Study Opportunities Computers, part of your life – Grade 11, 2nd Edition

Module 2.1 Local area networks

Written module activity
1. Explain what a LAN is and give a suitable example. (Do not just write down what the abbreviation
means.)
1. A local area network (LAN) is a network which connects computers in a small area such as a school,
university campus or company offices in one building.
2. The CAT department in your school is considering setting up an intranet for the department.
a) Briefly explain what an intranet is.
a) An intranet is an organisation’s private network and is an internet-like environment consisting of
web pages relating to the organisation’s business.
b) Would learners from other schools be able to access the intranet from home? Briefly motivate
your answer.
b) No, the information stored on an intranet is only available to the organisation’s employees or
workers.
c) Give a possible use of the intranet for the CAT department.
c) It could be used for publishing documents such as the exam schedules, past test papers, etc.

3. Name two other hardware devices that one might find connected to a network besides computers.
3. Tablets, smartphones, scanners, printers, servers, switches, etc.
4. The main goal of a network is sharing. Give the three broad types of resources that networks allow one
to share.
4. Hardware, software and data/information
5. Explain what a workstation is in the context of a LAN.
5. A workstation is a computer linked in a network.
6. Servers such as file servers form an important component of networks.
a) What is the general purpose of any server in a network?
a) A server provides shared resources to network users.
b) Give two typical hardware specifications that make a server more powerful than an ordinary
computer.
b) A server will have better specifications such as more memory (RAM) and larger hard drive space.
c) What is the function of a file server?
c) A file server is used to store all the users’ files, as well as other files in shared folders.
d) Give two advantages that a file server presents for network users.
d) Users can access their files from any computer connected to the network.
They do not have to worry about backing up files themselves.
Study Opportunities Computers, part of your life – Grade 11, 2nd Edition

e) Briefly describe the main function of a proxy server.

e) Internet or proxy servers allow users to connect to the internet via this type of server.
f) Besides the function that it performs, give two other benefits of a proxy server.
f) Security control for viruses etc. can be implemented at one central point.
Access to the internet can also be speeded up by storing (caching) recently accessed web pages on
disk.
g) Give two other examples of servers besides file and proxy servers.
g) Print servers, email servers

7. Give two ways that a user might notice or check to see if their computer is connected to a network.
7. Presence of extra (logical) drives such as U, V and T etc. which are simply folders on a server that are
appearing and acting as drives.
Presence of other computers in Network.
Access to devices such as printers not directly attached to the computer is possible.
Indicator showing network activity in the system tray.

8. An advertisement for a computer specified that it had an ‘on-board 1000 Gigabit NIC’.
a) What is the general function of a NIC?
a) A Network Interface Controller (NIC) connects a computer to a network via a cable.
b) What does it mean when we say the NIC is on-board?
b) The Network Interface Controller is built into the motherboard.
c) What does the 1000 Gigabit specification refer to?
c) The maximum speed at which the NIC can send and receive data.

9. What is a switch and what it is used for?

9. A switch is a hardware device used to connect computers in a network with cables so that
communication can occur between the computers.
10. Name the two general ways in which computers can be connected to a network.
10. Using cables or wireless
11. What is a WLAN? Do not just write down what the abbreviation means.
11. A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a LAN with at least part of the network linked wirelessly.
Study Opportunities Computers, part of your life – Grade 11, 2nd Edition

12. Give three advantages of a WLAN over a LAN.

12. Advantages that a WLAN provides:
● It is easier to add or move computers as the network points are not fixed – no cabling is required.
● Installation is far easier than with a cabled LAN as cables do not need to be pulled through walls or
ceilings
● Adds mobility for users with mobile devices such as laptops and smartphones.
● It avoids any clutter in terms of cables.

13. What is the main advantage of using UTP cable to connect a network?
13. It is cheap and easy to install.
14. What is the main advantage of using fibre optic cable to connect a network?
14. Very fast speeds are possible.
15. Your father wants to upgrade his operating system (Windows 7) on his PC at home. He saw an
advertisement for Windows Server 2016. Explain to him why this is not an appropriate choice.
15. Windows Server 2016 is an operating system designed for networks, not for single PC usage.
16. List three disadvantages of installing and using a LAN/WLAN.
16. Any three disadvantages of installing and using a LAN/WLAN:
● A LAN/WLAN can be expensive to install and maintain.
● A network administrator is often necessary to manage the network.
● Network security must be maintained to ensure that the data on the network is kept secure.
● If the file server is faulty, no one can access their files.

17. List three disadvantages of installing and using a WLAN (over and above those mentioned in No. 16).
17. Disadvantages of installing and using a WLAN:
● Less secure than using cables.
● Performance can decrease as the number of computers connected increases.
● Signal could get lost or interfered with due to electronic or electrical interference.

18. Briefly explain why security is such an important issue in computer networks.
18. Network security is important to prevent unauthorised access to information and misuse of the
computer network.

19. Choose the best example of a secure password from the following list of potential passwords. Motivate
why you would not choose each of the others.
a) K8t%
b) 0824431234
c) Simba
d) QWERTYUIOP
e) S@tJ4Z_Bn>1
19. Option (e) is the best one to use.
Option (a) is a very short password, even though it uses a mixture of digits, letters and special
characters.
Study Opportunities Computers, part of your life – Grade 11, 2nd Edition

Option (b) contains only digits and is most probably a cellphone number which can be easily guessed or
‘figured out’.
Option (c) is short and is possibly the name of a pet or someone which can be guessed.
Option (d) follows a pattern on the keyboard and does not contain a mixture of lower and uppercase
letters, special symbols and digits.

20. It is important that an organisation has an Acceptable Use Policy (AUP)

a) What is an AUP?
a) Acceptable Usage Policy (AUP) outlines the rights and responsibilities of users, especially in
networked environments in an organisation and can be used as a contract between the users and
the organisation.
b) Discuss two items that should be included or covered in an AUP.
b) It should educate users as to what is regarded as the ethical, legal and safe use of the computer
facilities, including the internet.
It should outline the policy of using and installing hardware and software.
It should spell out consequences of violating conditions as spelt out in the AUP, etc.