Introduction
Today everywhere like banks, IT
Company, retail sector, education, transportation etc. you could find the
implementation of computer networking.
A network is connection of two or more computers that are linked to share resources (Hardware/Software).This lesson
gives idea about what is network and how many types of network we have? What
are the advantages and disadvantages of computer network? And the different
network devices for LAN/WAN that are used to setup computer network.
This lesson also gives you practical hands on
experience on network Communication, internet, basic network security, cyber
security etc. Additionally it also helps the learner on various network
security tools.
Here you will also learn about what the social networking sites are and
how to access them safely.
What is
network?
A network is two or more
computers, or other electronic devices, connected together so that they can
exchange data.
For example a network allows
computers to share files, users to message each other, a whole room of
computers to share a single printer, etc.
Let's have look on network diagram. You can see many computers,server,printer are connected through cables for resource sharing.
Why do our computer need
network?
There are some reasons why
someone with more than one computers want to connect into a network. What the
network will actually be used for ?, of course it will vary depending on the
needs of the person or company who is creating the network.
Networks can be used for simple
tasks, such as sharing a printer, or it can be used for more advanced
applications such as worldwide video conferencing.
The list that follows some of the reasons for networking computers:
• File sharing. Networking makes it very easy
for the users on the network to share application files. For an example when we
are able to download a song from internet it means that song is stored on a
particular computer over the internet and has been publicly shared over the
internet that's why we are able to download anything like movie/any
document/songs etc by the use of internet. So this is known as file sharing.
• Hardware sharing. Users can share devices such as
printers, CD-ROM drives, and hard drives.
Hardware sharing example
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Given picture tells you hardware resource sharing. As
We know printer is hardware device and everyone is printing his/her document
sitting in his desk/seat through the one printer. it means this printer is
shared with everyone on the network. so this will be one example for hardware
sharing
User communication- We mostly utilize internet for
chatting/video conferencing. it means we are making use of computer network for
our communication with friends/family etc who are in the different cities. it
is only possible because of Computer network.
There are
two types of computer networks
•
LAN
•
WAN
•
Local Area Network (LAN): A LAN is two or more
connected computers sharing certain resources in a relatively small geographic
location (the same building, for example).
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is
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Local Area
Network (LAN)
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• Wide Area Network (WAN): A WAN typically
consists of 2 or more LANs. The computers are linked by telephone lines, radio
waves, satellites etc.The Internet is the largest Wide Area Network (WAN) in
existence.
Advantages of Installing a
Network in schools
1) Connections- Administrators, instructors,
and even students and guests can be connected using the campus network.
2) Services-The school can provide
services, such as registration, school directories, course schedules, access to
research, and email accounts, and many others. (Remember, network services are
generally provided by servers).
3)
Internet-The school can provide network users with access to
the internet.
4) Computing resources-A high quality printer that is
installed in the network for whole campus can be used by instructor or student
both.
5)
Flexible Access-School networks allow students to access their
information from connected devices throughout the school. Students can begin an
assignment in their classroom, save part of it on a public access area of the
network(Server).
6)
Workgroup Computing-Software allows many users to
work on a document or project concurrently. For example, educators located at
various schools within a county could simultaneously contribute their ideas
about new curriculum standards to the same document, spreadsheets, or website.
Disadvantages
of Installing a Network in school
1)
Expensive to Install-Large campus networks will be
expensive in case of more computers Cabling, network cards, switches, routers,
wireless access points, and software can get expensive, and the installation
would certainly require the services of lab technicians who will handle the
network.
2)
Servers Fail-Although a network server is no more subject to
failure than any other computer, when the files server "goes down"
the entire network may come to stop.
3)
Cables May Break- one broken cable can stop the
entire network.
4)
Security and compliance-Network security is very
important. A school network should be subject to more strict security
requirements than a corporate/company network, because of its chances of
storing personal and confidential information of network users.