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Dan’s GCSE Computer Science > Topic 5 - Fundamentals Of Computer Networks > Flashcards

Topic 5 - Fundamentals Of Computer Networks Flashcards

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1
Q

What is a computer network ?

A

A computer network is a collection of computers linked together to facilitate communication and
the sharing of resources.

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2
Q

What are the reasons we would set up a network ?

A

data exchange
resource sharing
managing computers

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3
Q

what are some resources that can be shared ?

A

E.g. Printers.
E.g. Scanners.
E.g. Internet connections.

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4
Q

how can a network manager manage a network ?

A

Updating software.
Fixing problems.
Help users e.g. resetting passwords.

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5
Q

what factors affect the overall performance on a network ?

A

topology
wired vs wireless
bandwidth
choice of cabling

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6
Q

How does the topology of a network affect the overall performance of a network ?

A

The topology of the network (how the computers are laid out and connected together) can have a large impact on the network performance

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7
Q

How does wired vs wireless affect the overall performance of a network ?

A

Wired networks are usually much faster and more reliable.

Wireless performance depends on how well a computer can pick up the signal but is rarely better than a wired connection would be.

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8
Q

How does bandwidth affect the overall performance of a network ?

A

Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be transferred in a given time.

The greater the bandwidth, the better the network’s performance potential.

Bandwidth is shared between all active users, so performance can decrease if there are too many users.

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9
Q

How does choice of cabling affect the overall performance of a network ?

A

The choice of cabling and other networking hardware can have a big impact on the speed of a network.

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10
Q

what is Transmission media ?

A

Transmission media are different ways of physically transferring data along a network

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11
Q

What are the transmission media of wireless networking ?

A

Radio waves are the transmission media of wireless networking.
E.g. WiFi.
E.g. Bluetooth.

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12
Q

why does WiFi signal lose strength further away from a WAP ?

A

The amplitude (strength) of a radio wave decreases as it moves further from its transmitter.

Radio waves are also subject to interference from other radio signals of similar frequency

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13
Q

What do Wireless access points (WAPs) often check for before starting a broadcast ?

A

frequency channels that are least congested

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14
Q

what transmission media is most often used for cable televisions ?

A

Coaxial cable

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15
Q

What is a coaxial cable ?

A

a wired transmission media where an insulated copper wire is surrounded by a metal mesh to protect it from interference.

used for tvs

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16
Q

What are Fibre-optic cables made of ?

A

Fibre-optic cables are made of thin strands of glass which transmit binary data as pulses of light.

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17
Q

how do fibre-optic cables transmit binary ?

A

transmit binary data as pulses of light.

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18
Q

what are the advantages of fibre-optic cables?

A

Do not suffer interference.

Very high bandwidth (100Tbps).

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19
Q

why are fibre optic cables appropriate for long distance communication such as undersea cabling ?

A

Because of the lack of interference

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20
Q

What are Twisted-pair copper cable also known as ?

A

ethernet cables

21
Q

why are the 8 wires in Twisted-pair copper cables twisted into pairs ?

A

This is to reduce interference from other signals and improve transmission speed.

22
Q

fact

A

Twisted cables have different ratings to indicate how quickly data can be transferred.

E.g. Cat-5e can transmit at 1 Gbps.
E.g. Cat-6 can transmit at 10 Gbps.

23
Q

what are 3 things network administrators can do ?

A

Update software
Fix problems
Help users

24
Q

Will increasing the bandwidth always make a network faster ?

A

No

25
Q

What is a WAN ?

A

wide area network

A WAN is a collection of computers connected over a large geographical area.

26
Q

Who use WANs ?

A

WANs are used by multinational organizations that have international offices they need to connect to.

27
Q

Why are WANs usually rented from large telecommunications companies ?

A

because WANs are expensive to set up.

28
Q

What is an example of a WAN ?

A

The Internet.

The Internet is the largest WAN in the world.

29
Q

What is PAN ?

A

A personal area network (PAN) is a network used to connect a single user’s devices in their workspace.

30
Q

What is an example of a PAN ?

A

An example of a PAN would be connecting your phone to a headset via bluetooth.

31
Q

what is a LAN ?

A

A local area network

A LAN is a collection of computers connected over a small geographical area.

32
Q

When are LANs used ?

A

These are typically found in homes, schools, universities, and small companies.

33
Q

who sets up and maintains a LAN ?

A

The LAN is set up and maintained by the organization that uses it.

34
Q

what is WIFI ?

A

WiFi is a set of protocols that define how network devices can communicate wirelessly over radio waves

35
Q

By creating devices which use the same standards, what can we guarantee ?

A

we can guarantee that devices from different manufacturers will be compatible.

36
Q

What does the WiFi standard define?

A

What frequency radio waves should be

How powerful a transmitter should be

How data can be secured

What should happen if data is lost in transmission

37
Q

why is it easier to intercept WiFi signals than signals in a wire ?

A

This is because they are just radio waves that anyone can pick up.

38
Q

why is it important to protect against eavesdroppers ?

A

Because WiFi is so open, it’s important to protect against eavesdroppers.

39
Q

what are three common security measures to protect against eavesdroppers ?

A

Wired Equivalent Privacy (WEP).
Wi-Fi Protected Access (WPA).
Wi-Fi Protected Access version 2 (WPA2)

40
Q

why is WEP the weakest protection of all ?

A

WEP simply needs a password to join the network.

No data is encrypted, so it can be easily intercepted.

41
Q

How does WPA work?

A

WPA also uses a password to join the network.

WPA also uses encryption to scramble the data being sent:

This means that only devices with the correct key can decode the data.

WPA is much stronger than WEP.

42
Q

how does WPA2 work ?

A

WPA2 is the successor of WPA.

WPA2 uses a stronger encryption algorithm to prevent unauthorized parties from accessing the encrypted data.

43
Q

In the star topology how are devices connected ?

A

each device is connected to a central switch or server

44
Q

where is star topology common ?

A

In a LAN

45
Q

Why is star topology used ?

A

Simultaneous access - The star topology allows many devices to access the server simultaneously (at the same time).

scalable - The network can easily be scaled up by adding more devices

reliability - If a single client fails, then all other clients can continue as usual.

46
Q

What are the cons of star topology?

A

Expensive - It can be expensive to run a cable to every single device in a wired star.
Wireless star networks can sometimes be more cost effective.

Reliability- if the server fails, then the whole network is affected.

47
Q

In the bus topology how are devices connected ?

A

each computer is connected to a main cable called the bus

48
Q

What are the benefits of bus topologys ?

A

Cabling - The bus topology does not require many physical cables

Expansion - The bus topology is easy to build, and new computers can be added very easily.

49
Q

What are the negativities of bus topologys ?

A

Troubleshooting - Problems with the network can be difficult to find, since a break in the main cable could have occured in any place.

Reliability - The bus topology is unreliable, since if the main cable is broken then the network is shut down completely.

Dan’s GCSE Computer Science (8 decks)

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