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) - A LAN is a network of computers that are in the same general physical location, usually within a building or a campus. 

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

Node - A node is anything that is connected to the network.

Media Access Control (MAC) address - This is the physical address of any device -- such as the NIC in a computer -- on the network.

IP Address-IP address is short for Internet Protocol (IP) address. An IP address is an identifier for a computer or device on a TCP/IP network. 

Bus - Each node is daisy-chained (connected one right after the other) along the same backbone, similar to Christmas lights. Information sent from a node travels along the backbone until it reaches its destination node.

Ring - 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.The token acts like a ticket, enabling its owner to send a message across the network. 

Star - 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-An agreed-upon format for transmitting data between two devices.

Peer-Peer Architecture-Often referred to simply as peer-to-peer, or abbreviated P2P, a type of network in which each workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities.

Client/Server Architecture-Client-server architecture (client/server) is a network architecture in which each computer or process on the network is either a client or a server.

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