Draft:Outline of computer networks

The following outline is provided as an overview of and topical guide to computer networks:

A computer network is a collection of communicating computers and other devices, such as printers and smart phones. Today almost all computers are connected to a computer network, such as the global Internet or an embedded network such as those found in modern cars. Many applications have only limited functionality unless they are connected to a computer network. Early computers had very limited connections to other devices, but perhaps the first example of computer networking occurred in 1940 when George Stibitz connected a terminal at Dartmouth to his Complex Number Calculator at Bell Labs in New York.

What type of things are computer networks?

Computer networking can be described as all of the following:

Information theory

Types of computer networks

History of computer networks

Data transmission

Wired transmission

Public switched telephone network
- Modems and dialup
Dedicated lines — leased lines
ISDN
DSL
Time-division multiplexing(TDM)
Packet switching
Frame relay
PDH
Ethernet
RS-232
RS-485
Optical fiber transmission
- Synchronous optical networking(SONET)
- Fiber distributed data interface

Wireless transmission

Wireless

Extreme Short range

- ZigBee
Short range
- Bluetooth
- InfraRed(IrDA)
Medium range
- WiFi(IEEE 802.11)
- WiMax(IEEE 802.16)
Long range
- Satellite
- MMDS
- SMDS
- Mobile phone data transmission (channel access methods)
  - CDMA
  - CDPD
  - GSM
  - TDMA
- Paging networks
  - DataTAC
  - Mobitex
  - Motient

Computer network publications

Computer network organizations

Persons influential in computer networks

References

External links