Local area network (LAN). Computer and Network Examples
ConceptDraw - Perfect Network Diagramming Software with examples of LAN Diagrams. ConceptDraw Network Diagram is ideal for network engineers and network designers who need to draw Local Area Network diagrams.
Instructions
v 1
Decide on the purpose of the computer lab. Its purpose will impact its overall design and the quality of the computers that are needed within the lab. For example, if the computer lab is meant to teach students English in India, it is unlikely to require the same advanced and expensive programs and security protocols of a U.S. intelligence agency.
v 2
Select a well-ventilated and cool room in which to build the lab. Computers in a warm, humid environment are susceptible to overheating, whereas computers in a cool, air-conditioned environment are likely to last for a ON time.
v 3
Create a security protocol for entering the lab. For schools, it is likely sufficient to require that a code is punched into a lock on the door in order to gain access to the room. The code can be distributed to all administrators and teachers to protect the computers from being damaged by students. For organisations that require greater security, a key card security system with a surveillance camera or two should be adequate to protect the computer lab. The key card should only be owned by those deemed trustworthy by the supervisor of the lab.
v 4
Acquire a number of computers sufficient for handling the workload that is anticipated to take place within the computer lab. For example, if the computer lab is meant as a graphic design workstation, each graphic designer should have a computer to work with in the lab at all times; however, if the computer lab is in a standard U.S. middle school, then it only requires the same amount as the average number of student per classroom or slightly more to be sufficient for class lessons held in the computer lab.
v 5
Place each computer roughly a full shoulder's length apart from one another (i.e., two to three feet). This will ensure that people using the lab do not end up crowding each others' space.
The question is that which topology should we use?
Star networksare one of the most commoncomputer networktopologies. In its simplest form, a star network consists of one centralswitch,hubor computer, which acts as a conduit to transmit messages. This consists of a central node, to which all other nodes are connected; this central node provides a common connection point for all nodes through a hub.[1]Thus, the hub and leaf nodes, and the transmission lines between them, form a graph with the topology of astar. If the central node ispassive, the originating node must be able to tolerate the reception of an echo of its own transmission, delayed by the two-way transmission time (i.e. to and from the central node) plus any delay generated in the central node. Anactivestar network has an active central node that usually has the means to prevent echo-related problems.
The star topology reduces the chance of network failure by connecting all of the systems to a central node. When applied to a bus-based network, this central hub rebroadcasts all transmissions received from any peripheral node to all peripheral nodes on the network, sometimes including the originating node. All peripheral nodes may thus communicate with all others by transmitting to, and receiving from, the central node only. The failure of a transmission line linking any peripheral node to the central node will result in the isolation of that peripheral node from all others, but the rest of the systems will be unaffected.[2]
It is also designed with each node (file servers, workstations, and peripherals) connected directly to a central network hub, switch, orconcentrator.
Data on a star network passes through the hub, switch, or concentrator before continuing to its destination. The hub, switch, or concentrator manages and controls all functions of the network. It is also acts as a repeater for the data flow. This configuration is common withtwisted pair cable. However, it can also be used withcoaxial cableoroptical fibrecable.
Advantages
§ Better performance:star topology prevents the passing of data packets through an excessive number of nodes. At most, 3 devices and 2 links are involved in any communication between any two devices. Although this topology places a huge overhead on the central hub, with adequate capacity, the hub can handle very high utilization by one device without affecting others.
§ Isolation of devices:Each device is inherently isolated by the link that connects it to the hub. This makes the isolation of individual devices straightforward and amounts to disconnecting each device from the others. This isolation also prevents any non-centralized failure from affecting the network.
§ Benefits from centralization:As the central hub is the bottleneck, increasing its capacity, or connecting additional devices to it, increases the size of the network very easily. Centralization also allows the inspection of traffic through the network. This facilitates analysis of the traffic and detection of suspicious behavior.
§ Easy to detect faults and to remove parts.
§ No disruptions to the network when connecting or removing devices.
Get your server setup spot-on with star topology
Georgina Guthrie in Development
· Dec 31, 2021 · 6 min readShare
One of the first decisions you face when setting up a network is what kind of ‘topology’ to use. The network topology dictates how different sender and receiver nodes communicate with each other. Each type of topology has its advantages and drawbacks, making it important to pick the setup that provides the best performance and stability for your network. Today, we will focus on the most popular one: star topology.