It is a collection of computers and devices connected together, in which the communication devices provide a connection between computers. It shares resources among all the connected computers, including hardware, software, data and information. The world largest network is the Internet, basically is a worldwide collections of networks.
The Internet is a network of networks, linking computers to computers sharing the IP protocols. Each runs software to provide information, to access and view information. The internet is the transport vehicle for the information stored in files or documents on another computer. It can be compared to an international communications utility servicing computers. It is sometimes compared to a giant international plumbing system. The Internet itself does not contain information.
When a computer communicates with other computers and Web servers on the Internet, it must have an IP address. An IP address, also known as internet protocol, is a unique 32-bit number that identifies the location of your computer on a network. Basically, it is used to deliver information from one computer to another.
With the explosion of the Internet and the increase in home networks and business networks, the number of available IP addresses is simply not enough. The obvious solution is to redesign the address format to allow for more possible addresses. This is where NAT comes to the rescue. Network Address Translation allows a single device, such as a router, to act as an agent between the Internet and a local network. This means that only a single, unique IP address is required to represent an entire group of computers.
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