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There are a few pieces of hardware required to set up a computer network: a network interface card, a hub, and cables.

NIC. A critical piece of hardware is the network adapter. It allows the computer to "talk" to the network, and is also known as a network interface card (NIC). Network cards differ primarily in terms of connection speed; today's cards support at least 10Mbps — though not that many support this speed alone anymore — 100 Mbps, or 1000Mbps (Gigabit) connections.

Some computers come with the NIC and accompanying software drivers pre-installed. If your machines do not have cards built in, that's a separate purchase and installation for you.

NICs range in price from $15 to more than $150. Whichever NIC you choose, you should try to settle on the same brand for all your computers for easier troubleshooting.

Hub. All networks also require the use of a hub. A hub essentially acts as a central traffic cop for the network. The hub manages receiving and transmitting data from networked devices. Each computer and peripheral that you want on the network must have a cable that runs from the NIC that is installed inside it to the hub.

Hubs vary in price, depending on the connection speed they support and how many devices they can connect. Each connection is known as a "port." Hubs come in many different port configurations. Prices for hubs that support just a few ports start as low as $40. But hubs can reach much higher prices into the hundreds, even thousands, for supporting multiple users.

Cables. Finally, you need cables to connect each computer to the hub. The primary types of cable used include twisted pair and fiber optic cables. The most popular type of wiring used in most offices these days is known as Category 5 (Cat 5) cable. This type of twisted pair cable can support network speeds up to 100 Mbps.