To choose a network arrangement, list what the organisation needs (users, sites, shared data, who manages it) and match each need to a network type. Two decisions usually appear: LAN or WAN (how far apart the sites are) and peer-to-peer or client-server (how the devices share resources).
This skill belongs to the networks and communication module and returns in questions about routers, wireless links and safe communication. Every organisation in this lesson is invented.
What are the choices?
A LAN connects devices in one building or site. A WAN connects sites that are far apart, using links supplied by an outside provider.
In a peer-to-peer network every device is equal. Each can share its own files or printer, and there is no central server. In a client-server network one or more servers hold shared files, user accounts and services, and the client computers ask the server for them.
How do I decide, step by step?
- Count the users and devices. A handful points to peer-to-peer; dozens point to client-server.
- Check where the data lives. If records must be central, backed up and protected by logins, you need a server.
- Check the distance. One site means a LAN. Sites in different towns mean a WAN, with a LAN inside each site.
- Ask who will manage it. A server needs someone to look after accounts and backups.
- Write the recommendation with reasons, one need matched to one feature.
Worked example
Harbour Street Dental Clinic is a fictional business. It has 12 computers in one building, patient records that every dentist must see, and a part-time IT helper. A second clinic in another town will soon open and must see the same records.
Step 1, users: 12 computers is too many to manage as equals, so client-server fits.
Step 2, data: patient records must be central, backed up and protected by individual logins. A server stores them once.
Step 3, distance: inside the building the computers form a LAN. The second clinic is in another town, so the two sites need a WAN link, with its own LAN at each clinic.
Step 4, management: the IT helper can create accounts and run backups on one server instead of 12 separate machines.
Recommendation: a client-server LAN at each clinic, joined by a WAN link so both can reach the central patient records.
The mistake to watch for
A common slip is to answer with a definition only.
Mistaken answer: “A client-server network has a server and clients.”
This is true but it never uses the clinic’s facts, so it does not justify anything.
The correction is to add the reason: “Client-server suits the clinic because the 12 users need the same patient records stored centrally behind individual logins.” Another slip is to choose peer-to-peer for a large group because it is cheaper, without admitting that nobody can then control access or back up in one place.
Check yourself
1. Three friends share one printer and swap files from their own laptops at home. Which arrangement suits them?
Show answer
Peer-to-peer. Only three devices, no central records and no one to manage a server.
2. A fictional school has 150 student computers in one building and wants one login per student. Give the arrangement and one reason.
Show answer
Client-server LAN. A server can hold the user accounts and shared work for 150 users in one place, so each student logs in once and staff manage access centrally.
3. A fictional bakery has a shop in one town and a factory in another and must share stock levels. Which network covers the link between the sites?
Show answer
A WAN, because the sites are in different towns and need a link provided by an outside company. Each site still has its own LAN.
Where this leads next
Next, see what actually passes data between networks in explaining a router’s role, then test the whole module with the networks practice set. The ICT practical task and evidence checker helps you turn a scenario answer into a clear checklist.
Some students know every term yet lose marks on the reason. A teacher in online one-to-one ICT tuition can mark your wording against the scenario and show where a reason is missing.