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5. 1 A Brief Introduction to Networks
Networks are useful to people who need to work together and share
information. People like working cooperatively on projects; they need to
communicate and exchange information, share common databases, share files
and disk storage, share printers, or use a mail system. Digital networking lets
them do all these.
For network installation instructions, proceed to Section 5.2. For users who
want more background, here are a few networking definitions to help you get
started:
• Network-A network is a group of computers, connected by
communications lines, that share information and resources. A network
can span a small office, a department, a building, a country, or it can be
worldwide. Digital hardware and DECnet software enable computers to
form a network.
• Local Area Network (LAN)-A local area network is a high-speed
communications network that covers a limited geographical area, such as
an office area, a department, a building, or a campus (group of buildings).
• Ethernet-Ethernet is the Digital local area network. In 1980, Digital
Equipment Corporation, Xerox Corporation, and Intel Corporation came up
with a specification for the Ethernet local area network. The specification
includes information on how to connect devices to a coaxial cable, how to
configure nodes, the maximum number of nodes, and the distance between
nodes.
• Thin Wire Ethernet-All Digital Ethernet products can connect to
Thin Wire cable. Thin Wire cable can be used in any size environment;
it is :flexible, fully compatible with standard Ethernet, inexpensive, and
offers 10 megabit-per-second communication. Thin Wire is ideal for small
daisy-chain standalone networks in which the users share resources, such
as printers and storage devices.
• Standard Ethernet-Standard Ethernet coaxial cable is used to connect
wiring centers and computer facilities, floors of buildings, and standalone
Thin Wire segments. It is of rugged construction, reliable, and immune
to external factors that might otherwise limit high-speed 10 megabit-per-
second data communication.
• DECnet-DECnet networking software enables many Digital computer
systems to form a network. It runs on systems in both local area networks
and wide-area networks.
• DECnet-ULTRIX-ULTRIX software is Digital's version of the UNIX
operating system. DECnet-ULTRIX provides an Ethernet-based
communication link between the VMS and ULTRIX operating systems.
5-2 Connecting to a Network
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