Computer Networking Full Course - Part 1

Now, in this course, we're going to use lots of terms that may be new to you. First one to start off with is a network interface card or nick. This is also called a network interface controller, network adapter, LAN adapter or local area network adapter or physical network interface. This is essentially a computer hardware component that connects a computer or a device such as an iPad to a computer network. In this example, we are connecting to a physical network. So, our computer is connected via a cable plugged into a network interface card or nick to give it access to the network. More and more these days, we have wireless network interface cards that connect us to networks running in the air rather than copper or fiber cabling. Computer networks allow us to connect to websites on the internet. You may have connected to many websites on the internet and just taken it for granted that those websites are available from almost anywhere in the world. In this example, I'm connecting to Facebook in California from the United Kingdom. Complex networks such as the internet enable this ability, but in its most basic form, what is a network? At its most basic level, a computer network could simply be two computers connected via a cable sharing information with each other. You may have a file on a PC as an example and want to share that with someone else. So you could connect two devices such as a laptop and PC using what's called an Ethernet cable to the network interface cards or interface adapters on the computers and allow them to share information with each other. That's all a computer network is in its simplest or most basic form. It's essentially two devices sharing information with each other. What is a network protocol? Well, a network protocol is essentially a set of rules and conventions that governs the communications between network devices or as an example between computers on a network. In order for two computers to talk to each other, as an example, they must be speaking the same language. If I only speak English and you only speak French, we're not going to communicate effectively. In the same way, when two computers communicate with one another, there needs to be a set of rules governing how those computers exchange data and effectively communicate with one another. In our everyday lives, we follow guidelines or rules when we communicate with one another. As an example, when you drive on the road, you follow a set of rules. When a traffic light is green, it means go.