1.3 - Networks

• A network is two or more computer that are connected together for the purpose of communication.
• A stand-alone is a computer or device that is not connected too a network is called a stand-alone.
• WI-FI is a method of connecting to the internet wirelessly using radio waves.
• The advantages of using networks is file sharing, hardware sharing, communication and roaming access.
• Advantages of using larger networks is centralised maintenance and updates, centralised security, user monitoring and level of access.
• Email is an electronic mail and a method for sending messages and files to other people.
• Firewall is a type of software or hardware that stops unauthorised access to the network.
• The disadvantages of using networks is that it costs a lot, management, spread of malware and hacking.
• Malware is a software that is designed to cause harm or damage to a computer.
• Hacking is gaining an unauthorised access to data in a computer.
• Local Area Network (LAN) is a network that is geographically confined to one building or site.
• A LAN operates on a single site such as a school, hotel and businesses etc.
• The advantages of LAN is that you can share files, can work collaboratively and same files, can access their files from any computer, access files from any computer, centralised deployment.
• Wide area network is a network that connects many computers in a wide geographical area.
• Internet is a global network connecting millions of computers.
• Network performance is the response time of how fast a message can be sent or how quickly a document can be retrieved.
• Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be carried through a connection at a time.
• Connection speeds are measured in Mbps (Megabits per second)
• A bandwidth communication is a communication that uses a band of frequencies to transmit data.
• Network latency is a measure of how long it takes a message to travel from one device to another.
• A hub is a piece of hardware used in computers networks used to connect multiple devices.
• Switch is a device for connecting computers and other networks capable devices together to form a network.
• Wired connections are generally faster and more reliable than wireless. Fibre optic cables can give much better performance than copper cables.
• Wireless performance depends on signal quality so it is affected by the range of the device.
• Transmission errors can be caused by: noise, interference, and crosstalk.
• Traffic is communications sent over a network.
• Transmission media is how data is carried from point A to point B physically, either by cable or wirelessly.
• Fibre-optic cable is a cable that carries data transmitted as light.
• Collision is the result of two devices on a network trying to communicate with each other simultaneously.
• Client-server network is managed by a server and a devices which are connected are called clients.
• Peer-to-peer networks are a type of network topology where devices are directly connected to each other.
• Server is a computer that holds data to be accessed by clients, and provides services to clients.
• Web server is a computer that serves web pages to user.
• Print server is a server on a network that facilitates printing.
• Application server is a software that handles scripting and programming on the server for a website.
• Mail server is a server on a network that provides email facilities.
• A network interface controller(NIC) or wireless network interface controller provides a method of connecting to a network.
• Router is routes packets of data towards their destination.
• Hosting is the storing of files and data on a web server.
• Domain Name Servers (DNS) is a system that converts domain names into IP addresses..