When personal computers first appered in the business enviornment, software aplication were often made for single users. Soon, the tranfer of information between computers became an ultimate goal.

Computers can communicate in two ways. One, through the modem on a telephone line. Two, through networks on a direct connection. The advantage to a network is that data transfers occur at a higher speed.

Networks allow users to access data and critical programs simultaneously. They also allow users to share peripheral devices such as printers and scanners.

Today, there are programs that allow users to interact with each other. These programs are named groupware. This type of software includes calendar software, e-amail, and document managing software.

In a basic network, there is usually a center powerful computer, named the server; along with the server, ther are several workstations, also named nodes. A server usually has a larger hard disk and more RAM than the standard workstations.

The most common setup is called a Local Area Network (LAN). A LAN usually consists of several computers connected to a network located in the same building. Using a LAN allows users to share printer and other peripheral devices. Occasionally, a LAN may be connected to another LAN. To do this, a gateway is created between the two servers. The gateway transcribes the information into usable network for the other network.

When two or more LANs are connected over a significant geographical distance, a Wide Area Network (WAN) is created. In the case of a WAN, a router is needed. A router stores addressing information about computers connected. The router allows the LANs to be connected with a single cable, but seem like many more. An example of a WAN is the Internet.

Types of Networks

To connect a network, cables are needed to link the computers together. There are basically 3 types of wire: twisted pair, coaxial, and fiber optic.

Twisted pair wiring consists of four pairs of braided wire. These wires are coated with platic and is named UTP (unshielded twisted pair). More expensive comes STP (shielded twisted pair), which protects from static electricity.

Coaxial wiring is similar to the wiring used for television cables. There are two conductors in a coaxial wire, the single wire in the center, and the wire meshing that surounds the first wire with an insulator in between. Coaxial is mostly used for Novell IPX networks.

At the top of networkin cabling is fiber optic. Fiber optic cabling allows the transfer of data at a greatly enhanced speed. This type of cable is more difficult to install, because it is made of glass strands.

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