I currently have my home computer networked with a linksys router and 8 port switch with a ?(patch panel)?. This is work that has been done by different companies or individuals in the last 3-4 years, by the way they are all out of business or moved away. The last guy is great, but he is moving and I need someone here to help me when I need it. I am looking for someone AGAIN or my better option is to take a class and learn it myself.
My question to you is, is it hard to learn home networking? I know computers a little (enough to be dangerous) I want to find a class that I can take online. Is there anyone out there that knows of any good online classes? We are always buying new computers and need to add them to the network. At this time we have 5 desktops and 2 laptops running on cat5 lines, we have one laptop on wireless, all 4 printers are shared.
I am looking for advise on what I should do.
Thanks a bunch
Lin

You can easily learn enough to be dangerous.

As long as you remember that networking is a top-down hierarchy with the router/server at the top and everything downstream is a client, it's hard to screw up - you have to kind of work at it. Other than the firewall new clients should be good to go out of the box. The default TCP/IP settings should work fine and your clients' firewalls, if any, must be set up to work with a LAN.

I would consider getting a wireless router and converting your 2 existing wired laptops to wireless - the idea behind a laptop is "portability", and that ethernet cable hanging out the back kind of limits that. A wireless router has LAN ports for your desktops so you have the best of both worlds. As you expand your network you'll have the choice of adding clients wirelessly or not. Just be sure and use WPA encryption to secure your wireless subnet.

Along the same lines you also say you have 4 shared printers. There's nothing wrong with this except you might want to simplify your life and pick up a print server. Then you can hang your printer(s) directly off the LAN and not have to deal with file sharing. You should be able to reduce the # of printers you have to maintain, too.