Computer networkA computer network is a set of computers sharing resources located on or provided by network nodes. Computers use common communication protocols over digital interconnections to communicate with each other. These interconnections are made up of telecommunication network technologies based on physically wired, optical, and wireless radio-frequency methods that may be arranged in a variety of network topologies. The nodes of a computer network can include personal computers, servers, networking hardware, or other specialized or general-purpose hosts.
TymnetTymnet was an international data communications network headquartered in Cupertino, California that used virtual call packet-switched technology and X.25, SNA/SDLC, BSC and Async interfaces to connect host computers (servers) at thousands of large companies, educational institutions, and government agencies. Users typically connected via dial-up connections or dedicated asynchronous connections. The business consisted of a large public network that supported dial-up users and a private network that allowed government agencies and large companies (mostly banks and airlines) to build their own dedicated networks.
TelenetTelenet was an American commercial packet-switched network which went into service in 1975. It was the first FCC-licensed public data network in the United States. Various commercial and government interests paid monthly fees for dedicated lines connecting their computers and local networks to this backbone network. Free public dialup access to Telenet, for those who wished to access these systems, was provided in hundreds of cities throughout the United States. The original founding company, Telenet Inc.
DATAPACDATAPAC, or Datapac in some documents, was Canada's packet switched X.25-equivalent data network. Initial work on a data-only network started in 1972 and was announced by Bell Canada in 1974 as Dataroute. DATAPAC was implemented by adding packet switching to the existing Dataroute networks. It opened for use in 1976 as the world's first public data network based on X.25. Operated first by Trans-Canada Telephone System, then Telecom Canada, then the Stentor Alliance, it finally reverted to Bell Canada when the Stentor Alliance was dissolved in 1999.
X.25X.25 is an ITU-T standard protocol suite for packet-switched data communication in wide area networks (WAN). It was originally defined by the International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative Committee (CCITT, now ITU-T) in a series of drafts and finalized in a publication known as The Orange Book in 1976. This makes it one of the oldest packet-switching communication protocols available; it was developed several years before IPv4 (1981) and the OSI Reference Model (1984).
CompuServeCompuServe (CompuServe Information Service, also known by its initialism CIS or later CSi) was an American online service, the first major commercial one in the world – described in 1994 as "the oldest of the Big Three information services (the others are Prodigy and America Online)." It dominated the industry during the 1980s and remained a major influence through the mid-1990s. At its maximum during the early 1990s, CIS was known for its online chat system, message forums for a variety of topics, extensive software libraries for most personal computers, and a series of popular online games, notably MegaWars III and Island of Kesmai.
InternetworkingInternetworking is the practice of interconnecting multiple computer networks, such that any pair of hosts in the connected networks can exchange messages irrespective of their hardware-level networking technology. The resulting system of interconnected networks are called an internetwork, or simply an internet. The most notable example of internetworking is the Internet, a network of networks based on many underlying hardware technologies. The Internet is defined by a unified global addressing system, packet format, and routing methods provided by the Internet Protocol.
TelecommunicationsTelecommunication, often used in its plural form, is the transmission of information by various types of technologies over wire, radio, optical, or other electromagnetic systems. It has its origin in the desire of humans for communication over a distance greater than that feasible with the human voice, but with a similar scale of expediency; thus, slow systems (such as postal mail) are excluded from the field.
Telecommunications networkA telecommunications network is a group of nodes interconnected by telecommunications links that are used to exchange messages between the nodes. The links may use a variety of technologies based on the methodologies of circuit switching, message switching, or packet switching, to pass messages and signals. Multiple nodes may cooperate to pass the message from an originating node to the destination node, via multiple network hops. For this routing function, each node in the network is assigned a network address for identification and locating it on the network.
Wide area networkA wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunications network that extends over a large geographic area. Wide area networks are often established with leased telecommunication circuits. Businesses, as well as schools and government entities, use wide area networks to relay data to staff, students, clients, buyers and suppliers from various locations around the world. In essence, this mode of telecommunication allows a business to effectively carry out its daily function regardless of location.
