A computer within network called?
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Answer:
A Local Area Network (LAN) is used to connect computers spread over a relatively small area, such as a university campus, or several offices in a building, or a home. The computers on the network can share data, and they can also access printers connected to the network. All of the computers and printers on the network are called nodes of the network.
If your personal computer is connected to a network, it is called a network workstation (note that this is different form the usage of the term workstation as a high-end microcomputer). If your PC is not connected to a network, it is referred to as a standalone computer.
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In order to connect to a network, your computer will need a network adapter. This circuitry and port could be built into the motherboard or it could be on a network interface card (NIC) in one of the computer’s expansion slots. Your computer will also need the necessary networking software installed. Ethernet is the most common networking technology used.
If the computers connected to a network have equal status, it is called a peer-to-peer network. A typical home network might be done this way.
Larger LANs usually have one or more computers that act as file servers to provide data and software to the other computers on the network. The other workstations are referred as client computers, and this is a server/client network. You may also find terminals connected as nodes on a network (terminals have only a screen and a keyboard, and no processing power; they connect over the network to a computer that does the actual processing).
At UNM-A, we have a server (named Chicoma, after the tallest mountain in the Jemez) on our campus LAN that validates your login name and password when you use one of our PCs as a client workstation, and provides files to network clients. Students can also use terminals in building 3 (if we still have any in Room 306) to connect to Chicoma to run software for some of our programming classes. In our Mac lab, we use a peer-to-peer setup to allow the students to get files from the teacher’s Mac.
It is also possible to do wireless networking, and you will see more of this in the future. A wireless LAN (WLAN) uses radio waves to carry the network traffic. They are usually based on the IEEE 802.11 specification, also called Wi-Fi.