Computer Hardware

GPDR113 – Introduction to Information and Communication Technology

Department of ICT Education
Faculty of Science Education
University of Education, Winneba
Introduction
• A computer network is a group of computers linked to each
other that enables the computer to communicate with another
computer and share their resources, data, and applications.
• A computer network can be categorized by their size. A
computer network is mainly of four types:
• Local Area Network
• Personal Area Network
• Metropolitan Area Network
• Wide Area Network

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LAN(Local Area Network)
• LAN is a group of computers connected to
each other in a small area such as a building or
office.
• LAN is used for connecting two or more
personal computers through a communication
medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.
• It is less costly as it is built with inexpensive
hardware such as hubs, network adapters, and
ethernet cables.
• The connection of computers in this lab can
form a LAN.
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PAN(Personal Area Network)
• Personal Area Network is a network arranged
within an individual person, typically within a
range of 10 meters.
• Personal Area Network is used for connecting
computing devices for personal use.
• Personal Area Network covers a very limited
range.
• Personal computer devices that usually form part
of the personal area network are laptops, mobile
phones, media player and play stations etc.
• Wireless PAN uses WiFi and Bluetooth
Wired PAN uses USB to connect to devices
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MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
• A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger
geographic area by interconnecting a different LAN to form a
larger network.
• Government agencies use MAN to connect to the citizens and
private industries.
• In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other through a
telephone exchange line.
• It has a wider range than Local Area Network(LAN).
• Connections between North, Central and South campus forms a
MAN

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MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)

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WAN(Wide Area Network)
• A WAN is a network that extends over a large geographical area
such as within regions, countries, continents and globally.
• A WAN is the biggest network type.
• It is not limited to a single location, but it spans over a large
geographical area through a telephone line, fibre optic cable or
satellite links.
• The Internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.
• A Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of business,
government, and education.

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Internetwork
• An internetwork is defined as two or more computer network
LANs or WAN or computer network segments are connected
using devices, and they are configured by a local addressing
scheme.
• This process is known as internetworking.
• An interconnection between public, private, commercial,
industrial, or government computer networks can also be
defined as internetworking.
• An internetworking uses the Internet Protocol.
• The reference model used for internetworking is Open System
Interconnection(OSI).
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Types of Internetwork
• Extranet:
• An extranet is a communication network based on the
Internet Protocol like TCP/IP.
• It is used for information sharing.
• An extranet cannot have a single LAN, at least it must have
one connection to the external network.

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Types of Internetwork
• Intranet:
• An intranet is a private network based on the Internet Protocol
like TCP/IP.
• An intranet belongs to an organization which is only accessible
by the organization's employee or members.
• The main aim of the intranet is to share the information and
resources among the organization employees.
• An intranet provides the facility to work in groups and for
teleconferences.
• How will you classify the internal network of UEW?

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History of the Internet
• The first workable prototype of the Internet came in the late
1960s with the creation of ARPANET, or the Advanced Research
Projects Agency Network.
• Originally funded by the U.S. Department of Defense, ARPANET
used packet switching to allow multiple computers to
communicate on a single network.
• 1969, ARPANET delivered its first message: a “node-to-node”
communication from one computer to another.
• The first computer was located in a research lab at UCLA and
the second was at Stanford; each one was the size of a small
house.
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History of the Internet
• The message LOGIN was short and simple, but it crashed the
fledgling ARPA network anyway: The Stanford computer only
received the first two letters.
• In the 1970s, Robert Kahn and Vinton Cerf developed
Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP,
a communications model that set standards for how data could
be transmitted between multiple networks. 
• ARPANET adopted TCP/IP on January 1, 1983, and from there
researchers began to assemble the “network of networks” that
became the modern Internet.

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History of the Internet
• The online world then took on a more recognizable form in
1990, when computer scientist Tim Berners-Lee invented the
World Wide Web (WWW).
• The WWW is the most common means of accessing data online
in the form of websites and hyperlinks and should not be
confused with the Internet.

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Domains
• A domain name is an identification string that defines a website.
• Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of the
Domain Name System (DNS)
• The first-level set of domain names are the top-level domains
(TLDs).
• Examples of TLD’s are .com, .org, .net, .info, .edu
• Also country level domains exist e.g. .gh, .in, .uk but these must
follow a TLD
• What is the domain name for UEW?

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Key Terms
• Browser
• Download
• Upload
• E-mail
• Homepage
• Search engine
• Search string
• Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
• Domain

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 Questions and Answers

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