Understanding Network Communications - Novell NETWARE 6-DOCUMENTATION Manual

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Understanding Network
Communications
Network communications involve many complex operations, but these
operations can be grouped into four major categories:
Identifying Devices (page 12)
For computers to communicate on networks, each must have an address.
Just as postal services are unable to deliver a package without an address,
computers are unable to communicate without an address. Since
computers use numbers for addresses, but humans have an easier time
distinguishing names, computers use protocols to match the number
address to a name.
Finding Services (page 13)
Once a computer has an address and/or name, it can start communicating
with other computers. Its first communication is to let other computers
know what services it has to offer. Then it must find out what services are
being offered by other computers on the network. This is accomplished
by using one of several service advertising and location protocols.
Moving Packets (page 13)
Having discovered other computers' addresses and the services they offer,
a computer can start moving packets between itself and other hosts. To
communicate efficiently, though, computers must know the fastest way to
move data from point A to point B. Computers determine the best route
from computer to computer with routing protocols.
Coordination (page 14)
Finally, network communication depends upon maintaining data
integrity. NetWare
ensure data integrity on the network. Time servers coordinate their time
®
servers must coordinate time and NDS

Understanding Network Communications

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replicas to
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