What's the difference between client/server and peer-to-peer networks? There’s quite a bit, although most of the differences are in two areas – security and cost. Beyond that, your consideration for what you need is largely dependent on budget and the size of your organization.

So, what’s the difference?

A peer-to-peer network has no central server. Every workstation on the network shares files equally with everyone else on the network. This also means there is no authentication of users and no central storage. This model is considered a decentralized form of networking.

Conversely, the client/server network provides a central pool of data and resources, with user profiles established with localized restriction on which data can be accessed. This model is commonly referred to as a centralized form of networking.

Both are good! There’s an old saying, ‘wisdom is what works’. Well, the same is true for your network.
Peer-to-peer networks are great for use in homes or in small businesses where employees interact regularly and share all information and files. They don’t cost much to setup, nor are they difficult to manage. The downside is there’s almost no security (pretty much controlled at an individual ‘share’ level). Once you get more than 8-10 workstations connected, there would likely be an impact to performance and management since each station functions as both client and server at the same time. As each employee manages the sharing of their workstation resources independently, there’s no need to hire additional employees for this purpose.

The traditional model for organizing traffic flow over a network is the Client server. Client server network can grow as big as your company, whether that is ten people or a million. Further, they allow for elaborate and customized security measures. But that’s the downside - they are quite expensive to setup and maintain since they are dependent on centralized databases for controlling access to the shared information stored on the servers. This type of network is also beneficial as it keeps shared resources safe, such that an individual making changes to their own workstation wouldn’t affect the central data or other users on the network. Because of this complexity, it is necessary to hire an employee for the sole purpose of managing the server and associated databases.

Summary

If your business is small and information is shared between a handful of employees, a peer-to-peer network may work just fine without impacting your system performance and at a minimal cost. However, if you can afford it, a client/server is going to be your best option for it allows for future growth and supports a level of security that is optimal for most businesses.