Which Type Of Network Is The Internet

Published Date: 02 Nov 2017

Chapter 4

Networks

Objectives:

After completing this chapter, you will be able to:

Identify networks.

Know the advantages of using networks.

Distinguish between types of network.

Know what an internet is.

Identify the advantages of the internet.

Understand some of internet and browsing basics.

Networks

Network is a group of computers connected together via cables or telephone lines or wireless to enable users to share hardware, software and data. Network requires each computer to have a network card.

Advantages of using networks

Sharing files: You can share files between computers through using networks instead of using a flash memory to send a file from one computer to another.

Sharing resources: Through networks, people working in a same place can share printers, scanners, fax machines. This is less costly for organizations with many computer users.

Sharing programs: Through networks, People working in the same place can share the same program instead of purchasing individual program for each one.

Communication: Users on a network can communicate with each other by e-mails even if there is no internet connection.

Types of networks

There are three types of network which are:

Local Area Network (LAN).

Wide Area Network (WAN).

Wireless Area Network (WLAN).

1. Local Area Network (LAN)

A LAN is a system where computers are connected together within a company or organization to enable people share files and resources such as printers. A LAN can be within the same building or within a group of buildings close to each other.

2. Wide Area Network (WAN)

Computers are connected together over a wide area such as between towns or countries. Communication between computers can be done through telephone lines, fiber optics and radio links or satellites. The internet is an example of it.

3. Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)

Computers are connected together through high frequency radio signals. They are used in many office buildings, coffee shops and even at homes. There are no wires the peripherals (peripheral device is any device that can attach to the computer such as speakers, printers and scanners) and the computers.

Client / server computers

A client computer is the computer that wants data from the server. The server is a powerful computer that offers services to other computers. The server is a powerful computer than client computer in terms of data storage and processing speed.

Activity (4-1)

Objectives:

Understanding what a network is.

Identifying the advantages of using networks.

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1. Complete the following sentences

Network is ……..…………………………..…………………………..…………………………..………….

Through networks people can share ………………………..…, ……..…………………… and ……..…………………….

The three types of networks are ………………………..…, ……..…………………… and ……..…………………….

The computer that requests data from the server is called ……..………………………

LAN is an abbreviation of ……..…………………… while WAN is an abbreviation of ……..……………………

3. Which type of network is the internet?

Internet

The internet is a global network of interconnected networks around the world. The best thing about the Internet is the amount of information that you can access from it. The internet is not the same as World Wide Web (WWW) as the internet is the network but the World Wide Web is a collection of linked documents placed all over the world on computers and can be accessed using a web browser.

Web browser is software that is used to retrieve and display contents on the World Wide Web, including text, image, video and other types of files. The Internet Explorer and Firefox are an example of it.

Advantages of the internet

Using the internet has many advantages and here are some of them:

Researching tool: Find any information the user need through using search engines. Search engines are the web pages that search for information on the internet (e.g. Google, Yahoo).

Marketing tool.

Method of communication with others through chatting programs and e-mails. E-mails mean sending and receiving messages through the internet and the messages can include text, images, video files and sound files.

Entertainment tool (e.g. playing games, listening to music and watching films and video clips).

Information is available 24 hours per day and 7 days per week.

Services: Many services are available through the internet like shopping, hotel reservations and paying pills.

E-commerce: Doing business, selling and buying products and services through the internet.

E-learning: Using the internet for education.

Downloading software from the internet.

Intranet

It is an internal network in an organization and looks like internet.

Extranet

It looks like internet and it is used to share data between organizations. It also allows some access to users outside the organization.

Download and upload

Download means to transfer data from the internet to the computer while upload means to transfer data from the computer to the internet.

Examples:

Download programs, songs and games from the internet to the computer.

Design a website then upload it from the computer to the internet to be used by others.

Transfer rate

Data is transmitted in collections of bits or characters. The transmission speed of data is measured by the Baud rate which means how many bits can be transferred each second.

Bps: It means bits per second. 8 bits = 1 character.

Kbps: It means kilobits per second (i.e. 1000 bits per second). A 56.6Kbps modem means that the transmission speed of data is 56,600 bits per second. The modem (modulator/ demodulator) is a device that allows computers to transmit data over telephone lines, from digital signal to analog signals and vice verse).

Mbps It means megabits per second (i.e. 1,000,000 bits per second).

Internet connection services

Computers are connected to internet in many ways. Here are the types of connections:

Dialup connection:

It uses telephone lines to connect to the internet.

A modem is used to dial a telephone number and connect to an Internet service Provider (ISP).

This type of connection is inexpensive compared to other connections.

The phone line is busy when the user uses the internet, meaning the user cannot make or receive calls when he is online.

Data transfer through dial-up is slower than other connections.

Internet Service Providers (ISPs) are companies that allow the users to connect to the internet.

Broadband connection: It allows faster transfer of information. This type of connection is available through cables, wireless networks, a phone line (ADSL), satellite, mobile phone.

Asynchronous Digital Subscriber Line (ADSL) broadband: It uses the telephone line system and a modem to link the computers to the internet. Through ADSL, users can make calls and use the internet at the same time. ADSL connection is faster and expensive than dial-up connection.

Wireless broadband: It uses radio transmitters and receivers to connect computers. Many public areas and organizations provide this connection which is known as Wi-Fi. Nowadays this connection is used at home and supported by many phones.

Cable broadband: It uses the cabling infrastructure used for cable TV and a modem to link the computer to the internet. The cable modem is connected to the computer by a local area network (LAN) card. Cable connection is faster than dial-up connection and the cost of it is similar to an ADSL connection.

Satellite broadband: It is a type of connection that requires a special satellite dish.

Activity (4-2)

Objectives:

Understanding the difference between internet and World Wide Web.

Identifying the advantages of the internet.

Knowing some internet terminologies.

Differentiating between dial up connection and broad band connection.

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1. Complete the following sentences

A collection of linked documents placed all over the world on computers is known as ………………..………….

The global network all over the world is known as ………………..………….

Google is an example of ………………..………….

The transmission speed of data over network is measured by ……………..………….

Examples of a web browser are ………………..…………. and ………………..………….

3. State the advantages of the internet.

4. Which one if faster, the ADSL connection or the dial up connection?

5. Which type of the broadband connection uses radio transmitters and receivers to connect computer?

Revision

This chapter provides detailed information about networks and these are the points that are explained in this chapter:

The meaning of networks and the advantages of using them.

Types of networks.

The meaning of client/server computers.

The difference between Internet and World Wide Web.

Advantages of the internet.

Downloading and uploading.

Data transfer rate.

Internet connection services.

Now you are ready to know about Information and Communication Technology and the different internet services for customers. This will be explained in the next chapter.