networks

networks

1. lan

   • local area network
   • contained in a single location or organisation

2. wan

   • wide area network
   • spans a large area or multiple organisations
   • consists of multiple lans

3. bus topology

   • advantages
     • cheap to install
   • disadvantages
     • lots of collisions
     • slows down as more computers are added

4. ring topology

   • advantages
     • cheap to install
       • no collisions (fast)
   • disadvantages
     • difficult to expand

5. star topology

   • advantages
     • fast
       • easy to add new computers
   • disadvantages
     • expensive
       • failure of the switch will take down the whole network

6. IP adress

   • an IP address is 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 knows whether or not to keep the message
     • unique addresses are assigned to business and houses