Internetworking and network fundamentals
Quoc‐Tuan Vien · Institution of Engineering and Technology eBooks · 2018
In this chapter, the author first outline the fundamentals of networking in Section 1.1 with different network models. Starting from small-size networks, Section 1.2 will discuss local area network (LAN) for limited geographic area with variant topologies, technologies and access mechanisms. Section 1.3 will then consider wide area network (WAN) for a large geographic area, where the author will highlight some well-known WAN devices and topologies along with relevant technologies over network media. In order to model the communications between different devices in different networks, a reference model or framework is required. Section 1.4 will provide a brief explanation of seven layers in open systems interconnection (OSI) framework. As the most widely used protocol over the Internet, Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) suite with a variety of communication protocols will be presented in Section 1.5. A brief account of internetworks and internetworking units will be explained in Section 1.6 where I will show the functionalities of intermediary devices for computer networking, including repeaters/hubs, bridges/switches, and routers/gateways.