Networking Facts

Networking Facts

A network is a group of computers that can share information through their interconnections. A network is made up of the following components:

• Computers (often called nodes or hosts)

• Transmission media--a path for electrical signals between devices

• Network interfaces--devices that send and receive electrical signals

• Protocols--rules or standards that describe how hosts communicate and exchange data

Despite the costs of implementation and maintenance, networks actually save organizations money by allowing them to:

• Consolidate (centralize) data storage

• Share peripheral devices like printers

• Increase internal and external communications

• Increase productivity and collaboration

There are several ways to classify networks. The following table lists several ways to describe a network.

|Network Type |Description |

|Host Role |

|Peer-to-peer |In a peer-to-peer network, each host can provide network resources to other hosts or access resources located on other|

| |hosts, and each host is in charge of controlling access to those resources. Advantages of peer to peer networks |

| |include: |

| |Easy implementation |

| |Inexpensive |

| |Disadvantages of peer to peer networks include:...