Public and private network: examples and disadvantages of using them
A private network is more or less a proprietary network specifically for use by a person or company. I guess you can use a law firm as an example. There are 5 offices and in each office there is a computer connected to each other through the company network. The sole purpose of that network is used to find clients, cases and to perform other work related tasks. Now, more specifically, this network will most likely be a VPN or a virtual private network. What makes this a virtual network? This is a VPN because lawyers working at home or on their laptop break can access the private network securely through a separate internet connection.
The benefits of using a VPN for business needs is that it encrypts all incoming and outgoing data so that it cannot be easily retrieved by someone who should not have access to the information. It has been discovered, usually long after the incident has occurred, that someone has hacked into a network and was able to recover all of the outgoing and incoming data. This data can, and generally does, contain personal and highly sensitive information. Therefore, it is advisable to take an additional step to protect the information.
One disadvantage of using a private network is that you must grant levels of access to certain people. If a problem occurs, which it does sometimes, you most likely won’t be able to reach the secretary to disclose the necessary information because they are warned in advance not to, especially if it’s a highly secure network. Another disadvantage of using a privatized network is the allowed bandwidth, which is always regulated and you may not be able to do much during non-business hours. Also, all traffic is usually throttled, bandwidth limits are set, and it can get extremely expensive during maintenance compared to using a public network.
An example of a public network could be AT&T. More or less, this could be considered more of a WAN than a “public network”. There is the centralized server and then there are the multi-location servers. Public networks are used in more demanding areas of communications, electrical networks, etc. This eliminates the need to have numerous private networks connected to another private network. When you use your cell phone, the network used is actually public even though you receive the bill from an unspecified provider. One advantage of using public networks is that they serve more numerous needs than a simple private network. While a private network may be assigned to a single building, a public network is assigned to a distance of functions and uses. The disadvantages of using a public network are that they are prone to natural disasters, human error, allowed bandwidth, and many other things.