Different Types Of Network Services?

Introduction

When accomplishing any task, there is usually more than one way to get the job done, sometimes even thousands of different ways. When trying to connect more than one computer together there are also many different ways to get the job done. Some ways are better than others in certain situations, and it is very beneficial to get started in the right direction when networking computers, not just because of usefulness, but also because of security issues.

Just like with anything, when deciding on how to connect computers together you should investigate on why the job must be done. Question what purpose needs to be accomplished, question if any peripherals need to be shared, question if any documents need to be accessed by more than one person, etc. Once you have more information on what the network actually needs to do, then it will be much easier implementing a plan that will accomplish all of your goals.

When setting up a network there are basically three different types of networks - Peer-to-peer, Client-Server, and Application-Server Networks. Each type has certain benefits and downsides, this article will describe each type, along with why it could or should be implemented. Those who are deciding to implement a network, or are curious about their existing network should find this article interesting and informative.

Peer-to-peer Networks

Overview of Peer-to-peer Networks

Nearly all Operating Systems come with the ability to act as some kind of a server to share resources. You can setup different computers to allow others to use its peripherals such as printers or CDROM drives, and other computers to allow others to read or write to its hard disk allowing sharing of files, while other computers may allow access to its Internet connection. When you allow workstation computers to become servers and share things in this manner, it is called a Peer-to-peer network. managed network service

An Example of a Peer-to-peer Network

I will use a small office as an example of a Peer-to-Peer network.

In this small business office, the secretary uses the best computer, and has the most drive space, she also has a fast laser printer connected to her computer. The accountant has a mediocre computer that has a color ink jet printer. The owner has a good computer with a zip drive to take work home. All of these computers are networked together, with no central server.

The secretary uses the zip drive through the network to backup important documents, and also uses the ink jet printer on the accountant's computer to print out fliers. The accountant uses the laser printer on the secretary's computer to print out checks, accesses some important documents on the secretary's computer, and backs up the accounting data on the zip drive on the owners computer. The owner uses both printers on the other computers, and accesses important documents on the secretary's computer. All of the computers share Internet access through the secretary's computer.

All of this gets done with no passwords or user names since all the shared devices use no access control, or other type of security measure. Also in order for the accountant's computer and the owner's computer to be able to read the companies important documents, the secretary's computer must be turned on first. network services

The Benefits of a Peer-to-peer Network

Peer-to-peer networks are very cheap to implement because more than likely the Operating System software you have installed on your computers should have the ability to share items with other computers on the network, even though the feature may be limited. Nearly all of the most popular desktop Operating Systems have this feature, including Microsoft Windows and Apple's Mac OS, as well as Unix like OS es, such as Linux and the BSD s. So the only cost will be the networking hardware (cards, wiring, hubs or switches), and the labor to configure the workstations for this type of network sharing.

The Downsides of a Peer-to-peer Network

Even though a peer-to-peer network is very cost effective up front, there are a number of downsides you must consider before implementing this type of network.

Without a central server, it is very difficult, or nearly impossible to secure this type of network in any way. You can implement passwords on each different network share, but in order for the network to usable, the exact same username and password must be entered into each computer acting as a server. Thus, to change a password for a user could literally take hours of work, especially if the network consists of computers located in different buildings or different floors. Because of this, what usually happens with peer-to-peer networks is that passwords are implemented to begin with, but after time, either everyone starts using the exact same username and password, or the passwords end up becoming blank, or the network shares are configured to allow anyone access without a username or password. In any of these cases, security is pretty much non-existent, which can become a huge problem, especially if your network has access to the Internet.

On a peer-to-peer network, it is also very difficult to implement a good backup system because important documents tend to be stored on different hard disks on different computers. If you do manage to implement a good backup policy, chances are great that after a while some very important documents will not get archived because someone "accidentally" saved them to the wrong location on the network.

Peer-to-peer networks also tend to become very costly over time. Since each computer that shares anything to the other computers is a psuedo server, it must be constantly on, and configured correctly. So instead of maintaining a small handful of servers, you must maintain all of the workstations as servers, and as such any downtime with any computer on the network could cause considerable loss of labor or information. The following diagram illustrates all the theoretical connections that are needed for a peer-to-peer network to operate with just 5 computers. Note that this illustration does not represent physical network connections, but the theoretical network connections the operating system needs to operate the network properly.

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