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GCSE Computer Science > SLR 1.4 Wired and Wireless Networks > Flashcards

SLR 1.4 Wired and Wireless Networks Flashcards

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1
Q

What does LAN stand for?

A

Local Area Network

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2
Q

What is a LAN?

A

A Local Area Network is a collection of devices on the same network which are in a small geographic area, for example, all located within one building or site e.g. a home or school network.

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3
Q

What does WAN stand for?

A

Wide Area Network

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4
Q

What is a WAN?

A

A Wide Area Network is a collection of devices on the same network which are spread out over a large geographic area, for example a university across several sites in one town, or a business with offices in different cities or even different countries.

The Internet is an example of a WAN

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5
Q

What device connects computers on a LAN?

A

A switch is used to connect computers on a LAN

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6
Q

What device connects computers to a WAN?

A

A router is used to connect computers to a WAN

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7
Q

What is a client-server network?

A

A client-server network has computers (clients) that make use of resources available from one or more servers.

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8
Q

What is a peer-to-peer network?

A

A peer-to-peer network has computers (peers) that can share resources on other computers (peers) directly; one peer can use a printer on another peer or save data on another peer’s local storage.

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9
Q

What does UTP stand for?

A

Unshielded Twisted Pair cable

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10
Q

What is UTP cable made from?

A

Copper cables.

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11
Q

Where are UTP cables used?

A

They are Ethernet/network cables to connect computers to a LAN network

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12
Q

What are optic fibre cables made from?

A

glass fibres.

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13
Q

How do optic fibre cables work?

A

Light shines down the cable using total internal reflection and pulses to show transmit and zeros.

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14
Q

List three advantages of networking computers

A

Users can share files.
Users can share peripherals such as 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.

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15
Q

List three disadvantages of networking computers

A

Increased security risk to data.
Malware and viruses spread very easily between computers.
If a server fails, all the computers may not work.
The computer may run more slowly if there is a lot of data travelling on the network.

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16
Q

List three factors that affect the speed of a network

A 
The number of users
The error rate
The transmission media 
Bandwidth
Latency
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17
Q

How does the number of users affect the speed of a network?

A

Too many users or devices on the same network can cause the network to slow down if there is insufficient bandwidth for the data.

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18
Q

How does the error rate affect the speed of a network?

A

Less reliable connections increase the number of errors that occur when data is transferred, resulting in data having to be resent. The higher the error rate the slower the network.
The signal quality of wireless is dependent on the range of the device.

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19
Q

How does the transmission media affect the speed of a network?

A

Wired connections give better performance (faster speeds) than wireless connections. Fibre optic cables have a higher bandwidth than copper cables so fibre optic cables are faster than copper cables.

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20
Q

What does bandwidth mean?

A

The amount of data that can be sent and received in a given time. This is not a measure of how fast data travels, but how much data can be sent on the transmission media (think width of a pipe carrying water). Measured in bits per second. Often called the bit rate.

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21
Q

What is latency?

A

The delay from transmitting data to receiving it. Latency is caused by bottlenecks in the infrastructure of the network.

22
Q

List three things a server may control on a client-server network.

A

A server controls access and security to one shared file store.
A server manages access to the internet.
A server manages printing jobs.
A server provides email services.
A server runs a backup of data.
A client makes requests to the server for data and connections - the server controls data access and network access.

23
Q

List three things a peer controls on a peer-to-peer network

A

A peer is equal to all other peers, they serve their own files to each other.
Each peer is responsible for its own security.
Each peer is responsible for its own backup.
Peers usually have their own printers. You can send print jobs to another peer to process, but that peer would need to be switched on to be able to communicate with the connected printer.

24
Q

What is a WAP?

A

Wireless Access Point

25
Q

What does a WAP do?

A

A Wireless Access Point allows wireless-enabled devices to access the network without cables

26
Q

What does a router do?

A

A router sends data between networks.
It is needed to connect a local area network to a wide area network.
It uses the IP address on a device to route traffic to other routers.

27
Q

What does a switch do?

A

A switch sends data between computers on a local area network. It uses the NIC address on a device to route traffic.

28
Q

Why are wireless connections popular?

A

Wireless connections are popular because it avoids the need to install cables. It is a portable connection.

29
Q

How does the bandwidth of a wireless connection compare to a wired connection?

A

The bandwidth of a wireless connection is lower than a wired connection.

30
Q

How are connections usually made between a desktop computer and a network switch?

A

Connections between desktop computers and a switch are usually made with unshielded twisted pair (UTP) copper cable.

31
Q

Why are Unshielded Twisted Pair cables popular to connect computers on a network?

A

It is cheap and flexible which makes it easy to install.

32
Q

How are longer distance cables and wide area networks usually connected?

A

Longer distance cables and wide area networks are usually connected with fibre optic cable

33
Q

Why is fibre optic cable better than UTP cable?

A

Fibre optic has a higher bandwidth than copper and suffers from less interference.

34
Q

Where are webpages stored?

A

On servers connected to the internet

35
Q

What does URL stand for?

A

Uniform Resource Locator

36
Q

Where is a URL used?

A

A URL is the address of a webpage

37
Q

What does IP stand for?

A

Internet Protocol

38
Q

What is an IP address?

A

Every server on the internet has a unique Internet Protocol address.

39
Q

What does DNS stand for?

A

Domain Name Server

40
Q

What does a Domain Name Server do?

A

A Domain Name Server converts the human readable URL (e.g. www.bbc.co.uk) to its machine readable IP address (e.g. 212.58.246.91)

41
Q

What is hosting?

A

Websites need to be accessed across the internet and be available 24/7. They may be accessed by thousands of users at a time. The servers they are stored on need to be reliable and protected from hackers. They also need an IP address that doesn’t change. Therefore it makes sense to store a website on servers dedicated to the purpose. This is known as hosting.

42
Q

What is the cloud?

A

The cloud refers to remote servers that store data and software that can be accessed over the internet.

43
Q

List three advantages of cloud storage

A

The advantages of cloud storage rather than storing data and programs on your PC include: access anytime, anywhere from any device, larger storage capacity, automatic backup and the ability to share files with others easily, making collaboration a possibility.

44
Q

What are two disadvantages of a wireless network?

A

They are slower than a wired network (less bandwidth) and they are less secure

45
Q

What is a virtual network?

A

One where the logical network (shown on a gui on screen for example) does not match the physical network (e.g. the R drive in school may be spread across different servers for different departments or even remote on the cloud but the user does not need to know this)

46
Q

What are the advantages of a peer-to-peer network?

A

A peer-to-peer network is cheaper to set up than a client-server network
A peer-to-peer networkis less likely that specialist IT staff will be needed
There is no dependency on a single machine (server) in a peer-to-peer network

47
Q

What are the disadvantages of a peer-to-peer network?

A

In a peer-to-peer network users will need to manage their own backups
A peer-to-peer network is less secure
It can be difficult to maintain a well ordered file store

48
Q

What are the advantages of a client-server network?

A

A client-server network is easier to manage security of files
A client-server network is easier to take backups of all shared data
A client-server network is easier to install updates

49
Q

What are the disadvantages of a client-server network?

A

A client-server network can be difficult to set up and maintain
A client-server network requires IT specialists to maintain
A client-server network has a single point of failure as the users will lose access if the server fails.

50
Q

What is a NIC and what is it used for?

A

A Network Interface Controller connects a device to a wired or wireless network. It uses a protocol to ensure successful communication (the 4 stage handshake)

GCSE Computer Science (14 decks)

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