REVISION PAPER
GRADE 7 – ICT/COMPUTING
FOR UNIT TEST 1
NETWORKS
A network is two or more computers linked together to share resources.
Network Hardware:
A router is a device that joins two networks together.
A modem is the technology that converts signals into digital data that can be sent through
telephone lines.
The switch then sends the message directly to that computer and not any of the other ones
connected to the network
Wireless Access Point (WAP) is a device that creates a wireless local area network, or WLAN.
It allows other WIFI Devices to connect to a wired network.
A typical laptop needs 2 NIC (Network Interface Card).
• One allows a network cable to be plugged in.
• The other allows a wireless connection.
CABLES:
The two types of cables are:
• Copper cable is most common cable in a network. Data is sent along copper cables as
pulses of electricity.
• Fiber-optic cable is made up of thin strands of clear fiber. Data is sent along fiber-optic
cables as pulses of Light.
The most important difference of copper cable and fibre-optic cable:
1. More data can be sent at faster speed along fiber-optic cable. Data is sent as light.
Nothing travels faster than light.
2. Fibre-optic cables can be used over long distances than copper, electrical pulses fade
as they travel. Copper cables can only use over of 100 meters.
3. it is cheaper to use copper cable.
ROOMS
Server room is the center of a network. The server rooms contain all the servers in the
network. It also contains hubs and switches so that the rest of the network can be connected
to the servers. Usually placed in an air-conditioned room in a school or office.
Hub rooms does not contain servers. It only has switches and hub. You need the hub room to
connect lots of computers together in a room away from the main server room.
INTERNET AND PACKETS
Server – is a computer on a network which provide services.
Packet Switching – A small amount of data that travels over a network.
IP Address - typically composed of 4 set of numbers from 0 to 255 separated by full stops.
(Example: 113.161.43.27)
Network – A collection of computers, routers and switching connected together.
How a packet travels over the internet?
A computer does not send messages as a single of data over the internet. Any file
that you send over the internet is split into smaller section before it is sent. The small
sections are called packets.
Each packet is numbered so that the message can be put back together in the right
order.
The message is passed from server to server as it finds its destination. There is no set
route for the message. Packets DO NOT always travel the same route. When a server
receives a packet, it must decide where to send it to next, the server will always send a
message along the clearest route. Avoiding slow or blocked routes.
Packets contains 3 important pieces of information:
• The address of the person the message is being sent.
• The sequence number of the packet. It allows the receiving computer to sort packets
into the right order.
• The total number of packets in the message. The receiving computer uses this to
check if it has received all the packets.
CLOUD COMPUTING
Cloud – is a term used to describe the internet. It is a metaphor for the internet.
When you save file in the cloud, it is stored on a large storage device called DATA CENTRE.
The cloud provides SERVICES, there are different services that cloud offers:
CLOUD STORAGE – saving your files into data centers. Providers of such Cloud services to
name some are Microsoft One Drive, Drop Box, and Google Drive.
COLLABORATION – software that lets people in different locations meet using web
conferencing. WEB CONFEFERENCING shows a video of the people talking. Examples are
Zoom, MS Teams, Google Meet.
SOFTWARE APPLICATION – Examples of this are: Office 365, Google Docs, and Google Apps.
WEB HOSTING – If you want built a website, you need a web server to store your web pages.
Advantages:
• Films are available anywhere and on any computer.
• Collaborating and sharing data is easy.
• Data is safe
• Low cost to start with.
• Technical help is available from the company providing the service.
Disadvantages:
• The service might not be exactly what you need.
• The owner of the service can change how it works.
• The owner of the service can increase costs.
• Can be expensive over time.
