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Chapter : 4.3 Common Terminologies

Topic : 4.3.1 Local Area Network (LAN)

Local Area Network (LAN)

• LAN is a group of computers and network communication devices within a limited
geographical area such as home, school and office building.
• The devices used in this network can be connected via wired cable or wireless
links.

FIG 4.2: Local Area Network

• Depending on the needs of an organization and the type of technology used, a

LAN can be as simple as two PCs and a printer in someone's home office or it
can extend throughout a company and include audio and video peripherals.
• Currently, LAN size is limited to a few kilometers.
• LANs are designed to allow resources to be shared between personal computers
or workstations.
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• The resources to be shared can include hardware (e.g., a printer), software (e.g.,
an application program), or data.
• The most common LAN topologies are bus, ring, and star. Early LANs had data
rates in the 4 to 16 megabits per second (Mbps) range.
• Wireless LANs are the newest evolution in LAN technology.
• LANs are configured in any one of two basic structures. Such as
 Peer-to-Peer
 Client/Server
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Chapter : 4.3 Common Terminologies

Topic : 4.3.2 LAN Applications

LAN Applications
• LANs are mostly used in office environment.
• In an office environment it is mainly used for three purposes.
 Sharing
 Interoffice Communication
 Internet Communication
• Sharing
 Sharing Hardware
 Users can be connected through Local Area Network to the single printer
or data storage.
 Jobs from each user are queued in that single printer.

FIG 4.3: Hardware Sharing

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 Sharing Software
 Through LAN connection users can share programs such as accounting
programs, which is stored in a single machine.

FIG 4.4: Sharing of Software in LAN Network

 Sharing Data
 Sharing of large database between the users is also another big
advantage.
• Interoffice Communication
 The employee of a company can communicate with each other using this
network.
 Some of the LAN messenger is used within the office area are,
 Tonic
 CD Messenger
 Squiggle - A free, open source LAN Messenger
 Outlook Messenger
 These types of communication are sometimes more effective than voice
communication by phone, where users can save money.

• Internet Communication
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 Another usage of LAN in an office environment is external communication, via

the internet.
 Each employee can use the LAN for the connection to the internet.

FIG 4.5: Sharing of Internet connection in office

 In the FIG 4.5 Host computer is connected to the modem and hub, through
hub. Now all the systems in the office get access to the internet.
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Chapter : 4.3 Common Terminologies

Topic : 4.3.3 Wide Area Network (WAN)

Wide Area Network (WAN)

• Wide Area Network (WAN) spans over a large geographical area such as
a state or a country.
• A Wide Area Network is different from MAN because of the distance
between each of the network.
• The best example of a WAN could be the Internet that is the largest network in
the world.

FIG 4.6: Wide Area Network (WAN)

• The world's most popular and longest Wide Area Network is an Internet.
• It makes communication of computers and users in one location with the
computers and users in another location.
• It covers long distance via telephone lines, fiber optic cables or satellite links.
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• The protocol used in a WAN is TCP/IP (Transfer Control Protocol/) in

combination with the devices such as router, switches, firewall and modems.

FIG 4.7: WAN connection in the Modem

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Chapter : 4.3 Common Terminologies

Topic : 4.3.4 WAN Connection Types

WAN Connection Types

• The three different WAN connections that can be used to connect the LAN's
together are,

 Dedicated connection.
 Circuit switching.
 Packet switching.
• Dedicated connection

 This connection is also referred as point-to-point connection or leased

connection.
 It uses synchronous serial lines up to 45Mbps.

FIG 4.8: Dedicated connection

 No setup is made before transmission, it constantly transfers the data.
• Circuit switching

 The term circuit switching is same like a phone call.

FIG 4.9: Circuit switching

 No data can transfer before end to end connection is established.
 It is used for low-bandwidth data transfer.
 Examples of circuit-switched networks are
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 Dial-up.
 ISDN (Integrated Service Digital Network).
• Packet switching

 Packet switching method allows user to share bandwidth with other

companies to save money.

FIG 4.10: Packet- switching

 The packet switching transfers packets across a carrier network.
 Speed can range from 56Kbps to T3 (45Mbps).
 Examples of packet switching are,
 Frame Relay,
 X.25 Network,
 Internet Protocol,
 Ethernet.
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Chapter : 4.3 Common Terminologies

Topic : 4.3.5 Node

Node
• A node is a system or device connected to a computer network.
• Nodes can be computers, Personal Digital Assistants (PDAs), cell phones, or
various other network appliances.
• For example, if a network connects a file server, five computers, and two printers,
there are eight nodes on the network.
• Each device on the network has a network address, such as a MAC address,
which uniquely identifies each device. This helps keep track of where data is
being transferred to and from on the network.

FIG 4.11: Node

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Chapter : 4.3 Common Terminologies

Topic : 4.3.6 Host

Host
• A host is one or more networked computers that have been setup to handle each
user visiting or requesting information.
• A host is responsible for many different responsibilities, for example, a host may
be responsible for handling each of the computer players in an online game or for
sending users a web page on the Internet.
• Each computer connected to the host computer is known as a client.

FIG 4.12: Host

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Chapter : 4.3 Common Terminologies

Topic : 4.3.7 Workstation

Workstation
• Workstation, a high-performance computer system that is basically designed for
a single user and has advanced graphics capabilities, large storage capacity, and
a powerful microprocessor (Central Processing Unit).
• A workstation is a name given to a single computer that is connected to another
computer or network.
• A workstation is more capable than a Personal Computer (PC) but is less
advanced than a mid-range computer.

FIG 4.13: Workstation

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Chapter : 4.3 Common Terminologies

Topic : 4.3.8 Bandwidth

Bandwidth
• The amount of information that can be transmitted through a communications
channel in a given amount of time that is, the capacity of the channel.
• It is often uttered in bits per second, or alternatively bytes per second, leading to
lots of confusion.
• Bandwidth figures are used to express the capacity of a network link or interface
(e.g., a 100Mbps Ethernet interface) or the rate of information transfer (e.g. a file
downloading at 3.2KB/s).
• When referring to user's own connection, bandwidth, communication speed
or connection speed is the total maximum capacity of the network or modem
connection.
• The more bandwidth a computer has, the faster it will be able to receive and
send information.
• A modem with a connection of 56kbps is nearly twice as fast as one 28.8kbps
and users with a broadband connection can get transfers speeds of
several MB every second, which is more than triple the speed of the fastest
modem.

FIG 4.14: Bandwidth

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Chapter : 4.3 Common Terminologies

Topic : 4.3.9 Interoperability

Interoperability
• Interoperability is the ability of different networks or programs to work or
communicate together without the need of additional tools or interfaces required
by the user.
• For example, most networks use TCP/IP, which is available on all operating
systems, computers and supported with most networks.
• In this current Internet age, it is important that networks of different type are able
to communicate with other types of network.
• Not being able to transfer data between networks may isolate a network and
decrease efficiency.

FIG 4.15: Interoperability

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Chapter : 4.3 Common Terminologies

Topic : 4.3.10 Network Administrator

Network Administrator
• A network administrator is an individual or group of individuals responsible for the
maintenance and operation of a network or server.
• A network administrator may be responsible for maintaining a network and may
be assigned to one or more of the below tasks.
• Network administrator responsibilities.
 Allocating and adding disk storage space.
 Designing or redesigning the network.
 Expanding the network.
 Helping employees with computer questions.
 Installing and upgrading computers and network equipment on the network.
 Managing filters and rules (e.g. ACL's, firewalls, QoS, SPAM filters).
 Monitoring the network.
 Resetting user names and passwords.
 Setting up a network, network device, or computers on the network.
 Testing a network for security vulnerabilities.
• Examples of network administrator certifications

 MCSA
 Network+
 CCNP
 CNA
 RHCE
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FIG 4.16: Network Administrator

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Chapter : 4.3 Common Terminologies

Topic : 4.3.11 Network Security

Network Security
• A specialized field in computer networking that involves securing a computer
network infrastructure.
• Network security is typically handled by a network administrator or system
administrator who implements the security policy, network
software and hardware needed to protect a network and the resources accessed
through the network from unauthorized access and also ensure employees to
have adequate access to the network and resources to work.
• A network security system typically relies on layers of protection and consists of
multiple components including networking monitoring and security software in
addition to hardware and appliances.
• All components work together to increase the overall security of the computer
network.

FIG 4.17: Network Security