Advantages and disadvantages of networks

Advantages

• Sharing devices such as printers saves money.
• Site (softwaresoftware: a general term used to describe an application or a program) licences are likely to be cheaper than buying several standalone licences.
• Files can easily be shared between users.
• Networknetwork: a group of interconnected computers users can communicate by emailemail: electronic mail - a message written or typed on a computer and sent electronically rather than by post and instant messengerinstant messenger: an application that allows users to send instant messages (text) to one another.
• Security is good - users cannot see other users' files unlike on stand-alone machines.
• Datadata: information without context, eg a list of students with numbers beside their names is data, when it's made clear that those numbers represent their placing in a 100 metre race, the data becomes information is easy to backupbackup: to copy data onto a separate storage device in case the original device should fail, be damaged or the data stored on it get corrupted as all the data is stored on the file serverfile server: a networked computer that provides large amounts of shared storage, it can be accessed by workstations on the same network.

Disadvantages

• Purchasing the network cabling and file servers can be expensive.
• Managing a large network is complicated, requires training and a network manager usually needs to be employed.
• If the file server breaks down the files on the file server become inaccessible. Email might still work if it is on a separate server. The computers can still be used but are isolated.
• Virusesvirus: a small program written to cause harm to a computer can spread to other computers throughout a computer network.
• There is a danger of hackinghacking: to gain unauthorised access to a computer, particularly with wide area networks. Security procedures are needed to prevent such abuse, eg a firewallfirewall: an application that prevents unauthorised connections to and from the Internet.