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Computer Science > Topic 5 - Computer Networks > Flashcards

Topic 5 - Computer Networks Flashcards

1
Q

What is a computer network?

A

Multiple devices connected together that can share resources

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2
Q

What are the advantages of a network?

A

Share resources, data and peripherals
Centralised back-ups
Centralised updates
Centralised security
Connect globally
User monitoring

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3
Q

What are the disadvantages of a network?

A

Expensive to set up
Requires specialists skills
Viruses spread through connections
Less secure

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4
Q

Explain the peer-to-peer model

A

Each device acts as a client and a server

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5
Q

What are the advantages of the peer-to-peer model?

A

Not dependant on single server
Cheap to set up
Resources easily shared
Fast -can request from closest device

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6
Q

What are the disadvantages of the peer-to-peer model?

A

Sharing peripherals slows down if too many requests
No centralised back-ups
No security

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7
Q

Explain the client server model

A

Client makes requests, server fulfils those requests

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8
Q

What are the advantages of the client server model?

A

Files stored on central serve
Client breaking won’t affect network
Centralised back-ups
More secure

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9
Q

What are the disadvantages of the client server model?

A

Expensive to set up
Requires specialist skills
If serve fails, network fails
Suspectable to hacking

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10
Q

What does PAN stand for?

A

Personal Area Network

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11
Q

What does LAN stand for?

A

Local Area Network

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12
Q

What does WAN stand for?

A

Wide Area Network

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13
Q

What is PAN used for?

A

A single user with multiple device
ie. smart watch and phone

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14
Q

What is LAN used for?

A

Multiple users in a single building
ie. small office

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15
Q

What is WAN used for?

A

Multiple devices connected across a large geographical area (sometimes multiple LAN’s)
ie. Large companies in multiple countries

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16
Q

What is a Wireless Access Point?

A

A device used to connect devices to a wired network ie internet

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17
Q

What does a router do?

A

It moves data from one network to another
Connects networks to the internet

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18
Q

What does a switch do?

A

It is responsible for connecting data to the right device in wired connections

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19
Q

What does a hub do?

A

Broadcasts data to all connected devices

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20
Q

What does a Network Interface Card do?

A

Enables a wired connection between a computer and networked devices

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21
Q

What does a Network Interface Card contain?

A

MAC address

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22
Q

What does a bridge do?

A

Connects two LAN’s together to reduce traffic

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23
Q

What is a MAC address?

A

A unique physical address used to locate devices on a network

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24
Q

How does a star topology work?

A

The central node represents a hub or switch

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25
How does a bus topology work?
All nodes are connected on a single cable, data is sent to all nodes in both directions. The terminators stop signals from being deflected back down the cable
26
How does a ring topology work?
Data is transferred in one direction to all nodes
27
How does a mesh topology work?
The most efficient route to transfer data is calculated
28
What are the advantages of the star topology?
Damaged link only affects one node Easily add new nodes Works well under heavy load
29
What are the disadvantages of the star topology?
Central node failing affects all nodes Expensive due to cabling
30
What are the advantages of the bus topology?
Cheap - 1 cable Simple to set up Works well for small networks
31
What are the disadvantages of the bus topology?
Cable fail = network fail Not secure - data transferred to all nodes More nodes = reduced performance
32
What are the advantages of the ring topology?
Additional nodes don't decrease performance Fast data transmission No data collision Works well under heavy load
33
What are the disadvantages of the ring topology?
One node fail = network fail Unsecure - data transferred to all nodes Slow Network has to be shut down to add node
34
What are the advantages of the mesh topology?
No single point of failure Fast New nodes added easily Works well under heavy load
35
What are the disadvantages of the mesh topology?
Expensive due to cabling Complicated to manage and maintain
36
What is transmission media?
Media used to transmit data from one device to another
37
How does a copper cable work?
It used electrical signals to transmit data
38
What are the advantages of copper cables?
Cheap to buy & install More stable than wireless Good for short distances
39
What are the disadvantages of copper cables?
Signal degenerates over distance Slower than fibre optic Prone to disturbances Costly to expand
40
How does fibre optic work?
Uses light pulses to transmit data
41
What are the advantages of fibre optic?
Good for long distances Fast Less prone to disturbances Stable
42
What are the disadvantages of fibre optic?
Expensive to buy & set up Costly to expand
43
How does WiFi work?
It uses radio frequencies to connect devices to networks and the internet
44
What are the advantages of WiFi?
Transmit 50m Multiple users Cheap to expand Portable Cheap to install
45
What are the disadvantages of WiFi?
Prone to hacking Distance decreases connectivity Susceptible to interference More devices = speed decreases
46
How does Bluetooth work?
Uses radio frequencies to transmit data
47
What are the advantages of Bluetooth?
Reduced interference Cheap Uses less power then WiFi Portable
48
What are the disadvantages of Bluetooth?
Only transmit 10m Vulnerable to hacking Limited number of devices at one time Slower than WiFi
49
What are the 4 factors that affect the speed of a network?
Bandwidth Latency Range Number of devices
50
What is bandwidth?
The amount of data that can be transferred in a specific amount of time
51
What is latency?
The delay from the time a signal is sent to when it is received
52
What is range?
The maximum distance a signal can travel before its quality is lost
53
How does the number of devices affect the speed of a network?
Each device take some of the bandwidth available
54
What is the internet?
Global network of networks Infrastructure used to share data and resources globally
55
What is the World Wide Web?
A collection of web pages
56
What is a protocol?
A set of rules for communicating
57
What is an IP address?
A set of unique numbers given by an internet service provider very time you go onto the internet
58
What is the URL?
A user friendly way of writing the IP address of the server that stores a website
59
What is the DNS?
Domain Name System Links website address with IP address
60
Explain the 4 steps of DNS
1) Checks if you have visited the website before 2) Web browser connects with web server at IP address supplied by DNS 3) Web browser request webpage, server sends HTML page 4) Browser builds web page using HTML
61
What is Ethernet?
A family of protocols used in a wired network
62
What is WiFi? (Protocol)
A suite of protocols which enables the transmission of data through radio signals
63
What does UDP do?
Breaks data into packets and re-orders them at destination, without error checking
64
What is the difference between UDP and TCP?
TCP uses error checking
65
When is UDP used?
Streaming Gaming
66
What is HTTP/S?
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Identifies requests and transfers web pages HTTPS is more secure
67
What is FTP?
File Transfer Protocol Uploads & downloads files from a server
68
What is an advantage of FTP over HTTPS?
FTP allows for more control
69
What is POP?
Post Office Protocol Retrieves and email from the sever & deletes email on the server
70
What is IMAP?
Internet Message Access Protocol Retrieves email from server but leaves a copy at the server
71
What is SMTP?
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol Sends emails to an email server
72
What does TCP do?
Breaks down data into packets and reorders them at the destination
73
What does IP do?
Makes sure data arrives at the correct destination
74
What is TCP/IP?
A suite of protocols that transmits data over the internet
75
What is the first layer of TCP/IP?
Application layer Prepares data for sending & decodes received data HTTP/S, FTP, IMAP, POP, SMTP
76
What is the second layer of TCP/IP?
Transport layer Accept messages, splits it into segments and allocates ports TCP, UDP
77
What is the third layer of TCP/IP?
Internet layer Receives segments and packages them into IP packets which include sender and receivers address IP

Computer Science (6 decks)

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