BWL#5 5/9/2022
Networks are simply things connected. But more specifically, in computing, networking is the same idea, just dispersed to technological devices. Take your phone as an example; the reason that you have it is to access things. In computing, a network can be formed by anywhere from 2 devices to billions. The first iteration of the Internet was within the ARPANET project in the late 1960s. This project was funded by the United States Defence Department and was the first documented network in action. However, it wasn't until 1989 that the Internet as we know it was invented by Tim Berners-Lee by the creation of the World Wide Web (WWW). It wasn't until this point that the Internet wasn't used as a repository for storing and sharing information (like it is today).
- A private network
- A public network
Devices have the same thing: two means of identification, with one being permeable. These are:
- An IP Address
- A Media Access Control (MAC) Address -- think of this as being similar to a serial number.
IP Addresses
Briefly, an IP address (or Internet Protocol) address can be used as a way of identifying a host on a network for a period, where that IP address can then be associated with another device without the IP address changing.
MAC Addresses
Devices on a network will all have a physical network interface, which is a microchip board found on the device's motherboard. This network interface is assigned a unique address at the factory it was built, called a MAC (Media Access Control ) address. The MAC address is a twelve-character hexadecimal number (a base sixteen numbering system used in computing to represent numbers) split into twos and separated by a colon. These colons are considered separators. For example, a4:c3:f0:85:ac:2d. The first six characters represent the company that made the network interface, and the last six is a unique numbers.
Ping is one of the most fundamental network tools available to us. Ping uses ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) packets to determine the performance of a connection between devices, for example, if the connection exists or is reliable.