Basic terms to know in Computer Networking

When a group of computers are connected with each other by using some specific protocol to share information and resource with each other is called "Computer Network".

But a question might arise in your mind that - 

Why to learn about Computer Networking?

Because now everything in the world runs on network, from our home to our offices, from the villages to the cities, from our studies to our online games, from airports to large research organizations, we are surrounded with network based devices and everything depends on network. 

Large organizations currently more focused on making client-server based applications so that it can work more efficiently and effectively. Begin in the network makes easy to access information and resources fast and from anywhere. Everyone wants to be the part of  Internet and that importance and requirement makes "Computer Networking" an important topic to learn and be aware about.

Network Types 

There are some basic types of Network- 

• PAN - stands for Personal Area Network. This network is used to connect the devices within very short range i.e. 1 meter. Example - 'Bluetooth'
  
• LAN - stands for Local Area Network. This network is used to connect devices within a short range/small areas like in a building or small offices. Example - 'Ethernet Connection in a building'
  
• MAN - stands for Metropolitan Area Network. This network is used to connect devices within an average range up to 10 Km, it is larger than LAN but lesser than WAN in terms of network range/area covered. It is used to connect towns, cities. Example - 'Cable TV Network'
  
• WAN - stands for Wide Area Network. This network is used to connect devices from a wide range/large area like connecting number of cities or even a country. Example - 'Mobile Broadband Connection'

Internet vs Intranet vs Extranet

Internet is a vast network in which all the computer devices in all over the world connects to each other to share information and resources.

Intranet is a network in which only the authorized person can get the access. It is a small range/area network and is of private type.

Extranet is very similar to the internet but the authorization to access the extranet is only given to a few people.

Protocols

Protocols are the set of rules which are used for transmitting the data from one device to an another device. In simple, the protocol defines how the data is going to be transmitted through a network within different devices.

Some basic protocols are - 

• HTTP - stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol. This protocol is used in webpages, it is simple and transfer your data in plain text format(means no encryption). [Port used - 80]
• HTTPS - stands for Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure. This protocol is similar to HTTP and just more secure than it. This protocol encrypt the data that is begin transferred between your device to the webserver thus making it more secure. [Port used - 443]
• FTP - stands for File Transfer Protocol. This protocol is used to transfer the files from one device to an another device  which are in the same network. [Port Used - 20/21]
  
• SMTP - stands for Simple Message Transfer Protocol. This protocol is used to send messages/mails from the sender's mail box to the receiver's mail box i.e. it is design to send mails. SMTP is also known as PUSH Protocol. [Port Used - 25]
• POP3 - stands for Post Office Protocol 3. This protocol is used to retrieve messages/mails from the mailbox which is present on the receiver mail server to receiver's computer i.e. it is designed to receive mails. POP3 is also known as POP Protocol. [Port used - 110]
• SSH - stands for Secure Shell. This is a network protocol which has cryptography implemented on it to securely access the services over an unsecured network. This protocol is used for remote command-line, remote login, etc. [Port used - 22]

Network Devices

The hardware devices that are being used in a network or say required for the communication, interaction and to establish the connection between different devices present in the network are called Network Devices.

Some basic network devices are -

• Hub - is a network device that is used to connect multiple devices in a network so they are able to communicate with each other. 
• Switch - is also a network device that works similar to the hub but the only difference is that switch is more secure and advance compare to hub and nowadays instead of hub we use switches.
• Routers - is network device that connects multiple devices to the internet(WAN) and also with each other(LAN).

Unique Identifiers of Network

Unique Identifiers are used to uniquely identify any device that is present in a network. With the help of this you can easily find the device you are looking for.

Some basic unique identifiers of the network are -

• Host Name - is an unique name that is associated with each and every device present in a network. To check your host name type "hostname" in your command prompt.
• IP Address(Internet Protocol) - is a network address to uniquely identify a system over a network. It is also known as Logical Address. There are two types of IP address - ipv4 and ipv6. To check your IP address type "ipconfig" in command prompt or type "ifconfig" in Linux.
• MAC Address(Media Access Control) - is an unique identifier of each host which is associated with the NIC(Network Interface Card). It is also known as Physical Address. To check your MAC address type "ipconfig/all" in command prompt.
• Port - is a logical channel through which data can be sent or receive. A port number specifies what type of service should be provided like in port 80 - http service, port 443 - https service, port 22 - ssh service, etc should be provided accordingly.

Network Reference Model

 Reference Model of networking gives a framework that standardizes the communication between different types of networks. There are two popular reference model in networking.

• OSI - stands for Open Systems Interconnection and was developed by ISO(International Standards Organization). This reference model consist of 7 layers. This network reference model comes before TCP/IP.
• TCP/IP - stands for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol. This reference model consists of 5 layers. This network reference model is designed using OSI.

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