Networks

Question 1

What are the advantages of networking?

Answer 1

• Users can share files and documents easily
• Users can share peripherals: printers and connections to other networks, e.g The Internet
• Users can access their files from any computer on the network
• Servers can control security, software updates and backup of data
• Communication with other people, e.g email and social networking
• Backups can be centralise

Question 2

What are the disadvantages of networking?

Answer 2

• Increased security risks to data
• Malware and viruses spread very easily between computers
• If a central server fails, the computers connected to it may not work
• The computer may run more slowly if there is a lot of data travelling on the network
• Networks can be expensive to set up
• Managing a network requires a specialist skills

Question 3

What are the disadvantages of Client Server Model?

Answer 3

• Can be expensive to setup and maintain
• Requires IT specialist to maintain
• The server is a single point of failure
• Users will lose access if the server fails

Question 4

What are the advantages of Client Server Model?

Answer 4

• All of the files are stored on one central server
• All of the peripherals are processed via the server
• If a client machine breaks, it wont affect the whole network
• Easier to take backups of all shared data
• Easier to install software updates to all computers

Question 5

What are the advantages of Peer-to-Peer Network?

Answer 5

• Very easy to maintain
• Specialist staff are not required
• Clients are not dependent on a single computer/server
• Cheaper to set up
• No expensive hardware required
• Easy to set up

Question 6

What are the disadvantages Peer-to-Peer Network?

Answer 6

• The network is less secure
• There is no central backup system so users will need to manage their own backups
• Can be difficult to maintain a well ordered file store
• Using a shared peripheral can lead to a computer slowing down when processing too many requests
• If a host computer breaks down, this can cause files and peripherals that are hosted by it to be unavailable

Question 7

What are the advantages of Star topology?

Answer 7

• A damaged link only affects the attached node
• You can easily add new nodes
• It works well under heavy load - especially when using a switch for the central node

Question 8

What are the disadvantages of Star topology?

Answer 8

• The central node is a single point of failure - if the central node breaks, it will affect the other nodes connected to it
• It requires many more cables than bus and ring, which is expensive

Question 9

What are the advantages of Mesh topology?

Answer 9

• There is no central node, so there is no single point of failure
• The data uses the most direct route, making data transfer faster
• It works well under heavy load
• If a node breaks then a new route can be found for the data
• New nodes can be added without shutting down the network

Question 10

What are the disadvantages of Mesh topology?

Answer 10

• The increased cabling required for a wired network makes it expensive
• A wired mesh is far more complicated to manage and maintain than the other topologies