TCP/IP Guide

Segments, Networks, Subnetworks, and Internetworks

One of the reasons that networks are so powerful is that they can be used to connect not only individual computers, but also groups of computers. Thus, network connections can exist at multiple levels; one network can be attached to another network, and that entire network can be attached to another set of networks, and so on. The ultimate example of this is, of course, the Internet, which is a huge collection of networks that have been interconnected into…dare I say, a web?

This means that a larger network can be described as consisting of several smaller networks or even parts of networks that are linked together. Conversely, we can talk about taking individual networks or network portions and ...