by Pedro Pacheco

Created on: April 07, 2009

Computer networks are probably the most important part of the computer because the network allows the computer to connect to another computer and then to another and so on. This connection enables the computer to share files, programs to run software together enables users to work together and so much more.

How much do you know about computer networks? Let's start with the basic things that make networks possible.

The first thing you need to have is a network card. Some years ago, about ten years ago, you needed to have a special card called the network card where you would plug all the cables here. This card supported different network standards because they have evolved year after year. A card with about 15 years can support up to 3 different standards perfectly.

The first network standard was the serial network. Do you remember how the old mouses used to connect to each other? The networks were made with the same cables. They supported most of the times just one computer to another computer and network groups were not possible. Still this was great to play old computer games such as tetris and to share information between two computers.

Some years after the first coaxial networks came and this was the first true computer network, you could have thousands of computers connected to each other plus you could have a lot more information being share over the network. All this information was possible only thanks to the development of professional text editor software like Microsoft Office, otherwise you would still be working on DOS Text...

The coaxial network is still one of the best ones because not only is deadly fast, it has great protection against interference caused by radiation, like the manufacturing plants and other electronic devices at the expense of having a very limited range... This is what made these networks very obsolete so fast.

Some time later we invented the RJ-45 cable network and they are still the most used standard today. This cable is very slow, it has no protection against interferences but the range is great! The signal almost doesn't get lost in the process so you can even connect buildings to each other.

This standard is still used today.

Finally we have the wireless networks. They have many standards and they are the present and the future for a long time. These kinds of networks are set up automatically and have a range of up to 100 meters making it the right choice for everyone today.

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