Ok, it's time to show your age. Can you remember a time before the internet? When the world you saw in black and white? When the cars that ran on batteries were toys? When the only mobile phone was a cordless house phone. When we played music on turntables with a big black disk - oh sorry, they're back again.
Once upon a time, computers were nothing more than fancy typewriters - they had two essential functions - word processing (Typewriter) and spreadsheets (Abacus). The only connectivity required was to the socket and the printer.
My first computer was a Mac LC it had 4Mb of RAM (Memory) and 40Mb of hard-disk (Storage) - that's about 4,000 times less RAM than current computers and a hard-disk about 12,000 times smaller. My connection to the internet was dial-up using a 14.4 MBps modem (Beep, bop, squeak) that is about 5,000 times slower than my current internet connection.
Ahh, the good 'ol days.
Sorry for blathering on - Time to get back to business.
Networks
Nowadays, the most important connection for your computer after power is to your network and in turn, the internet.
So let's explore different methods and options for connectivity between your computer and the network/internet and attempt to simplify the terminology. When I started to write this, I didn't realise I was going down a rabbit hole, so this article is a little longer than planned and in two parts - for completeness of course.
So in the first part, we will cover what Ethernet is and what a Network Switch is.
Ethernet
When I am trying to find a connectivity problem, the first place I look is the network or ethernet cable to see if it is connected at both ends or damaged. (Ethernet and Network cable are interchangeable) So I ask customers to look for 'the thick telephone cable going into the back of their computer'. Not very exact, but when your customer is under their desk, they need some guidance! What would be really weird in 2020 is if they found a telephone cable plugged in! - so in future, I will say the wire that looks like a telephone cable and cross my fingers.
Xerox invented Ethernet in 1971 (they also invented Apple's user interface and the computer mouse).
Ethernet or wired network connections are the most reliable form of network connection. They have evolved to become faster over time from a lowly 10Mbps (Megabits per second) up to 1 Gbps (Giga or 1,000 bits per second). The network cable connects to the back of your computer and then to a network socket on the wall which is, in turn, wired back to a network cabinet and a network switch.
In your home, it is probably connected directly to the router, or most likely you don't use one, and it's still in the box because this is 2020 and you use WiFi.
Network Switch.
A network switch is not a switch as we know it but a device that links computers, printers and servers together to allow them to talk to each other and share information. It shares your router with all the devices on your network to allow them to connect to the internet. It is a meeting point, a distribution hub. It's like the plumbing for your computers.
That’s all, for now, folks in Part I - see y’all soon in Part II.
Don’t forget to check my other Blogs on https://www.route2.ie/blog