M1 Comparing the Benefits and Disadvantages of Peer-To-Peer and Client Server Networks

Compare the Benefits and Disadvantages of Peer-To-Peer and Client Server Networks

What is a Peer-Peer network?

Within a peer-to-peer network computers communicate between each other without the need for a central server, each peer on the network can provide services which others can use. For example, file/print sharing, peer-to-peer networks are usually cheaper as you don’t have to purchase expensive servers or server software for the network. This is a very small network with a maximum of 10 or under users. Users manage their own machine so there is no need for network managers, as it can be setup through the facilities of the OS which would make it a lot easier to do. There are a lot of home networking books, so that if a peer goes down then only the service from that peer is missing.

What is a Client Server Network?

Within a client-server network all requests for data or services comes through a central server, these servers provide services to the client computers, which are attached to the network. Clients have the ability to use these services provided by the server to carry out tasks (Like Word Processing), However there must be at least one server and one client, compared to peer to peer, the client server network is suitable for larger networks with lots of traffic, this ability for a large amount of traffic is the ideal use of central administration for security, data sharing, resources, applications and backups, however, this would require lot of resources, like management and technicians due to the heavy traffic on the network as well as reliance on it – this increases the overall cost. Users have the ability to log onto different clients and see all the files and programs required, this allows the user to use the profile. The major disadvantage of this network however is that it is dependent on the server it runs on, as a result, if the server brakes the whole network goes down with it.

Comparing the Advantages and Disadvantages of Client Server and Peer-To-Peer Networks

The advantages of peer-peer networks are; they are cheap to setup – due to not requiring much change, as no technician will be required due to each person looking after their own workstation, it’s relatively easy to install new software, all nodes act as a server so there is no need for a dedicated server/centralised storage. There is no additional network software required to set it up, even today, most operating systems already have built in features for the peer-to-peer network.

However, the disadvantages of a peer-to-peer network is that they are not secure this is because the files and folders cannot be easily backed up due to each PC not uploading their data to a centralised storage so in order to back up the system, each system would need to be individually backed up – even after this though the clients are local to the PC so are therefore less secure – this means that all work is local and any user that logs onto that computer can see the work/documents. Following on from each backup being done separately, the network security has to be applied to each computer separately for the same reason above - no centralized server is available to manage/control the access of data. Another disadvantage being that users have to use separate passwords on each computer in the network to ensure that their workstation is secure.

The advantage of Client Server Networks are that when a peer goes down the others aren’t affected – meaning it doesn’t cause as big of a problem as it would if it were a peer-to-peer due to the fact that the data is centrally stored on a server along with other data. There is faster printing with client server due to the fact all printers in the network can be seen and used to print from. The backing up process is even a lot easier as there is a point of central application/resource where each workstation can be backed up remotely/set to backup. Even after all of this, the main benefit of the network is that if a user’s regular computer is broken, they can logon to any computer connected to the network and continue working on as normal – being able to access their usual resources and files.

However, the major disadvantage of Client Server Networks are that they are expensive to set up – due to the hardware and software, the network is quite large so would need expensive networking equipment, this cost would have to include, the servers software, good specification computers as well as high specification networking devices. Also with a client server network the software would need upgraded often, and even at that the network itself is very restrictive on what can be done/accessed from it.