Managing institutional expectations

connected to the central hub, many of them are connected to a secondary hub which in turn connects to the central hub.

Fig 68: Source:https://www.itrelease.com/2019/06/what-is-tree-topology-with-example/

Advantages of Tree Topology

i. More computers are connected to a single hub. This ensures increase in the distance a signal can travel between computers

ii. The network isolates and prioritizes communication between computers Disadvantages of Tree Topology

i. Failure of the central hub means that the entire system will fail ii. The cost of cabling is more

Fig 69: Source: https://www.itrelease.com/2019/06/what-is-ring-topology-with-example/

Advantages of Ring Topology

i. Monopoly of network is restricted because every computer is given equal access to the token

ii. Ring topology is suitable for optical fibres iii. It require less cabling like the bus topology Disadvantages of Ring Topology

i. Failure of one computer affects the entire system ii. It makes troubleshooting difficult

iii. Network reconfiguration is also difficult 3.1.6 TYPES OF NETWORKS

In this section we will discuss various categories in which networks are classified. The distance between computers that are connected to a network determines a network type. There are five (5) types of networks, they include: Local Area Network (LAN), Wide Area Network (WAN), Metropolitan Area Network (MAN), Wireless Networks and Internet.

1. Local Area Network (LAN): This is the type of network that is designed to function over a small physical area such as offices, homes etc. It is widely used in a variety of applications. In the library, it can be used to connect a small number of computers which share information with one another.

Fig 70: Source: https://techterms.com/definition/lan

They are easy to design, maintain and troubleshoot. Information sharing among computers is easy because all the computers are connected in a single cable topology such as Ring, Bus, Star and Tree are used in LAN.

2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN): This type of network is a bigger version of LAN and uses the same technology as LAN. It is designed to extend over an entire city. It can be a single network and it can also serve as a means of connecting a number of LANs to a larger network. A typical example of MAN could be seen in universities, government buildings and residential areas which connect to each other over the network. Libraries can also use MAN to share and create access to information resources over the network.

Fig 71:Source:https://www.sciencedirect.com/topics/computer-science/metropolitan-area-networks

MAN can be owned and operated by private companies or it can be a service provider by a public company such as telephone companies etc.

3. Wide Area Network (WAN): In this type of network, computers are connected to each other at a widely separated location. It might be within a country, continent or the whole world. They are basically a packet switching networks.

Fig 72: Source: itrelease.com/2018/07/advantages-and-disadvantages-of-wide-area-network-wan/

Most WANs are used for transferring large blocks of data between users. The time is takes for data transfer is not a critical parameter because the data is from an already existing records or files. They are mostly not used for real time applications.

4. Wireless Network: Wireless networks are becoming increasingly used in everyday life. It is the type of network whereby computers are connection to each other using a wireless data connection.

Fig 73: Source: https://www.cablefree.net/wirelesstechnology/wireless-lan/

It can be used in distant buildings and areas, examples of wireless networks include telephone networks, Bluetooth connections, hotspot tethering, satellite communications etc.

5. The internet: The internet is a collection of networks located all over the world and connected by gateways. The gateway accepts information from the source network and checks its routing to see its destination.

Fig 74: Source: https://www.stambol.com/2018/12/03/the-future-of-the-internet-of-things/

3.1.7 NETWORK OPERATING SYSTEMS: A network operating system (NOS) is a computer operating system that is intended to support computers connected to a LAN such as personal computers, workstations to enable them share and communicate with each other.

Fig 75: Source: https://medium.com/@blogstevej327stuff/what-is-network-operating-system-16a73eda23f9

It is widely used in Microsoft Windows server, Novell open enterprise server and UNIX (TechnologyUK, 2021). It assists individual computers to perform and process operations which can either run on the same or different operating system. Network operating system uses a server programme which is capable of providing security, manages data and other functionalities in a network.

Advantages of Network Operating systems

i. It can effectively create and manage user accounts.

ii. It facilitates the sharing of resources in the sever.

iii. It assists in providing back up for the computers.

iv. It monitors and manages the use of the network.

v. It assists in troubleshooting the network.

List of Network Operating systems

This following is a list of network operating systems available for use S/N Network

Operating System

Features

1 Stratum Supported by a broad spectrum of organizations from across the networking industry. Stratum exposes a set of next-generation SDN interfaces including P4Runtime and OpenConfig, enabling interchangeability of forwarding devices and programmability of forwarding behaviors.

2 Cumulus Networks

Cumulus Linux is a Debian based Linux distribution that runs on a variety of commodity hardware.

3 Big Switch