In information technology, a computer network is defined as collection of computers, servers, network devices such as switch, router, firewall or other devices connected with each other through wires, optical fibre cables, optical links or through wireless to interact or to share the resources with each other.
The simple example of computer network is when two computers are connected directly with each other using wire or through wireless is call peer to peer network. Another example of network is a mobile phone connected with headset through bluetooth. Or home network with multiple computers and other network devices all connected
In today’s world in 2021 Internet tend to be a more complex and don’t just consist of limited computers but millions of systems where everyone is always connected to Facebook, Twitter & other social networking sites using Internet through their mobile phones. The average speed of computer network is 10 Gbps which is very common and preferred as high-speed network. Redundancy is also another feature which is being addressed very seriously while designing the high speed network which mean if 1 link goes down the within seconds or fraction of seconds traffic will shifted to other link so that critical traffic such are Realtime voice or video should not get impacted.
Usually more than 10+ systems are being configured to work in client-server networks. In these networks, there will be one Computer (referred as Server) which would be providing the resources to all other computers (referred as clients)
What are the advantages of Network?
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1. Communication at high-speed It helps communication at very fast speed. Email is one of the examples in where we can send messages with-in few minutes across world.
2. Voice Communication Phone calls / Internet calls is another excellent example where we are talk to a person who is hundreds of miles away.
3. Hardware Resource Sharing Sharing the resources such as printer, scanner, etc. become feasible & easy in network.
4. File & Application Sharing Accessing or sharing the data & knowledge with everyone across globe using Internet which is referred as Internet Network or Network of Network.
5. Multi-user Network Gaming Now a days there are lots of games which requires network so that multi users sitting across the geographical location can play with each other.
Types of computer network
computer network can be categorized by different factors such as size, geographic location, type of connectivity. Below are the main types of computer network
- Local Area Network (LAN)
- Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)
- Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
- Wide Area Network (WAN)
- Campus Area Network (CAN)
- Personal Area Network (PAN)
Frequently asked questions :-
Q. What are the components required to setup one small network consisting 5 computers?
A: Each computer should have Network Interface Card, one Hub or Switch and respective cables for connectivity.
Q. What is peer-to-peer network?
A: When we connect two end devices back-to-back to form the connectivity is referred as peer to peer network
Q. Can we have common wireless and wired network?
A: Yes, we can have common network which can provide connectivity over wired and wireless. We need to have Wireless access point which will provide wireless connectivity.
Q. What is client-server network?
A: Client-Server network is one in which one main computer provides the services to rest of the computer