4.1.1-4.1.2 - Network purposes, LANs and WANs
Networks turn separate devices into systems that can share data, resources and work. In 4.1.1 you will explain why computers are connected; in 4.1.2 you will distinguish a LAN from a WAN and justify which one fits a situation. By the end, a school with two distant sites will no longer look like just one very large LAN.
Why connect computers?
Imagine six stand-alone computers in a design studio. Each computer has its own files, only one is attached to the printer, and a technician must visit every computer separately to install an update. Connecting the devices lets them exchange data and use shared resources.
Computer network
A computer network is two or more connected devices that can exchange data and share resources.
The internet is not part of this definition. Two computers sharing a printer inside one room already form part of a network, even if they have no internet access.
Networks are created because a connection can make useful activities possible or easier:
| Purpose | What it makes possible | Linked benefit |
|---|---|---|
| Share data and files | Authorised users can open or edit common work | People can collaborate using the same current data instead of keeping separate copies |
| Share hardware and services | Devices can use resources such as a printer, storage or one internet connection | An organisation does not need to provide every resource separately for every computer |
| Communicate | Users can send messages and work together through network services | Information can reach other users quickly |
| Manage devices remotely | A technician can monitor or change networked computers from another machine | Problems can be dealt with without visiting every device |
| Deploy software and updates | New software or updates can be sent to many networked computers | Devices can be kept consistent with less repeated work |
An exam explanation needs the reason and what that reason achieves. For example:
The studio can share one printer so staff on every networked computer can print without buying a printer for each computer.
The connection also creates shared dependence. If the network or a shared resource becomes unavailable, many users may lose access at once. A connection can also provide a route for malware to spread between devices. The ways networks are protected belong to a later lesson; the important point here is that the benefits come with organisation-wide consequences.
Local area networks
Network types are classified here by the geographical area they cover.
Local area network (LAN)
A local area network is a network that connects devices within a relatively small, limited geographical area, such as a home, office, building or single school site.
A LAN is typically owned and managed by one person or organisation. For example, a school may manage the network covering its classrooms, library and offices on one site.
The number of connected devices does not decide the type. A school LAN might contain hundreds of computers, printers and other devices and still be a LAN because all of them are within one limited area. Adding another computer at the same site does not turn it into a WAN.
Likewise, LAN does not mean "wired", "fast" or any particular physical arrangement. A LAN may connect devices in different ways. Its defining feature in this lesson is its limited geographical coverage.
Worked example
A hospital connects 900 devices inside one hospital building. This is a LAN. The large device count is a distraction: the network covers one limited site and is managed by the hospital.
To recognise a LAN, ask "Are the connected devices within one limited local area?" Do not count the devices.
The next context deliberately includes a large device count. Keep the geographical test in view rather than treating the number as evidence of a WAN.
Wide area networks
Now imagine that the school opens a second campus in another town. Each campus can have its own LAN, but the connection that allows the two separated site networks to communicate forms part of a wider network.
Continue this lesson.
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