M1 – Compare the benefits and disadvantages of peer-to-peer network and client/server networks
Network Types
Network Types
to be compared
Peer-to-peer advantages/disadvantages Client/server advantages/disadvantages
Comparison Factors
Comparison
Factors
The requirements for a peer to peer network are
that you have a 10 Base T Ethernet cable and an Initial start-up costs can be expensive and you’d also have to have a
Cost
Ethernet hub/switch, which is essentially cheaper systems administrator to configure and oversee the network.
than having a server.
There is no need for full-time system admins. Every
user is the admin of their machine. The user can A client server can consist of many services, which is the reason
control their shared resources, so there’s no need why so many other users can access the server too.
Management, for specialist staff. A client server allows the jobs and responsibilities of a computing
Administration & No control of access to data as there’s no server. system. This means all the computers connected to the server can
Support Files and resources are not centrally organised into be updated.
a specific ‘shared area’. They are stored on If there is a fault on the server, all of the clients would go down too.
individual computers and might be difficult to Specialist staff like network managers are needed.
locate if the computer’s owner doesn’t have a
logical filing system.
You can access any file on the computer as long as There is central management meaning that all resources of the
Sharing Resources it is set to shared folder which is the peer to peer network are available from one server, because of this system, it
network can be easy to add more resources and clients.
All the resources and contents are shared by all
Security Security is not good. The best you can do is set The security is a lot better than other networks because you can
passwords for files that you don’t want people to create passwords for profiles meaning access is very limited.
Network Types
Network Types
to be compared
Peer-to-peer advantages/disadvantages Client/server advantages/disadvantages
Comparison Factors
Comparison
Factors
The requirements for a peer to peer network are
that you have a 10 Base T Ethernet cable and an Initial start-up costs can be expensive and you’d also have to have a
Cost
Ethernet hub/switch, which is essentially cheaper systems administrator to configure and oversee the network.
than having a server.
There is no need for full-time system admins. Every
user is the admin of their machine. The user can A client server can consist of many services, which is the reason
control their shared resources, so there’s no need why so many other users can access the server too.
Management, for specialist staff. A client server allows the jobs and responsibilities of a computing
Administration & No control of access to data as there’s no server. system. This means all the computers connected to the server can
Support Files and resources are not centrally organised into be updated.
a specific ‘shared area’. They are stored on If there is a fault on the server, all of the clients would go down too.
individual computers and might be difficult to Specialist staff like network managers are needed.
locate if the computer’s owner doesn’t have a
logical filing system.
You can access any file on the computer as long as There is central management meaning that all resources of the
Sharing Resources it is set to shared folder which is the peer to peer network are available from one server, because of this system, it
network can be easy to add more resources and clients.
All the resources and contents are shared by all
Security Security is not good. The best you can do is set The security is a lot better than other networks because you can
passwords for files that you don’t want people to create passwords for profiles meaning access is very limited.
