Define cost.

• A. The speed of data transmission
• B. General expense for purchasing network components as well as installation and maintenance
• C. The security features of the network
• D. The number of devices connected

Answer: (B)

Cost in networking refers to the total expense required to build and operate a network. This includes the upfront purchase of hardware (like routers, switches, and cables), software licenses, installation labor, and ongoing maintenance, support contracts, updates, and even energy costs or downtime. That broad sense of money spent over the life of the network is what defines cost.

This option best captures that idea: it describes the general expense for obtaining network components as well as the costs of installing and maintaining them. The other aspects—speed (performance), security features (protection), and the number of devices (capacity or scale)—relate to how the network operates or is sized, not to the expenditure itself.