Computer Network
What is Computer Networking?🤔🤔
Computer networking refers to interconnected computing devices that can exchange data and share resources with each other. These networked devices use a system of rules, called communications protocols, to transmit information over physical or wireless technologies.
An example of a computer network at large is the traffic monitoring systems in urban cities. These systems alert officials and emergency responders with information about traffic flow and incidents. A simpler example is using collaboration software such as Google Drive to share documents with colleagues who work remotely. Every time we connect via a video call, stream movies, share files, chat with instant messages, or just access something on the internet, a computer network is at work.
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Computer networking is the branch of computer science that deals with the ideation, architecture, creation, maintenance, and security of computer networks. It is a combination of computer science, computer engineering, and telecommunication.
What are the types of computer network architecture?
Computer network design falls under two broad categories:
1. Client-server architecture
In this type of computer network, nodes may be servers or clients. Server nodes provide resources like memory, processing power, or data to client nodes. Server nodes may also manage client node behavior. Clients may communicate with each other, but they do not share resources. For example, some computer devices in enterprise networks store data and configuration settings. These devices are the servers in the network. Clients may access this data by making a request to the server machine.
2. Peer-to-peer architecture
In Peer-to-Peer (P2P) architecture, connected computers have equal powers and privileges. There is no central server for coordination. Each device in the computer network can act as either client or server. Each peer may share some of its resources, like memory and processing power, with the entire computer network. For example, some companies use P2P architecture to host memory-consuming applications, such as 3-D graphic rendering, across multiple digital devices.
