Reading Material

CHS 3

Lesson: Computer Network Architecture

Computer Network Architecture is defined as the physical and logical design of the
software, hardware, protocols, and media of the transmission of data. Simply we can
say that how computers are organized and how tasks are allocated to the computer.

TYPES OF COMPUTER NETWORK

1. Peer-To-Peer network

● Peer-To-Peer network is a network in which all the computers are linked

together with equal privilege and responsibilities for processing the data.
● Peer-To-Peer network is useful for small environments, usually up to 10
computers.
● Peer-To-Peer network has no dedicated server.
● Special permissions are assigned to each computer for sharing the
resources, but this can lead to a problem if the computer with the resource is
down.

Advantages of Peer-To-Peer Network:

o It is less costly as it does not contain any dedicated server.

o If one computer stops working but, other computers will not stop working.
o It is easy to set up and maintain as each computer manages itself.

Disadvantages of Peer-To-Peer Network:

o In the case of Peer-To-Peer network, it does not contain the centralized

system. Therefore, it cannot back up the data as the data is different in
different locations.
o It has a security issue as the device is managed itself.

2. Client/Server Network

● Client/Server network is a network model designed for the end users

called clients, to access the resources such as songs, video, etc. from a
central computer known as Server.
● The central controller is known as a server while all other computers in
the network are called clients.

o A server performs all the major operations such as security and

network management.
o A server is responsible for managing all the resources such as files,
directories, printer, etc.
 o All the clients communicate with each other through a server. For
example, if client1 wants to send some data to client 2, then it first
sends the request to the server for the permission. The server sends
the response to the client 1 to initiate its communication with the
client 2.

Advantages of Client/Server network:

o A Client/Server network contains the centralized system. Therefore we

can back up the data easily.
o A Client/Server network has a dedicated server that improves the overall
performance of the whole system.
o Security is better in Client/Server network as a single server administers
the shared resources.
o It also increases the speed of the sharing resources.

Disadvantages Of Client/Server network:

o Client/Server network is expensive as it requires the server with large

memory.
o A server has a Network Operating System(NOS) to provide the resources
to the clients, but the cost of NOS is very high.
o It requires a dedicated network administrator to manage all the
resources.

Computer Network Components

Computer network components are the major parts which are needed to install the
software. Some important network components are NIC, switch, cable, hub, router,
and modem. Depending on the type of network that we need to install, some network
components can also be removed. For example, the wireless network does not require
a cable.

Major Components required to install a network:

1. NIC (network interface card)

o NIC is a hardware component used to connect a computer with another
computer onto a network
o It can support a transfer rate of 10,100 to 1000 Mb/s.
o The MAC address or physical address is encoded on the network card chip
which is assigned by the IEEE to identify a network card uniquely. The MAC
address is stored in the PROM (Programmable read-only memory).

Types of NIC:

● Wired NIC: The Wired NIC is present inside the motherboard. Cables and
connectors are used with wired NIC to transfer data.

● Wireless NIC: The wireless NIC contains the antenna to obtain the

connection over the wireless network. For example, laptop computer
contains the wireless NIC. Java Program for Beginners

2. Hub

A Hub is a hardware device that divides the network connection among

multiple devices.

o When computer requests for some information from a network, it first sends
the request to the Hub through cable. Hub will broadcast this request to the
entire network. All the devices will check whether the request belongs to
them or not. If not, the request will be dropped.

o The process used by the Hub consumes more bandwidth and limits the
amount of communication. Nowadays, the use of hub is obsolete, and it is
replaced by more advanced computer network components such as
Switches, Routers.

3. Switch

A switch is a hardware device that connects multiple devices on a

computer network. A Switch contains more advanced features than Hub. The
Switch contains the updated table that decides where the data is transmitted or
not. Switch delivers the message to the correct destination based on the physical
address present in the incoming message.
A Switch does not broadcast the message to the entire network like the
Hub. It determines the device to which the message is to be transmitted.
Therefore, we can say that switch provides a direct connection between the
source and destination. It increases the speed of the network.

4. Router

o A router is a hardware device which is used to connect a LAN with an

internet connection. It is used to receive, analyze and forward the incoming
packets to another network.
o A router forwards the packet based on the information available in the
routing table.
o It determines the best path from the available paths for the transmission of
the packet.

Advantages of Router:

o Security: The information which is transmitted to the network will traverse

the entire cable, but the only specified device which has been addressed
can read the data.
 o Reliability: If the server has stopped functioning, the network goes down,
but no other networks are affected that are served by the router.

o Performance: Router enhances the overall performance of the network.

Suppose there are 24 workstations in a network generates a same amount
of traffic. This increases the traffic load on the network. Router splits the
single network into two networks of 12 workstations each, reduces the
traffic load by half.

o Network range

5. Modem

o A modem is a hardware device that allows the computer to connect to the

internet over the existing telephone line.
o A modem is not integrated with the motherboard rather than it is installed
on the PCI slot found on the motherboard.
o It stands for Modulator/Demodulator. It converts the digital data into an
analog signal over the telephone lines.

Based on the differences in speed and transmission rate, a modem can be

classified in the following categories:

o Standard PC modem or Dial-up modem

o Cellular Modem
o Cable modem

6. Cables and Connectors

Cable is a transmission media used for transmitting a signal. There are three
types of cables used in transmission:

o Twisted pair cable

o Coaxial cable
o Fiber-optic cable