Computer Network

Published by StudyMuch on September 23, 2022September 23, 2022

Computer Network

A Computer Network is a group of Computers located or provided on network nodes sharing data and resources.

A Computer Network or data network is a telecommunications network which allows computers to exchange data using a data link. The connection between nodes (computers on networks are called Nodes) are established using either cable media or wireless media.

Vint Cerf designed the TCP/IP protocols and the internet architecture with his co-designer Robert E. Kahn, those are Known as the “Father of the Internet“.

History of Computer Network

The first commercial modems for computers in the late 1950, a network of computers was built for the US Military Semi-automatic Ground Environment (SAGE) radar system using the Bell 101 modem, which was issued in 1958 by AT&T Corporation. Modems allowed digital data to be transmitted at speeds of 110 bits per second (bit/s) over regular unconditional telephone lines.

Components of Computer Network

• Sender (Device)
  
• Sender Equipment (Encoder)
  
• Communication Channel (Wireless & Cables)
  
• Receiver Equipment (Decoder)
  
• Receiver (Device)
  

Now, you learn uses and features of given above all the types of Components of Computer Network.

Sender – A sender is a device that serves to send messages that may include text, numbers, images, media files, etc. It is also called source or transmitter.

Sender Equipment – An Encoder is a device that converts a digital signal into a form that can pass through a transmission medium.

Communication Channel – it is the physical path that connects the sender and the receiver. It is used to transmitted the data, it also called Medium. The channel can be a Fiber Optics Cable, Microwaves, Copper Wire etc.

Receiving Equipment – A decoder is a device that converts encoded signals into digital form. Thereby, the receiver can easily understand the digital form of the message.

Receiver – Receiver is a device that receives the message sent by the sender. It is also called sync. It is capable of accepting any type of message.

Types of Computer Network

The Computer Network allows computers to connect and share resource with other devices through a medium.

There are three types of computer networks based on area coverage.

1. LAN (Local Area Network)
   
2. MAN (Metropolitan Area network)
   
3. WAN (Wide Area Network)
   

Now, we discuss below in detail about all the types of Computer Network based on area coverage.

LAN (Local Area Network)

LAN is a computer network coverage a small geographical area and is privately owned. The Communication medium used for LAN has twisted pair cables and coaxial cables. The high-speed communication data rates of LAN are up to 1000 Mbps. LAN can be used for an individual service like in home, office building, hospital, schools, colleges etc.

MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)

MAN covers a large geographical area than LAN. It is designed for customers who need a high -speed connectivity and it is usually owned by large organization to interconnect its various branches across a city. The fault tolerance of a MAN is less and congestion in the network is more. Modem and wire/cable are used as transmission devices. It may serve as an Internet Service Provider (ISP).

WAN (Wide Area Network)

WAN covers the large geographical area and it might be restricted with the bounds of a state or country. It could be a connection of LAN connecting to other LAN through telephone lines and radio waves. The technology is high speed and relatively expensive.

The speed of WAN ranges from few Kilobits per second (Kbps) to megabits per second (Mbps). Public pack networks, Large corporate networks, Military networks, Banking networks, Stock brokerage networks, and Airline reservation network are constructed by WAN.

Other types of Networks

Now read the other types of networks used in the different-different places and the range of all the network are also different. Given below all the other types of networks.

WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networks)

WLAN is wireless network communication over short distances. This distribution method uses high-frequency radio waves and often include an access point to the Internet. It is also called Local Area Wireless network (LAWN)

Examples; Mobile Users

SAN (Strong Area Network)

SAN is a high-speed special-purpose networks. It supports data storage, retrieval and sharing of data, multiple disk arrays, data migration from one storage device to another and uses Fiber Channel Interconnection technology.

CAN (Campus Area Network)

CAN is a computer network of interconnected local area networks. It is larger than Local Area network but smaller than MAN. It can also stand for Corporate Area Network.

PAN (Personal Area Network)

PAN refers to the interconnection of telecommunications devices or gadgets such as a laptop, mobile phone, printers etc. around an individual person. It can cover a network range of 30 feet (approximately 10m). It can be constructed by using cables or wireless.

WPAN (Wireless Personal Network)

WPAN is a type of personal area network. It uses wireless communication to transfer data between the connected devices of the user. It is also known as short wireless distance network.

Network Architecture

It is the physical and logical design which denotes to the software, hardware, protocols and the media of transmission of data. Peer-to-Peer (P2P) and Client/Server or tiered are the two types of widely used network architecture.

Peer-to-Peer Architecture

Tasks are allocated to all the devices of the network. There is no hierarchy among the computers and all of them are considered equal. All computer can able to use resources available on this network. This is also known as a distributed architecture. It is mostly used for file sharing.

Client/Server Architecture

The server acts as a hub in which other computer (Clients) are connected. The server manages and provides resources to any client that requests them.

Protocol – Protocol is a set of guidelines for exchanging data over a computer network, such as local area network, Internet etc.

Ethernet – Ethernet is the most widely used LAN technology that defines wiring and signaling standards for the physical layer of TCP/IP. Ethernet was standardized as IEEE 802.3.

So, in this tutorial you learn all about the Computer Network, such as What is Computer Network, Types of Networks, History of Computer Network, etc. And I hope you all read this tutorial well and learn new something about the Computer Network. If you have any doubt, please ask in the comment section.

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