Net+ Chapter 1 Introduction to Networks
First Things First: What’s a Network? LAN WAN Workgroup How do you connect LANs?
Common Network Components Workstations Servers Hosts / clients
Server Types File server Mail server Print server Web server Fax server Application server Telephony server Remote-access server Proxy server
VLANs Workgroups VLANs Isolate network traffic (page 9) Physical network vs logical network
WANs How are they different from LANs? WANs usually need a router port(s) WANs span a larger geographic area and/or can link disparate locations WANs are usually slower WAN connections are temporary WANs can use either public or private data transport lines Distributed WAN – page 10
VPNs “A VPN allows me to connect to resources by locally attaching to the VLAN through a VPN across the WAN.” (page 11) Huh?
Network Architecture Peer-to-Peer vs. Client/Server Users and passwords Security Home directories Backing up data Scalability
Physical Network Topologies How data travels from host to host Types Bus Star Ring Mesh (uhh…. the INTERNET!) Point-to-point (telephone call) Point-to-multipoint (radio station broadcast) Hybrid Real World Scenario on page 20
Wrapping it up Things to keep in mind when picking a topology Cost Ease of installation Ease of maintenance Fault-tolerance requirement Backbone vs segment