How a Network Work

¶ … breakthroughs since the introduction of computers in our society is the development of network technology. Nowadays, almost all business and companies worldwide are implementing the state-of-the-art capabilities of computer networks. What is a Network? A Network is a collection of computers connected to each other enabling communication between each terminal. Through wires, cables, and devices such as network hubs and switches, computer terminals can form a group of connection which we call network.

Network has 2 types of connection that is based on the location of the connected computers: the LAN, and the WAN. The LAN or Local Area Network is a connection of computers that are located in one same particular area, such as within a room or within a building. WAN or Wide Area Network, on the other hand, is a connection of computers capable of communicating in any location such as computers located in different cities or countries. One best example of WAN is the Internet.

A network provides easy access of information, reducing the need of traveling to a particular place just to do the traditional sending and retrieval of necessary information. A LAN for instance, allows employees of a company to access information from other departments, or communicate with other employees, through computer applications that communicate over a network. Client and Server When computers communicate over a network, regardless of the type of its connection whether a LAN or a WAN, the two important factors of networking is the Client and the Server.

In simple definition, the Client is the interface that makes a request while the Server is the interface that grants the Client's request. To provide a clear definition of the Client and Server terms, let us use a practical example of a WAN service - the Internet. Everyday, the Internet is being accessed for diverse data needs by a large number of users worldwide. The Internet, being the provider of this data service, can be called the Server.

The users who access the Internet and request for data are the Clients. Beyond the Internet as being the Server, there are thousands of other servers within the Internet. The locations from which the Internet users request for web pages are also called servers. Network Service Paths The communication services provided by a network are classified into various models of communication paths. The most popular mode of which is the Client-Server approach.

Having discussed the definition of a Client and a Server, the Client-Server approach is as simple as having a service provider (the server) to all computer terminals (the clients) connected in a network. Each terminal (client) on the other hand can make a service request to the provider (the server). The communication path of the Client-Server approach goes around between the client and the server, and vice versa. Another type of network communication path is the peer-to-peer network. In this manner, there is no specific server within a network.

Instead, each computer terminal can function as a client and a server, providing and requesting data to and from other connected computers. The Process of Network Communication network is formed through the devices used that enable network communication. Such devices include network wires and cables, network interface card (NIC), PCMCIA/PC card, hubs and switches, etc. (M. Angelo). Network wires and cables are the mediums where data is transmitted during network communication. The type of these data transmission lines serves some factors in the performance speed of network communication.

Two types of which are the twisted-pair cable and fiber-optic cable. In terms of the distance a data transmission can reach, fiber-optic is a better cable. Currently, however, a wireless networking has emerged in the field of network technology. Network Interface Card (NIC) enables a computer to connect in a network. This is an internal device that processes data transmission before and after it passes through the network cables. NIC is an interface almost similar to video and sound cards. NIC, however, intends its usability in terms of network functionalities.

For notebook computers, the PCMCIA is an NIC that connects to a network. Hubs and Switches are hardware devices that control and regulate data transmission within computers in a network, as well as from and to a server. Mike Angelo, in his Some Basics for Computing and Networking Novices, defines Hubs and Switches as Hubs and Switches are special central electronic junction boxes where you plug in the network cables from the computers. The Working Network Networks have driving aspects that makes it work.

These aspects are the network's technology, topology, and protocol. Ethernet and Token Ring are two of the many types of a network technology. TCP/IP and IPX, on the other hand, are among the popular protocols (How do Networks Work?) data packet is a network element sent to computers within a network. This packet serves as the storage data space of each computer, which it also sends to the other terminals after storing data in the packet.

How data packets are sent to each computer depends on the type of a network's topology. For instance, a Ring Topology sends data packets to each computer in a circular manner (i.e one computer after another). When a data packet containing information is sent to.