Networking

This page is intended as a general introduction to the topic with more specific clarification of some terms and components given on the specific pages dealing with those topics. The ability to network computers into LANs and WANs has enabled the information boom that has occured within the last 10 years. The internet is a child of networking and developed from the early ethernet advances of the 1960s and 1970s.

Networks A group of computers connected together in a way that allows information to be exchanged between the computers.

 

This image shows all of the main elements of a network

Backbone - The main cabling of a network that all of the segments connect to. Typically, the backbone is capable of carrying more information than the individual segments. For example, each segment may have a transfer rate of 10 Mbps (megabits per second: 1 million bits a second), while the backbone may operate at 100 Mbps.

Bus - A bus is a pathway of wires and connectors that provides the link between input, output, storage, process and control devices. Buses on the mother board are layers of metal photo-chemically etched to create electrical channels. When the buses leaves the motherboard to connect a peripheral device they are relaced with a cable or ribbon. The term bus may also refer to a bus network.

File servers: The controlling computer for a network, other than a peer to peer network, which does not require a server. It will have superior storage capacity and several drives, which may well be one large drive partitioned into a number of smaller drives. (for more information refer to Client-server networks)

Host: A computer system that is accessed by a user working at a remote location. Typically, the term is used when there are two computer systems connected by modems and telephone lines. The system that contains the data is called the host, while the computer at which the user sits is called the remote terminal. (from webopedia)

Hubs: The hub takes a signal that comes from any node and passes it along to all the other nodes in the network. A hub does not perform any type of filtering or routing of the data. It is simply a junction that joins all the different nodes together.

Node - Anything that is connected to the network. While a node is typically a computer, it can also be something like a printer or CD tower.

Segment - Any portion of a network that is separated, by a switch, bridge or router, from other parts of the network.

Switches are a fundamental part of most networks. They make it possible for several users to send information over a network at the same time without slowing each other down. Just like routers allow different networks to communicate with each other, switches allow different nodes (a network connection point, typically a computer) of a network to communicate directly with one another in a smooth and efficient manner. There are a lot of different types of switches and networks. Switches that provide a separate connection for each node in a company's internal network are called LAN switches. Essentially, a LAN switch creates a series of instant networks that contain only the two devices communicating with each other at that particular moment.

Terminal: Computer entry point for a user on a network. There are three types: dumb, smart and intelligent. Intelligent terminals are the most common these days.

• Dumb Terminals: Dumb terminals are display and input devices which don't process data and input locally, instead transmitting input to a computer to which it is connected and displaying the resulting output. These are most commonly used in places like banks and libraries where the terminal has a very defined roll such as looking through a catalogue or processing a deposit into a bank account.

• Smart Terminals: can do some low level processing but not much else.

• Intelligent Terminals: Most network terminals fall into this category. These computers are able to do the same as a standalone but they are connected through to a file server. In fact they probably do not even have the software installed locally. An efficient file server may store the program and the local terminal supplies the processing power.