We can classify network technologies as belonging to one of two basic groups. Local area network (LAN) technologies connect many devices that are relatively close to each other, usually in the same building. The library terminals that display book information would connect over a local area network. Wide area network (WAN) technologies connect a smaller number of devices that can be many kilometers apart. For example, if two libraries at the opposite ends of a city wanted to share their book catalog information, they would most likely make use of a wide area network technology, which could be a dedicated line leased from the local telephone company, intended solely to carry their data.

In comparison to WANs, LANs are faster and more reliable, but improvements in technology continue to blur the line of demarcation. Fiber optic cables have allowed LAN technologies to connect devices tens of kilometers apart, while at the same time greatly improving the speed and reliability of WANs.

A single shared cable can serve as the basis for a complete Ethernet network, which is what we discussed above. However, there are practical

Electrical signals propagate along a cable very quickly, but they weaken as they travel, and electrical interference from neighbouring devices (fluorescent lights, for example) can scramble the signal. A network cable must be short enough that devices at opposite ends can receive each other's signals clearly and with minimal delay. This places a distance limitation on the maximum separation between two devices (called the network diameter) on an Ethernet network. Additionally, since in CSMA/CD only a single device can transmit at a given time, there are practical limits to the number of devices that can coexist in a single network. Attach too many devices to one shared segment and contention for the medium will increase. Every device may have to wait an inordinately long time before getting a chance to transmit

Routers are specialized computers that send your messages and those of every other Internet user speeding to their destinations along thousands of pathways. In this edition of HowStuffWorks, we'll look at how these behind-the-scenes machines make the Internet work.

Computer networking technologies are the glue that binds these elements together. The public Internet allows businesses around the world to share information with each other and their customers. The global computer network known as the World Wide Web provides services that let consumers buy books, clothes, and even cars online, or auction those same items off when no longer wanted.

The Internet is one of the 20th century's greatest communications developments. It allows people around the world to send e-mail to one another in a matter of seconds, and it lets you read, among other things, the articles on HowStuffWorks.com’s. We're all used to seeing the various parts of the Internet that come into our homes and offices -- the Web pages, e-mail messages and downloaded files that make the Internet a dynamic and valuable medium. But none of these parts would ever make it to your computer without a piece of the Internet that you've probably never seen. In fact, most people have never stood "face to machine" with the technology most responsible for allowing the Internet to exist at all: the router.

We can classify network technologies as belonging to one of two basic groups. Local area network (LAN) technologies connect many devices that are relatively close to each other, usually in the same building. The library terminals that display book information would connect over a local area network. Wide area network (WAN) technologies connect a smaller number of devices that can be many kilometers apart. For example, if two libraries at the opposite ends of a city wanted to share their book catalog information, they would most likely make use of a wide area network technology, which could be a dedicated line leased from the local telephone company, intended solely to carry their data.

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