5.1 Networks

Question 1

What is a Network?

Answer 1

An arrangement of computers and other devices connected to share resources and other data.

Question 2

Local Area Network (LAN)

Answer 2

A network that covers a relatively small geographical area, often a single site.

Question 3

Wireless Local Network Area (WLAN)

Answer 3

A local area network in which connected devices use high-frequency radio waves to communicate

Question 4

Wide Area Network (WAN)

Answer 4

A network that covers a large geographical area.
It connects together two or more LANs and is usually under collective ownership.
The largest wide area network is the internet.

Question 5

Client-server network

Answer 5

A network that has at least 1 server to provide services to the client computers.

Question 6

Peer-to-peer network

Answer 6

A network that doesn’t have any centralised servers.

Each computer in the network can act as client and server.

Question 7

Network topology

Answer 7

Describes how the devices on a network are connected together.

Question 8

Internet

Answer 8

A worldwide system of interconnected networks that enables information to be exchanged and shared.

Question 9

Communication media

Answer 9

The means by which data is transmitted between devices on a network.
Coaxial cable, fibre-optic cable and microwaves are all forms of communication media.

Question 10

Protocol

Answer 10

A set of rules that govern how communications on a network should be formatted and what data they should include.

Question 11

Eavesdrop

Answer 11

Having unauthorised sight of data being sent from one computer to another through a network.

Question 12

Bandwidth

Answer 12

The amount of data that can be carried on a network in a given period of time.

Question 13

Checksum

Answer 13

An error detection technique. A mathematical formula is applied to the data and the resulting numerical value is transmitted with the data.
The recipient computer applies the same formula to the received data and then compares the checksum sent with the data to the calculated checksum.
If the checksums don’t match the data is likely to be corrupted and the recipient computer requests the data again.

Question 14

Packet

Answer 14

A small quantity of data being sent through a network.
The packet is labelled with the sender’s address, and the recipient’s address, how many packets are being transmitted and the position of this packet in the complete message.

Question 15

Web server

Answer 15

Powerful computer systems that store web pages and any multimedia that the pages might contain.