Computer networks help us optimize all the circuits in a company, and each individual who wants to connect to a database that is in another place and can access it through a cable or other element of private public transport.
This network of computers is also used to access remote hardware, for example, a printer. Computer networks provide solutions and comfort to users when it comes to making work, costs and, above all, the execution time of tasks efficient.
Here you will find all the necessary information for you to learn to work on the different networks that exist today . We have analyzed each of them so you can choose the best one according to your needs.
Index:
What is a computer network and what is it for?
A computer network is a set of two or more computers that are connected to each other through a common element (for example, a LAN cable) and each of these computers can be accessed computing remotely.
With this information system connected to each other you can achieve among other things agility when transmitting data, print remotely, access files of other users and modify them in their database.
One of the great advantages of computer networks is that you can stream. This is no small matter since many consider it a key success factor for different business tasks . For example, you can enter YouTube and broadcast the video via Wi-Fi on a computer or smartTV, thus avoiding annoying and messy cables for people who watch the video.
In work environments, computer networks are very successful when you need to have few printers for many computers, with this companies avoid spending extra money on the purchase of hardware. Let’s say they become more efficient because when they buy a single device they acquire the best performance.
What are the different types of computer networks and how are they different? one?
There are different types of computer networks that are differentiated by the place where each of the interconnected computers are located , by the element that transmits data among other things.
Next, we detail you according to your use each of the computer networks that currently exist:
LAN network
It is a local area network that has its teams connected to each other and that belong to the same individual (it can be a company, an office, etc.). The transfer speed of the data in this kind of networks is 10 megabits per second (Mbps). The number of users or computers that connect to the network varies, and in some cases they can reach Up to 800 connected computers.
Red WAN
This is a area network much wider than the LAN , it is widely used for internet servers where their computers are not all in the same physical location. Some WANs are designed to provide public access services.
The data transfer varies, but today it is of very good quality and you can send a lot of information with Mbps quite high.
Red MAN
The metropolitan area network is a broadband network that provides coverage in a large geographic area . According to its technical characteristics it provides an integration of multiple services in the transmission of voice, data and video. It is considered the largest network that exists in the world today in relation to copper pair technology, providing low latency, lack of magnetic interruptions and great stability.
These networks, fiber optic and twisted pair , for example, provide speeds between 10 Mbit / s or 20 Mbit / s over copper pairs, while with an optical fiber you can reach up to 10 Gbit / s. It can also be found under the name of MAN LOOP.
Red WMAN
It is a technological communication between computers in metropolitan areas, is a wireless version of the MAN network and as with the aforementioned network it has the great advantage of having a low cost in its installation between cables and other equipment in the physical connections between nodes.
This type of network has a considerable disadvantage, since it needs more efforts to protect it against intruders . Your security system is not the best.
WLAN network
These types of networks are characterized by having computers or computers that are not connected by a cable . They are characterized by transmitting data and communications through radio waves.
They have the characteristic of having a low cost in their installation, since the user avoids the installation of cables for communication between computer equipment.
Red PAN
When the user needs a technological communication system near their environment, this network is ideal for this purpose . Data can be transmitted in a simple practical way without losing its speed.
It is very chosen because of its wide advantages, including the lack of wiring in its installation. When you need to have a connection network between devices at home, this is a good option.
Red SAN
This type of computer communications is not recommended for home use , rather it is aimed at professionals who need to have a connection between a company’s communication networks. It offers the common interface of any network plus an exclusive interface that connects to the SAN.
Wi-Fi network
We are able to speak now one of the words that perhaps we utter most throughout our days, a word that we see even in bars. It’s the Wi-Fi.
Wireless Fidelity for its acronym in English, is a system that uses 802.11 wireless technology to create computer networks . The most common use of this technology is when connecting portable computers to the internet, as long as they are near an access point called hotspot .
The interconnection with this hotspot is done through radio frequency. The 2.4 gigahertz connection type is the most used, but it can also be mentioned that of 5 gigahertz whose speed is greater, although with a much smaller range to the connection point.
What are the most important components to create a computer network?
With everything we mentioned above, we can say now, what are the most necessary components when creating a computer network. Basically 4 resources are needed for a computer network to work:
Server
In which they run the operating system that has the network and offers different services to workstations or computers . It has the great advantage that the computers that work with the server may not have a storage disk since the database on a server disk is always accessed.
For wireless networks we will talk instead of a router or switch that serves as a network bridge. The job of this team is to receive requests from different workstations or computers.
Interface plates for connection to the server
Also called network boards , these are necessary so that computers can be recognized by the server by assigning each one a specific protocol. The speed and security of the network will depend a lot on this type of boards, in the market there are different prices and they vary for their quality and guarantee that they offer.
Your job is to encode and decode the data and deliver it to the different members of the network .
Cables
As we indicated earlier, this point can be omitted for those networks in which wireless communication has been chosen. When it corresponds to a wireless network radio frequency or infrared waves will be needed in some cases.
Workstations
They can be from printers to smartphones. More elements can be added to a specific network, but the intention of our work is to show you each component that is present yes or yes in any computer circuit.
What is a network topology and which are the most used?
A network topology is nothing more than a map to exchange data. This topology describes the entire set of interconnections between nodes.
We could say that the network topology is a picture of all the components that exist in it from its connection to the internet service to the last computer equipment that presents it. There are different kinds of these “network photos”, we can name among the most important:
Point to Point (PtP)
It is the simplest of all since two points or two computers communicate without interference . It can be done wired or wireless.
Star Network
It consists of connecting all the nodes to a central server , in which everything is directly related to it. It has the great advantage that there are no interferences in this scheme, while its most important problem is that when this central node fails, everyone else ceases to be.
Tree Network
This network system is named after the physical resemblance that the map has with a tree, in some places it is also called a hierarchical network . Its main characteristic is that the nodes need to act as repeaters , unlike the Star Network, they do not depend on a central node thus reducing considerably the risk of failure presented by the network that is centralized in the main node.
In this type of computer connection you usually work a lot with the switches , which receive, store quickly and transmit it to the information to another work team.
We hope that these basic concepts will help you to be encouraged to make some of the computer networks you need and know that an expert is not needed to configure any of them.