INFO2.4

INFO2.4

1. Explain what is meant by the terms World Wide Web and the Internet. Your explanation must show that you understand the difference between the two terms.

   • • The World Wide Web is a collection of information held in multimedia form (1) • The Internet is a global collection of linked networks (1) • WWW is hosted by the Internet (1)

2. Explain, using examples, the need for standards when transferring data.

   • Standards are needed so that many different types of device, for example different cameras (1) or mobile phones (1), can be connected to any computer system (1). A standard way of connecting would be to use the Universal Serial Bus (USB) (1).

3. Give three benefits of using computer networks.

   • One benefit of using a computer network is that backup of data is managed centrally (1). Another benefit is that network users are able to share hardware resources (1). A third benefit is that users can communicate easily with each other using email (1).

4. Intranets and extranets are networks. Describe their characteristics.

   • An intranet and extranet both use the same protocols as the Internet (1). An intranet can only be accessed by the employees/members of an organisation (1). An extranet is part of an intranet that has been made accessible to people external to the organisation (1) for example the parents of pupils at a school (1).

5. Discuss the reasons why people away from home and their workplace make use of wireless networking and any problems they might experience when using it.

   • On the plus side, it is possible to connect to wireless networks in many public places (1) because of global standards (1). You can work anywhere there is a signal (1). On the minus side wireless networks may be sensitive to interference (1), and this may limit the range of accessibility (1). There may be problems with security (1) because the data may be more easily intercepted when it is being transferred wirelessly (1). A weak signal may cause the laptop battery to run down faster because of high power consumption (1).

6. Describe the characteristics of the Internet and the World Wide Web.

   • The Internet is a series of interlinked networks (1) which cover the globe/world (1) The WWW is a collection of multimedia resources (1) which is hosted by the Internet (1).

7. You need to upload and send some pictures from your digital camera via the Internet to your uncle who lives in New Zealand. Standards exist that allow pictures to be uploaded and sent this way. Explain why these standards are needed.

   • The digital camera needs to use a standard so that it is able to connect to the computer (1) and transfer the images (1). The pictures sent from the first machine need to be in a recognised format such as jpg (1) so that the receiving machine can display them correctly (1).

8. Describe the characteristics of local area networks and wide area networks.

   • A local area network covers a small geographical area (1) such as a single building or site (1) whereas a wide area network covers a large geographical area (1) such as a continent (1). LANs can be connected via copper/fibre optic cable (1) whereas WANs can be connected by Radio/satellite/microwave links (1).

9. A friend is setting up a small home network that is to have access to the World Wide Web. What elements would be required to set up such a network and why would they be needed?

   • She would need a suitable communications device (1) for example a router/hub (1). A wireless connection is needed (1) to transfer data across the network (1). She would need network software (1) to enable the machines to communicate with each other (1). She would need a suitable telephone line/communications link (1) She would need a web browser to access the World Wide Web (1).