Networking By Nachiket Agrawal 10DD

Contents Network Stand Alone LAN Advantages and Disadvantages of LAN Advantages and Disadvantages of LAN Cabled LAN Wireless LAN LAN topologies Advantages of bus topology Advantages of bus topology Advantages and Disadvantages of star topology Advantages and Disadvantages of star topology Router WAN Clients Server Client/server network Peer to Peer Network Peer to Peer Network Data transmission Data transmission Bibliography

Network A Network consists of more than one computer that are interconnected in order to share files, resources, web and more. Back to contents

Stand Alone A stand alone device is one which does not require any other devices to function. For example a fax (facsimile) device does not require a modem or a computer to function while a printer needs to be connected to a device, a computer, to function. A Stand alone device Not a stand alone device Back to contents

LAN The Local Area Network is a computer network that interconnects devices in a limited area. For example a LAN can be over a school, office, home, etc. Back to contents

Advantages and disadvantages of LAN Advantages: 1. Hardware can be shared. 2. Network software is cheaper than individual packages. 3. The users can access the same files. 4. A single internet connection can be shared between the users. Disadvantages: 1. Can be expensive to set up and maintain. 2. A virus can spread to all computers if one is infected. 3. Can be more prone to hacking as there are multiple access points. 4. If the file server goes down, the entire network can go down if it is a star network. Back to contents

Cabled LAN Cabled LAN is used to connect a network device to multiple network devices and depending on the size of the network, different cables are used which are: 1. Twisted pair: is a form of wiring in which two conductors are twisted and this is usually used for home and office uses. 2. Coaxial cable: uses electromagnetic waves inside the cable and is usually used for televisions. 3. Optical fiber: is the latest form of cabled LAN and uses light impulses to transfer information. Back to contents

Wireless LAN Wireless LAN links two or more devices using wireless distribution method and it usually provides a connection through an access point. Back to contents

LAN Topologies There are different types of network called topologies: 1. The bus topology 2. The ring topology 3. The star topology Back to contents

Advantages of bus topology The two main advantages of bus topologies are: 1. If one station breaks down, the rest aren’t affected. 2. If needed, only one of the stations can be removed. Everything works! Still everything works! Back to contents

Advantages and disadvantages of the star topology The star topology is the latest form of topologies and there are certain advantages and disadvantages to having a star topology. The advantages are: 1. It can be easily installed and implemented. 2. Adding and removing a station would be no problem as each work station are separately connected. The disadvantages are: 1. If the central hub fails or becomes slow, the performance of the whole system will fall. 2. The size of the network depends upon the number of nodes and it can become expensive if there are to be too many connections. Back to contents

Router A router is a device that transfers data between computer networks. Back to contents

WAN The WAN is a communication network that covers a broad area. For example between countries, regional area and more. A real life example would be Google INC. and this is because Google has many officers all over the world which means that they can have their own communication channels all over the world. Back to contents

Clients A client is an application that can access a service which is made available by a server. The two main types of clients are: 1. The Fat client: Performing the bulk of data processing operations itself. 2. The Thin client: Mostly uses the resources of the hosts. Back to contents

Server A server is a computer program running to serve the requests of the clients. For example a server in a school would be controlling and storing the data. Back to contents

Client/server network A client/server network is one which deals with the requests of their clients and the servicers of the servers to transfer information and more. Back to contents

Peer to Peer Network A peer to peer network is one in which each computer in the network can act as a client and a server. These can be for allowing shared access to files and peripherals. Back to contents

Data transmission Data transmission is the physical transfer of data from one point to another. The data transfer channels can be done via the use of copper wires, optical fibers and storage media. The method used to transfer signals are by the use of a sector of an electromagnetic spectrum like visible light, infra red, microwaves and radio waves. Back to contents

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