What is Networking in Computer Science?

In this tutorial, we are going to see what is networking in computer science?

First of all, it is important to answer the following question: What is a network? We can define the word “network” in one sentence: a network is a group of entities in communication.

What is an entity?

An entity can refer to one “thing” among others. For example, a person in a group of people is an entity of this group. Using this example, we speak of a network when two or more people talk together.

That’s it, a network is just when we talk together?

Yes, but don’t forget that “talking together” is also “exchanging information”. So, basically, a network is the exchange of information, and there are several ways of exchanging information.

To communicate, the 2 entities must speak the same language. Or the intermediary must speak the language of each of his interlocutors. In a computer network, it’s the same, except that we don’t talk about language but about protocol.

If you have understood what a network with humans is, you have understood everything. A computer network is exactly the same, except that you have to replace humans with machines.
 

 

What is Networking in Computer Science?

In IT, a network is defined as a connection between two or more computer systems through a cable or wireless. The most basic network contains two computers connected by a cable. This is also known as a peer-to-peer (P2P) network. This kind of network has no hierarchy: both participants are on the same level. Each computer has accessibility to the other’s data and they can share resources, such as a storage disk, programs, or peripheral device such as (printer, etc.).

Modern networks are a bit more complex in most cases and involve more than just two computers. For systems with more than 10 participants, a client/server configuration is normally used. In this model, a computer acting as a central switching point (server) makes its resources available to the other network participants (clients).
 

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So, a network is a grouping of two or more computers or other devices for the exchange of data and the sharing of common resources.
 
 

Example of Networking in Computer Science

WiFi is a good example of a small client/server network. The different devices in the home are connected by radio to the router, which acts as the central node (server) in the home. In turn, the router is connected to a very big network which is: the Internet.
 

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What are the features and benefits of a network?

The main feature of a network is to provide participants with a platform for the exchange of data and to share resources. This feature is so important that it would be hard to imagine our daily lives without networks.

Here is a concrete example. In an office, each workstation has its own computer. Without computer networking, it would be very complicated for a team to collaborate on a project because there would be no common space to share and deposit documents and digital information, and the collaborators would not be able to use certain programs together as they are used to.

Also, in many offices, there is only one or a few printers, which are used by everyone. Without a network, each computer must be connected to the printer, which makes no sense. A network solves this problem intelligently since all computers are connected to the printer via a central node.

The main advantages of networks are therefore :

• Data sharing
• Resource sharing
• Centralized management of programs and data
• Centralized storage and backup of data
• Sharing of computing power and storage capacity
• Administration of permissions and responsibilities

 

 

How does a network work?

In a typical client/server network, there is a central point of communication, the server. The server is connected to other devices, which are called clients. The connection can be wired (LAN – Local Area Network) or wireless (WLAN – Wireless LAN).

In a typical home network, the router acts as a server. It is connected to the Internet and makes the “Internet” resource accessible to other devices (pc, tv, phones, etc.).
 
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