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To Cite This Material:

Dean, Tamara. (2013). Comptia network+ n10-005 in depth. [Books24x7 version] Available from http://common.books24x7.com.ezproxy.umuc.edu/toc.aspx?bookid=47482.

Chapter 1: An Introduction to Networking

After reading this chapter and completing the exercises, you will be able to:

· List the advantages of networked computing relative to stand-alone computing

· Distinguish between client/server and peer-to-peer networks

· List elements common to all client/server networks

· Describe several specific uses for a network

· Identify some of the certifications available to networking professionals

· Identify the kinds of skills and specializations that will help you excel as a networking professional

On the Job

I was the chief information officer for a large political research firm that served the president of the United States. I was also teaching at a local community college as an adjunct. Some students just stood out. They were hungry for knowledge. After 15 years of teaching, I could spot the other kind—students who were just there for a grade. Those students seemed to think they didn’t have to work hard in school because they would learn what they needed on the job. Others really wanted to get their money’s worth out of school and learn all they could.

I noticed one student who was always the last one out of class because she was trying to solve some problem or another. The material wasn’t coming easy to her, but I could tell she was curious, and that meant that she was learning things she hadn’t intended to learn. I hired her to work for the political research firm because she never rested until she solved any problem she set out to resolve. Before she even finished college, she was making $45,000 a year at her new job. She was the hardest working member of my staff and I constantly gave her new responsibilities.

After only two years, I left to go to another company, but I didn’t worry about leaving because I knew my former student could handle it. She became the youngest CIO in the history of the firm. Hard work and a lust for learning were the keys to her success.

Michael Bleacher Assistant Dean, School of Technology and School of Business Westwood College

Loosely defined, a network is a group of computers and other devices (such as printers) that are connected by some type of transmission media. Variations on the elements of a network and the way it is designed, however, are nearly infinite. A network can be as small as two computers connected by a cable in a home office or as large as several thousand computers connected across the world via a combination of cable, phone lines, and cellular links. In addition to connecting personal computers, networks might link mainframe computers, printers, plotters, fax machines, and phone systems. They might communicate through copper wires, fiber-optic cable, or radio waves. This chapter introduces you to the fundamental characteristics of networks.

Why Use Networks?

Using networks offers advantages relative to using a stand-alone computer—that is, a computer that is not connected to other computers and that uses software applications and data stored on its local disks. Most important, networks enable multiple users to share devices (for example, printers) and data (such as spreadsheet files), which are collectively known as the network’s resources. Sharing devices saves money. For example, rather than buying 20 printers for 20 staff members, a company can buy one printer and have those 20 staff members share it over a network. Sharing devices also saves time. For example, it’s faster for coworkers to share data over a network than to copy data to a removable storage device and physically transport the storage device from one computer to another—an outdated file-sharing method commonly referred to as a sneakernet (presumably because people wore sneakers when walking from computer to computer). Before networks, transferring data via floppy disks was the only possible way to share data.

Networks also allow you to manage, or administer, resources on multiple computers from a central location. Imagine you work in the Information Technology (IT) Department of a multinational bank and must verify that each of 5000 employees around the globe uses the same version of a database program. Without a network, you would have to visit every employee’s machine to check and install the proper software. With a network, however, you could provide employees with access to the database program on a single computer using a Web page. Because they allow you to share devices and administer computers centrally, networks increase productivity. It’s not surprising, then, that virtually all organizations depend on their networks to stay competitive.

Types of Networks
Computers can be positioned on a network in different ways relative to each other. They can have different levels of control over shared resources. They can also be made to communicate and share resources according to different schemes. The following sections describe two fundamental network models: peer-to-peer and client/server.

Peer-to-Peer Networks
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The simplest form of a network is a peer-to-peer network. In a peer-to-peer network, every computer can communicate directly with every other computer. By default, no computer on a peer-to-peer network has more authority than another. However, each computer can be configured to share only some of its resources and prevent access to other resources. Traditional peer-to-peer networks typically consist of two or more general-purpose personal computers, with modest processing capabilities. Every computer is capable of sending and receiving information to and from every other computer, as shown in Figure 1-1.

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Figure 1-1: Resource sharing on a simple peer-to-peer network

The following are advantages of using traditional peer-to-peer networks:

· They are simple to configure. For this reason, they may be used in environments in which time or technical expertise is scarce.

· They are often less expensive to set up and maintain than other types of networks. This fact makes them suitable for environments in which saving money is critical.

The following are disadvantages of using traditional peer-to-peer networks:

· They are not very flexible. As a peer-to-peer network grows larger, adding or changing significant elements of the network may be difficult.

· They are also not necessarily secure—meaning that in simple installations, data and other resources shared by network users can be easily discovered and used by unauthorized people.