Computer networking refers to connecting two or more computers with each other and sharing data and resources. Computers can get connected with each other in a variety of ways i.e. through the cables and without cables. The network cable includes UTP/STP, coaxial and fiber optic cables. The wireless network uses radio and electromagnetic waves as the medium. There are three major types of a network such as LAN, MAN and WAN. There are different communication standards and every computer need to follow these standards in order to send and receive the data.
These communication standards are known as protocols. TCP/IP is the most common communication protocol in the LAN/WAN and on internet. TCP/IP is a suite of protocols that contains approx thousands of the protocols including FTP, DHCP, SMTP, NNTP, LDAP, Telnet, UDP and others. A computer network is designed in a different ways known as physical architecture, design or topology. In the Ethernet network, the start topology is the most commonly used topology.
In the star topology, centralized device known as hub or switch is used and every computer is directly connected with it. There are two major architectures of the network such as client server and peer to peer. Computer networking provides the flexibility, easy of work, fast communications, data and resources sharing, internet sharing and communicating with the remote computer.
Today every business in the world requires communications, interaction with the remote customers, online order processing, interaction with the employees and sending receiving data within the organization’s network.
Network Devices
There are different communication devices that are used to connect different local and remote computers with each other and to share data.
Hub
Hub is network communication device that is used in the LAN. In the Ethernet based network, every computer is directly connected with the hub.
Switch
Switch is the advance form of the hub and plays the same functions except that the hub broadcast the data packets to all the computers and Switch sends the data only to the destined computer.
Router
A router is a LAN/WAN communication device that is used to connect two LANs, a LAN with WAN and a WAN with WAN. Router connects two logically and physically different networks.
Bridge
A bridge is a communication device that bridges, routes the traffic between two different segments of a network.
Modem
A modem is a communication device that is used for the modulation and the demodulation the data signals over the telephone lines.
LAN Card
The LAN card is also know as the Ethernet card and is used every computer of the wired and wireless network.