Computer Networks and It's Types

Computer Network : Computer network is a compilation of PCs, servers, network devices, centralized computers, peripherals or other connected...

Computer Network: Computer network is a compilation of PCs, servers, network devices, centralized computers, peripherals or other connected devices that allow resources sharing. The Internet, which connects millions of people around the world, is an excellent demonstration of a network.

Types of Networks: Networks can be classified into two types on geographical and functionalities basis;

1. Geographical Basis: On geographical basis, network can be classified into following categories in accordance to their geographical coverage, connection and bandwidth.

a) LAN :( Local Area Network)
• Limited coverage area (within a building/office or factory).
• The standard for wireless LANs is IEEE 802.11 also popularly known as Wi-Fi.
• It runs at speed anywhere from 11 to 100 of Mbps.
• The standard of wired LANs is IEEE 802.3, popularly known as Ethernet.
• It runs at speed of 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps and also newer LANs can operate up to 10 Gbps.

b) MAN: (Metropolitan Area Network)
• Coverage area is within a city or town.
• Example; cable television networks available within the city.
• The wireless MAN has been standardized as IEEE 802.16 and is popularly known as WiMAX. (Wetherall, 2018)

c) WAN: (Wide Area Network)
• Network of Organization having coverage of large geographical area.
• Within a country or often a continent
• For example; network of Nepal Telecom, Network of Reliance etc.

d) PAN: (Personal Area Network)
• Communication over the range of a person.
• Example; A wireless network that connects a computer with its peripherals.
• Bluetooth networks.

1. Functionalities: On functionality basis, networks are categorized according to their functions. It denotes about how computers and other network devices work or share the resources with the help of connection of networks like Peer-based, Client-server, Cloud, Cluster, Centralized and Virtualized. The following categories of networks are described as follows;

Peer-based Network: A network is said to be peer-based when two or more Pcs are linked and share resources without going through a separate server computer. Computer systems interlinked with each other via internet is known as peers. Resources can be exchanged directly between systems on the network without the need of a central server. In other words, each computer on a peer-to-peer network becomes a file server as well as a client. So in peer-based network, any system can act as a client, a server, or both, depending on how you configure and maintain that system.

In fact, such networks are designed to satisfy the networking needs of small firms or home networks that do not want to spend a lot of money on a dedicated server (Wetherall, 2018) but still want to have the capability to share resources.

Benefits Of Peer-based Network: Peer-based network is a simple network system which is inexpensive, easy to setup, manage, detect and solve problems and because of its simplicity in setup and manage, no highly qualified IT professionals are required to maintain this type of network. It is suitable for small type of organization. Such network system are easy to add and remove number of devices. The p2p network do not require to use a dedicated server computer, any network computer can function as a network server and a user workstation.

Constraints Of Peer-based Network: One of the big demerit of peer-based network is that we can’t do our day-to-day administration in a single place due to lack of centralized administration. With peer-based network, user accounts typically are created on all the systems, and resource files are stored throughout all the systems. This leads to a more complicated environment and makes our job harder as a network administrator. In such network system files and folders cannot be centrally backed up because of no dedicated server (no fixed clients and servers). So such network system has no security because of which it can be easily hacked and cracked.

Client-Server Network: Client-server network is a computer network in which one centralized, powerful computer called server, is a hub to many less powerful personal computers or workstations called clients which are linked to each other for resources sharing. In client-server network, data files that are used by all of the users are stored on the one server which provides a centralized point to set up permissions on the resource files, and it provides central point from which to back up all of the resources in case data loss should occur (Clarke, 2018).

Benefits of Client-Server Network: One of the major benefit of Client-server network is that the resource files that are used by all of the users are stored on the one central server. Resources are more secured because of centralized administration. It provides advantages in the areas of performance, security and reliability. Such network type is time and cost saving. It is best suited for larger networks. It has dedicated server and involves requests and replies.

Constraints of Client-Server Network: Client-based network system isn't easy to detect and solve problems and such network isn't best suited for home networks and small firms because of its complicacy. It is expensive and complicated to maintain and setup because highly qualified and trained IT professionals are required to manage and configure this type of network system. There is high risk of hacking and cracking in this type of network system (One server hacked, all clients hacked).

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