Computer Network

A network is any collection of independent computers that communicate with one another over a shared network
medium. In simple terms, a computer network is a collection of two or more computers linked together for the
purpose of sharing information and resources. When these computers are joined in a network, people can share
files and peripherals such as modems, printers, backup drives, or CD-ROM drives. Each computer on the network
is called a node and hence, a network is a series of points or nodes interconnected by communication paths
(transmission media).

Need for Networking

Why has networking evolved as an indispensable part of technology today? To find answer to this question, let
us have a look at the advantages of networking:

1. Resource sharing - files and peripherals

i) Sharing Files:
A network enables users to share data files with each other. For e.g. different departments of an
organization may be separated physically, being at distant places, but their data could be stored on a
central computer which can be accessed by computers located in different departments. In this way
latest data can be made available at all times to all users.
ii) Sharing Peripherals:
Laser printers and large storage media are quite expensive. Networks enable us to share such resources
and hence reduce the operational cost of any organization. For e.g. a company with about fifty
computers can share resources such as printers, scanners, hard disks etc., thereby reducing the cost
considerably.
iii) Sharing storage:
On a network, one can access data from any machine. Hence storage can be distributed and thus
database load can be shared on the network. This even proves to be cost effective. A file can even have
copies on two or three machines.

2. Access to remote database

This is another major use of network. It is easy for an average person to access any remote database, say
for example, airline reservations and thereby book tickets. Likewise, databases of trains, online universities,
hotels etc. can be accessed as per the requirement. Remote- control/access programs can be used to
troubleshoot problems or show new users how to perform a task.

3. Improving communication
A computer network can provide a powerful, fast and reliable communication medium among the users of
various computers on the network. With the help of internet, we can communicate efficiently and easily via
email, instant messaging, chat rooms, telephone, video telephone calls, and video conferencing.

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 Disadvantages of Network
1. Threat to data
A computer network may be used by unauthorized users to steal or corrupt the data and even to deploy
computer viruses or computer worms on the network. File security has to be taken care of especially if
connected to WANs.

2. Difficult to set up
The systems on a network are more sophisticated and complex to run. Sometimes setting up a network,
especially larger networks may turn out to be a difficult task. If systems are badly managed services can
become unusable. In addition to this, larger networks may also be very costly to set up and maintain. Often
a specialist may be needed to run and maintain the network.

Evaluation of Network
In 1969, the University of California at Los Angeles and the University of Utah were connected with the
beginning of the ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Agency NETwork) using 56 kbit/s circuits, which is
sponsored by U.S. (United States) Department of Defense (DoD). The goal of this project was to connect
computers at different Universities and U.S. (United States) defense.
In mid-80’s another federal agency, the National Science Foundation (NSF) created a new high capacity
network called NSFnet (National Science Foundation Network), which was more capable than ARPANET. The
only drawback of NSFnet was that it allowed only academic research on its network and not any kind of
private business on it. Now, several private organisations and people started working to build their own
networks, named private networks, which were later (in 1990’s) connected with ARPANET and NSFnet to form
the Internet. The Internet really became popular in 1990’s after the development of World Wide Web (WWW)

Data Communication Terminologies

Data means information in Digital format and communication means to exchange information between to or
many users in anyways like speaking, texting or any other more of the medium. So, data communication is
simply the exchange of data between two or many users through the transmission media like twisted pair
cable, co–axial cable, optical fiber, Radio wave, Satellite microwave etc. The user of device that sends the data
is the source & the user that receive the data is the receiver or data interchange to take place, the
communicating devices must be a part of a system comprising of the combination of hardware and software.

Components of data communication

1. Sender: The sender (source) who create the message to be transmitted.
2. Receiver: The receiver (sink) who receive the message.
3. Medium: Medium that carries the message.
4. Message: A message in its most general meaning is in object of communication it is a vessel which
provide information. It is dependent upon the context in which is used the term may apply both the
information and his form.

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 5. Communication media: It means used to exchange/transmit the message. Communication media
varies depending upon the feature of communication for instance written medium is chosen then a
message as to be conveyed to the small group of people, while an oral medium is chosen when
spontaneous feedback is required.
6. Protocol: A protocol is a formal description of digital message formats and the rules for exchanging
those messages in or between computing system and in telecommunication.

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Measuring Capacity of Communication Media
1. Channel: Physical medium like cables over which information is exchanged is called channel.
Transmission channel may be analog or digital. As the name suggests, analog channels transmit data
using analog signals while digital channels transmit data using digital signals.
2. Bandwidth: The range of frequencies available for transmission of data. Bandwidth can be used in
two different contexts with two different measuring values:
i) BANDWIDTH IN HERTZ: is the range of frequencies contained in a composite signal or the range of
frequencies a channel can pass. It is measured as Hz (Hertz), KHz(Kilo), MHz(Mega)
ii) BANDWITDH IN BITS PER SECOND: number of bits per second that a channel, link, or network can
transmit. It is measures as bps, Kbps, Mbps, etc.
3. Data transfer rate: It defines the number of data elements (bits) sent in 1 second. The unit is
bps (bits per second) are:
i) Kbps (Kilo bits per second)
ii) Mbps (Mega bits per second)
iii) Gbps (Giga bits per second)
iv) Tbps (Tera bits per second)

IP Address:
IP address is a unique address that identify a device on the internet or a local network IP stands for internet
protocol which is the set of rules governing the format of data sent by the internet or the local network.

Switching Techniques: Switching techniques are used for transmitting data across networks.
Different types are:
1. Circuit Switching: In the Circuit Switching technique, first, the complete end-to-end transmission path
between the source and the destination computers is established and then the message is transmitted
through the path. The main advantage of this technique is guaranteed delivery of the message. Mostly
used for voice communication.
2. Message Switching: In the Message switching technique, no physical path is established between
sender and receiver in advance. This technique follows the store and forward mechanism.
3. Packet Switching: In this switching technique fixed size of packet can be transmitted across the
network.

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 Transmission media:
Computer networks are formed when computers are connected with one another. The connections among
the hosts are established using specific communication media. Based on this parameter, the computer
network can be categorized as these:
1. Wired Computer Networks
2. Wireless Computer Networks

1. Wired Computer Networks: A wired network uses cables to connect devices, such as laptop or
desktop computers, to the Internet or another network. Wired networks provide better security than a
wireless network and can transfer data faster. Most wired computer network are of LAN type.

Most commonly used cables in wired network are one of the following three types:
i) Twisted pair cable: It consists of two identical 1 mm thick copper wires insulated and twisted
together. The twisted pair cables are twisted in order to reduce crosstalk and electromagnetic
induction.
Advantages:
 It is easy to install and maintain.
 It is very inexpensive
Disadvantages:
 It is incapable to carry a signal over long distances without the use of repeaters.
 Due to low bandwidth, these are unsuitable for broadband applications.

ii) Co-axial Cables: It consists of a solid wire core surrounded by one or more foil or braided wire
shields, each separated from the other by some kind of plastic insulator. It is mostly used in the
cable wires.
Advantages:
 Data transmission rate is better than twisted pair cables.
 It provides a cheap means of transporting multi-channel television signals around
metropolitan areas.
Disadvantages:
 Expensive than twisted pair cables.
 Difficult to manage and reconfigure.

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 iii) Optical fiber: An optical fiber consists of thin glass fibers that can carry information in the form of
visible light.
Advantages:
 Transmit data over long distance with high security.
 Data transmission speed is high
 Provide better noise immunity
 Bandwidth is up to 10 Gbps.
Disadvantages:
 Expensive as compared to other guided media.
 Need special care while installation?

2. Wireless Computer Networks: Wireless networks are computer networks that are not
connected by cables of any kind. The use of a wireless network enables enterprises to avoid the costly
process of introducing cables into buildings or as a connection between different equipment locations.

Most commonly used transmission media in wireless networks are:

i) Radio Wave: Radio Wave an electromagnetic wave with a wavelength between 0.5 cm and
30,000 m. The transmission making use of radio frequencies is termed as radio-wave transmission.
Advantages:
 Radio wave transmission offers mobility.
 It is cheaper than laying cables and fibers.
 It offers ease of communication over difficult terrain.
Disadvantages:
 Radio wave communication is insecure communication.
 Radio wave propagation is susceptible to weather effects like rains, thunder storms etc.

ii) Microwave Wave: The Microwave transmission is a line of sight transmission. Microwave signals
travel at a higher frequency than radio waves and are popularly used for transmitting data over
long distances.
Advantages:
 It is cheaper than laying cable or fiber.
 It has the ability to communicate over oceans.

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 Disadvantages:
 Microwave communication is an insecure communication.
 Signals from antenna may split up and transmitted in different way to different antenna which
leads to reduce to signal strength.
 Microwave propagation is susceptible to weather effects like rains, thunder storms etc.
 Bandwidth allocation is extremely limited in case of microwaves.

iii) Satellite link: The satellite transmission is also a kind of line of sight transmission that is used to
transmit signals throughout the world.
Advantages:
 Area covered is quite large.
 No line of sight restrictions such as natural mountains, tall building, towers etc.
 Earth station which receives the signals can be fixed position or relatively mobile.

Disadvantages:
 Very expensive as compared to other transmission mediums.
 Installation is extremely complex.
 Signals sent to the stations can be tampered by external interference.

iv) Infrared: The infrared light transmits data through the air and can propagate Material downloaded
from myCBSEguide.com. 5 / 14 throughout a room, but will not penetrate walls. It is a secure
medium of signal transmission. The infrared transmission has become common in TV remotes,
automotive garage doors, wireless speakers etc.
Advantages:
 Since it is having short range of communication hence it is considered to be a secure mode of
transmission.
 It is quite inexpensive transmission medium.
Disadvantages:
 It can only be used for short range communication.
 Infrared wave transmission cannot pass through obstructions like walls, buildings etc.

Networking Devices
Networking devices hold the key to generate a network through which communication can occur. These
devices are responsible smooth data transmission among different nodes of same network and/or nodes of
different network.

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 1. Networking Devices: Hub
 A hub is the most basic networking device that connects multiple computers or other network
devices together. It is an element of hardware for centralizing network traffic coming from
multiple hosts, and to propagate the signal.
 The hub has a certain number of ports (it has enough ports to link machines to one another,
usually 4, 8, 16 or 32).

Types of Hub: There are two basic types of hubs:

 Passive Hub: This type of does not amplify or boost the signal. It does not manipulate or view
the traffic that crosses it. The passive hub does not require electrical power to work.
 Active Hub: It amplifies the incoming signal before passing it to the other ports. It requires AC
power to do the task.

2. Networking Devices: Switch

 In a network, a switch is a hardware device that filters and forwards network packets from one
networking device to another. In the context of networking is a high-speed device that receives
incoming data packets and redirects them to their destination on a local area network (LAN).
 Unlike a hub, a switch forwards a message to a specific host. When any host on the network or
a switch sends a message to another host on the same network or same switch.
 Basically, switches come in certain number of ports 8 ports, 12 ports, 16 ports, 24 ports, 28 ports.

3. Networking Devices: Bridge

 Bridge is a device which is used for connecting similar or dissimilar Local Area Networks (LANs).
 Its concept is based upon store and forward technology.
 By connecting different LANs, it can expand the geographical are of a network.
 A bridge consists of two ports and different LANs can be connected through these ports.
 Brides amplifies the signals and filter the data packets as required.
 Most bridges have only 2 or 4 ports.

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 4. Networking Devices: Router
 A router is a device which is used for connecting similar and dissimilar networks.
 In any network whenever data transmission occurs, it is done through a series of nodes that are
connected from source to destination. The shortest path to transmit the data from source to
destination is called as route and this process is called as routing and this is achieved using
routers.
 Routers are combination of software and hardware. A simple network connected through router
is depicted below.
 Most routers have four WAN ports. If you have more wired devices than can fit on a router, you
can plug them all in using a wired switch.

5. Networking Devices: Gateway

 Gateway is another network device which is used for connecting networks with different types of
architectures. For Example: Communication between a mobile device having 4G connection and
landline device having 2G connection can be done using gateway.

6. Networking Devices: Repeater

 In all communication channels, signals get week after they travel some particular amount of
distance. So it is necessary to boost up these week signals, which is done with the help of
repeaters.

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 7. Networking Devices: Modem
 Modem is a combinatory network device consisting of Modulator and De-modulator. It is a type
of signal converter.
 Modem is responsible for converting analog to digital signals and/or digital to analog signal. This
process is called modulation.
 It allows transmission of analog data signals to digital data signals from landline telephone cables
to computers. The data packets are segmented into smaller packets and are transmitted through
the medium. Modem restructures those smaller data packets before receiver receives it.

8. Networking Devices: Wi-Fi Card

 A WiFi card is either an internal or external Local Area Network adapter with a built-in wireless
antenna.
 The most common WiFi cards used in desktop computers are PCI-Express WiFi cards made to fit
the PCI-Express card slots on the motherboard.

9. Networking Devices: NIC (Network Interface Card)

 A network interface card is a computer hardware component that connects a computer to a
computer network.
 It allows our PC to communicate with other PCs.
 The NIC manufacturer assigns a unique physical address to each NIC card; this physical address is
known as MAC Address (Media Access Control Address).

MAC Address:
 Mac Address is actually the number assigned to the network card of your computer.
 A MAC Address is a 6-byte address with each byte separated by a colon.
Ex- 10 : B5 : 03 : 63 : 2E : FC
 The first three bytes of MAC address are the manufacturer-id (Assigned to the manufacturer by
an international organization namely IEEE).
 And the last three bytes are the card-no (Assigned by manufacturer).

Manufacturer-id

10 : B5 : 03 : 63 : 2E : FC

Card-no

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 10. RJ45 connector: The RJ-45(Registered Jack) connectors are the plug-in devices used in the
networking and telecommunications applications. They are used primarily for connecting LANs,
particularly Ethernet.

11. Ethernet Card: It is a hardware device that helps in connection of nodes within a network. Itis a
kind of network adapter. These adapters support the Ethernet standard for high-speed network
connections via cables. An Ethernet Card contains connections for either coaxial or twisted pair
cables or even for fibre optic cable.

Types of Network
A computer network is a group of computers linked to each other that enables the computer to communicate
with another computer and share their resources, data, and applications. A computer network can be
categorized by their size. A computer network is mainly of four types:
1. PAN (Personal Area Network)
2. LAN (Local Area Network)
3. MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)
4. WAN (Wide Area Network)

1. LAN (Local Area Network)

 Local Area Network is a group of computers connected to each other in a small area such as building,
office.
 LAN is used for connecting two or more personal computers through a communication medium such as
twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.
 It is less costly as it is built with inexpensive hardware such as hubs, network adapters, and Ethernet
cables.
 The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in Local Area Network.
 Local Area Network provides higher security.
 LANs can span in the range of 5 kilometer.
 Examples: A networked office building, school or home. Sometimes one building can contain a few
small LANs (Like some schools have independent LANs in each computer lab).

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 2. PAN (Personal Area Network)
 Personal Area Network is a network arranged within an individual person, typically within a range of 10
meters.
 Personal Area Network is used for connecting the computer devices of personal use is known as
Personal Area Network.
 Personal computer devices that are used to develop the personal area network are the laptop, mobile
phones, media player and play stations.
 Examples:A network of devices such as computer, Phone, MP3/MP4 Player, Camera etc. Transferring
songs from one cell phone to another is a PAN of two phones. Transferring files from a PC to an MP3
player is a PAN between the two.

3. MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)

 A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger geographic area by interconnecting a
different LAN to form a larger network.
 Government agencies use MAN to connect to the citizens and private industries.
 In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other through a telephone exchange line.
 It has a higher range than Local Area Network (LAN).
 MANs can span in the range of 5 to 50 kilometers in diameter.
 Examples: A network of schools, or banks, or Government offices etc. with in a city.

4. WAN (Wide Area Network)

 A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large geographical area such as states or
countries.
 A Wide Area Network is quite bigger network than the MAN.
 A Wide Area Network is not limited to a single location, but it spans over a large geographical area
through a telephone line, fiber optical cable or satellite links.
 The internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.
 A Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of Business, government, and education.
 The range of WAN is more than 50 Kms.
 Examples: A network of ATMs, BANKs, National Government Offices, International Organizations'
Offices etc., spread over a country, continent, or covering many continents.

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 Network topologies and types Topology
Topology refers to the way in which the workstations attached to the network are interconnected.
1. The BUS Topology: The bus topology uses a common single cable to connect all the workstations.
Each computer performs its task of sending messages without the help of the central server. However,
only one workstation can transmit a message at a particular time in the bus topology.
Advantages:
 Easy to connect and install.
 Involves a low cost of installation time.
 Can be easily extended.
Disadvantages:
 The entire network shuts down if there is a failure in the central cable.
 Only a single message can travel at a particular time.
 Difficult to troubleshoot an error.

2. The STAR Topology: A STAR topology is based on a central node which acts as a hub. A STAR
topology is common in homes networks where all the computers connect to the single central
computer using it as a hub.
Advantages:
 Easy to troubleshoot.
 A single node failure does not affect the entire network.
 Fault detection and removal of faulty parts is easier.
 In case a workstation fails, the network is not affected.
Disadvantages:
 Difficult to expand.
 Longer cable is required.
 The cost of the hub and the longer cables makes it expensive over others.
 In case hub fails, the entire network fails.

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 3. The TREE Topology: The tree topology combines the characteristics of the linear bus and the star
topologies. It consists of groups of star – configured workstations connected to a bus backbone cable.
Advantages:
 Eliminates network congestion.
 The network can be easily extended.
 Faulty nodes can easily be isolated from the rest of the network.
Disadvantages:
 Uses large cable length.
 Requires a large amount of hardware components and hence is expensive.
 Installation and reconfiguration are very difficult.

Networks Protocols:
 Refers to SET OF RULES.
 In Network there are variety of computer connected to each other and data in many ways.
 For interaction among these, some rules are applied like how and when a device can send and receive
data, how to send the data packet and how to receive etc. There are many protocols used like:

1. HTTP (HyperText Transfer Protocol): A protocol that transmits hypertext over networks. This is
the underlying protocol used by the World Wide Web and this protocol defines how messages are
formatted and transmitted, and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to
various commands.

2. HTTPS (HyperText Transfer Protocol Secure): This is an extension of the Hypertext

Transfer Protocol (HTTP). It is the protocol where encrypted HTTP data is transferred over a secure
connection.

3. Telnet: Telnet is mainly used for the remote login process. It is an Internet utility that lets you log onto
remote computer systems.

4. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol): This is the protocol used for sending e-mail over the
Internet. It is used when you send email to another recipient.

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 5. IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol): It is an Internet standard protocol used by email
clients to retrieve email messages from a mail server.

6. TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol):

Standard Internet communications protocols that allow digital computers to communicate over long
distances. The Internet is a packet-switched network, in which information is broken down into small
packets, sent individually over many different routes at the same time, and then reassembled at the
receiving end. TCP is the component that collects and reassembles the packets of data, while IP is
responsible for making sure the packets are sent to the right destination.

7. FTP (File Transfer Protocol): The File Transfer Protocol is a standard network protocol used for the
transfer of computer files between a client and server on a computer network.

8. SFTP (Secure File Transfer Protocol): Secure File Transfer Protocol (SFTP) is a secure version of
File Transfer Protocol (FTP), which facilitates data access and data transfer over a Secure Shell (SSH)
data stream. It is part of the SSH Protocol. This term is also known as SSH File Transfer Protocol.

9. POP3 (Post Office Protocol version 3): POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3) is the most recent
version of a standard protocol for receiving e-mail. POP3 is a client/server protocol in which e-mail is
received and held for you by your Internet server.

10. VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol): Voice over Internet Protocol is a category of hardware and
software that enables people to use the Internet as the transmission medium for telephone calls by
sending voice data in packets.

11. PPP(Point-to-Point): Point - to - Point Protocol (PPP) is a communication protocol of the data link
layer that is used totransmit multiprotocol data between two directly connected (point-to-point)
computers.

Introduction to web services

1. WWW (World Wide Web): WWW can be defined as a hypertext information retrieval system
on
the Internet. Tim Berners -Lee is the inventor of WWW. WWW is the universe of the information
available on the internet. WWW consists of web pages, which use HTML to interchange information on
the internet. All the webpages on WWW use HTTP transfer protocol for any information with the
capability for making hypertext jumps

2. HTML: HTML is a markup language, which is used to define the layout and attributes of a WWW
document as well as to create links between web pages. It was developed in the year 1990 by scientist
“Tim Berners Lee”.
HTML is a short form of HyperText Markup Language, which means:
i) HyperText is simply a piece of text that links another document.
ii) Markup Language is a way of writing layout information within documents.
HTML documents are described through HTML tags.

3. XML (EXtensible Markup Language): XML is a mark-up language like HTML. It is designed to
carry or store data. In contrast to HTML, it is not designed to display data. Unlike HTML, it does not
have predefined tags. It is possible to define new tags in XML. It allows the programmer to use

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 customized tags. XML is case sensitive. XML is deigned to be self-descriptive.
Difference between HTML and XML:
HTML XML
It focuses on presentation of data It focuses on structure of data i.e. how datais
i.e. how the data will appear onweb stored. XML data can be presented on web
page. page by using XSLT (XML Style sheet Language
Transformation)
TAGs are fixed i.e. we cannotcreate TAGs are not fixed, we can create our owntag
our own tag
Case Insensitive Case Sensitive
Ordering of TAG is immaterial Ordering of TAG i.e. nesting of TAG mustbe in
correct order

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o

e
4. Domain Name: A domain name is a unique name that identifies a particular website and
represents
the name of the server where the web pages reside.

Generic Domain Names:

• .com – commercial business
• .edu – educational institutes
• .gov – government agencies
• .net -- network organizations
• .org -- Organizations(nonprofit)
Country Specific Domain Names:
 .in – india
 .au – Australia
 .ca – Canada
 .ch – China
 .nz – New Zealand
 .pk – Pakistan
 .jp – Japan
 .us – United States of America

5. Uniform Resource locator: URL is the unique address of a web page on Internet. Each Web page
has an address describing where it can be found. This address is known as Web address. A Web
address identifies the location of a specific Web page on the Internet.
The URL contains three parts, which are as follows:

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 6. Web Site: A group of related Web pages that follow the same theme and are connected together
with hyperlinks is called a Website. In other terms, “A website is a collection of interconnected web
pages, designed with a certain goal in mind.
Each Website is accessed by its own address known as URL (Uniform Resource Locator). e.g.
http://www.aimsinternationalschool.co.in
Website is broadly of two types:
i) STATIC WEB SITE: static web site is used to display information without any interactionwith
user or web server.
ii) DYNAMIC WEB SITE: allows user interaction with web site and can communicate with web
server again and again.

7. Web Browser: It is a software application that is used to locate, retrieve and display some content
on the World Wide Web, including Web pages. These are programs used to explore the Internet. It is
an interface that helps a computer user to gain access over all the content on the Internet. We can
install more than one Web browser on a single computer. The user can navigate files, folders and
Websites with the help of a browser. There are two types of Web browsers, which are as follows:

i) Text-Only Web Browser: A Web browser that displays only text-based information is known
as text-only Web browser, e.g. Lynx.
ii) Graphical Web Browser: A Web browser that supports both text anu graphic information is
known as graphical Web browser. e.g. Internet Explorer, Firefox, Netscape, Safari, Google
Chrome, Opera.

8. Web Server: A Web server is a computer or a group of computers that stores web pages on
the internet. It responds to web related request. Web Server works on client/server model. It
delivers the requested web page to web browser.

9. Web Hosting: Web hosting is the process of uploading/saving the web content on a web server to
make it available on WWW. In case an individual or a company wants to make its website available
on the internet, it should be hosted on a web server.

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