Know your BIOS

BIOS

BIOS is just a short form of Basic Input and Output system. The BIOS in Computer or system is stored in a ROM chip / IC chip found in motherboards that lets you access and setup your system. It is a kind of Firmware. 

This requires instructions on how to load basic computer hardware. It is a link between the operating system (OS) and Hardware components such as hard disks, keyboard, mouse etc. It includes a test known as a POST (Power-On-Self-Test) that helps verify the computer meets the requirements to boot up properly.

We must have heard about BIOS password at somewhere.

BIOS password is the extreme strong password that is used to lock the hardware in the system and makes your system completely unusable. 

How to access BIOS

To enter the BIOS screen you might have seen or know, some keys are pressed during booting time. Many of us aware, when we configure system for the first time, even we follow the same processing to load the booting sequence or selecting the booting device to external drive to install software. 

The key sometimes is F2, F8, Del, F12 depending upon the manufacturer. Read the instructions clearly before trying anything else.

That screen is known as BIOS screen. 

Options you can navigate on BIOS screen are Boot order, Time change, Drive Partition help, formatting requirement, general over clocking settings, secure boot and Fast booting, BIOS password.  

So, this was just a basic thing to know about BIOS. 

Thanks

-DR

Wide Area Network

Wide Area Network (WAN)

A wide-area network or WAN is a computer network that connects smaller networks or LANs. Since WANs are not tied to a specific location, they allow localized networks to communicate with one another across great distances. They also help communication and the sharing of information between devices from anywhere in the world.

For example, in an enterprise, a WAN is formed to connect branch offices with one another or to join remote employees working at home with the company's main office.

As WAN covers wide geographical area, it can be via wired or wireless. Wireless WAN can use, GSM, 3G, 4G, LTE network and in case of wired WAN, it can be used through copper wire, fibre wire through leased line connectivity, broadband connectivity.

As per studies found the first known WAN was created by the U.S. Air Force in the late 1950s to interconnect its several sites in the Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) radar defense system. It was an enormous network of dedicated phone lines, telephones, and modems linked the sites together.

The foundation of the IP-based Internet started with the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET), the first wide-area packet-switching network with distributed control and the first network to implement TCP/IP protocol suite.

Designing WAN

Building a WAN requires the support of a third-party service provider or internet service provider (ISP) who will provide a link to your location. It also requires networking equipment like routers and switches at its all locations.

While designing the WAN network, it should be in such a way and capable of communication of voice, data and video in an efficient way. The internet bandwidth should be in optimized way.

The Network shall have industry efficient compression engine to optimize bandwidth utilization.

Advantages

• WAN generally covers large geographical areas.
• You can get benefit of having centralized data by using WAN you can share the data connected to all the devices in the respective network.
• Corporate LAN sometimes uses leased lines. By using leased lines means that there are more bandwidths compared to a standard broadband connection and can help in business improvement.

Disadvantages

• Security Issue
• Installation or implementation cost
• Down time issue or disconnection issue
• Maintenance problem

We will cover more later. 

-DR