What is a LAN?
Local Area Network - a network that covers a relatively small geographical area like a school or office.
What is a WAN?
Wide Area Network - covers a large geographical area, usually made up of several LANs connected together and under collective ownership.
Give one difference between a LAN and a WAN.
LANs cover a small geographical area and are privately owned; WANs cover larger geographical areas and are often under collective ownership.
Name two factors that affect the performance of networks.
Bandwidth and the number of devices connected.
Define bandwidth.
The maximum amount of data that can be transmitted over a network within a given time.
How does bandwidth affect the performance of networks?
A higher bandwidth allows for faster data transfer and better overall performance; insufficient bandwidth can lead to slow loading times.
How does the number of devices affect the performance of networks?
As more users connect and access the network, the available bandwidth must be shared, potentially slowing down everyone’s connection.
Describe the role of servers in a client-server network.
Control the network and provide services and resources to clients; they wait for requests from clients and then respond to them.
Describe the role of clients in a client-server network.
Clients are the computers that humans use on a network, such as phones and laptops; they send requests to servers and then wait for responses.
True or false: a central server controls a peer-to-peer network.
False - there is no central server; files and services are shared directly between devices.
Describe the role of wireless access points.
Wireless access points use radio transceivers to allow devices to connect wirelessly to a network.
Describe the role of routers.
To connect two or more networks together.
Describe the role of switches.
Connects devices on a network, receiving data packets for all of the clients and sending them only to the correct device.
Describe the role of NICs (Network Interface Controllers/Cards).
Hardware components inside devices that enable them to connect to networks, converting data into signals that can be transferred across a network.
Describe transmission media.
The physical or wireless methods used to carry data around the network.
What is the internet?
A network of computer networks.
What is the DNS (Domain Name System)?
A system made up of multiple Domain Name Servers that convert URLs into IP addresses that computers use to find and communicate with each other.
What is hosting?
The process of storing a website’s files on a server and making it accessible to users over the internet.
What does a web server do?
Stores and provides access to web pages.
What does a file server do?
Allows clients to store their files and retrieve them.
What does the cloud refer to?
Using remote servers over the internet to store files or run software and services.
State two advantages of the cloud.
Accessible from anywhere (with an internet connection); no need to manage or upgrade hardware.
State two disadvantages of the cloud.
Requires an internet connection; data may be less secure (stored on third‑party servers).
Describe the star topology.
All devices connect to a central switch or hub.
