Network BasicsBy K.Baxter

Network Types

Wide Area Network The Internet is a WAN

WANs are LANs connected to other LANs

WANs use publically available telecoms infrastructure

WANs facilitate business activities from any location

Metropolitan Area Network In simple terms a MAN is larger than a LAN but smaller than a

WAN

MANs usually cover a city wide area or large region

Local Area Network Located at a single sight such as a School or Office

Connected with equipment owned by the business

Maintained in-house by staff or 3rd party contractor

Central storage of data = easy sharing of data

Central storage of data = easier backing-up of data

Computers can be centrally reconfigured and updated

Security policies can be administered centrally

Easier internal communication between users

Shared peripherals e.g. Scanners, printers and media drives/disk

• Maintenance can be expensive and specialist staff required

• Network problems can cause delays to all users

• Security is always a risk with any Network

Client-Server

Servers are high-end computers capable of handling network functions

Servers have plenty of storage and enough speed and processing power to serve the needs of connected computers

A Network can have more than one server

A server doesn’t always have to be a separate physical machine a server can have virtual server software to serve multiple needs

• More complex to set-up that a peer-to-peer Network • More expensive equipment required • Faulty server = No Network

Client 2

Hub or Switch Server

Client 1 Client 3

Network Types

Peer-to-Peer

Each computer has equal priority

Computers on a peer-to-peer network can also be used as standalone PCs

Easy to set-up

• More difficult to maintain than a Client-Server Network

• Less secure than a Client-Server Network

• Slow due to heavy network traffic

Client 2

Hub or Switch Server

Client 1 Client 3

Bus Topology

Computers and devices connected to a single backbone.

Easy set-up

Cheap

• Limited distance

• Data collision can slow down Network

• Faulty backbone = No Network

Terminator Server Printer

Token-Ring Topology

Very Fast – No Collisions

• Faulty backbone = No Network

• Data passes through each node = Higher level of vulnerability

Star TopologyClient Nodes are connected to a central hub or switch this is usually connected to one or more Servers

One faulty Node does not bring down the entire Network

Less collision than a bus Network = faster connection

• Higher level of expertise required to maintain it

• More expensive to set-up

• More building work required

• More Hardware/Software needed

Switches

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