Setting up a local network: LAN vs. Wi-Fi

We’ve got 6 computers at the office and want to get them all on one network. The goal is to have a single shared folder where everyone can dump the files we're all working on.

Cables are out. We hate them.

Anyone done this before? I've seen some stuff about setting up a shared drive via a Wi-Fi router through our internet connection. Any advice?

First off, you really need to designate one of these machines as the actual server. You can't just have folders floating around in mid-air like magic; they need a physical home base to live in.

Secondly, whatever setup you were planning to pull off using standard RJ-45 Ethernet ports, you can do the exact same thing with wireless cards that only have those Wi-Fi antennas. You basically configure your LAN exactly like you would with physical cables.

Thirdly—and I say this with all due respect—you're making this way more complicated than it needs to be. What you’re trying to achieve has been a standard business practice for ages, and there are plenty of ways to do it. Honestly, the most common and easiest route by far is just using the Cloud. You could probably roll this out without spending an extra dime by simply giving each of those six computers permission to sync with a single Cloud service account that everyone on the team can access.

it depends on what you actually need

if we're talking about tiny amounts of data, Dropbox or Google Drive will do fine.
But look, with Dropbox, you run into a mess when multiple users are messing around in the same folder and deleting stuff. You end up with these "orphaned files" that just sit there eating up storage space until everyone's quota is maxed out.

If you're dealing with massive datasets, it's much easier to just set up a shared folder via macOS. You can host it from one machine and give everyone else on the network access through a Workgroup if that's how you want to play it.

Let me give you more context. We aren't talking massive files here—mostly just spreadsheets, some PDFs, and a few images scattered around.

No music, no video, nothing heavy.

So, the play is to just set up a specific folder structure on one of those Cloud services and dump everything there?

Sounds good. It should work fine. We'll see what kind of upload speeds we actually get.

To be clear, I’ve got stuff like company invoices and various spreadsheets that people need to view or download.
My coworker handles employee data and keeps it updated.

The CEO manages the finances and updates all of that.

And the rest of us need access so we can actually work with these docs when necessary.

If you’re only dealing with six computers, you honestly don't need a dedicated server.
Just get everyone on the same Wi-Fi router if you're trying to avoid a mess of cables.
Pick one machine and set up a shared folder where everyone can—as you put it—shove all those collective documents.
The catch is that specific computer has to stay powered on if anyone else wants to grab files from it.

Another move would be picking up a NAS drive. Just plug it directly into your Wi-Fi router via an Ethernet cable (most routers have plenty of ports) and set up a shared folder there for everyone to dump their files into.

Using a service like Dropbox is an option too, but personally, I'd steer clear of it. It tends to eat up way too much bandwidth whenever you're uploading or downloading large files.

Sweet. I figure we'll grab a network drive if we actually end up needing constant local access. Otherwise, we'll just stick to the Cloud option.