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Chapter 3:
Understanding Networking
Pros for Peer-to-Peer Networks
Peer-to-peer networks offer a number of advantages, particularly for smaller firms,
as follows:
Use less expensive computer hardware
Peer-to-peer networks are the
least hardware-intensive. In a pure peer-to-peer network, the resources are
distributed over many computers, so there is no need for a high-end server
computer. The impact on each workstation is usually (but not always)
relatively minor.
Easy to administer
Peer-to-peer networks are, overall, easiest to set up and
administer, provided that there aren't too many computers within the peer-to-
peer network. Because each machine performs its own administration--usually
for certain limited resources--the effort of administering the network is widely
distributed among many different people.
No network operating system required
Peer-to-peer networks do not require
a network operating system (NOS). You can build a peer-to-peer network using
Windows XP or Vista on all the workstations, or all Macintosh computers for
that matter. These client operating systems include all the features necessary
for peer-to-peer networking. Similarly, you can do this with all UNIX-or
Linux-based computers (although this is much more complicated to set up and
maintain, because UNIX and Linux are very powerful and complex).
More built-in redundancy
If you have a small network, with 10 to
20 workstations each storing some important data, and one fails, you still
have most of your shared resources available. A peer-to-peer network design
can offer more redundancy than a client/server network because fewer single
points of failure can affect the entire network and everyone who uses it.
Cons for Peer-to-Peer Networks
There are also various drawbacks to peer-to-peer networks, particularly for larger
networks or for networks that have more complex or sophisticated requirements. The
disadvantages include the following:
Might impact user's performance
If some workstations have frequently
used resources on them, the use of these resources across the network might
adversely affect the person using the hosting workstation.
Not very secure
Peer-to-peer networks are not nearly as secure as client/
server networks because you cannot guarantee that all of the users will
appropriately administer their machines. In fact, in a network of any size
(say, more than ten people), you can expect that at least a few people will not
follow good administration practices on their own machines. Moreover, the
most common desktop operating systems used for peer-to-peer networking,
like Windows XP or the Macintosh, are not designed to be secure network
operating systems.