Upgrading and Repairing PCs, 21st Edition

Chapter 17. Local Area Networking

Defining a Network

A network is a group of two or more computers that intelligently share hardware or software devices with each other. A network can be as small and simple as two computers that share a printer or as complex as the world’s largest network: the Internet.

Home and SOHO (small-office, home office) networks are typically used to share a single Internet connection, but they can also be used to share other resources, such as printers or multifunction devices. A network enables devices connected to one computer to be shared intelligently with other computers or devices on a network.

Intelligently sharing means that each computer that shares resources with another computer or computers maintains control ...