1.7.Peer-to-Peer Networks

• Peer-to-peer networks allow interconnected devices (for example, PCs) to share their resources with one another.

• Peer-to-peer networks are commonly seen in smaller businesses and in homes.

• Scalability for peer-to-peer networks is a

  concern.

1.Client devices (for example, PCs) share their resources (for example, file and printer resources) with other client devices.

Benefit : Peer-to-peer networks can be installed easily because resource sharing is made possible by the clients’ operating systems, and knowledge of advanced NOSs is not required.

Drawback : Scalability is limited because of the increased administration burden of managing multiple clients.

2.Resource sharing is made available through the clients’ operating systems.

Benefit : Peer-to-peer networks usually cost less than client/server networks because there is no requirement for dedicated server resources or advanced NOS software.

Drawback : Performance might be less than that seen in a client/server network because the devices providing network resources might be performing other tasks not related to resource sharing (for example, word processing).