Networking basics

Basic notions of networking

Network (computing)#

Set of computers linked together (cable or wireless). These computers can remotely:

  1. Share resources (modem, hard drive, CD-Rom drive, applications, etc.)
  2. Exchange data: documents, chats etc.

Network cables or ethernet cable#

  • UTP-CAT5 (Unshielded Twist Pair Category 5): 100 megabit/second
  • UTP-CAT6 (Unshielded Twist Pair Category 6): 1gigabit/second
  • straight ethernet cables: connects a computer to a switch
  • crossed ethernet cables: connects 2 computers together

Network card#

Hardware that provides access to the network. This is where the data passes. The network card provides a MAC address to the computer in question in order to identify it on the network (physical address). A network card attaches to the computer’s PCI port.