1. Unit 11- Computer Networks
BTEC First Extended Certificate
Unit 11- Computer Networks
L2-U11-CNW-A1.1-uses of Networks
Tutor: Mo Abdul

2. Objectives By the end of this session you will be able to:
Give accurate description of a network
Identify the various uses of networks
Give examples of activities for each use
Describe how each use can be utilised

3. What is a network
Computer networks are a collection of interconnected, wired or wireless, hardware and software that allow computer devices to communicate and share data with each other.

4. Uses of networks
There are various uses for a network. Some of these uses are:
Communication
Sharing hardware resources
Exchanging information
Multi-user environments
Storage
Applications use

5. Communications
Networks allow communication between users in Many forms such as:
instant messaging
social networking
Blogs
Forums
Wikis
web conferencing

6. Sharing Resources
Each resource on the network can be shared between all users, this save money as well as time. Example of shared resources are:
Internet connection
Printer
Scanner
Processing power

7. Exchanging Information
Once you are on a network, you can easily share information such as:
Files
Data
All other types of information

8. Multi-user environments
A multi-user environments are evidenced in the following areas:
Gaming
Collaborative working such as updating the database of a travel agent at the same time.

9. Storage Storage is an important part of a network.
Users’ data/Files can be saved centrally to make it easy to back up.
Storage is also important for Data Centres that handle large amount of data to be accessed and processed by many users.

10. Use of Applications
With cloud computing, nowadays it is easier to access and use applications on line.
Example of applications that is easily used online are:
Online databases
Online spreadsheets
Intranet
Extranet