Networks

A network is simply two or more computers linked together. It allows users to share not only data files and software applications but also hardware like printers and other hardware.

Networks can be classified according to different criteria:

• Geographical area – PANs, LANs and WANs
• Architecture – a client-server network, a peer-to-peer network
• Topology – bus (line), star, ring, mesh, tree
• Network protocol