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LAN/WAN Engineering
Local
Area Networks: Zebase Local Area Network solutions focus on connectivity and integration
and encompass Needs Analysis, LAN Design, Implementation,
Installation and System Administration. We thrive on integrating
NetWare, SUN * Solaris, UnixWare, Linux, Macintosh, TCP/IP, NFS, Microsoft,
OS/2 LAN Server, IBM and SNA, to provide transparent
file access, application sharing and print services to the
end users. LAN
Design: Zeasbe presents several alternative designs of laying out the wiring, LAN
traffic patterns, LAN segments, backbones, as well as hardware and
software. Our goal is to help you to make an intelligent decision
based on the above mutually beneficial educational process. Client
Needs Analysis: Our
Planning and Design Program provides a complete analysis of your
current information systems, your network, and your objectives for
the future. Zebase System Analysts carefully listen to you to
understand the nature of your business, your current information systems setup and your future short and long term computing
objectives. Zeasbe identifies all the technical, human, growth, &
other factors relevant to your enterprise. Zebase uses this information to provide you with a simple yet
comprehensive report. Implementation: Using
a time-line chart, Zebase shares with you key steps involved in the
installation, estimated installation time and the critical path,
so that you understand and plan accordingly, to minimize down
time.
Installation
of LAN & WAN Networks
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System Analysis & Design
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Hardware /Software Procurement & Installation
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System Operation & Maintenance
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Windows .Net, XP, 2000, NT & Windows Me, 98
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UNIX
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TCP/IP
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Novell
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Software Migration
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Contract Programming
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Telecommunications
History:
What Is a Network?
Stand-alone personal computers, first introduced in the
late 1970s, gave users the ability to create documents, spreadsheets,
and other types of data and save them for future use. For the small business user
or home computer enthusiast this was great. For larger companies, however, it was
not enough. The larger the company, the greater the need to share
information between offices, and sometimes over great distances. The stand-alone
computer was not enough for the following reasons: Their small hard drive capacities were inefficient.
To print, each computer required a printer attached
locally. Sharing documents was cumbersome. People grew tired of
having to save to a diskette, then taking that diskette to the
recipient. (This procedure was called "sneakernet.")
There was no e-mail. Instead, there was interoffice
mail, which was not reliable and frequently was not delivered in a timely
manner. To address these problems, networks were born. A network links two or more
computers together to communicate and share resources.
Their success was a revelation to the computer industry as well as
businesses. Now, departments could be linked internally to offer better performance
and increase efficiency. You have heard the term "networking" in the
business context, where people come together and exchange names for future contact and
to give them access to more resources. The same is true with a
computer network. A computer network allows computers to link to each other’s
resources. For example, in a network every computer does not need a printer
connected locally to print. Instead, one computer has a printer connected to it and
allows the other computers to access this resource. Because they allow users to
share resources, networks offer an increase in performance as well as a decrease
in the outlay for new hardware and software.
LANs vs. WANs
Local area networks (LANs) were introduced to connect computers in a single
office. Wide area networks (WANs) came to expand the LANs to include networks
outside of the local environment and also to distribute
resources across distances. Today, LANs can be seen in many businesses, from small
to large. WANs are becoming more widely accepted as businesses are
becoming more mobile and as more of them are spanning across greater and greater
distances. It is important to have an understanding of LANs and WANs as a service
professional, because when you’re repairing computers you are likely to
come in contact with problems that are associated with the computer being connected
to a network.
Local Area Networks (LANs)
The 1970s brought us the minicomputer, which was a
smaller version of the mainframe. Whereas the mainframe used centralized
processing (all programs ran on the same computer), the minicomputer used
distributed
processing to access programs across other computers. By the 1980s, offices were beginning to buy PCs in
large numbers. Also, portables were introduced, allowing computing to become mobile.
Neither PCs nor portables, however, were efficient in sharing
information. As timeliness and security became more important, diskettes were just not
cutting it. Offices needed to find a way to implement a better means to
share and access resources. This led to the introduction of the first type of PC
LAN: ShareNet by Novell. LANs are simply the linking of computers to share
resources within a closed environment. After the introduction of ShareNet, more LANs sprouted.
The earliest LANs could not cover a great distance. Most of them could
only stretch across a single floor of the office and could support no more than 30
users. Further, they were still simple, and only a few software programs
supported them. The first software programs that ran on a LAN were not capable of
permitting more than one user at a time to use a program (this constraint was
known as file locking).
Nowadays, we can see multiple users accessing a program at one
time, limited only by restrictions at the record level.
Wide Area Networks (WANs)
By the late 1980s, networks were expanding to cover
ranges considered geographical in size and were supporting thousands of users. Wide
area networks (WANs), first implemented with mainframes at massive
government expense, started attracting PC users as networks went to this
whole new level. Businesses with offices across the country communicated as if they
were only desks apart. Soon the whole world would see a change in its way of
doing business, across not only a few miles but across countries. Whereas LANs are
limited to single buildings, WANs are able to span buildings, states, countries, and
even continental boundaries. Networks of today and tomorrow are not limited anymore
by the inability of LANs to cover distance and handle mobility. WANs play
an important role in the future development of corporate networks worldwide.
Although the primary focus of this chapter is LANs, we will feature a
section on WAN connectivity. This section will briefly explain the current
technologies and what you should expect to see in the future. If you are interested in
more information on LANs or WANs, or if you plan on becoming a networking
technician, check your local library resources or the Internet.
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