Even a basic knowledge of networking is a major asset in today’s world. Even if you don’t want to get into the details of the subject, the ability to connect your computer to other computers, a router or a peripheral will save you a lot of headaches. It is also a good idea to have a basic knowledge of the equipment you need and what it does. In this article we look at the basic building blocks of a computer network and explain what the various pieces of hardware do.
Of course, any network will need at computers. If you are very new to the subject a good first lesson would be to attempt to connect two computers either by ethernet cable or wirelessly so that they can share information. If you can do this, you have created your first network.
However, when you add more computers, printers, scanners and other peripherals, as well as an internet connection, things get a lot more complicated. The average home network will have most or all of these components and business networks get infinitely more complex. So, here is a basic overview of the hardware needed to build a network.
Cable or wireless?
The most basic requirement of any network is...