What is a Computer Network?

A computer network is where a bundle of devices (eg tablets, phones or computers) are connected together for the purposes of sharing resources (such as the internet) or communication.

There are three types of networks:

• Local Area Network (LAN) - a network that connects devices over a small geographical area, often private networks such as home or small business networks.

• Wide Area Network (WAN) - a network that connects devices over a large area, such as a city, country or the world.

• Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) - a network over a metropolitan area, e.g Perth, Sydney or New Work.

What is a Communication Protocol?

A protocol is the language used to communicate information between two devices. There are different languages in the entire technolgical universe to communicate data, so it is important to ensure the correct communication protocol is used to successfully transmit data. 

Some examples of communication protocols we will explore are:

• Transmission Control transmission control protocol/internet protocol (TCP/IP)

• Hypertext transfer protocol (HTTP)

• Hypertext transfer protocol over secure socket layer (HTTPS) 

• Wireless application protocol (WAP)