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 Network Architectures
- Peer-To-Peer Network
- Client/Server Network
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. It 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:
- Less costly as it does not contain any dedicated server.
- If one computer stops working, other computers will not stop working.
- Easy to set up and maintain as each computer manages itself.
Disadvantages Of Peer-To-Peer Network:
- Does not contain a centralized system, therefore, it cannot back up the data as the data is different in different locations.
- Security issues as the device is managed itself.
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. A server performs all the major operations such as security and network management. A server is responsible for managing all the resources such as files, directories, printers, etc. 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.