Networks

Networks

1. Advantages

   • Consistent User Experience
     • You can log on to any computer in the network when 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

2. Disadvantages

   • Expensive
     • Extra hardware and wiring needed
   • Malware
     • viruses and other malicious software can spread through the network
   • More Room For Error
     • if something goes wrong it can affect every computer
   • Difficulty
     • It requires technical expertise to set up and maintain a network

3. Types Of Networks

   • WAN
     • Wide Area Network, A network that spans a area, or multiple organisations
   • LAN
     • Local Area Network, A network contained in a smaller space, location or organisation

4. Topologies

   • Bus
     • Advantage: Cheap to install
     • Disadvantages: High chance of catastrophic failure Lots of collisions Slows down as more computers are added
   • Ring
     • Advantages: Cheap to install No collisions (fast)
     • Disadvantages: High chance of catastrophic failure Difficult to expand
   • Star
     • Advantages: Cheap to install No collisions (fast)
     • Disadvantages: High chance of catastrophic failure Difficult to expand
   • Mesh
     • All data on the Internet is split up into small chunks called packets
     • Each packet is numbered and sent independently This means that each packet may end up taking a completely different route through the mesh
     • The packets are re-assembled on the other side

5. Addressing

   • IP Address
     • 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
   • The Internet
     • The Internet is a huge network with more devices than it’s possible to assign a unique address to
     • Unique addresses are assigned to businesses and houses

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