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Computer networking is the engineering discipline concerned with
communication between computer systems. Such communicating computer systems
constitute a computer network and these networks generally involve at least two
devices capable of being networked with at least one usually being a computer.
The devices can be separated by a few meters (e.g. via Bluetooth) or nearly
unlimited distances (e.g. via the Internet). Computer networking is sometimes
considered a sub-discipline of telecommunications, and sometimes of computer
science, information technology and computer engineering. Computer networks rely
heavily upon the theoretical and practical application of these scientific and
engineering discliplines.
A computer network is any set of computers or devices connected to each other.
Examples of networks are the Internet, a wide area network that is the largest
to ever exist, or a small home local area network (LAN) with two computers
connected with standard networking cables connecting to a network interface card
in each computer.
History
Before the advent of computer networks that were based upon some type of
telecommunications system, communication between calculation machines and early
computers was performed by human users by carrying instructions between them.
In September 1940 George Stibitz used a teletype machine to send instructions
for a problem set from his Model K at Dartmouth College in New Hampshire to his
Complex Number Calculator in New York and received results back by the same
means. Linking output systems like teletypes to computers was an interest at the
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) when, in 1962, J.C.R. Licklider was
hired and developed a working group he called the "Intergalactic Network", a
precursor to the ARPANet.
In 1964, researchers at Dartmouth developed the Dartmouth Time Sharing System
for distributed users of large computer systems. The same year, at MIT, a
research group supported by General Electric and Bell Labs used a computer
(DEC's PDP-8) to route and manage telephone connections.
Throughout the 1960s Leonard Kleinrock, Paul Baran and Donald Davies
independently conceptualized and developed network systems which used datagrams
or packets that could be used in a packet switched network between computer
systems.
In 1969 the University of California at Los Angeles, SRI (in Stanford),
University of California at Santa Barbara, and the University of Utah were
connected as the beginning of the ARPANet network using 50 kbit/s circuits.
Computer networks, and the technologies needed to connect and communicate
through and between them, continue to drive computer hardware, software, and
peripherals industries. This expansion is mirrored by growth in the numbers and
types of users of networks from the researcher to the home user.
Today, computer networks are the core of modern communication. The scope of
communication has increased significantly in the past decade and this boom in
communications would not have been possible without the progressively advancing
computer network.
Networking Methods
Networking is a complex part of computing that makes up most of the IT Industry.
Without networks, almost all communication in the world would cease to happen.
It is because of networking that telephones, televisions, the internet, etc.
work.
There are two (broad) types of networks in existence at the moment. These are:
Local Area Network (LAN)
A Local Area Network is a network that spans a relatively small space and
provides services to a small amount of people. Depending on the amount of people
that use a Local Area Network, a peer-to-peer or client-server method of
networking may be used. A peer-to-peer network is where each client shares their
resources with other workstations in the network. Examples of peer-to-peer
networks are: Small office networks where resource use is minimal and a home
network. A client-server network is where every client is connected to the
server and each other. Client-server networks use servers in different
capacities. These can be classified into two types: Single-service servers,
where the server performs one task such as file server, print server, etc.;
while other servers can not only perform in the capacity of file servers and
print servers, but they also conduct calculations and use these to provide
information to clients (Web/Intranet Server). Computers are linked via Ethernet
Cable, can be joined either directly (one computer to another), or via a network
hub that allows multiple connections.
Wide Area Network (WAN)
A Wide Area Network is a network where a wide variety of resources are deployed
across a large domestic area or internationally. An example of this is a
multinational business that uses a WAN to interconnect their offices in
different countries. The largest and best example of a WAN is the Internet,
which is the largest network in the world.
In order for communication to take place between computers, mediums must be
used. These mediums include Protocols, Physical Routers and Ethernet, etc. This
is covered by Open Systems Interconnection which comprises all the processes
that make information transport possible.
These different networking methods make data communication possible in many
different situations and provide an internationally accepted standard through
which all computer networking is built upon.
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