Network Natter


This week takes a little look at the mystical world of networks. You have probably seen strange boxes that flash in the office - you know - the ones with half a mile of cables hanging out of the back! This article explains in simple terms some of the jargon.

Protocol

A protocol is a set of laid down set of rules for how two or more devices communicate with one another. Protocols are needed so that the Internet can actually work. Without them, different makes of computer components wouldn't be able to "talk" to one another. The result would be a rather limited Internet! The protocol used on the Internet is TCP/IP - Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol.

LAN - Local Area Network

A LAN is used to connect computers and devices together so that resources can be shared (printers, files, devices etc). Typically a LAN will cover all the devices in a building but it is possible to have a building's resources split into smaller LAN's. If you want to connect more than one building, you need to use a WAN.

WAN - Wide Area Network

A WAN is used to connect LAN's at different locations together. Usually a WAN will not be private (although that it can be) as WAN's will use public telephone systems to connect locations together.

Router

A "box" that contains the IP addresses of LAN's at different locations to form a WAN. Routers will often contain more than one address so that if there is a problem with one address, an alternate "route" can be found.

Switch

A device on a network that allows alternate pathways, from one device to another to be established. Alternate routes may become necessary if a device goes down or is subject to heavy Ethernet collisions.

Ethernet

A networking protocol established in the 1970's allowing devices to be connected in series (as opposed to a ring). Originally intended to be a "wire less" this gave rise to the name - "Ether" (something that floats around in the ether) and "Net" - Network. Unfortunately, the wire less version never worked but the name was adopted for what is today known as an Ethernet network. Devices on the network communicate when the bus is free. However, this can result in 2 devices using the bus at the same time, which result in a collision. When a collision occurs, the devices attempt to re-send after a random amount of time has elapsed.

Token Ring

Network protocol that places each device in a ring. This is achieved by the use of a "token" that is passed from one device to the next. Only a device that has the token can send data at any one time. As only one device can communicate at any one time, there are no collisions. IBM adopted token Ring for use on their networks.

The copyright of the article Network Natter in PC Support is owned by Chris Cruickshank. Permission to republish Network Natter in print or online must be granted by the author in writing.

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