3.2 WHY NETWORK?

 We use a Computer Network for the following reasons:

a) Resource sharing: A network is needed because of the desire to make all programs, data, and equipment available to anyone on the network without regard to the physical location of the resource and the user. Load sharing is another aspect of resource sharing.

b) High reliability: A network may have alternative sources of supply (e.g., replicated files, multiple CPUs, etc.). In case of one resource failure, the others could be used and the system continues to operate at reduced performance. This is a very important property for military, banking, air traffic control, and many other applications.

c) Saving money: A network may consist of many powerful small computers, one per user, with data kept on one or more shared file server machines, which offers a much better price/performance ratio than mainframes. In this model, the users are called clients, and the whole arrangement is called the clientserver model.

d) Scalability: The ability to increase system performance gradually by adding more processors (incremental upgrade).

e) Powerful communication medium: Networks make cooperation among farflung groups of people easy where it previously had been impossible.

In the long run, the use of networks to enhance humantohuman communication may prove more important than technical goals such as improved reliability.

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