What is a computer network? In simple terms, a computer network is a group of connected computers that allow the sharing of information and equipment. The most ordinary network is made up of two computers connected by some kind of cable in order to exchange information more quickly and efficiently. A standalone computer is very useful to many businesses, but without a network, those businesses would have to spend twice the amount of money then they would have to by having a network. A network allows many computers and peripheral devices such as printers and facsimile machines to be connected to each other. The two primary benefits of computer networking are sharing devices and data sharing.

             There are two basic types of networks: peer-to-peer and server-based. On a peer-to-peer network, any computer can act as a server to share resources with other machines and as a client to access resources from other machines. On the other hand, server-based networks require a server computer whose job is to respond to requests for services or resources from clients elsewhere on the network. Server-based networks are used in many and most organizations today. Although there is much advantage to server-based networks such that it centralizes user accounts and eases maintenance with a lot less need for administration, there are some disadvantages as well. One of the greatest and most common disadvantages is server failure. When the server fails, the whole system is considered useless until the server is fixed. That may cut down productivity and rise expenses. As well, in order to cut down on server failure special-purpose server software and hardware and expert staff is required. This may also rise expenses, but in the long run it may turn out to be very profitable.

             Before all this is said and done, a network layout in other words the topology of the network must be determined. The term topology not only refers to the physical layout but how the computers, cables and other resources communicate with each other.