network types and perfromance

• Network

  Connections between nodes to share resources
• Node

  A device
• Purpose of networks

  • To share resources like printers and data between computers/nodes
  • Allows sharing of software
• Ways to classify networks

  • Size
  • Behaviour
• Personal Area Network (PAN)

  Network within the range of an individual person, usually around 10 meters
• Local Area Network (LAN)

  Network that connects devices close to each other, usually in the same building, house or school
• Wide Area Network (WAN)

  Network over a much larger area, usually in several locations, infrastructure often owned by someone else like an ISP
• Internet

  Best example of a WAN, made up of many individual LANs with shared connections
• Client-Server Network

  Devices are either clients (request resources) or servers (provide resources)
• Peer-to-Peer Network

  Devices can switch between being clients and servers, no central server
• Factors affecting network performance

  • Latency (delay)
  • Bandwidth (max data transfer rate)
  • Error rate (corruption)
• Wired connections

  Generally faster than wireless connections
• Wireless connections


  Can have higher bandwidth than wired, but signal can degrade and be affected by interference
• Bandwidth is shared across a network, can become congested with too many devices
• Wired connections have lower error rates than wireless due to topology