Networks

Networks

1. types of network

   • WAN
     • a network contained in a large geographical area or organisation
   • LAN
     • a network contained in a single geographical location or organisation

2. topology

   • star
     • advantages
       • low chance of failure
       • no collisions
     • disadvantages
       • expensive
       • depends on a switch
   • ring
     • advantages
       • cheap to install
       • no collisions
     • disadvantages
       • high chance of catastrophic failure
       • difficult to expand
   • bus
     • advantages
       • cheap to install
     • disadvantages
       • lots of collisions
       • high chance of catastrophic failure
       • slow down as more computer is added

3. IP address

   • a unique value assigned to every computer on a network, used to identify it
   • messages on a network have an IP address attached, which is how a computer know whether or not to keep the message

4. internet

   • packets - each packet may end up taking a completely different route through the mesh
   • routing - to decide what route the data is going to take
   • mesh topology - connected to one or more other nodes in an ad-hoc manner
   • The Internet is a huge, global inter-connected network of devices