Networking characteristics

Question 1

what’s a network topology?

Answer 1

shows where connections are made to devices in a network

Question 2

Ring network

Answer 2

• each computer connected to 2 other computers to form a ring
• token passed from 1 computer to next
• each computer inspects token when received
• 1 break in wire or computer will cause network failure

Question 3

Bus network

Answer 3

• consists of 1 cable which each device then connects to
• terminator needed at each end of cable
• if there’s a break in cable or terminator is removed then whole network will break for each device
• cheap to set up
• security risk - any computer can eavesdrop when messages are broadcast

Question 4

Star network

Answer 4

• each computer and device connected to central hub/switch
• needs a cable going from every computer to central place, making it more expensive
• broken cable/computer will only impact that individual computer

Question 5

When a star network uses a hub, a packet of data that it receives is broadcast to every device attached.

Answer 5

This is insecure as an eavesdropper could list to packets that aren’t intended for it.

Question 6

Peer-to-peer network

Answer 6

• made within a number of computers called peers
• each computer can act as both a client and a server
• decentralised network - if one computer or device were to fail then other devices would still be working
• easy to set up and suitable for home networks and very small businesses
• insecure as all users have full administrator rights
• hard to back-up data

Question 7

client-server model

Answer 7

• 2 types of computer: client is computer that user uses and server is dedicated computer that gives a service to the client machines
• if server fails, all clients that try to access its services will be unable to
• email + websites use these

Question 8

Client server model + and -

Answer 8

+ software upgrades can be carried out centrally on the server, backups can be done from 1 computer, server is central so expert administrators can look after the security of the network
- extra cost in both servers

Question 9

How client-server model works:

Answer 9

• request sent from the client to server through a network or the internet
• server processes request and send response back to the client computer
• this saves the client computer having to do processing and client computer’s can’t be slowed down with the requests