What is a Network?

A network is a connected collection of devices and end system, such as computers and servers, which can communicate with each other. Networks carry data in many types of environments, including homes, small businesses, and large enterprises. In a large enterprises, there may be a number of locations that need to communicate with each other, and you can describe those locations in terms of where the workers are located, as follows:

• Main office : A main office is a site where everyone is connected via a network and where the bulk of corporate information is located. A main office can have hundreds or even thousands of people who depend on network access to do their jobs. A main office may use several connected networks, which can span many floors in an office building or cover a campus that contains several buildings.

• Remote location : A variety of remote access locations use networks to connect to the main office or to each other.

1. Branch office : In branch offices, smaller groups of people work and communicate with each via a network. Although some corporate information may be stored at a branch office, it is more likely that branch offices have local network resources, such as printers, but must access information directly from the main office.
2. Home office : When individuals work from home, the location is called a home office. Home office workers often require on-demand connections to the main or branch offices to access information or use network resources such as file servers.
3. Mobile users : Mobile users connect to the main office network while at the main office, at the branch, or traveling. The network access needs of mobile users are based oh where the mobile users are located.

You may use a network in your home office to communicate via the Internet to locate information, place orders for merchandise, and send messages to friends. Or you may have a small office that it set up with a network that connect other computers and printers in the office. Or you may work in a large enterprise in which there are many computers, printers, storage devices, and servers that are used to communicate and store information from many departments over large geographic areas.