Your guide to Networking basics

Networking more than one computer is done for various purposes. The primary reason is to access the file that is located in a remote computer. When the computers are connected in a network then accessing data across different computers became very easier. For performing larger computations, data is spread across different computers called nodes and these computers perform different parts of the computation and the final computation is completed by the main server.

Remote I/O devices can also be used for giving input and getting output from the computer. The internet which is a network of networks has enabled accessing data that is present in any part of the world. The internet uses the client server technology where multiple clients across the world request information from the server which hosts the files. The servers are also distributed across different countries. Other small networks may use the peer to peer connection for communication.

The network is formed with computers that use different technologies. The hardware and the operating systems that are used in the computers connected in the network vary. Also the connection media are also available in different forms. Connection is done with the use of telephone lines, optical cables, radios and even wireless communication is possible. To connect different platforms, a common communication standard is required. The ISO standard for networking computers is the OSI reference model.

The standard specifies the voltage that is used for representing 0 and 1, character coding, transfer of messages across different machines and the machine identification. The communication standard also identifies the names and number of the machine. Putting it straight, a communication standard defines the way the computers talk when they are connected to form a network.

The OSI reference model uses 7 layers to handle the different stages of communication. The layers are named as application, presentation, session, transport, network, data link and physical layer. The lowermost physical layer handles the actual physical connection between two machines. A protocol defines the communication language between the computers. The TCP/IP protocol has been used in communication till now and it provides all the requisites for a network. The protocol may use the connectionless or the connection oriented service depending on the needs of the connection.

The networks are named based on the number of computers that are connected and the area of network coverage. When the network connects computers in a single building it is called the local area network (LAN). If the computers connected spread across different buildings, then the network is called wide area network (WAN). The wide area network covers computers in cities and states. The computers across the countries are connected with the help of internet.