Networks Overview Quiz

Networks of Many Sizes

• Small Home Networks connect a few computers to each other and the Internet.
• Small Office/Home Office networks enable computers in a home or a remote office to connect to a corporate network.
• Medium to Large Networks have many locations with hundreds or thousands of interconnected computers.
• World Wide Networks connect hundreds of millions of computers worldwide, like the Internet.

Clients and Servers

• Every computer connected to a network is called a host or end device.
• Servers are computers that provide information to end devices on the network.
• Clients are computers that send requests to servers to retrieve information, such as a web page from a web server or email from an email server.

Peer-to-Peer

• Client and server software typically run on separate computers.
• Peer-to-peer networks allow clients to also function as servers.
• Advantages of peer-to-peer networks include easy setup, less complexity, and lower cost.
• Disadvantages of peer-to-peer networks include no centralized administration, less security, not being scalable, and slower performance.

Intranets and Extranets

• Intranets are private collections of LANs and WANs internal to an organization, accessible only to authorized members.
• Extranets provide secure access to an organization's network for individuals outside of the organization who require access.

Internet Access Technologies

• Internet access technologies include broadband cable, broadband digital subscriber line (DSL), wireless WANs, and mobile services, popular for home users & small offices.
• Businesses often utilize business DSL, leased lines, and Metro Ethernet for faster connections to support IP phones, video conferencing, and data center storage.

Home and Small Office Internet Connections

• Cable provides high bandwidth, always-on Internet connection offered by cable television providers.
• DSL also provides high bandwidth, always-on Internet connection that runs over a telephone line.

Reliable Network Security

• Network security addresses two main types: network infrastructure security and information security.
• Network Infrastructure Security focuses on physical security of network devices and preventing unauthorized access to device management software.
• Information Security aims to protect data transmitted over the network.
• Network security has three goals: confidentiality, integrity, and availability.
• Confidentiality ensures only intended recipients can access the data.
• Integrity guarantees data remains unaltered during transmission.
• Availability ensures timely and reliable data access for authorized users.

Network Trends

• Networks must adapt to keep up with new technologies and end-user devices.
• Major trends include Bring Your Own Device (BYOD), online collaboration, video communications, and cloud computing.

Bring Your Own Device (BYOD)

• BYOD allows users to utilize their own devices, increasing opportunities and flexibility.
• End users can access information and communicate using personal devices such as laptops, netbooks, tablets, smartphones, and e-readers.

Online Collaboration

• Users seek to collaborate and work on joint projects over the network.
• Collaboration tools like Cisco WebEx enable instant connection, interaction, and achievement of objectives.

Cloud Computing

• Cloud computing allows storing personal files or backing up data on servers over the Internet.
• Cloud access provides access to applications like word processing and photo editing.
• Businesses use cloud computing to extend capabilities on demand and deliver services automatically to any device globally.
• Data centers enable cloud computing, especially for smaller companies that lease server and storage services.

Cloud Computing Types

• Public Clouds offer services and applications to the general public through pay-per-use models or for free.
• Private Clouds are intended for a specific organization or entity like the government.

Network Security Threats

• Network security is crucial, regardless of network size.
• Network security implemented should consider the particular environment while securing data, but still enabling the expected Quality of Service.
• Network security involves numerous protocols, technologies, devices, tools, and techniques to protect data and combat threats.
• Threat vectors can originate from external or internal sources.

External Threats

• External threats include viruses, worms, Trojan horses, spyware, adware, zero-day attacks, hacker attacks, denial of service attacks, data interception and theft, and identity theft.

Internal Threats

• Intentional or unintentional, studies indicate that internal network users cause the most security breaches.
• BYOD strategies increase vulnerabilities for corporate data.

Network Security Solutions

• Security implementation should utilize multiple layers with various solutions.
• Network security components for home or small office networks include:
  • Antivirus and antispyware software on end devices.
  • Firewall filtering to block unauthorized access to the network.

Test your knowledge on different types of networks, including small home networks, medium to large networks, and the World Wide Web. Learn about the roles of clients and servers, as well as the advantages of peer-to-peer networking. This quiz covers essential concepts in networking.