Key Data Communication Terminology

KEY DATA COMMUNICATION TERMINOLOGY ™   Link: connects adjacent nodes Wires, Cables, Any thing that physically connects two nodes ™   Path: end-to-end route within a network ™   Circuit: the conduit over which data travels ™   Packetizing: dividing messages into fixed-length packets prior to transmission over a network's communication media ™   Routing: determining a message's path from sending to receiving nodes 9   The  transmission  medium  may  itself  be  a  network,  so  route  needs  to be specified Network "A NETWORK is a set of devices (Nodes) connected by Communication Links" ™   Node:  Can  be  a  Computer,  Printer  or  any  other  device  capable  of  sending  or receiving    The links connecting Nodes are called COMMUNICATION CHANNELS Networks- Why we need them? Networks- Why we need them? It is often impractical for devices to be directly connected for two major reasons: o    The  devices  are  very  far  apart.  They  are  expensive  to  connect  just  two  devices with one in Lahore and other in Islamabad o    Large   set   of   devices   would   need   impractical   number   of   connections   e   .g. Telephone   Lines   in   the   world   and   all   the   computers   owned   by   a   single organization Solution to the Problem=Networks o    Solution is to connect all devices to a central system known as a NETWORK in which all terminals or computers share the links. o    Two Main Classifications of the Networks LANS WANS DISTRIBUTED PROCESSING Instead  of  a  single  large  machine  being  responsible  for  all  aspects  of  a  process  , each separate computer handles a subset of the task    Example - Office Work