Q.Define a network. What is the need of forming a network?
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Start your 14-day free trial to unlock the full solution →A network is two or more interconnected computers or devices that share data and resources; we form networks mainly to exchange information and to share resources like printers and storage, rather than duplicate them on every machine.
The book's own definition is a good place to start: a network is simply a group of two or more similar things or people interconnected with each other. Applied to computing, a computer network is an interconnection among two or more computers or computing devices, which allows them to share data and resources with one another.
A network can be as small as a couple of computers in one room, or as large as millions of devices worldwide. It can include different kinds of hosts (also called nodes) — servers, desktops, laptops, cellular phones — along with dedicated networking devices like switches, routers, and modems that make the connection actually work. For communication to happen, data is broken into smaller chunks called packets, which are carried across the network from one device to another over wired media (cables) or wireless media (radio waves, as in Wi-Fi).
A "node" in this sense is any device that is part of the network and can receive, create, store, or send data — not just computers, but also a modem, hub, switch, router, printer, or even a digital telephone handset.
Why do we form a network at all?
If every computer worked in isolation, two things would be impossible: talking to anyone else, and sharing anything with anyone else. Networking solves both problems, and the book highlights exactly these two benefits:
- Exchange of information. A network lets you exchange information simultaneously with many people, through email, websites, or audio/video calls — without physically carrying data from one machine to another. …
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