<s>
A	O
flat	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
is	O
a	O
computer	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
design	O
approach	O
that	O
aims	O
to	O
reduce	O
cost	O
,	O
maintenance	O
and	O
administration	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flat	B-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
are	O
designed	O
to	O
reduce	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
routers	B-Protocol
and	O
switches	B-Protocol
on	O
a	O
computer	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
by	O
connecting	O
the	O
devices	O
to	O
a	O
single	O
switch	B-Protocol
instead	O
of	O
separate	O
switches	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Unlike	O
a	O
hierarchical	B-Data_Structure
network	I-Data_Structure
design	O
,	O
the	O
network	O
is	O
not	O
physically	O
separated	O
using	O
different	O
switches	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
topology	O
of	O
a	O
flat	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
is	O
not	O
segmented	O
or	O
separated	O
into	O
different	O
broadcast	O
areas	O
by	O
using	O
routers	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Some	O
such	O
networks	O
may	O
use	O
network	O
hubs	B-Protocol
or	O
a	O
mixture	O
of	O
hubs	B-Protocol
and	O
switches	B-Protocol
,	O
rather	O
than	O
switches	B-Protocol
and	O
routers	B-Protocol
,	O
to	O
connect	O
devices	O
to	O
each	O
other	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flat	B-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
are	O
typically	O
used	O
in	O
homes	O
or	O
small	O
businesses	O
where	O
network	O
requirements	O
are	O
low	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Home	O
networks	O
usually	O
do	O
not	O
require	O
intensive	O
security	O
,	O
or	O
separation	O
,	O
because	O
the	O
network	O
is	O
often	O
used	O
to	O
provide	O
multiple	O
computers	B-Device
access	O
to	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
such	O
cases	O
,	O
a	O
complex	O
network	O
with	O
many	O
switches	B-Protocol
is	O
not	O
required	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flat	B-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
are	O
also	O
generally	O
easier	O
to	O
administer	O
and	O
maintain	O
because	O
less	O
complex	O
switches	B-Protocol
or	O
routers	B-Protocol
are	O
being	O
used	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Purchasing	O
switches	B-Protocol
can	O
be	O
costly	O
,	O
so	O
flat	B-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
can	O
be	O
implemented	O
to	O
help	O
reduce	O
the	O
amount	O
of	O
switches	B-Protocol
that	O
need	O
to	O
be	O
purchased	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Flat	B-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
provide	O
some	O
drawbacks	O
,	O
including	O
:	O
</s>
<s>
Poor	O
security	O
–	O
Because	O
traffic	O
travels	O
through	O
one	O
switch	B-Protocol
,	O
it	O
is	O
not	O
possible	O
to	O
segment	O
the	O
networks	O
into	O
sections	O
and	O
prevent	O
users	O
from	O
accessing	O
certain	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
No	O
redundancy	O
–	O
Since	O
there	O
is	O
usually	O
one	O
switch	B-Protocol
,	O
or	O
a	O
few	O
devices	O
,	O
it	O
is	O
possible	O
for	O
the	O
switch	B-Protocol
to	O
fail	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Since	O
there	O
is	O
no	O
alternative	O
path	O
,	O
the	O
network	O
will	O
become	O
inaccessible	O
and	O
computers	B-Device
may	O
lose	O
connectivity	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Scalability	O
and	O
speed	O
–	O
Connecting	O
all	O
the	O
devices	O
to	O
one	O
central	O
switch	B-Protocol
,	O
either	O
directly	O
or	O
through	O
hubs	B-Protocol
,	O
increases	O
the	O
potential	O
for	O
collisions	O
(	O
due	O
to	O
hubs	B-Protocol
)	O
,	O
reduced	O
speed	O
at	O
which	O
the	O
data	O
can	O
be	O
transmitted	O
and	O
additional	O
time	O
for	O
the	O
central	O
switch	B-Protocol
to	O
process	O
the	O
data	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
scales	O
badly	O
and	O
increases	O
the	O
chance	O
of	O
the	O
network	O
failing	O
if	O
excessive	O
hubs	B-Protocol
are	O
used	O
and	O
there	O
are	O
not	O
enough	O
switches	B-Protocol
to	O
control	O
the	O
flow	O
of	O
the	O
data	O
through	O
the	O
network	O
.	O
</s>
