Let’s talk about the basics of networking. Networking is taking the data that you see on the screen to breaking it down from data to bits and transmitting it over some type of media which could be a network cable like CAT5/CAT6, fiber, wireless, or satellite and than once those bits have reached their destination and building them to readable data that you see on your screen, such examples of data that is sent over a network are  email, file sharing, streaming,  IoT devices and many others. This process is standardized using the OSI Model (7 layers) and TCP/IP model (4 Layers).  As well as a mixture of protocols, topologies, and security measures. This is also done while keeping you’re transmitted data secure and protected and private.

Networks have different types such as

• PAN – Person Aera Network: This is a small network such as your home, small office/home office network.
• LAN – Local Area network: This is a network for a small office or a single building
• MAN – Metropolitan Area Network: This is a number of office building LANs connected together, such as a college or universities that has different campuses around a city.
• WAN – Wide Area Network: A network that covers large geographical area such as a country or the world. WAN connects multiple LANs and MANs together.

There are other types such as WLAN (Wireless Local Network) and VPN (Virtual Private Network) and SAN (storage Area Network), and some other types are out there.

Networks are made up over several different devices such as your modem at home weather it be connected to fiber or cable or even satellite, networks are also made up as routers, switches, firewalls, access points, servers, controls, cables, microwave radios and many other devices and connectors. I will go over some of these devices in more detail in their own posts.

Networks are evolving as well as technologies with cloud networking, artificial intelligence requiring networks to be more secure with better performance and optimization.

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