Networks - Overview
A computer network is simply two or more computers that have been joined together to share resources. Those resources can include:
- Data (files)
- Internet Connection
- Printers and Scanners
- Storage space
- Software applications
The advantages of having a network
- Access files and software from different locations, ( different offices, different buildings, or even different countries )
- Different people can access the same files and software - allows teams to work together on the same thing.
- Storage space can be shared (which reduces the total amount of storage a company needs)
- Peripherals such as printers and scanners can be shared
- Software updates and installations can be run centrally rather than going to every computer manually
- Security can be handled centrally so that every computer is equally protected.
The disadvantages of having a network
- Requires additional equipment so greater cost
- Any malware (viruses etc) can spread easier across networks
- Requires specialist knowledge to set up and maintain larger networks
More on Networks
When setting up a network one of the first questions needs to be how will users connect - there are two choices- wired or wireless, click here for more on this. There are different types of networks : LAN, WAN being the main two (more on this here). There are also different layouts for networks, called topologies (click here for more on this).