68 lines
3.2 KiB
HTML
68 lines
3.2 KiB
HTML
<!DOCTYPE HTML PUBLIC "-//IETF//DTD HTML 2.0//EN">
|
|
<!--Converted with LaTeX2HTML 96.1-c (Feb 29, 1996) by Nikos Drakos (nikos@cbl.leeds.ac.uk), CBLU, University of Leeds -->
|
|
<HTML>
|
|
<HEAD>
|
|
<TITLE>History</TITLE>
|
|
</HEAD>
|
|
<BODY LANG="EN">
|
|
<A HREF="node1.html"><IMG WIDTH=65 HEIGHT=24 ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="contents" SRC="contents_motif.gif"></A> <BR>
|
|
<B> Next:</B> <A HREF="node5.html">UUCP Networks</A>
|
|
<B>Up:</B> <A HREF="node3.html">Introduction to Networking</A>
|
|
<B> Previous:</B> <A HREF="node3.html">Introduction to Networking</A>
|
|
<BR> <P>
|
|
<H1><A NAME="SECTION003100000">History</A></H1>
|
|
<P>
|
|
<A NAME="introhistory"></A>
|
|
The idea of networking is probably as old as telecommunications itself.
|
|
Consider people living in the stone age, where drums may have been used
|
|
to transmit messages between individuals. Suppose caveman A wants to
|
|
invite caveman B for a game of hurling rocks at each other, but they
|
|
live too far apart for B to hear A banging his drum. So what are A's
|
|
options? He could 1)-walk over to B's place, 2)-get a bigger drum, or
|
|
3)-ask C, who lives halfway between them, to forward the message. The
|
|
last is called networking.
|
|
<P>
|
|
Of course, we have come a long way from the primitive pursuits and
|
|
devices of our forebears. Nowadays, we have computers talk to each other
|
|
over vast assemblages of wires, fiber optics, microwaves, and the like,
|
|
to make an appointment for Saturday's soccer match.<A HREF="footnode.html#255"><IMG ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="gif" SRC="foot_motif.gif"></A> In the following, we will deal with the means and ways by which this
|
|
is accomplished, but leave out the wires, as well as the soccer part.
|
|
<P>
|
|
We will describe two types of networks in this guide: those based on
|
|
UUCP, and those based on TCP/IP. These are protocol suites and software
|
|
packages that supply means to transport data between two computers. In
|
|
this chapter, we will look at both types of networks, and discuss their
|
|
underlying principles.
|
|
<P>
|
|
<A NAME="256"></A>
|
|
<A NAME="257"></A>
|
|
<A NAME="258"></A>
|
|
<P>
|
|
We define a network as a collection of <em>hosts</em> that are able to
|
|
communicate with each other, often by relying on the services of a
|
|
number of dedicated hosts that relay data between the participants.
|
|
Hosts are very often computers, but need not be; one can also think of
|
|
X-terminals or intelligent printers as hosts. Small agglomerations of
|
|
hosts are also called <em>sites</em>.
|
|
<P>
|
|
<A NAME="261"></A>
|
|
<A NAME="262"></A>
|
|
Communication is impossible without some sort of language or code. In
|
|
computer networks, these languages are collectively referred to as
|
|
<em>protocols</em>. However, you shouldn't think of written protocols
|
|
here, but rather of the highly formalized code of behavior observed
|
|
when heads of state meet, for instance. In a very similar fashion,
|
|
the protocols used in computer networks are nothing but very strict
|
|
rules for the exchange of messages between two or more hosts.
|
|
<P>
|
|
<HR><A HREF="node1.html"><IMG WIDTH=65 HEIGHT=24 ALIGN=BOTTOM ALT="contents" SRC="contents_motif.gif"></A> <BR>
|
|
<B> Next:</B> <A HREF="node5.html">UUCP Networks</A>
|
|
<B>Up:</B> <A HREF="node3.html">Introduction to Networking</A>
|
|
<B> Previous:</B> <A HREF="node3.html">Introduction to Networking</A>
|
|
<P><ADDRESS>
|
|
<I>Andrew Anderson <BR>
|
|
Thu Mar 7 23:22:06 EST 1996</I>
|
|
</ADDRESS>
|
|
</BODY>
|
|
</HTML>
|