Networks Flashcards
What is a network?
computers which are interconnected for the purpose of exchanging data
What is a protocol?
A set of rules that determines how data is transmitted over different computers on the network. They allow devices to communicate with each other regardless of their differences.
What are the ways in which networks are connected?
They can be wired(cooper wires, electrical signal) or wireless(radio waves)
What is a LAN?
- Local Area Network
- Many computers are connected to each other and can share resources
- shared services
- Privately owned and operated - provides a secure and controlled environment
- 1 to 10 km range
What is a WAN?
- Wide Area Network
- Many LANs joined connected which can communicate with each other
- Long distance communication (>50km range)
What is a VLAN?
- Virtual local area network* Makes it seem like computers are under one LAN* Can be between different computers in different countries
Why are VLANs implemented?
For scalability, security and ease of network management. They can quickly adapt to changes in network environments and relocation of nodes.
What is a SAN?
- Storage Area Network* High speed network that stores and provides access to large amounts of data
What are some features of SANs?| 6 features
- Fault tolerant - one SAN fails, data can stil be accessed* Scalable* Appears as a local drive and not a network drive* fibre channels* Unaffected by network traffic* Expensive
What is a WLAN?
- Wireless LAN* Used to send and receive data* 50 meter range
What is PAN?
- Personal area network* Used for communication with individuals in close proximity* 10 meter range* Bluetooth and Wifi direct
What is P2P?
Network model which allows direct exchange of files and data
What is NAS?
- Network attached storage* Storage device on the network* Multiple hard drives* Own NIC* Connects to a router or a switch* If the NAS fails, nodes can not access it
Differences between internet and extranet.
Internet* public* less secure* accessible by anyone* large number of users can access it* not owned by anyone* general public uses it* less costlyExtranet* private* secure* username and password required* limited number of users can access it* owned by an organization* employees use it* expensive
What is the OSI model?
The open systems intercommunication model is a conceptual model that represents how communication over networks is divided
What are the layers in the OSI model?
Application layer, presentation layer, session layer, transport layer, network layer, data link layer and physical layer| “A”ll “P”eople “S”eem “T”o “N”eed “D”ata “P”rocessing
What does the application layer do?
It is used by end-user software such as web browsers and email clients. It provides protocols that allow software to send and receive information and present data to users.| e.g - HTTPS, FTP, POP, SMTP, DNS
What does the presentation layer do?
It prepares data for the application layer:* Data reformatting to ensure character encoding scheme is correct* Performs encyrption(data can only be decrypted and the destination node)* Data compression
What does the session layer do?
- Creates and manages session till logout* Adds checkpoints(which can be accessed if an error occurs)* Terminates session
What does the transport layer do?
- Takes data from session layer and breaks it into segments* Determines type of connection(TCP or UDP)
What is TCP?
Connection oriented protocol which is reliable, slower than UDP and has error correction
What is UDP?
Connectionless protocol which is unreliable, faster with no error correction but discards the packets and request to resend instead
What is flow control?
The sender and receiver might be sending and receiving at different speeds, but the data is not lost
What does the network layer do?
The segments are broken down into packets. The path is selected and the source and destination node IP addresses are added
What does the datalink layer do?
It breaks down the packets into frames(depending on hardware) and sends them. It also adds the MAC address which keeps changing on each node