Chapter1.What Is a Network?

Chapter 1. What Is a Network?

What You Will Learn

After reading this chapter, you should be able to

• Provide a general definition for a network

• Explain the differences in perceptions about networks based on whether one works on servers, cabling, or networking devices

• Generally explain the concept of an enterprise network

• Generally explain the concept of the Internet

There's an old story about how three blind men all go to the zoo to learn about elephants. They each walk up and touch a different part of the elephant. One touches the trunk and thinks that the elephant is like a snake. Another feels a leg and thinks an elephant is like a tree. Another grabs his tail and thinks an elephant is like a rope. (There are many variations on this story, which you can find by searching the Internet.)

Just like with the elephant and the blind men, many people have their own slanted views of just what a network really is. You and all the other people reading this book come with your own preconceptions about networking. So, depending on your own experiences, you might think of a network in one way, whereas another might think of a network in a different way. This chapter helps you begin to build a more consistent and more complete view of computer networking by explaining a few different views of what a network is and is not.