Difficulty: Easy
Correct Answer: Client/Server networks
Explanation:
Introduction / Context:
Networked applications commonly follow the client/server paradigm: desktop or mobile clients consume services exposed by server processes over a LAN or WAN. This architecture centralizes data, security, and compute-intensive tasks while providing users with responsive interfaces and shared resources such as files, printers, databases, and web services.
Given Data / Assumptions:
Concept / Approach:
Client/Server networks define a clear separation of roles: clients present the UI and make requests; servers handle centralized services (authentication, storage, application logic). This improves manageability, scalability, and security compared to purely peer-to-peer arrangements. The term “internetworked enterprise” is broader and does not uniquely describe this split; “information superhighway” is a historic media metaphor, not an architecture.
Step-by-Step Solution:
Map the described resource sharing and processing split to the client/server pattern.Confirm that LAN servers provide services (e.g., file, print, directory, database, web).Select “Client/Server networks.”
Verification / Alternative check:
Examples include web applications (browser clients to web/app servers), SMB/NFS file services, and database clients connecting to RDBMS servers. Windows domains and Linux directory services (e.g., Active Directory, LDAP) are emblematic of client/server setups.
Why Other Options Are Wrong:
Internetworked enterprise: Describes organizational scope, not this specific architecture.
Common Pitfalls:
Confusing client/server with peer-to-peer; in client/server, servers are authoritative sources of services and data.
Final Answer:
Client/Server networks
Discussion & Comments