Network

A network is where two or more computers are linked together in order to share information and hard ware. At home for example I have a small network where my printer and scanner are shared. That way I don’t have to buy a separate printer and/scanner to my wife and my laptop.

Some weeks ago, in our information systems class, we talked about systems. There, it was mentioned that one characteristics of a system is that “the whole is greater than the sum of its parts”. This phrase explains networking very well, because a network is not just a collection of computers connected with each other with cables. Having a network that is properly implements and running is having an advantage fare greater than the individual computers or cables involved in the network can do. It brings users capabilities and benefits above and beyond the individual machines or soft ware applications can provide.
Networking has the advantage of connectivity and communication. A small group of people in a building can be connected into a local area network (LAN). This LANs in distant locations can be interconnected into larger wide area networks (WANs). Through these connections, it is possible for network users to communicate with each other using technologies such as electronic mail. This makes the transmission information easier, more efficient and less expensive than it would be without the network.

Networking also have an advantage of Data Sharing- Before networking was common, an accounting employee who wanted to prepare a report for her manager would have to produce it on his PC, put it on a floppy disk, and then walk it over to the manager, who would transfer the data to his PC's hard disk. This is also very important for small home connection as well because data sharing enables users to share printers and scanners in a very basic stage.

In a business environment, a network also allows the administrators to better manage the company's critical data. Instead of having this data spread over dozens or even hundreds of small computers in a haphazard fashion as their users create it; data can be centralized on shared servers. This makes it easy for everyone to find the data, makes it possible for the administrators to ensure that the data is regularly backed up, and also allows for the implementation of security measures to control that can read or change various pieces of critical information

Networks also facilitate many types of games and entertainment. The Internet itself offers many sources of entertainment, of course. In addition, many multi-player games exist that operate over a local area network. Many home networks are set up for this reason, and gaming across wide area networks (including the Internet) has also become quite popular. Of course, if you are running a business and have easily-amused employees, you might insist that this is really a