Computer network

Computer network

"Computer networks" redirects here. For the periodical, see Computer Networks (journal).
"Datacom" redirects here. For other uses, see Datacom (disambiguation).
Network science

Theory · History
Graph · Complex network · Contagion
Small-world · Scale-free ·
Community structure · Percolation · Evolution · Controllability · Topology · Graph drawing · Social capital · Link analysis · Optimization
Reciprocity · Closure · Homophily
Transitivity · Preferential attachment
Balance · Network effect · Influence
Types of Networks
Information · Telecommunication
Social · Biological · Neural · Semantic
Random · Dependency · Flow
Graphs
Vertex · Edge · Component
Directed · Multigraph · Bipartite
Weighted · Hypergraph · Random
Cycle · Loop · Path
Neighborhood · Clique · Complete · Cut
Data structure · Adjacency list & matrix
Incidence list & matrix
Metrics and Algorithms
Centrality · Degree · Betweenness
Closeness · PageRank · Motif
Clustering · Degree distribution · Assortativity · Distance · Modularity
Models
Random · Erdős–Rényi
Barabási–Albert · Watts–Strogatz
ERGM · Epidemic · Hierarchical
Browse
Topics · Software · Network scientists
Graph theory · Network theory
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A computer network, often simply referred to as a network, is a collection of computers and other hardware components interconnected by communication channels that allow sharing of resources and information.[1] Where at least one process in one device is able to send/receive data to/from at least one process residing in a remote device, then the two devices are said to be in a network. Simply, more than one computer interconnected through a communication medium for information interchange is called a computer network.
Networks may be classified according to a wide variety of characteristics, such as the medium used to transport the data, communications protocol used, scale, topology, and organizational scope.
Communications protocols define the rules and data formats for exchanging information in a computer network, and provide the basis for network programming. Well-known communications protocols include Ethernet, a hardware and link layer standard that is ubiquitous in local area networks, and the Internet protocol suite, which defines a set of protocols for internetworking, i.e. for data communication between multiple networks, as well as host-to-host data transfer, and application-specific data transmission formats.
Computer networking is sometimes considered a sub-discipline of electrical engineering, telecommunications, computer science, information technology or computer engineering, since it relies upon the theoretical and practical application of these disciplines