Microcomputer to local area network layouts

     Perhaps the most common network layout today, the microcomputer-tolocal area network layout is found in virtually every business and academic environment—and even in many homes. The microcomputer—which also is commonly known as the personal computer, PC, desktop computer, laptop computer, notebook, netbook, or workstation—began to emerge in the late 1970s and early 1980s. (For the sake of consistency, we will use the older term “microcomputer” to signify any type of computer based on a microprocessor, disk drive, and memory.) The LAN, as we shall see in Chapter Seven, is an excellent tool for providing a gateway to other networks, software, and peripherals. In some LANs, the data set that accompanies application software resides on a central computer called a server. Using microcomputers connected to a LAN, end users can request and download the data set, then execute the application on their computers. If users wish to print documents on a high-quality network printer, the LAN contains the network software necessary to route their print requests to the appropriate printer. If users wish to access their e-mail from the corporate e-mail server, the local area network provides a fast, stable connection between user workstations and the e-mail server. If a user wishes to access the Internet, the local area network provides an effective gateway to the outside world. Figure 1-2 shows a diagram of this type of microcomputer-to-local area network layout.

A microcomputer lab,

showing the cabling that exits

from the back of a workstation

and runs to a LAN collection

point

     One common form of microcomputer-to-local area network layout in the business world is the client/server system. In a client/server system, a user at a microcomputer, or client machine, issues a request for some form of data or service. This could be a request for a database record from a database server or
a request to retrieve an e-mail message from an e-mail server. This request travels across the system to a server that contains a large repository of data and/or programs. The server fills the request and returns the results to the client, displaying the results on the client’s monitor.

     A type of microcomputer-to-local area network layout that continues to grow in popularity is the wireless layout. A user sitting at a workstation or laptop uses wireless communications to send and receive data to and from a wireless access point. This access point is connected to the local area network and basically serves as the “bridge” between the wireless user device and the wired network. Although this setup uses radio frequency transmissions, we still consider it a microcomputer-to-local area network layout.