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WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN)
WAN covers a wide geographical area. In other words, it is a group of computers that are separated
by a large distance and tied together. It links different metropolitans and even countries across
national boundaries. The most popular example of WAN is the Internet: a collection of an infinite
number of computers spread across the world.
NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
The network architecture defines the overall design of the computer network. There are two types
of network architectures.
CLIENT-SERVER NETWORK
This is the most efficient network architecture
consisting of two parts: client system and
server system. One or more computers on the
network are designated as the server and all Clients Internet
the other computers connected to the network
Server
are called the clients. The clients can request
the services from the server. This is called the
client-server network. The client does not share any of its resources but requests for the server’s
content.
PEER-TO-PEER NETWORK
An alternative to the client-server approach is the peer-
to-peer approach. There are no dedicated servers. All the
computers are equal and can share their resources to be used
by others and are therefore known as peers. This network
is more cost-effective and required low maintenance and
works well in a small environment.
Tick ( ) if you know this.
▶ A network is defined as a group of devices that are linked together to share information, data
and resources.
▶ The Internet is a collection of an infinite number of computers spread across the world.
TOPOLOGIES
Topology or structure is the layout of the connection formed between computers. The efficiency
and reliability of a network are determined by its structure. In other words, Topology refers to the
geometric arrangement of computers or nodes in a network.
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