Networks

Networks

1. Disadvantages

   • Expensive – extra hardware and wiring needed More room for error – if something goes wrong it can affect every computer Difficult – it requires a technical expertise Malware – viruses and other malicious software can spread through the network
     • LAN
       • Local Area Network A network contained in a single geographical location or organisation

2. Advantages

   • Consistent User Experience - You can log on to any computer in the school using the same username and password Your files are available on every computer you use, even if you created them on a different computer You can print, use the Internet, email and use the same software on any computer

3. WAN

   • Wide Area Network A network that spans a large geographical area, or multiple organisations Often consists of multiple LANs networked together

4. Topologies

   • bus topologies
     • advantages
       • Cheap to install (only one wire needed)
     • disadvantages
       • High chance of catastrophic failure (a break in the central cable takes out the entire network) High chance of collisions (multiple communications on the same cable that corrupt each other, slowing down the network) More computers mean more collisions, so the network gets slower as it gets bigger
   • Ring topologie
     • advantages
       • Cheap to install (one cable per computer) No collisions - only one computer is transmitting on each cable
     • disadvantages
       • High chance of catastrophic failure (if any cable breaks or any computer goes down, the entire network fails Difficult to add new computers
   • star topologies
     • advantages
       • Fast (low chance of collisions) Easy to add new computers Low chance of catastrophic failure (a broken cable only takes out one computer, the rest of the network is fine)
     • disadvantages
       • Expensive (needs a lot of cabling, and a central switch, which is expensive) Failure of the switch will take down the network