Networking includes the technics used to connect two or more computers such that they can communicate. Communication in this case being the ability to tranfer data and command from one computer to another. for starters we have to establish a physical medium of communication between them. Usualy we use copper:
Unshielded Twisted pair (UTP)
These are twisted pairs of insulated copper which are then encloseed in a plastic insulator. twisting pairs reduces noise and crosstalk in the media.
Sheilded Twisted Pair (STP)
These are twisted pairs of insulated copper which are then enclosed in a foil to reduce interuptions from external elecrtical and magnetic signals. this make STP less prone to noise than UTP The number of pairs varies from 2 to 50 depending on the application.
Coaxial :
This is made up of a solid copper core enclosed in plastic insulation around which a copper gauze (second conductor) is placed. all this is then enclosed in plastic insulation.
Optic fibre :
This is made up of an optical core, which conduct the light signal, enclosed in a plastic medium of slighlty higher refractive index which help to concentrate the rays in the core.all this is the reinforced using a ruber insulator. the light signal transmitted are produced using light emitting diode (LEDs) While copper is cheaper and easier to implement it offers limited speed, upto 100 megabytes per second (Mbps). It uses electrical signals to transmit data. Fibre can go up 2000 mbps. It uses optical/light signals to transmit data. More on optic fibre
Connectors
To interface these media to the computer, we need a network adapter/card on each of the computers with the appropriate connectors. Common connectors include RJ45 for UTP and STP and BNC for coaxial. Fibre uses its own special connectors.
Protocols
Once the media has been installed then we move on to the configuration part. this includes putting in place the right protocols , a protocol is a rule, procedure or "language" used by computers in order to communicate, eg Tcp/IP,Netbeui, IPX/SPX , NetBIOS, OSI etc. For any two computers to communicate they must have the same protocols installed. When two or more computers in the a limited geographical area are connected they make up a LAN (Local Area Network).Two or more LANs make up a wide area network WAN. The internet itself is a wide area network (WAN). The internet uses only one protocol ie TCP/IP. The internet uses various protocols to transfer information; they include: HTTP, HTTPS, FTP.