COMPUTER NETWORK

 d Networks are commonly categorized based on

their characteristics.
Reference:
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/25597/computer-
network

TYPES

A. PANs / Personal Area Network –

Refer to the interconnection of information
technology devices or gadgets within the environment
of an individual user. These interconnected devices
might include laptop computers, PDAs, cellphones,
printers, PCs or other wearable computer devices.
Also known as a wireless personal network (WPAN).
Reference:
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/5079/personal-
area-network-pan

B. LANs / Local Area Network –

Computer network within a small geographical area such as
a home, school, computer laboratory, office building or
group of buildings. It is composed of inter-connected
workstations and personal computers which are each
capable of accessing and sharing data and devices, such as
printers, scanners and data storage devices, anywhere on
the LAN. LANs are characterized by higher
communication and data transfer rates and the lack of any
need for leased communication lines.
Reference:
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/5526/local-area-
network-lan
 C. MANs/ Metropolitan Area
Network –
Similar to a local area network (LAN)
but spans an entire city or campus.
MANs are formed by connecting
multiple LANs. Thus, MANs are
larger than LANs but smaller than
wide area networks (WAN). It is
extremely efficient and provides fast
communication via high-speed
carriers, such as fiber optic cables.
Reference:

https://www.techopedia.com/definition/8238/metropolitan-area-network-man

D. WANs / Wide Area Network –

Network that exists over a large-scale
geographical area. A WAN connects different
smaller networks, including local area
networks (LANs) and metro area networks
(MANs). This ensures that computers and
users in one location can communicate with
computers and users in other locations. WAN
implementation can be done either with the
help of the public transmission system or a
private network.
Reference:
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/5409/wide-area-network-wan

DEVICES
A. Network Interface Cards -
A computer hardware component that allows a
computer to connect to a network. NICs may be used
for both wired and wireless connections. Also known as
a network interface controller (NIC), network interface
controller card, expansion card, computer circuit board,
network card, LAN card, network adapter or network
adapter card (NAC).
Reference:
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/5306/network-interface-card-nic
 B. Network Attached Storage –
A dedicated server, also referred to as an appliance, used for
file storage and sharing. NAS is a hard drive attached to a
network, used for storage and accessed through an assigned
network address. It acts as a server for file sharing but does
not allow other services (like emails or authentication). It
allows the addition of more storage space to available
networks even when the system is shutdown during
maintenance .A complete system designed for heavy network
systems, which may be processing millions of transactions per
minute. NAS provides a widely supported storage system for any organization requiring a
reliable network system.
Reference: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/26197/network-attached-storage-nas

C. Network Peripherals –
Any external device that provides input and output for the
computer. For example, a keyboard and mouse are input
peripherals, while a monitor and printer are output
peripherals. Computer peripherals, or peripheral devices, are
sometimes called "I/O devices" because they provide input
and output for the computer. Some peripherals, such as
external hard drives, provide both input and output for the
computer.
Reference: https://techterms.com/definition/peripheral

D. Network Devices –
Hardware that operates in a network. A "network" device is a component that makes up the
network infrastructure such as modems, routers and switches. A "networked" device on the
other hand refers to equipment that connects to a network, which includes computers,
printers and most A/V gear (receivers, media hubs and servers, Blu-ray players, etc.), which
operate in an Ethernet or Wi-Fi network or both. Smartphones and tablets all have Wi-Fi but
are considered "mobile devices." 
Reference: https://www.pcmag.com/encyclopedia/term/66760/network-device
  Router –
A device that routes packets from one network to another.
A router is most commonly an OSI Layer 3 device. Routers
divide broadcast domains and have traffic filtering
capabilities. It uses IP addresses to figure out where to send
packets. If two hosts from different networks want to
communicate, they will need a router between them to
route packets.
Reference: https://study-ccna.com/network-devices/

 Switch –
Like hubs, a switch is used to connect multiple hosts
together, but it has many advantages over a hub. Switch is
an OSI Layer 2 device, which means that it can inspect
received traffic and make forwarding decisions. Each port
on a switch is a separate collision domain and can run in a
full duplex mode.
Reference: https://study-ccna.com/network-devices/

 Hub –
A hub serves as a central point to which all of the hosts in a
network connect to. A Hub is an OSI Layer 1 device and has
no concept of Ethernet frames or addressing. It simply receives
a signal from one port and sends it out to all other ports. Here
is an example 4-port Ethernet hub.

Reference: https://study-ccna.com/network-devices/

 Wireless Access Point

A hardware device or configured node on a local area network

(LAN) that allows wireless capable devices and wired networks
to connect through a wireless standard, including Wi-Fi or
Bluetooth. WAPs feature radio transmitters and antennae, which
facilitate connectivity between devices and the Internet or a
network. Also known as hotspot.
Reference:
https://www.techopedia.com/definition/13538/wireless-access-
point-wap
COMMUNICATION PROTOCOLS

- These are formal descriptions of digital

message formats and rules. They are required
to exchange messages in or between
computing systems and are required in
telecommunications. They cover
authentication, error detection and correction,
and signaling. They can also describe the
syntax, semantics, and synchronization of
analog and digital communications.
Communications protocols are implemented in
hardware and software. There are thousands of
communications protocols that are used
everywhere in analog and digital
communications. Computer networks cannot exist without them.

Reference: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/25705/communication-protocol

A. Circuit Switching

 As a method of data transmission, circuit switching is relatively straightforward. It

involves setting up specific design circuits or lines for a network trajectory. With this
particular trajectory established, the sender is free to deliver a series of data pieces to
recipient.

Reference: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/6480/circuit-switching
 B. Packet Switching

 A digital network transmission process in which data is broken into suitably-sized pieces
or blocks for fast and efficient transfer via different network devices. When a computer
attempts to send a file to another computer, the file is broken into packets so that it can be
sent across the network in the most efficient way. These packets are then routed by
network devices to the destination.

Reference: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/5603/packet-switching

C. Addressing

 MAC Addresses
- Address that uniquely defines a hardware interface is called MAC (Media Access
Control) Address. It is purchased by the manufacturer, producing interface hardware and
assigns the MAC addresses sequentially to the interface hardware as they are produced.
MAC address is burned into the ROM of Network Interface Card (NIC). NIC is an
interface hardware that is used by the computer to become a part of a network.

Reference: https://techdifferences.com/difference-between-mac-and-ip-address.html
 IP Addresses
- The address provided to a connection in a network is called IP (Internet
Protocol) address. IP address does not uniquely identify a device on a network but, it
specifies a particular connection in a network. IP address is provided by the administrator
of the network or by Internet Service Provider (ISP). IP address identifies both a network
and the host on that network. IP address is used while routing as it specifically identifies
 a network connection. If your computer is on two networks so, it will have two IP
addresses.
Reference:
https://techdifferences.com/difference-
between-mac-and-ip-address.html
BANDWIDTH
- The capacity of a wired or wireless
network communications link to
transmit the maximum amount of
data from one point to another over
a computer network or internet
connection in a given amount of
time -- usually one second.
Synonymous with capacity,
bandwidth describes the data transfer rate.
Reference: https://searchnetworking.techtarget.com/definition/bandwidth

 Narrowband – refers to data communication and telecommunications tools, technologies

and services that utilize a narrower set or band of frequencies in the communication
channel. These utilize the channel frequency that is considered flat or which will use a
lesser number of frequency sets.
Reference: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/8497/narrowband

 Broadband – a high-data-rate connection to the Internet. The technology gets its name as
a result of the wide band of frequencies that isavailable for information transmission.
 Information can be multiplexed and sent on numerous channels, allowingmore
information to be transmitted at a given time. The standard broadband technology in most
areas is cable Internet and assymetric digital subscriber line (ADSL). The latest
technologies are very-high-bitrate DSL and optical fiber connections. Broadband is also
known as wideband.
Reference: https://www.techopedia.com/definition/794/broadband