Basic Computer Networking
Computer networking refers to sharing the data and resources
between two or more computers through the communication
mediums such as Coaxial cables, Ethernet cables, Fiber optics
and wirelessly through the radio waves etc. Today
networking is required by every business in the world that
involves the two or more computers. Networking is
essential for the data transfer, sharing resources, ease
of work, communications, playing games and sharing the internet
connection. There are many standards, technologies, hardware
and software involved in the data communications.
Following are some of the common types of the network.
There are different networking standards and technologies
such as Ethernet, WLAN, Wi-MAX, GRPS, GSM, Bluetooth, CDMA,
Infrared
Types of Network
LAN (Local Area Network). It covers
the location usually within a building.
MAN (Metropolitan Area Network).
A network between two or more buildings in a city.
WAN (Wide Area Network). It covers
the large geographical location usually between the two
cities, two countries and two continents.
PAN (Personal Area Network). It covers
the very small geographical location usually in a room.
CAN (Campus Area Network) It covers the
university campuses.
There are many benefits of connecting the computers with
each other and today many businesses of the world can’t
be performed without the network such as the networks in
the airports, stock exchanges, multinational organizations,
postal departments, banks, libraries, universities and many
other institutes.
Networking Models
There are two common types of the networking models.
- Peer to peer: Peer to peer is a type of the computer
network in which there is no centralized server and every
computer acts as the server and the workstation at the
same time. There is no centralized management and
peer to peer is best in the environments where there is
no management and security is required.
- Client/Server Model: In the client/server networking
model, there is a centralized server computer that is
known as domain controller. A domain controller controls
the whole domain and provides the features such as authentication,
data sharing, printer access, internet access, centralized
data storage and many other features.
Network Devices
A computer network is composed of the following hardware
devices.
Hub/Switch
A hub is a centralized networking device and every computer
is directly connected with the hub or the switch. A faulty
computer does not affect the other computers in the network.
LAN Card
LAN card or Ethernet card is a communication device and
it is being used in every computer in a network. There
are two types of the LAN cards wired and wireless.
Router
A router is a networking device that is used to connect
the logically and physically different networks. A
router is an intelligent device that works as the post office
i.e. it sorts out and distributes the data packets based
on the IP addressees of the source and destination computers.
UTP/STP or Fiber Optic Cables
The computers in a network can be connected in a variety
of ways such as wired or wirelessly. In the wired
network, there are different types of the cables being used
such as UTP/STP, Coaxial and fiber optic cables. UTP/STP
stands for the unshielded twisted pair cable and shielded
twisted pair cable and it is most widely used cable in the
Ethernet based networks. The fiber optic cables provide
a very high speed data transmission at the speed of light.
Network Topologies
There are different types of the topologies. A topology
is a physical layout and design of a network. The
most common topologies are star, bus, mesh, tree, hybrid
and topologies. The star topology is the most commonly
used topology in the Ethernet based networks in which a
centralized communication device such as a hub or switch
is used and every computer is directly connected with it.
