Chapter 1. Understanding Networking Concepts

When personal computers became part of the workplace in the mid-1980s, computer networking was, for most companies, an additional task for the computer administrator or perhaps a group project for those who needed and used the network. The computer network was primarily a way for individual computers to share common resources, for example, a file server, printers, or maybe terminal access. In the 1990s, all this changed. The explosion of the Internet, mostly due to the World Wide Web, has transformed computers and their importance in the workplace. What were once spreadsheet stations and personal printing presses have now become powerful communication tools that utilize text, graphics, video, and sound-to-relay information. Now, computer networks are the central nervous systems of most companies and, to some extent, of our planet.

The goal of this chapter is to make you familiar with the concepts and processes associated with computer networking before you examine their specifics in the following chapters.