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- A network is a group of systems that are connected to allow sharing of resources— such as files or printers—or sharing of services—such as an Internet connection
- There are two aspects of setting up a network: the hardware used to connect the systems together and the software installed on the computers to allow them to communicate.
- A typical network involves having users sit at workstations, running such applications as word processors or spreadsheet programs
- The workstation also is known as a client, which is just a basic computer running a client operating system such as Windows XP or Linux.
- These users typically store their files on a central server so that they can share the files with other users on the network.
- The server is a special computer that contains more disk space and memory than are found on client workstations. The server has special software installed that allows it to function as a server. This special software can provide file and print services (to allow sharing of files and printers), provide web pages to clients, or provide e-mail functionality to the company.
- The term host refers to any computer or device that is connected to a network and sends or receives information on that network. A host can be a server, a workstation, a printer with its own network card, or a device such as a router. We can summarize by saying that any system or device that is connected to the network is known as a host.
WANs, LANs, and MANs
- A local area network (LAN) typically is confined to a single building, such as an office building, your home network, or a college campus.
- A wide area network (WAN) spans multiple geographic locations and is typically made up of multiple LANs.
- The term metropolitan area network (MAN) is not used often anymore; it refers to a network that exists within a single city or metropolitan area.
Types of Networks
Peer-to-Peer Network
- A peer-to-peer network has no dedicated servers; instead, a number of workstations are connected together for the purpose of sharing information or devices. When there is no dedicated server, all workstations are considered equal; any one of them can participate as the client or the server.
- Peer-to-peer networks are designed to satisfy the networking needs of home networks or of small companies that do not want to spend a lot of money on a dedicated server but still want to have the capability to share information or devices.
- Most of the modern operating systems such as Windows already have built-in peer-to-peer networking capabilities,
- The disadvantage of a peer-to-peer network is the lack of centralized administration—with peer-to-peer networks, you need to build user accounts and configure security on each system.