What Is a Network Resource?
Network resources refer to forms of data, information and hardware devices that can be accessed by a group of computers through the use of a shared connection. These types of resources are also known as shared resources. They are important in work environments where collaboration is essential to success.
The most common types of network resources in an office environment are hardware, such as printers, fax machines and scanners. Each computer in a network is connected to each piece of hardware wirelessly, making it easy to use the equipment whenever necessary.
Data files are also important network resources shared by those who must collaborate on projects. By sharing information across a network, workers easily can modify and update text documents, spreadsheets and graphic design projects without having to send large files through email or transferring files through portable flash drives. Workers can access files just as if they were on their own computer.
A popular way of sharing network resources is through peer-to-peer transfer through a bit-torrent client. While these programs make it easy to share large files with large numbers of people, they are most often used for pirating media files, such as music, movies, television shows, software and video games. In December 2014, the most popular site for gaining access to these network resources, The Pirate Bay, had its servers raided by police in Sweden.
