Local Area Network (LAN)
The Internet
Wide Area Network (WAN)
HDX
Desktop Computer
Network
Attached
Storage
Modem/Router
Laptop Computer
WiFi link