What is a Computer Network?

o Computer Network is a group of computers connected with each other through wires,
optical fibers or optical links so that various devices can interact with each other through
a network.
o The aim of the computer network is the sharing of resources among various devices.
o In the case of computer network technology, there are several types of networks that
vary from simple to complex level.

Components of Computer Network:

Major components of a computer network are:

NIC (National interface card)

NIC is a device that helps the computer to communicate with another device. The
network interface card contains the hardware addresses, the data-link layer protocol
use this address to identify the system on the network so that it transfers the data to the
correct destination. There are two types of NIC: wireless NIC and wired NIC.

o Wireless NIC: All the modern laptops use the wireless NIC. In Wireless NIC, a
connection is made using the antenna that employs the radio wave technology.
o Wired NIC: Cables use the wired NIC to transfer the data over the medium.
Hub

Hub is a central device that splits the network connection into multiple devices. When
computer requests for information from a computer, it sends the request to the Hub.
Hub distributes this request to all the interconnected computers.

Switches

Switch is a networking device that groups all the devices over the network to transfer
the data to another device. A switch is better than Hub as it does not broadcast the
message over the network, i.e., it sends the message to the device for which it belongs
to. Therefore, we can say that switch sends the message directly from source to the
destination.

Cables and connectors

Cable is a transmission media that transmits the communication signals. There are
three types of cables:

o Twisted pair cable: It is a high-speed cable that transmits the data over 1Gbps or
more.
o Coaxial cable: Coaxial cable resembles like a TV installation cable. Coaxial cable is
more expensive than twisted pair cable, but it provides the high data transmission
speed.
o Fibre optic cable: Fibre optic cable is a high-speed cable that transmits the data using
light beams. It provides high data transmission speed as compared to other cables. It is
more expensive as compared to other cables, so it is installed at the government level.

Router

Router is a device that connects the LAN to the internet. The router is mainly used to
connect the distinct networks or connect the internet to multiple computers.

Modem

Modem connects the computer to the internet over the existing telephone line. A
modem is not integrated with the computer motherboard. A modem is a separate part
on the PC slot found on the motherboard.
Uses of Computer Network

o Resource sharing: Resource sharing is the sharing of resources such as programs,

printers, and data among the users on the network without the requirement of the
physical location of the resource and user.
o Server-Client model: Computer networking is used in the server-client model. A
server is a central computer used to store the information and maintained by the system
administrator. Clients are the machines used to access the information stored in the
server remotely.
o Communication medium: Computer network behaves as a communication medium
among the users. For example, a company contains more than one computer has an
email system which the employees use for daily communication.
o E-commerce: Computer network is also important in businesses. We can do the
business over the internet. For example, amazon.com is doing their business over the
internet, i.e., they are doing their business over the internet.

Features of Computer network

Communication speed

Network provides us to communicate over the network in a fast and efficient manner.
For example, we can do video conferencing, email messaging, etc. over the internet.
Therefore, the computer network is a great way to share our knowledge and ideas.

File sharing

File sharing is one of the major advantages of the computer network. Computer network
provides us to share the files with each other.

Back up and Roll back is easy

Since the files are stored in the main server which is centrally located. Therefore, it is
easy to take the back up from the main server.

Software and Hardware sharing

We can install the applications on the main server, therefore, the user can access the
applications centrally. So, we do not need to install the software on every machine.
Similarly, hardware can also be shared.

Security

Network allows the security by ensuring that the user has the right to access the certain
files and applications.

Scalability

Scalability means that we can add the new components on the network. Network must
be scalable so that we can extend the network by adding new devices. But, it decreases
the speed of the connection and data of the transmission speed also decreases, this
increases the chances of error occurring. This problem can be overcome by using the
routing or switching devices.

Reliability

Computer network can use the alternative source for the data communication in case of
any hardware failure.

Computer Network Architecture

Computer Network Architecture is defined as the physical and logical design of the
software, hardware, protocols, and media of the transmission of data. Simply we can
say that how computers are organized and how tasks are allocated to the computer.

The two types of network architectures are used:

Peer-To-Peer network

o Peer-To-Peer network is a network in which all the computers are linked together with
equal privilege and responsibilities for processing the data.
o Peer-To-Peer network is useful for small environments, usually up to 10 computers.
o Peer-To-Peer network has no dedicated server.
o Special permissions are assigned to each computer for sharing the resources, but this
can lead to a problem if the computer with the resource is down.

Advantages of Peer-To-Peer Network:

 o It is less costly as it does not contain any dedicated server.
o If one computer stops working but, other computers will not stop working.
o It is easy to set up and maintain as each computer manages itself.

Disadvantages of Peer-To-Peer Network:

o In the case of Peer-To-Peer network, it does not contain the centralized system .
Therefore, it cannot back up the data as the data is different in different locations.
o It has a security issue as the device is managed itself.

Client/Server Network
o Client/Server network is a network model designed for the end users called clients, to
access the resources such as songs, video, etc. from a central computer known as
Server.
o The central controller is known as a server while all other computers in the network are
called clients.
o A server performs all the major operations such as security and network management.
o A server is responsible for managing all the resources such as files, directories, printer,
etc.
o All the clients communicate with each other through a server. For example, if client1
wants to send some data to client 2, then it first sends the request to the server for the
permission. The server sends the response to the client 1 to initiate its communication
with the client 2.
Advantages of Client/Server network:
o A Client/Server network contains the centralized system. Therefore we can back up the
data easily.
o A Client/Server network has a dedicated server that improves the overall performance of
the whole system.
o Security is better in Client/Server network as a single server administers the shared
resources.
o It also increases the speed of the sharing resources.

Disadvantages of Client/Server network:

o Client/Server network is expensive as it requires the server with large memory.
o A server has a Network Operating System(NOS) to provide the resources to the clients,
but the cost of NOS is very high.
o It requires a dedicated network administrator to manage all the resources.