Q: How does a computer in a network access data from the file server? How does a computer use an expansion card to interface with the network? What type of cabling are BNC Coax and Twisted Pair? What are network schemes?
A: BNC -- similar to the cable which connects your television to your cable television converter.
Twisted Pair -- networking cable which resembles telephone wire; the wires are wrapped around one another in such a way as to promote greater signal strength.
Expansion cards fit into the slots in the back of an IBM compatible or
Macintosh personal computer. These slots are often referred to as being 8-bit, 16-bit and 32-bit; something which determines how many bits of data can be worked with or transmitted concurrently.
Each work station, as well as the file server, has a network adapter (a.k.a. "card") and these adapteras are connected via BNC or Twisted Pair telephone cable.
Scheme -- a method of accomplishing something.
Files from the server are accessed via network drives. If a work station 2 hard disks, C: and D: and the file server has 4 hard disks, C:, D:, E: and F:, then the server's drives would become E:, F:, G: and H: as far as the work station is concerned. That is, if the work station has access to all of the drives on the server. I many instances, access to particular drives, even particular directories or files, is restricted. In some methods of networking, work stations can also access each other's drives, modems and printers, as opposed to only having access on the server(s).
