A computer network is an interconnection of computers and computing equipment using either wires or radio waves.

Wireless – networks that use radio waves and can involve broadcast radio, microwaves, or satellite transmissions.

Personal area networks – networks spanning an area of several meters around an individual.

Local Area Network – networks that are a little larger in geographic size.

Metropolitan Area Network – high speed networks that interconnect business with other businesses and the Internet.

Wide Area Network – large networks encompassing parts of states, multiple states, countries, and the world.

Data – information that has been translated into a form more conducive to storage, transmission and calculation.

Data Communications – the transfer of digital or analog data using digital or analog signals.

Interfacing – required in connecting devices to a computer, or a computer to a network.

Multiplexing – transmission of multiple signals on one medium.

Compression – another technique that can maximize the amount of data sent over a medium. Also involves squeezing data into a smaller package.

Network management is the design, installation, and support of a network and its hardware and software.

Workstations – personal computers/microcomputers where users reside

Servers – computers that store network software and shared or private user files.

Switches – the collection points for the wires that interconnect the workstations

Routers – the connecting devices between local area networks and wide area networks.

Nodes – computing devices that allow workstations to connect to the network and make the decisions about where to route a piece of data.

Subnetwork/ Cloud – consists of the nodes and transmission lines.

Protocols – sets of rules used by communication devices

Network Architecture – places the appropriate network pieces in layers.

TCP/IP Protocol

*Application Layer – supports the network applications and might in some cases include additional services such as encryption or compression.

-> Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HHTP) – allow Web browsers and servers to send and receive World Wide Web pages

-> Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) – allow users to send and receive electronic mail.

-> File Transfer Protocol (FTP) – transfer files from one computer system to another.

-> Telnet – allow a remote user to log in to another computer system.

-> Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) – allow the numerous elements within a computer network to be managed from a single point.

*Transport Layer – uses TCP to maintain an error-free end-to-end connection.

*Network Layer – used to transfer data within and between networks.

*Network Access Layer – gets the data from the user workstation to the internet.

- also called the data link layer

*Physical Layer – where the actual transmission of data occurs.