The network is two or more
computers are connected to one another via a cable of some sort. Before
you even deal with the network tools, you should understand how you're
connected to it. If you print to a printer that two people are using, this
type of connection is called a sharing connection, because both
of you are sharing one printer with two computers. However, you must understand
that all the computers in your school are connected to their server,
or the main computer that controls what each computer with its domain
(territory of computers; all the computers located in a network) is allowed
to do, which is usually located in the library. This connection is called
a LAN, or Local Area Network. However, when these servers
are connected to one another from library to library, this is called a
WAN, or Wide Area Network, which is connected to one main
server. Our main server, called Seovec, is located in Athens, and the district's
domain is WLS Domain (capital letters no spaces).
But how are you connected to one
another's computer? Each of your computers, known as a terminal
if connected to a network, has a
modem which is the number one device
for connecting to the Network. Without it, your network username/password
would be useless. Home computers more often connect with their modems at
their modem speeds, with a telephone line. However, instead of using
their slow modem speed, and little phone lines, the district uses a thick
cable called a T1 line. What can take somebody using a 56k connection
an hour to download information, will only take somebody using a T1 connection
one minute to download! Now that's speed.
The icon Network Neighborhood, found on
the Desktop, lists all the computers in the district connected to the network.
It is here that your school's server can be accessed, and I think the district's
as well. See File Management to learn
how to manage files over the network.
For more on using the network, see Using
the Network.
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