Network Basics Flashcards
What does WAN stand for?
Wide area network
What does LAN stand for?
local area network
What is a local area network?
a network placed on a small site where the owner owns all infrastructure
What is a wide area network?
a network which utilises telecommunications (e.g.telecoms) to link nodes together over a large geographical area
What is a good example of a wide area network?
the internet (world wide web)
What usually is the local area network?
a house, where the owner has all the cabling and a topology set up
What is a WAN constructed of?
loads of LANs connected together
what is a computer network?
a number of devices linked together to allow sharing or resources, hardware and software. and internet
Advantage of a network?
- easy communication and file sharing
- software sharing and centralised updates
- data backup
- security and user access levels
- sharing peripherals
- shared work group areas
- uses can login from any device
Disadvantages of a network?
- can be expensive as cabling and expertise is required
- virus can effect all nodes
- server failure can lead to massive loses if applicable
- hard management
Characteristics of a network?
- use and availability
- cost
- reliability (think about duplicating data, switching over to a spare system(failover) )
- security
- speed (fibre optic cables and bandwidth)
- scalability
- topology
