Computer Network

A group of computers connected in a way that allows information to be exchanged between them

Packet

A piece of a message that is transferred over a packer-switching network, contains data and a destination address

Local Area Network (LAN)

Network technology that connects many devices that are closely related geographically (usually in the same building, like computers in a library sharing catalog data)

Wide Area Network (WAN)

Network technology that connects a smaller number of devices that may be far apart (such as libraries from different ends of the city sharing catalog information)

Node

Anything connected to the network (computer, printer, etc.)

Media Access Control Address (MAC)

The physical address of any device on the network made up of 6 bytes, half identifying the company that made the NIC and half is the serial number of the NIC.

IP (Internet Protocol) Address

An identifier for a computer or device on a network, determines route of messages

Bus Topology

Each node is connected one after the other along the same backbone (like Christmas lights), information is sent along the backbone until reaching its destination node

Ring Topology

Nodes connect one after the other, and the last node connects to the first one in the shape of a ring, data is shared through a token which is sent from one node to another

Network Token

A series of bits that travel around a ring network allowing computers on the network to capture it, like a ticket that lets its owner send information across the network

Star Topology

Each node is connected to a central device (hub) which takes a signal that comes from a node and passes it to the other nodes

Tree Topology

Mixture of linear bus and star topologies with star-configured nodes connected to a linear bus backbone

Protocol

An agreed-upon formatting for the transfer of data between two devices, determining the error checking that is used, the method of data compression, how the devices will indicate sending and receiving

Peer-peer Architecture

Each workstation has equivalent capabilities and responsibilities

Client/Server Architecture

Each computer or process on the network is either a client (run applications) or a server (manages disk drives, printers, or network traffic)