What Is a Network?
A network is nothing more than two or more computers connected to each other so that they can exchange information, such as e-mail messages or documents, or share resources, such as disk storage or printers. In most cases, this connection is made via electrical cables that carry the information in the form of electrical signals. But in some cases, other types of connections are used. For example, fiber-optic cables let computers communicate at extremely high speeds by using impulses of light. Wireless networks let computers communicate by using radio signals, so the computers aren’t restricted by physical cables.
In addition to the hardware that comprises the network, a network also requires special software to enable communications. In the early days of networking, you had to add this software to each computer on the network. Nowadays, network support is built into all major operating systems, including all current versions of Windows, Macintosh operating systems, and Linux.
A network is nothing more than two or more computers connected to each other so that they can exchange information, such as e-mail messages or documents, or share resources, such as disk storage or printers. In most cases, this connection is made via electrical cables that carry the information in the form of electrical signals. But in some cases, other types of connections are used. For example, fiber-optic cables let computers communicate at extremely high speeds by using impulses of light. Wireless networks let computers communicate by using radio signals, so the computers aren’t restricted by physical cables.In addition to the hardware that comprises the network, a network also requires special software to enable communications. In the early days of networking, you had to add this software to each computer on the network. Nowadays, network support is built into all major operating systems, including all current versions of Windows, Macintosh operating systems, and Linux.
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