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IT Essentials — Assessing Infrastructure and Networks

An organization’s size and geographical footprint will typically determine which type of network is
most suitable. LANs are utilized to communicate within or between floors of a building; MANs are
intended to communicate between buildings within a campus or city; and a WAN enables
communication within multiple cities, states, or even countries.

Any system or device, such as a PC, a laptop, or a mobile device, connected to a network is referred
to as a node.

Topology and Network Architecture

Francisco, can you talk a little bit about network design.

Sure. The topology of a network depicts how it is physically and logically arranged. Common
topologies that are used today include bus, star, ring, and hybrid topologies. You can review the
basic structure of each on the diagram being displayed.

That’s very interesting. I was not aware of all those different topologies. Could you also explain what
network architecture is?

My pleasure. Network architecture provides context to understand an organization’s IT structure,
and there are multiple architecture types from which to choose. We will discuss five of the most
common types on the upcoming screens.

Peer-to-peer

Peer-to-peer, or P2P, architecture is typically used for networking servers or smaller end-user
systems, and is sometimes referred to as a distributed application file-sharing network. Distributed
application refers to software or applications that are executed or run on multiple nodes within the
network.

A P2P architecture indicates that there is no network hierarchy. Tasks are performed and data is
shared among a network’s members (nodes) via a hub. While some nodes may be more powerful
due to hardware differences or contain different data due to their purpose, the P2P network design
offers the same privileges or levels of authority among all nodes.

Client-Server

Client-server architecture is a model based on a hierarchy of service. Individual clients or nodes (i.e.,
computers on a network) request services from servers. The server(s) then provide the service(s) to
the client. This method is beneficial for its security aspects. For example, authentication (i.e., logon)
servers use a hierarchy to provide secure access to network resources. A client provides credentials
to a logon server and receives an access token or key.

A single node can be both client and server, which can offer ease of planning and understanding on
small-scale or location-based network implementations.

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