Types of Networks
LANs
Local Area Networks
Computers are connected together over a small geographical area such as a single building or a single site e.g. a school site or a home.
Advantages
An user can log on from any workstation and still access all of their files.
Peripherals such as printers and photocopiers can be shared between many users, thus reducing costs
Resources and files can be shared by users, this means that they can collaborate on a project.
Backups of files and documents can be done centrally rather than needing to do it from each machine
When software needs to be installed it can be done centrally rather than having to go to each individual workstation.
An anti-virus and malware check can be carried out from the server to all workstations.
Data can be transmitted very quickly between networked computers
A LAN at home allows many devices to connect to one another, such as a smart TV or a media server
Disadvantages
Network failure: If there is a problem with the file server then no one will be able to access their files. If the internet server has an issue no one will be able to get onto the internet.
Slow service: If there are a lot of users logged into the network requesting files and jobs then the network can start to slow down.
Viruses and malware: although these are dealt with centrally, if someone does install a virus on the local workstation it could easily spread around the network
Cost: networks are expensive to set up and keep running. The cost of the physical components can be very high.
WANs
Wide Area Networks
Computers are connected together over a large geographical area such as several buildings or sites. A WAN could be town wide, county wide or country wide.
Advantages
Allows LANs to connect to one another.
Allows workers to collaborate over a wide area, even across continents..
Allows files and data to be shared between LANs. However a WAN allows you to share data such as video virtually anywhere across the planet
Disdvantages
Can be expensive to hire a WAN service from the telecom operator.
With a LAN, a company often has its own experts to maintain the network so any problems which arise can be addressed quickly. However with a WAN, it is owned by a number of external suppliers and so a failure of the WAN is usually beyond the control of the company to fix. For example, when an external DNS server fails, this immediatly affects web access in the company.