ISDS Final: Networks

Links multiple computer systems and enables them to share data and resources

• Local area network (LAN)
• Wide area network (WAN)
• Metropolitan area network (MAN)
• Campus area network (CAN)
• Personal area network (PAN

• Uses cables, radio waves, or infrared signals
• Links computers in a limited geographic area

• Uses long-distance transmission media
• Links computer systems a few miles or thousands of miles
• Internet is the largest WAN

• Designed for a city
• Larger than a LAN, smaller than a WAN

• Several LANs located in various locations on a college or business campus
• Smaller than a WAN
• Use devices such as switches, hubs, and routers

• Network of an individual’s own personal devices
• Usually within a range of 32 feet
• Usually use wireless technology

• Plugs into a USB port
• Usually provides an intuitive graphical user interface (GUI) for easy configuration

• Device inserted into a USB port that adds additional features to the base system
• Examples: enabling network connectivity and increasing RAM

• About the size of a credit card
• Inserted into a slot on the side of most notebooks and netbooks
• Has built-in WiFi antenna that provides wireless capability
• LED lights that indicate whether the computer is connected

• Joins multiple computers together in a single network
• Does not manage traffic between the connections

• Filter and forward data between nodes
• Are similar to routers but work within a single network

• Connect two or more networks
• Inspect the source and target of a data package
• Determine the best route to transmit data

• Receives and transmits radio signals
• Joins wireless nodes to a wired network

Computer or device with software that manages network resources, such as files, e-mails, printers, databases

• Most common type of server
• High-speed computer that provides program and data files to network users

• Also called network engineer
• Installs, maintains, supports computer networks
• Interact with users
• Handle security
• Troubleshoot problems

• Share files without a file server
• Easy to set up
• Best used for home or small offices with no more than 10 computers
• Do not require a network operating system
• Can be slow if there are too many users
• Security not strong

Connects users through radio waves instead of wires

• Made up of one or more file servers and clients (any type of computer)
• Client software enables requests to be sent to the server
• Wired or wireless connections
• Do not slow down with heavy use

• Password-protected network controlled by the company
• Accessed only by employees

• Operates over the Internet
• Accessible by authorized users for quick access to corporate information
• Uses secure, encrypted connections and special software

• Practical for home or small office
• One node transmits at a time
• Terminators signify the end of the circuit
• Uses contention management—technique that specifies what happens when a collision occurs

• For office buildings, computer labs, and WANs
• Easy to add users

• For a division of a company or one floor
• Not in common use today
• Node can transmit only when it has the token—special unit of data that travels around the ring

standards used by networks to permit communication between network-connected devices

ensure that the modem can communicate with another modem, even if by a different manufacturer

contains the protocols of the network and specifies its network architecture, or how the network works

• divide network architecture for separate treatment
• Each network layer can operate and be governed by its own protocols

vertical arrangement of network layers

• most-used LAN protocol
• Ethernet star networks
• Most popular versions—use twisted-pair wiring and switches
• Sends data in a fixed-size unit called a packet

• Uses radio waves to provide a wireless LAN standard at Ethernet speeds
• Needs a central access point—could be a wireless router

• WAN connection point used to obtain access to the WAN
• Wired or wireless

• High-capacity WAN transmission lines
• gigaPoP (gigabits per second point of presence)—transfers data exceeding 1 Gbps (1 billion bits per second)

Protocols that define how the Internet works

Defines how Internet-connected computers can exchange, control, and confirm messages

Provides a distinct identification to any computer connected to the Internet: the IP address or Internet address

• Used by the public switched telephone network to send data over a physical end-to-end circuit
• Provides a direct connection between devices

• Used for computer communication
• Divides and sends outgoing messages as packets, which are reassembled on receipt
• More efficient and less expensive than circuit switching

delay introduced when a given packet is examined by many routers

occurs when the network is overloaded, causing some packets to be further delayed