Himaathri Premakumar | Undergraduate | University of Vavuniya

As we all live in the telecommunications era, network and interconnectivity play an increasingly important part in our daily lives. Since the invention of communication, the need for a network has become critical. A network connects two or more nodes to share resources, which is essentially the same as communication. Nodes are communication equipment such as cellular phones, client computers, servers, printers, etc.

Figure 01

A network as illustrated in Figure 1 must have many different components to provide services and resources. All these components work together to ensure that resources are delivered to where they are needed efficiently. For data transmission, networks use a combination of hardware and software components.

To communicate with one another, computers use communication protocols over digital interconnections. These interconnections are made up of telecommunication network technologies based on various connection mediums such as physically wired, optical, and wireless radio-frequency methods that can be arranged in multiple network topologies classified as physical topology or component-based topology. Physical topologies include Local Area Networks, Wide Area Networks, and Metropolitan Area Networks, while component-based topologies include Peer-to-Peer and Client-Server architecture. There will be significant variation in network infrastructures depending on the size of the area covered, the number of users connected, and the number and types of services.

LAN: A LAN covers a relatively small area, such as a classroom, school, or a single building, and is less expensive to install while also providing faster speeds.

MAN:  A MAN spans the distance of a typical metropolitan city, where installation and operation are more expensive. These are used to achieve faster speeds in high-speed connections such as fibre optics.

WAN: WANs, which cover a larger area than a single city, are used for long-distance telecommunication network connections that raise the cost.

As previously stated, the network’s primary function is to connect devices, which improves communication by covering a wide range of users speedily and efficiently. Aside from that, a network is used to share resources, either data or peripheral devices. Furthermore, networks facilitate centralised management by assisting management tasks, increasing efficiency, and lowering management costs.

While talking about the interconnectivity among networks, it is caused by the transmission media. Transmission media is a pathway that carries the information from sender to receiver. Different types of cables or waves transmit data, where normally transmitted through electrical or electromagnetic signals. Bandwidth, Transmission impairments, Interference, Number of receivers are the factors that dominate the transmission rate among networks. The transmission media which provides interconnectivity to the networks can be classified as wired media and unwired media. Wired media includes Fibre optic cable, twisted pair cable, and Coaxial Cable. Each medium has pros and cons of its own, even though optical fibre is considered the fastest transmission medium among wired media. Unwired media transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical conductor which is known as wireless communication. Signals are broadcasted through free space and available to a capable receiver.

So, to conclude, a Network provides the connectivity among the nodes for resource sharing and communication. Interconnectivity among networks plays a vital part to make the network alive by connecting them.