Information Technology Reference
In-Depth Information
(a)
Resources are centralised on a server
(b)
Local resources, such as memory and processor, are shared between users
over the network
(c) Local resources, such as disk drives and printers, are shared between users
over the network
(d)
Internet connections are allocated centrally
25.6.8
Which of the following best describes a client/server network:
(a)
Resources are centralised on a server
(b)
Local resources, such as memory and processor, are shared between users
(c) Local resources, such as disk drives and printers, are shared between users
(d)
Internet connections are allocated centrally
25.6.9
Explain how peer-to-peer networks differ from server-based networks. When
might peer-to-peer networks be used and how must they be carefully set up.
25.6.10
If possible, set up a peer-to-peer connection between two computers and share
some folders.
25.6.11
Locate a LAN within an organisation, such as a college or university network, and
determine the cables that are used.
25.7 Notes from the author
Many of the great inventions/developments of our time were things that were not really pre-
dicted, such as CD-ROMs, RADAR, silicon transistors, fibre optic cables, and, of course, the
Internet. The Internet itself is basically an infrastructure of interconnected networks which
run a common protocol. The nightmare of interfacing the many computer systems around the
world was solved because of two simple protocols: TCP and IP. Without them the Internet
would not have evolved so quickly and possibly would not have occurred at all. TCP and IP
are excellent protocols as they are simple and can be run over any type of network, on any
type of computer system.
The Internet is often confused with the World Wide Web (WWW), but the WWW is only
one application of the Internet. Others include electronic mail (the No.1 application), file
transfer, remote login, and so on.
The amount of information transmitted over networks increases by a large factor every
year. This is due to local area networks, wide area networks and traffic over the Internet. It
is currently estimated that traffic on the Internet doubles every 100 days and that three peo-
ple join the Internet every second. This means an eight-fold increase in traffic over a whole
year. It is hard to imagine such growth in any other technological area. Imagine if cars were
eight times faster each year, or could carry eight times the number of passengers each year
(and of course roads and driveways would have to be eight times larger each year).
Networks have grown vastly since the 1970s, and most companies now have some form of
network. At the beginning of the 1980s, PCs were relatively complex machines to use, and
required application programs to be installed locally to their disk drives. Many modern
