Definition of Network: Two or more computers connected logically with the help of data communication devices and transmission media referred to as computer network.
Network Components: The important components used in the computer network are:
Media: It is the medium through which the data travels. The various alternatives for
Transmission media are: twisted pair cable, coaxial cable, fibre optics, etc.
Processor: Processor is the hardware which helps to transfer the data from source to
Destination. Different processors used in the data communication are: modem, router, bridge, etc.
Software: To transfer the data from source to destination we require software,
examples are: networking operating system software, internet explorer, etc.
Topology: It is the way which data travels, the various topologies available are: star, ring, bus, mesh, tree, etc.
Advantages: Advantages of computer network is:
Sharing: network lets you share the information with other computers on the network
Sharing resource: this means that you can setup certain computer resources like a disk drive or a printer that all of the computers on the network can access them.
Backup: all data is stored on the server, backing up the critical data is a simple process.
Disadvantage:
Crash: if the server crashes, then whole of the system will be disturbed.
Data integrity: As all the data is shared it is possible unauthorized person can access the data if the network security is poor or weakly implemented.
No privacy: network may also means loss of privacy. Especially your boss, with the right network privileges may be in the position to read your private email.
