Page 104 - Viva ICSE Computer Studies 8 : E-book

A computer in a network is called a node. A computer that sends information is called sender
and a computer that receives information is called receiver. Let’s understand the components
of a network.

Message

Medium

Sender Receiver

• Message: It is the information that is to be communicated. Message can be in the form
of text, images, audio or video.
• Sender: It is the device or machine that sends the message.

• Receiver: It is a device or machine that receives the message.
• Medium: It is a physical path through which the message travels from the sender to the
receiver. Twisted pair, coaxial cable, fi bre-optic are some examples of medium.

• Protocol: A protocol is the set of rules to be followed during data communication.

Benefi ts of Networking

Networking provides many benefi ts. Let’s learn about some benefi ts.
• Resource Sharing: Networking provides sharing of the hardware devices that are not
used often and are expensive. It reduces the cost of the hardware.

• Storage of Information: It is always better to store information on one device rather than
keeping a copy in individual machines. In this way, we can look at the central location for
the lost information.

• File Sharing: With the help of network, we can easily share data between diff erent users
and access it remotely.

Types of Networks

Network can be divided into the following categories depending on the area covered by it.

Personal Area Network (PAN)

Personal area network (PAN) covers a small geographical
area of about 10 metres. It can be either wired or wireless.
It is used for communication between the devices like
desktops, laptops and smartphones. It is mostly used to
transfer fi les like e-mails, audios and videos. Bluetooth is
an example of personal area network.

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