Networks and telecommunications

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Types of Networks
1.Local-area network (LAN) A network that connects a relatively small number of machines in a relatively close geographical area

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Types of Networks
Various configurations, called topologies, have been used to administer LANs
Ring topology A configuration that connects all nodes in a closed loop on which messages travel in one direction
Star topology A configuration that centers around one node to which all others are connected and through which all messages are sent
Bus topology All nodes are connected to a single communication line that carries messages in both directions

Types of Networks
A bus technology called Ethernet has become the industry standard for local-area networks
Figure 15.2 Various network topologies
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Types of Networks
1. Wide-area network (WAN) A network that connects two or more local-area networks over a potentially large geographic distance.

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Types of Networks
3. Metropolitan-area network (MAN) The communication infrastructures that have been developed in and around large cities

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TCP/IP
IP stands for Internet Protocol
IP software deals with the routing of packets through the maze of interconnected networks to their final destination.
Network software translates a hostname into its corresponding IP address
For example
205.39.145.18

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Network Addresses
An IP address can be split into
network address, which specifies a specific network
host number, which specifies a particular machine in that network
Figure 15.9
An IP address is stored in four bytes

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Domain Name System
The very last section of the domain is called its top-level domain (TLD) name
Figure 15.10 Top-level domains, including some relatively new ones