Computer network

A computer network or data network is a telecommunications network that allows

computers to exchange data. In computer networks, networked computing devices pass
data to each other along data connections. The connections (network links) between
nodes are established using either cable media or wireless media. The best-known
computer network is the Internet.
etwork computer devices that originate, route and terminate the data are called network
nodes. odes can include hosts such as personal computers, phones, servers as well as
networking hardware. Two such devices are said to be networked together when one
device is able to exchange in!ormation with the other device, whether or not the" have a
direct connection to each other.
Computer networks support applications such as access to the #orld #ide #eb, shared
use o! application and storage servers, printers, and !ax machines, and use o! email and
instant messaging applications. Computer networks di!!er in the ph"sical media used to
transmit their signals, the communications protocols to organi$e network tra!!ic, the
network%s si$e, topolog" and organi$ational intent.
Network topology
The ph"sical la"out o! a network is usuall" less important than the topolog" that connects
network nodes. &ost diagrams that describe a ph"sical network are there!ore topological,
rather than geographic. The s"mbols on these diagrams usuall" denote network links and
network nodes.
Network links
The communication media used to link devices to !orm a computer network include
electrical cable ('ome(A, power line communication, ).hn), optical !iber (!iber-optic
communication), and radio waves (wireless networking). In the *+I model, these are
de!ined at la"ers , and - . the ph"sical la"er and the data link la"er.
A widel" adopted family o! communication media used in local area network (/A)
technolog" is collectivel" known as 0thernet. The media and protocol standards that
enable communication between networked devices over 0thernet are de!ined b" I000
12-.3. 0thernet transmit data over both copper and !iber cables. #ireless /A standards
(e.g. those de!ined b" I000 12-.,,) use radio waves, or others use in!rared signals as a
transmission medium. (ower line communication uses a building%s power cabling to
transmit data.
Wired technologies
4iber optic cables are used to transmit light !rom one computer5network node to
another
The orders o! the !ollowing wired technologies are, roughl", !rom slowest to !astest
transmission speed.
Twisted pair wire is the most widel" used medium !or all telecommunication.
Twisted-pair cabling consist o! copper wires that are twisted into pairs. *rdinar"
telephone wires consist o! two insulated copper wires twisted into pairs.
Computer network cabling (wired 0thernet as de!ined b" I000 12-.3) consists o!
6 pairs o! copper cabling that can be utili$ed !or both voice and data transmission.
The use o! two wires twisted together helps to reduce crosstalk and
electromagnetic induction. The transmission speed ranges !rom - million bits per
second to ,2 billion bits per second. Twisted pair cabling comes in two !orms7
unshielded twisted pair (8T() and shielded twisted-pair (+T(). 0ach !orm comes
in several categor" ratings, designed !or use in various scenarios.
Coaxial cable is widel" used !or cable television s"stems, o!!ice buildings, and
other work-sites !or local area networks. The cables consist o! copper or
aluminum wire surrounded b" an insulating la"er (t"picall" a !lexible material
with a high dielectric constant), which itsel! is surrounded b" a conductive la"er.
The insulation helps minimi$e inter!erence and distortion. Transmission speed
ranges !rom -22 million bits per second to more than 922 million bits per second.
IT8-T ).hn technolog" uses existing home wiring (coaxial cable, phone lines and
power lines) to create a high-speed (up to , )igabit5s) local area network.
An optical fiber is a glass !iber. It carries pulses o! light that represent data. +ome
advantages o! optical !ibers over metal wires are ver" low transmission loss and
immunit" !rom electrical inter!erence. *ptical !ibers can simultaneousl" carr"
multiple wavelengths o! light, which greatl" increases the rate that data can be
sent, and helps enable data rates o! up to trillions o! bits per second. *ptic !ibers
can be used !or long runs o! cable carr"ing ver" high data rates, and are used !or
undersea cables to interconnect continents.
(rice is a main !actor distinguishing wired- and wireless-technolog" options in a
business. #ireless options command a price premium that can make purchasing
wired computers, printers and other devices a !inancial bene!it. :e!ore making the
decision to purchase hard-wired technolog" products, a review o! the restrictions
and limitations o! the selections is necessar". :usiness and emplo"ee needs ma"
override an" cost considerations.
Wireless technologies
Computers are ver" o!ten connected to networks using wireless links
Terrestrial microwave ; Terrestrial microwave communication uses 0arth-based
transmitters and receivers resembling satellite dishes. Terrestrial microwaves are
in the low-gigahert$ range, which limits all communications to line-o!-sight.
<ela" stations are spaced approximatel" 61 km (32 mi) apart.
Communications satellites ; +atellites communicate via microwave radio waves,
which are not de!lected b" the 0arth%s atmosphere. The satellites are stationed in
space, t"picall" in geos"nchronous orbit 39,622 km (--,222 mi) above the
e=uator. These 0arth-orbiting s"stems are capable o! receiving and rela"ing voice,
data, and T> signals.
Cellular and PCS systems use several radio communications technologies. The
s"stems divide the region covered into multiple geographic areas. 0ach area has a
low-power transmitter or radio rela" antenna device to rela" calls !rom one area to
the next area.
Radio and spread spectrum technologies ; #ireless local area networks use a
high-!re=uenc" radio technolog" similar to digital cellular and a low-!re=uenc"
radio technolog". #ireless /As use spread spectrum technolog" to enable
communication between multiple devices in a limited area. I000 12-.,, de!ines a
common !lavor o! open-standards wireless radio-wave technolog" known as #i!i.
Free-space optical communication uses visible or invisible light !or
communications. In most cases, line-o!-sight propagation is used, which limits the
ph"sical positioning o! communicating devices.
Exotic technologies
There have been various attempts at transporting data over exotic media7
I( over Avian Carriers was a humorous April !ool%s <e=uest !or Comments, issued
as RFC 1149. It was implemented in real li!e in -22,
0xtending the Internet to interplanetar" dimensions via radio waves
:oth cases have a large round-trip dela" time, which gives slow two-wa"
communication, but doesn%t prevent sending large amounts o! in!ormation.
Network nodes

Apart !rom the ph"sical communications media described above, networks comprise
additional basic s"stem building blocks, such as network inter!ace controller (ICs),
repeaters, hubs, bridges, switches, routers, modems, and !irewalls.
Network interfaces
An AT& network inter!ace in the !orm o! an accessor" card. >er" man" network
inter!aces are built-in.
A network inter!ace controller (IC) is computer hardware that provides a computer with
the abilit" to access the transmission media, and has the abilit" to process low-level
network in!ormation. 4or example the IC ma" have a connector !or accepting a cable,
or an aerial !or wireless transmission and reception, and the associated circuitr".
The IC respond to tra!!ic addressed to a network address !or either the IC or the
computer as a whole.
In 0thernet networks, each network inter!ace controller has a uni=ue &edia Access
Control (&AC) address.usuall" stored in the controller%s permanent memor". To avoid
address con!licts between network devices, the Institute o! 0lectrical and 0lectronics
0ngineers (I000) maintains and administers &AC address uni=ueness. The si$e o! an
0thernet &AC address is six octets. The three most signi!icant octets are reserved to
identi!" IC manu!acturers. These manu!acturers, using onl" their assigned pre!ixes,
uni=uel" assign the three least-signi!icant octets o! ever" 0thernet inter!ace the" produce.
Repeaters and hubs
A repeater is an electronic device that receives a network signal, cleans it o! unnecessar"
noise, and regenerates it. The signal is retransmitted at a higher power level, or to the
other side o! an obstruction, so that the signal can cover longer distances without
degradation. In most twisted pair 0thernet con!igurations, repeaters are re=uired !or cable
that runs longer than ,22 meters. #ith !iber optics, repeaters can be tens o! even
hundreds o! kilometers apart.
A repeater with multiple ports is known as a hub. <epeaters work on the ph"sical la"er o!
the *+I model. <epeaters re=uire a small amount o! time to regenerate the signal. This
can cause a propagation dela" that a!!ects network per!ormance. As a result, man"
network architectures limit the number o! repeaters that can be used in a row, e.g., the
0thernet 9-6-3 rule.
'ubs have been mostl" obsoleted b" modern switches? but repeaters are used !or long
distance links, notabl" undersea cabling.
ridges
A network bridge connects and !ilters tra!!ic between two network segments at the data
link la"er (la"er -) o! the *+I model to !orm a single network. This breaks the network%s
collision domain but maintains a uni!ied broadcast domain. etwork segmentation breaks
down a large, congested network into an aggregation o! smaller, more e!!icient networks.
:ridges come in three basic t"pes7
/ocal bridges7 @irectl" connect /As
<emote bridges7 Can be used to create a wide area network (#A) link between
/As. <emote bridges, where the connecting link is slower than the end
networks, largel" have been replaced with routers.
#ireless bridges7 Can be used to Aoin /As or connect remote devices to /As.