Many networks are both peer-to-peer and dedicated-server networks at the same time. These networks haveAt least one server computer that runs a server operating system such as Windows Server 2019Client computers that use the server features of Windows to share their resources with the network
Besides being dedicated, your servers should also be sincere.
What Makes a Network Tick?
To use a network, you don’t really have to know much about how it works. Still, you may feel a little bit better about using the network if you realize that it doesn’t work by voodoo. A network may seem like magic, but it isn’t. The following list describes the inner workings of a typical network:
Network interface: Inside any computer attached to a network is a special electronic circuit called the network interface. The network interface has either an external jack into which you can plug a network cable — or, in the case of a wireless network interface, an antenna.
Network cable: The network cable physically connects the computers. It plugs into the network interface card (NIC) on the back of your computer.The type of network cable most commonly used is twisted-pair cable, so named because it consists of several pairs of wires twisted together in a certain way. Twisted-pair cable superficially resembles telephone cable. However, appearances can be deceiving. Most phone systems are wired using a lower grade of cable that doesn’t work for networks.For the complete lowdown on networking cables, see Chapter 7. Network cable isn’t necessary when wireless networking is used. For more information about wireless networking, see Chapter 8.
Network switch: Networks built with twisted-pair cabling require one or more switches. A switch is a box with a bunch of cable connectors. Each computer on the network is connected by cable to the switch. The switch, in turn, connects all the computers to each other. For more information about network switches, see Chapter 7. In the early days of twisted-pair networking, devices known as hubs were used rather than switches. The term hub is sometimes used to refer to switches, but true hubs went out of style sometime around the turn of the century. In networks with just a few computers, the network switch is often combined with another networking device called a router. A router is used to connect two networks. Typically, a router is used to connect your network to the Internet. By combining a router and a switch in a single box, you can easily connect several computers to the Internet and to each other.
Network software: Of course, the software makes the network work. To make any network work, a whole bunch of software has to be set up just right. For peer-to-peer networking with Windows, you have to play with the Control Panel to get networking to work. And a network operating system such as Windows Server 2019 requires a substantial amount of tweaking to get it to work just right.
It’s Not a Personal Computer Anymore!
If I had to choose one point that I want you to remember from this chapter more than anything else, it’s this: After you hook up your personal computer (PC) to a network, it’s not a “personal” computer anymore. You’re now part of a network of computers, and in a way, you’ve given up one of the key concepts that made PCs so successful in the first place: independence.
I got my start in computers back in the days when mainframe computers ruled the roost. Mainframe computers are big, complex machines that used to fill entire rooms and had to be cooled with chilled water. I worked with an IBM System 370 Model 168. It had a whopping 8MB of memory. (The computer on which I’m writing this book has 3,000 times as much memory.)
Mainframe computers required staffs of programmers and operators in white lab coats just to keep them going. The mainframes had to be carefully managed. A whole bureaucracy grew up around managing them.
Mainframe computers used to be the dominant computers in the workplace. Personal computers changed all that: They took the computing power out of the big computer room and put it on the user’s desktop, where it belongs. PCs severed the tie to the centralized control of the mainframe computer. With a PC, a user could look at the computer and say, “This is mine — all mine!” Mainframes still exist, but they’re not nearly as popular as they once were.
But networks have changed everything all over again. In a way, it’s a change back to the mainframe-computer way of thinking: central location, distributed resources. True, the network isn’t housed in a separate building. But you can no longer think of “your” PC as your own. You’re part of a network — and like the mainframe, the network has to be carefully managed.
Here are several ways in which a network robs you of your independence:
You can’t just indiscriminately delete files from the network. They may not be yours.
You’re forced to be concerned about network security. For example, a server computer has to know who you are before it allows you to access its files. So you have to know your user ID and password to access the network. This precaution prevents some 15-year-old kid from hacking his way into your office network by using its Internet connection and stealing all your computer games.
You may have to wait for shared resources. Just because Bart sends something to Homer’s printer doesn’t mean that it immediately starts to print. Lisa may have sent a two-hour print job before that. Bart will just have to wait.
You may have to wait for access to documents. You may try to retrieve an Excel spreadsheet file from a network drive, only to discover that someone else is using it. Like Bart, you just have to wait.
You don’t have unlimited storage space. If you copy a 100GB video file to a server’s drive, you may get calls later from angry co-workers complaining that no room is left on the server’s drive for their important files.
Your files can become infected from viruses given to you by someone over the network. You may then accidentally infect other network users.
You have to be careful about saving sensitive files on the server. If you write an angry note about your boss and save it on the server’s hard drive, your boss may find the memo and read it.
The server computer must be up and running at all times. For example, if you turn Homer’s computer into a server computer, Homer can’t turn his computer off when he’s out of the office. If he does, you can’t access the files stored on his computer.
If your computer is a server, you can’t just turn it off when you’re finished using it. Someone else may be accessing a file on your hard drive or printing on your printer.
The Network Administrator
Because so much can go wrong — even with a simple network — designating one person as network administrator is important. This way, someone is responsible for making sure that the network doesn’t fall apart or get out of control.
The network administrator doesn’t have to be a technical genius. In fact, some of the best network administrators are complete idiots when it comes to technical stuff. What’s important is that the administrator is organized. That
