COMPUTER NETWORK

A network is a group of computers connected together in a way that allows information to be exchanged between the computers.

PACKET

A piece of a message transmitted over a packet-switching network.

LOCAL AREA NETWORK(LAN)

Local area network (LAN) technologies connect many devices that are relatively close to each other, usually in the same building.

WIDE AREA NETWROK

Wide area network (WAN) technologies connect a smaller number of devices that can be many kilometers apart. 

NODE

A node is anything that is connected to the network. While a node is typically a computer, it can also be something like a printer or CD-ROM tower.

MEDIA ACCESS CONTROL(MSC)

 This is the physical address of any device -- such as the NIC in a computer -- on the network. The MAC address, which is made up of two equal parts, is 6 bytes long. The first 3 bytes identify the company that made the NIC. 

IP ADDRESS

 is an identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network. Networks using the TCP/IP protocol route messages based on the IP address of the destination. Contrast with IP, which specifies the format of packets, also called datagrams, and the addressing scheme.

BUS TOPOLOGY

Each node is daisy-chained (connected one right after the other) along the same backbone, similar to Christmas lights. 

RING TOPOLOGY

Like a bus network, rings have the nodes daisy-chained. The difference is that the end of the network comes back around to the first node, creating a complete circuit. 

NETWORK TOKEN

In networking, a token is a special series of bits that travels around a token-ring network. As the token circulates, computers attached to the network can capture it.

STAR TOPOLOGY

In a star network, each node is connected to a central device called a hub. The hub takes a signal that comes from any node and passes it along to all the other nodes in the network. 

TREE TOPOLOGY

A tree topology combines characteristics of linear bus and star topologies. It consists of groups of star-configured workstations connected to a linear bus backbone cable.

PROTOCOL

he protocol determines the following:

the type of error checking to be useddata compression method, if anyhow the sending device will indicate that it has finished sending a messagehow the receiving device will indicate that it has received a message

PEER PEER ARCHITECTURE

ten referred to simply as peer-to-peer, or abbreviated P2P, a type of network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities. This differs from client/server architectures, in which some computers are dedicated to serving the others

CLIENT/SEVER ARCHITECTURE

lient-server architecture (client/server) is a network architecture in which each computer or process on the network is either a client or a server. Servers are powerful computers or processes dedicated to managing disk drives (file servers), printers (print servers), or network traffic (network servers ). 

HUBS

A hub is a common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect segments of a LAN. A hub contains multiple ports.