Enterprise Technology in Boise, ID, US (United States)

You have a small business with 10 employees with computer workstations, each with an operating system like Windows® 98. You can wire them up so they can 'see' each other, and share their files and printers. Cool. Jane's workstation even has a modem and is set up with an internet access account. 

For the sake of this discussion, we're back at the point where you're serious about getting a decent network in place. But this time we'll take a moment to think about client-server architecture. 

Choosing between the peer-to-peer and client-server network architectures can be daunting in light of the ups and downs of each type. Perhaps the following simple rules of thumb may provide some help: 

But let's assume you can somehow manage to juggle your users' needs and the extra burdens their workstations carry by providing server services to everyone. Consider the type and quality of the services you are presently providing and what you really may want and need as your organization grows. 

In a client-server network architecture, however, certain computers are designated for full-time server duty, while others (such as user workstations) are full-time clients.