Exam Tips - Client-Server vs P2P

Exam Tips - Client-Server vs P2P

Most common exam questions:

• "What is client-server?" → Central server provides services to client computers
• "Advantage of client-server?" → Central security/backups/management
• "Disadvantage of client-server?" → Server = single point of failure / expensive
• "What is P2P?" → All computers equal - share resources directly (no server)
• "Advantage of P2P?" → No single point of failure / cheap (no server needed)
• "Disadvantage of P2P?" → No central security/backups / hard to manage
• "Why do schools use client-server?" → Central accounts (login anywhere) / central backups / easy management

Key facts to memorize:

Aspect	Client-Server	P2P
Structure	Central server + clients	All equal (peers)
Security	Centralized (easy)	Decentralized (hard)
Cost	Expensive (server)	Cheap (no server)
Failure	Server = single point	No single point

Common mistakes to avoid:

• Forgetting "central" when explaining client-server benefits (central security, central backups)
• Not mentioning server = single point of failure (KEY disadvantage!)
• Thinking P2P means "no server at all anywhere" - P2P means no DEDICATED server
• Missing that P2P computers are BOTH client AND server

Perfect exam answer:

"Explain why a school should use client-server networking" (4 marks):

Central user accounts - students can log in from any computer (1 mark).
Central security - access controls managed in one place (1 mark).
Central backups - all student work backed up to server (1 mark).
Easy management - IT staff can manage from server (1 mark).