If you work with computers long
enough, sooner or later you’ll hear the terms “client/server” and
“peer-to-peer.” These terms may seem strange at first, but each describes a
particular networking architecture. And each architecture is more suitable for
certain types of businesses. In this post, I’ll explain the differences between
client/server and peer-to-peer networks.
The difference
There’s a huge difference between
client/server and peer-to-peer networks.
Peer-to-peer Networks: - A peer-to-peer network has no central
server. Each workstation on the network shares its files equally with the
others. There’s no central storage or authentication of users.
It should be installed in homes
or in very small businesses where employees interact regularly. They are
inexpensive to set up (comparatively speaking); however, they offer almost no
security.
Peer-to-peer networks are
appropriate only for very small businesses or for home use. A peer-to-peer
network can support about ten clients (workstations) before it begins to suffer
from some serious performance and management problems. Usually, peer-to-peer
networks are composed of a collection of clients that run either Windows NT
Workstation or Windows 98. Windows 3.11, Windows 95, and Windows 2000
Professional also support peer-to-peer networking.
The concept behind peer-to-peer
networking is to share files and printers as inexpensively as possible;
therefore, there’s no main server on the network. Instead, each client
functions both as a client and as a server simultaneously. Since users are
allowed to control access to the resources on their own computers, however,
security becomes very risky in a peer-to-peer environment. There’s no central
security or any way to control who shares what. Users are free to create any
network share points on their computers. The only security on a peer-to-peer
network is at the share level. When users create network shares, they may
implement no security, which means that anyone can have full access to the
share, or they may assign a password to the share. Depending on which
networking platform you use, a user may be able to assign one password to a
share for read-only access and another password for full control over the
share.
Although this arrangement may
sound somewhat secure, it isn’t. The computer that contains the shared
resources doesn’t check on who’s trying to access those resources. Any user can
access them as long as the user knows the password. If someone happens to write
down a password, anyone who finds that password can access the share.
Client/server network: - There are separate dedicated servers and
clients in a client/server network. Through client workstations, users can
access most files, which are generally stored on the server. The server will
determine which users can access the files on the network.
It can become as big as you need
them to be. Some support millions of users and offer elaborate security
measures. As you can imagine, client/server networks can become very expensive.
There are an almost infinite
variety of client/server networks, but all of them have a couple of things in
common. For one thing, all have centralized security databases that control
access to shared resources on servers. In the world of Windows, the server
usually runs NetWare, Windows NT, or one of the Windows 2000 Server products. The
server contains a list of usernames and passwords. Users can’t log on to the
network unless they supply valid usernames and passwords to the server. Once
logged on, users may access only those resources that the network administrator
allows them to access. Thus, client/server networks possess much more security
than do peer-to-peer networks.
Client/server networks also tend
to be much more stable. In a peer-to-peer network, certain shared resources
reside on each user’s machine. If users decide to monkey around and crash their
computers, they could seriously affect their peer-to-peer network (where co-workers
depend on resources that reside on other users’ machines). On most
client/server networks, however, shared resources reside on the server, where
they’re safe from curious users. If a user happens to erase a shared resource
from the server, you can rely on the nightly backup. (It’s very difficult to
back up a peer-to-peer network every night.)
The primary downside to a
client/server network is its cost. Servers can become very expensive. For
example, you could pay over thousands of Dollar for a copy of Windows NT Server
and five client licenses, and that price doesn’t even include the cost of the
hardware, which must be more powerful than a standard workstation. Additionally,
client/server networks require an employee to manage them. Unless you have
someone in your office who’s trained in NetWare or Windows NT Server and in all
of the issues that are involved in client/server networking, you’ll have to
hire someone from the outside. And believe me when I say that qualified
networking professionals don’t come cheap.
I hope this helps…
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