What is a Network?

A network consists of two or more computers that are linked in order to share resources (such as printers and CD-ROMs), exchange files, or allow electronic communications. The computers on a network may be linked through cables, telephone lines, radio waves, satellites, or infrared light beams. The three basic types of networks include:

Local Area Network (LAN) Wide Area Network (WAN)

Local Area Network Local Area Network (LAN) is a network that is confined to a relatively small area. It is generally limited to a geographic area such as a writing lab, school, or building. Rarely are LAN computers more than a mile apart. In a typical LAN configuration, one computer is designated as the file server. It stores all of the software that controls the network, as well as the software that can be shared by the computers attached to the network. Computers connected to the file server are called workstations. The workstations can be less powerful than the file server, and they may have additional software on their hard drives. On most LANs, cables are used to connect the network interface cards in each computer. See the Topology, Cabling, and Hardware sections of this tutorial for more information on the configuration of a LAN. Wide Area Network Wide Area Networks (WANs) connect larger geographic areas, such as Florida, the United States, or the world. Dedicated transoceanic cabling or satellite uplinks may be used to connect this type of network. Using a WAN, schools in Florida can communicate with places like Tokyo in a matter of minutes, without paying enormous phone bills. A WAN is complicated. It uses multiplexers to connect local and metropolitan networks to global communications networks like the Internet. To users, however, a WAN will not appear to be much different than a LAN or a MAN. Advantages of Installing a School Network

Speed. Networks provide a very rapid method for sharing and transferring files. Without a network, files are shared by copying them to floppy disks, then carrying or sending the disks from one computer to another. This method of transferring files (referred to as sneaker-net) is very time-consuming. Cost. Networkable versions of many popular software programs are available at considerable savings when compared to buying individually licensed copies. Besides monetary savings, sharing a program on a network allows for easier upgrading of the program. The changes have to be done only once, on the file server, instead of on all the individual workstations. Security. Files and programs on a network can be designated as "copy inhibit," so that you do not have to worry about illegal copying of programs. Also, passwords can be established for specific directories to restrict access to authorized users. Centralized Software Management. One of the greatest benefits of installing a network at a school is the fact that all of the software can be loaded on one computer (the file server). This

eliminates that need to spend time and energy installing updates and tracking files on independent computers throughout the building. Resource Sharing. Sharing resources is another area in which a network exceeds stand-alone computers. Most schools cannot afford enough laser printers, fax machines, modems, scanners, and CD-ROM players for each computer. However, if these or similar peripherals are added to a network, they can be shared by many users. Electronic Mail. The presence of a network provides the hardware necessary to install an e-mail system. E-mail aids in personal and professional communication for all school personnel, and it facilitates the dissemination of general information to the entire school staff. Electronic mail on a LAN can enable students to communicate with teachers and peers at their own school. If the LAN is connected to the Internet, students can communicate with others throughout the world. Flexible Access. School networks allow students to access their files from computers throughout the school. Students can begin an assignment in their classroom, save part of it on a public access area of the network, then go to the media center after school to finish their work. Students can also work cooperatively through the network. Workgroup Computing. Workgroup software (such as Microsoft BackOffice) allows many users to work on a document or project concurrently. For example, educators located at various schools within a county could simultaneously contribute their ideas about new curriculum standards to the same document and spreadsheets.

Disadvantages of Installing a School Network

Expensive to Install. Although a network will generally save money over time, the initial costs of installation can be prohibitive. Cables, network cards, and software are expensive, and the installation may require the services of a technician. Requires Administrative Time. Proper maintenance of a network requires considerable time and expertise. Many schools have installed a network, only to find that they did not budget for the necessary administrative support. File Server May Fail. Although a file server is no more susceptible to failure than any other computer, when the files server "goes down," the entire network may come to a halt. When this happens, the entire school may lose access to necessary programs and files. Cables May Break. The Topology chapter presents information about the various configurations of cables. Some of the configurations are designed to minimize the inconvenience of a broken cable; with other configurations, one broken cable can stop the entire network.

REFERENCE: http://www.dosama.com/equipt/network/networking/nw.htm

What is a file server?

A file server is a computer attached to a network that has the primary purpose of providing a location for shared disk access, i.e. shared storage of computer files (such as documents, sound files, photographs, movies, images, databases, etc.) that can be accessed by the workstations that are attached to the computer network. The term server highlights the role of the machine in the clientserver scheme, where the clients are the workstations using the storage. A file server is not intended to perform computational tasks, and does not run programs on behalf of its clients. It is designed primarily to enable the storage and retrieval of data while the computation is carried out by the workstations.

File servers are commonly found in schools and offices and rarely seen in local internet service providers using LAN to connect their client computers.
Types of file servers A file server may be dedicated or non-dedicated. A dedicated server is generally designed specifically for use as a file server, with workstations attached for reading and writing files and databases. File servers may also be categorized by the method of access: Internet file servers are frequently accessed by File Transfer Protocol (FTP) or by HTTP (but are different from web servers, that often provide dynamic web content in addition to static files). Servers on a LAN are usually accessed by SMB/CIFS protocol (Windows and Unix-like) or NFS protocol (Unix-like systems). Database servers, that provide access to a shared database via a database device driver, are not regarded as file servers. Many file servers are simultaneously print servers too, as they provide access to printers via network. A single file serving computer may be accessible by multiple means: it may run an FTP server, an SMB server, etc., serving the same files. Design of file servers In modern businesses the design of file servers is complicated by competing demands for storage space, access speed, recoverability, ease of administration, security, and budget. This is further complicated by a constantly changing environment, where new hardware and technology rapidly obsolesces old equipment, and yet must seamlessly come online in a fashion compatible with the older machinery. To manage throughput, peak loads, and response time, vendors may utilize queuing theory[1] to model how the combination of hardware and software will respond over various levels of demand. Servers may also employ dynamic load balancing scheme to distribute requests across various pieces of hardware. The primary piece of hardware equipment for servers over the last couple of decades has proven to be the hard disk drive. Although other forms of storage are viable (such as magnetic tape and solid-state drives) disk drives have continued to offer the best fit for cost, performance, and capacity. Storage Since the crucial function of a file server is storage, technology has been developed to operate multiple disk drives together as a team, forming a disk array. A disk array typically has cache (temporary memory storage that is faster than the magnetic disks), as well as advanced functions like RAID and storage virtualization. Typically disk arrays increase level of availability by using redundant components other than RAID, such as power supplies. Disk arrays may be consolidated or virtualized in a storage area network (SAN). Network-attached storage Network-attached storage (NAS) is file-level computer data storage connected to a computer network providing data access to heterogeneous clients. NAS devices specifically are distinguished from file servers generally in that a NAS is a computer appliance a specialized computer built from the ground up for serving files rather than a general purpose computer being used for serving files (possibly with other functions). In discussions of NASs, "file server" is generally used as a contrasting term, referring to general purpose computers only.

As of 2010[update] NAS devices are gaining popularity, as a convenient method of sharing files between multiple computers.[2] Potential benefits of network-attached storage, compared to non-dedicated file servers, include faster data access, easier administration, and simple configuration.[3] NAS systems are networked appliances which contain one or more hard drives, often arranged into logical, redundant storage containers or RAID arrays. Network Attached Storage removes the responsibility of file serving from other servers on the network. They typically provide access to files using network file sharing protocols such as NFS, SMB/CIFS (Server Message Block/Common Internet File System), or AFP. Security File servers generally offer some form of system security to limit access to files to specific users or groups. In large organizations, this is a task usually delegated to what is known as directory services such as openLDAP, Novell's eDirectory or Microsoft's Active Directory. These servers work within the hierarchical computing environment which treat users, computers, applications and files as distinct but related entities on the network and grant access based on user or group credentials. In many cases, the directory service spans many file servers, potentially hundreds for large organizations. In the past, and in smaller organizations, authentication can take place directly to the server itself. REFERENCES: 1. File and Work Transfers in Cyclic Queue Systems, D. Sarkar and W. I. Zangwill, Management Science, Vol. 38, No. 10 (Oct., 1992), pp. 1510-1523 2. CDRLab Test (http://cdrlab.pl/article_strona_9571_1.html) (in Polish) 3. InfoStor. NAS Advantages: A VARs View, (http://www.infostor.com/index/articles/display/55961/articles/infostor/volume-2/issue4/news-analysis-trends/nas-advantages-a-vars-view.html) April 01, 1998. By Ron Levine.

Distributed file system

A distributed file system or network file system is any file system that allows access to files from multiple hosts sharing via a computer network.This makes it possible for multiple users on multiple machines to share files and storage resources. The client nodes do not have direct access to the underlying block storage but interact over the network using a protocol. This makes it possible to restrict access to the file system depending on access lists or capabilities on both the servers and the clients, depending on how the protocol is designed. In contrast, in a shared disk file system all nodes have equal access to the block storage where the file system is located. On these systems the access control must reside on the client. Distributed file systems may include facilities for transparent replication and fault tolerance. That is, when a limited number of nodes in a file system go offline, the system continues to work without any data loss.

The difference between a distributed file system and a distributed data store can be vague, but DFSes are generally geared towards use on local area networks. History and examples The first file servers were developed in the 1970s. In 1976 Digital Equipment Corporation created the File Access Listener (FAL), an implementation of the Data Access Protocol as part of DECnet Phase II which became the first widely used network file system. In 1985 Sun Microsystems created the file system called "Network File System" (NFS) which became the first widely used Internet Protocol based network file system. Other notable network file systems are Andrew File System (AFS), Apple Filing Protocol (AFP), NetWare Core Protocol (NCP), and Server Message Block (SMB) which is also known as Common Internet File System (CIFS). Transparency Transparency is usually built into distributed file systems, so that files accessed over the network can be treated the same as files on local disk by programs and users. The multiplicity and dispersion of servers and storage devices are thus made invisible. It is up to the network file system to locate the files and to arrange for the transport of the data. Performance A common performance measurement of a network file system is the amount of time needed to satisfy service requests. In conventional systems, this time consists of a disk-access time and a small amount of CPU-processing time. But in a network file system, a remote access has additional overhead due to the distributed structure. This includes the time to deliver the request to a server, the time to deliver the response to the client, and for each direction, a CPU overhead of running the communication protocol software. The performance of a network file system can be viewed as one dimension of its transparency; to be fully equivalent, it would need to be comparable to that of a local disk. Concurrent file updates Concurrency control becomes an issue when more than one person or client are accessing the same files and want to update it. Hence updates to the file from one client should not interfere with access and updates from other clients. Concurrency control or locking may be either built into the file system or be provided by an add-on protocol. Reference: Silberschatz, Galvin (1994). Operating System concepts, chapter 17 Distributed file systems. AddisonWesley Publishing Company. ISBN 0-201-59292-4.