Network Summary
A computer or computing networking is one or more machines connected together in order to communicate with one another. There are numerous ways and designs to achieve this, however the most common form as of 2011 is referred to as Ethernet.
A computer can even network with itself over the "local network", or "loopback network".
Network Types
As of the year 2011, there are several commonly found network types:
- Local Area Networks (LAN)
- Wide Area Networks (WAN)
- Virtual Private Networks (VPN)
Local Area Networks
Local area networks are often used to connect home or office computers at a single location together. They should use one of the private IP address blocks:
- 192.168.0.0/24
- 172.16.0.0/16
- 10.0.0.0/8
Since these networks are isolated from the ubiquitous Internet, these address spaces may be re-used on multiple networks.
Local area networks are usually connected to the Internet via Routers, which usually also function as Firewalls to allow traffic to get out to the Internet, yet block unauthorized access to the local network from the outside.
Wide Area Networks
Traditional private wide area networks are becoming less common as virtual private networks become more popular. They are used to connect local area networks together over a private connection. They are expensive, but they do offer isolation from the internet.
The term "wide area network" or "WAN" can also refer to an internet connection, such as Dsl or Fios connections.
Virtual Private Networks
VPNs are used to connect one or more remote network(s) or computer(s) to a local area network.