Computer and Software Support


Network requirements

If you are setting up a network, the following is items you will need

  1. At least two computers minimum. They both have to meet the requirements of the network setup. (see specifications of your system and the requirements for the network equipment)
  2. Network cable (if your not going to use wireless)
  3. Router or switch (if your going to use DSL or cable you will need a router)
  4. Network cards for each computer. (some computers have built in network cards)

 

There is two ways you can have the network setup and they are as follows..

  1. Client / Server - One computer acts as the server and provides services (such as storage, internet access, software access) and the other computer uses the resources from the server. This setup is the most expensive.  This is usually used for businesses.
  2. Peer to Peer - Each computer uses their own resources but you have access to other systems resources as well (depending on how you set it up) This is cheaper than the client / server setup. This is usually used for home.

 

Advantages of Client / Server setup

  1. Uses less resources on the client systems. This is good if you have older systems that are slower or when resources is not as plenty as your newer systems.
  2. The network is more secure than a peer to peer system.
  3. Easier to update items that are only assigned to the server.
  4. Can connect more devices to the network.

 

Disadvantages of Client / Server

  1. More expensive than peer to peer.
  2. Harder to setup than peer to peer.
  3. The server crashes the entire network crashes (unless you have backup servers on standby)
  4. If you need to reboot the server, clients will loose connection to the devices the server provided.

Note: You can have a mixture of a peer to peer and a client /Server networks. You can have the DSL or cable modem act as a server for the internet and the computers rely on it for access to the internet. Then have all the computers use their own resources for storage, memory, and programs. The computers would be in a peer to peer for everything except for the internet. The internet portion would be client / server configuration.

 

Advantages of Peer to Peer

  1. Cheaper than Client / Server
  2. easier to setup
  3. In some instances may be faster than a client / server configuration.
  4. Able to reboot any of the systems without it affecting the other systems.

 

Disadvantages of Peer to Peer

  1. Less secure
  2. Uses more resources.
  3. Updating and maintaining software is more expensive and time consuming.