Network

Definition - What does Network mean?

A network is a net-like structure with nodes at each juncture that are connected by veins, lines, filaments or passageways. In computer terms, this network is made up of a number of computers and peripheral devices interconnected by wireless or physical channels to facilitate communication among computer users. Networks allow individual computers to share information and resources.

Computer networks serve a number of purposes including the following:

  • Communications such as email, instant messaging, chat rooms, telephone, etc.
  • Shared hardware such as printers and input devices
  • Shared data and information through the use of shared storage devices
  • Shared software, which is achieved by running applications on remote computers
  • Information preservation (storage)
  • Security such as backup computers and computer systems as well as encryption
  • Increased speed and the ability to complete tasks more efficiently

Techopedia explains Network

Early computer networks of the late 1950s included the U.S. military’s Semi-Automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) and the commercial airline reservation system called the Semi-Automatic Business Research Environment (SABRE). Based on designs developed in the 1960s, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was created in 1969 by the U.S. Department of Defense and was based on circuit switching – the idea that a single communication line, such as a two-party telephone connection, deserves a dedicated circuit for the duration of the communication. This simple network evolved into the present day Internet.

Networks have several basic hardware components:

  • Interface Cards: These allow computers to communicate over the network with a low-level addressing system using media access control (MAC) addresses to distinguish one computer from another.
  • Repeaters: These are electronic devices that amplify communication signals and also filter noise from interfering with the signals.
  • Hubs: These contain multiple ports, allowing a “packet” of information/data to be copied unmodified and sent to all computers on the network.
  • Bridges: These connect network segments, which allows information to flow only to specific MAC addresses based on the history of similar information flow.
  • Switches: These are devices that forward, make forwarding decisions and otherwise filter chunks of data communication between ports according to the MAC addresses in the packets of information.
  • Routers: These are devices that forward packets between networks by processing the information in the packet.
  • Firewalls: These reject network access requests from unsafe sources, but allow requests for safe ones.

There are various types of networks, which are classified according to specific characteristics such as connection types, whether they are wired or wireless, the scale of the network, and its architecture and topology. Network types include local area networks, wide area networks, metropolitan area networks and backbone networks.

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