Networks and servers: Connect your staff and secure your business

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Benefits of a computer network

• Enable remote/flexible working easily and securely

• Keep your IT system safe from hackers, junk mail and viruses

• Set up calendars, documents, orders and other business data in a central location that the right people can access at all times

• Share printers, faxes and other peripherals

What is a network?

A network links computers together so that they can access shared resources like Internet connections, files, faxes and printers. Network links are made using wires that are similar to phone cables but increasingly businesses use wireless networks which use radio links instead of physical connections.

Sometimes businesses set up an ad-hoc network without a server, sometimes called a peer-to-peer network. This can work very well when there are only a couple of PCs to connect, but it does not offer the flexibility, ease of management, reliability or security of a server-based network.

A server computer running a network operating system like Microsoft SBS 2003 sits in the heart of a network and makes it all tick. Without a server, a network is a bit like a motorway system that doesn't go to any cities.