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The first piece of equipment that is crucial to the development of a home network is the router. With a router you are able to share your internet connection with all your devices connected to it. It also enables your devices to communicate with each other.
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Ethernet cables are far the better choice when it comes to connecting devices within your network. They are less prone to any type of conflict compared to a wireless connection. You also get faster speeds using Ethernet. The type of Ethernet cable that is currently widely available is the CAT5/CAT6. Speeds will vary with this type of cable and will also rely on the type of ports your router and device will have. They may range from 100Mbps to 1Gbps.
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Wireless adapters come in different sizes, formats, specifications and so forth. This one pictured above is a PCI wireless card rated a G speeds. These speeds are rated 54Mbps. Most modern devices will now come equipped with some sort of wireless hardware already attached to them.
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The hub is also an important device used to network devices together. The advantage hubs/switches have over routers is that they are able to connect a lot more devices simultaneously together. The downfall is that they are unable to connect to the internet unless used in conjunction with a router.