Computer and Wireless Networking Basics
By Bradley Mitchell, About.com Guide to Wireless / Networking
These pages review the types of designs, equipment, protocols and other technologies essential to building computer networks. You will learn how home and other private networks, public hotspots and the Internet function.
- Wireless Local Area Networks
- Internet Service
- TCP/IP and Other Internet Protocols
- Network Routing, Switching and Bridging
Fundamental Computer Networks Concepts
In the world of computers, networking is the practice of linking two or more computing devices together for the purpose of sharing data. Networks are built with a combination of computer hardware and computer software. Some explanations of networking found in books and tutorials are highly technical, designed for students and professionals, while others are geared more to home and business uses of computer networks.
Types of Computer Networks
Networks can be categorized in several different ways. One method defines the type of a network according to the geographic area it spans. Alternatively, networks can also be classified based on topology or on the types of protocols they support.
Types of Network Equipment
The building blocks of a wireless home network can include network adapters, routers and/or access points. Wired networks (and many wireless ones) also use cables of varying types. Finally, business and larger-scale networks often employ so-called high-end equipment for specialized purposes.
Ethernet
Ethernet is a physical and data link layer technology for local area networks. Homes, schools and offices around the world all commonly use Ethernet standard cables and adapters to network personal computers.
Wireless Local Area Networks
Wi-Fi is the most popular wireless communication protocol for local area networks. Private home and business networks, and public hotspots, use Wi-Fi to networks computers and other wireless devices to each other and the Internet. Bluetooth is another wireless protocol commonly used in cellphones and computer peripherals for short range network communication.
- 802.11a vs 802.11b vs 802.11g
- Introduction to Wireless Hotspots
- Wi-Fi Equipment Gallery
- How Many Computers Can Share One Wi-Fi Network?
- How Does Using Wi-Fi Affect Computer Battery Life?
- What Is Bluetooth?
- GHz (Gigahertz) and MHz (Megahertz)
- Wireless Spread Spectrum Communication
- dB / dBm (decibel)
Internet Service
The technologies used to connect a network to the Internet are different than those used for local area networks. Common forms of Internet connectivity include DSL, cable modem and fiber.
- Internet Connection Alternatives for Home Networks
- DSL vs Cable Modem Internet
- Types of DSL
- T1 and T3 Lines
- Fiber Optic Cable
TCP/IP and Other Internet Protocols
TCP/IP is the primary network protocol of the Internet. A related family of protocols built on top of TCP/IP allow Web browsers, email and many other applications to communicate across networks globally. Applications and computers using TCP/IP identify each other with assigned IP addresses.
- Internet Protocol Tutorial
- Who Invented TCP/IP and the Internet?
- Internet Domain Names and Extensions
- What Is a DNS Server?
- WHOIS
- ICMP - Internet Control Message Protocol
- HTTP - Hypertext Transfer Protocol
- NTP - Network Time Protocol
- NetBIOS
Network Routing, Switching and Bridging
Most computer networks direct messages from source to destination devices using any of three techniques called routing, switching and bridging. Routers use certain network address information contained inside messages to send them ahead to their destination (sometimes indirectly via one or more additional routers). Switches use much of the same technology as routers but typically support local area networks only. Bridging allows messages to flow between two different types of physical networks.
- Spanning Trees
- What Is a Routing Table?
- Network Backbone
- CIDR - Classless Inter-Domain Routing
- QoS - Quality of Service
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