So what is a computer network?
A computer network is simply "A collection of devices, interconnected by some physical medium, for the purpose of exchanging data".
Networks allow the communication of various end devices, ie. pc's, laptops, phones, cameras, printers and so on, allowing them to share and distribute information.
Along with the various end devices a network must have what are called Intermediary devices such as switches, hubs, routers and gateways. We will get on to talking about these devices in more detail at a later stage in the blog.
So we have end devices that the user interfaces with and we have intermediary devices that interface with each other and the and devices, so obviously we must have a way of connecting all these devices together. This is where what is referred to as the network media comes in. This is the medium over which the message travels from one device to another. The main types of network media are copper wire, fibre optics and wireless technology. The selection of what type of network medium to use in a particular network depends on a few considerations such as:
- Distance signal (data) can travel
- Environment it works in
- Bandwidth (speed Mb/s)
- Cost
Now i will explain the two main types of computer networks which are:
- LAN (local area network)
- WAN (wide area network)
Now the main difference between these two is fairly self explanatory. As the name suggests a LAN usually spans a single geographical location for example a small business or campus, whereas a WAN is a Network that connects LANs together over huge distances..
A LAN being a network that covers a smaller area usually uses copper wire for the network medium as the distances between devices are usually kept to a minimum. This keeps the cost down not only during installation but also makes repairs to the network considerably cheaper than it would be using fibre optics. Also in a LAN its possible to use wireless technology as your network medium which we call a wLAN(wireless local area network).
A WAN then being on a much larger scale typically uses fibre optics as its network medium as the hugely increased speed and performance of fibre optic cabling is necessary to cope with the longer distances and higher data loads.
