Posts Tagged ‘Local Area Network’

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Computer Networking

March 21st, 2010



Computer networking is a process of sharing data and shared resources between two or more connected computers. The shared resources can include printer, Fax modem, Hard disk, CD – DVD Rom, Database and the data files. A computer network can be divided into a small or local area network, a networking between computers in a building of a office (LAN), medium sized network (MAN), a network between two offices in a city and Wide network (WAN) a network between the computers, one is locally and the other can be thousands of miles away in any other country of the world.

WAN connectivity is achieved by a network device known as “Router”. The internet is the world’s largest WAN network, where millions of computers from all over the globe and connected with each other.

Networking is the practice of linking two or more computers or devices with each other. The connectivity can be wired or wireless. A computer network can be categorized in different ways, depends on the geographical area as mentioned above.

There are two main types of the computer network client-server and peer to peer. In the client server computing, a computer plays a major role known as server, where the files, data in the form of web pages, docs or spread sheet files, video, database & resources are placed.

All the other computers in the client/server network are called clients and they get the data from the server. In the peer to peer network all the computers play the same role and no computer act as a centralized server. In the major businesses around the world client-server network model is in major use.

A network topology defines the structure, design or layout of a network. There are different topologies like bus, ring, star, mesh, hybrid etc. The star topology is most commonly used network topology. In the star topology, all the computers in the network are connected with a centralized device such as hub or switch. Thus forms a star like structure. If the hubs/switch fails to work for any reason then all the connectivity and communication between the computers of a network will be halted.

In the network, a common communication language is used by the computers and the network devices and this language is known as protocols. The most commonly used and popular protocols on the internet and in the home and other networks is called TCP/IP. TCP/IP is not a singleprotocol but it is a suite of several protocols.

A network can be a wired or wireless and TCP/IP protocol can work both in types of network.

A data flow in a computer network can be divided into seven logical layers called OSI layersmodel that was developed by Intel and Xerox Corporation and was standardized by ISO.

1. Application layer

2. Presentation layer

3. Session layer

4. Transport layer

5. Network layer

6. Data Link layer


a. Media access control sub-layer


b. Logical link control sub-layer

7. Physical layer.


A network can be divided into different scales and ranges and it depends on the requirement of the network and the geographical location. Computer Network can be divided into Local Area Network, Personal Area Network, Campus Area Network, Wireless Local Area Network,Metropolitan Area Network and Wide Area Network.

There are several network connection methods like HomePNA, Power line communication, Ethernet and Wifi connection method.A network can also be categorized into several different types based on the services it provides like Server farms, Storage area networks, Value control networks, Value-Added networks,SOHO network, Wireless network and Jungle networks.

By: Bushra Bashir

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The Internet – The Largest Network in the World

March 3rd, 2010



Computer engineers have been finding ways to connect computers and their devices together in different ways. Computer networking has come hand in hand with other bodies of knowledge such as telecommunications, information technology, and computer engineering. So many things have been made possible through computer networking. It has helped people live easier lives in many ways through personal area network, local area network, metropolitan area network, and wide area network.

One great example of a wide area network is the champion of all networks, the Internet. It is the biggest network in the world, and billions of data (maybe even trillions) is being transferred everyday. So much information is exchanged and it has practically changed the way we live our lives.

Education online

The usual way to get your education is to enroll in a school, and go to your classes on a fixed schedule. Nowadays, we can actually get a college and master’s degree through the Internet. A lot of reputable universities now offer their courses online because they understand how hard it is for some students to juggle a job and their schooling. Depending on the program, you can have your own schedule, and usually you’d just have to submit work on or before a particular deadline. At times, you’d have real time chatting with you professor and “classmates”, sometimes even with a webcam. What’s great about this is that you no longer have to go through the hassle of commuting. The good news is that companies have been accepting a lot of applicants with this sort of education but there are still some that are overly traditional.

Video games galore

What started out as simple 2 dimension games is now a multi-billion dollar industry, and has spawned a new way of social interaction. Because of the Internet, gamers are now able to interact with people from across the globe, and play the same game at the same time. This is great because video games were once viewed as an anti-social activity. This is no longer true and now gamers not only get to play the game together, but are able to chat and make new friends as well. Internet gaming has also created a new gaming genre called “massively multiplayer online role-playing games” or MMORPGs. This is a supercharged type of RPG where thousands of players get to play together in a particular game at the same time.

Social Networking

A lot of websites nowadays allow people to interact and socialize with each other with their different tools and services. Some of them are focused on dating, where users can create their own profile and indicate their particular tastes. Other websites are dedicated to people uploading pictures and sharing them with other users as well. This has been a great way of connecting with long lost friends, and making new ones as well.

It’s great that computer networking has helped in bringing us the Internet. With it, life has become more convenient, and we can learn so many new things everyday just by connecting to it. With the Internet, there are certainly more new things to come.

By: Benedict Yossarian

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Wireless Home Networks – Setup Wireless Network

February 25th, 2010



The way that it used to be, is people generally had one computer in their home. Internet access was based on dial-up modems which were connected directly with a serial cable on the home computer. No Local Area Network was needed. With the advancement of technology and the wide spread adoption of high speed internet connectivity at homes, necessitates that home appliances should be networked to facilitate online access and to also communicate and share information between them.

What I mean when I say home appliances is home computers, next generation game consoles, printers, scanners, network attached storage, etc. All of these “Appliances” need to share information amongst themselves over a network, but also need to have high-speed access to the Internet. To achieve that, you will need to set-up a home network. With a home based network you are technically building a local area network, which can be wired or wireless, that networked devices communicate between inside the home, and also share the same internet connection.

The base of the home network is your broadband router. This is usually a device that lets you setup a wired or a wireless network. You can use Ethernet cables if you’re making a wired network, or use Wi-Fi for wireless. This integrated router provides also the Internet access connectivity.

Once you have your home network setup, you can connect your computers, laptops, Xbox 360, Playstation 3, servers, network storage boxes, etc. After you successfully connect all your devices to the router, you can share and distribute your files over the network, have LAN parties on game consoles, play online video games, and share pictures between computer.

By: Alex D Smith

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