Exploring the Internet - Class #23-#26
Network Standards
Today's networks connect terminals, devices, and computers from many different manufacturers across many types of networks. For example, an IBM mainframe computer cannot communicate directly with an Apple Macintosh network, some form of translation must occur for devices on these two types of networks to communicate. For the different devices on various types of networks to be able to communicate, the network must use similar techniques of moving data through the network from one application to another. Network standards have been developed to specify the way that incompatible computers communicate.
The following lists the more widely used network communications standards for both wired and wireless networks.
Ethernet
Specifies no central computer or device on the network should control when
data can be transmitted.
Token Ring
Computers and devices on the network share or pass a special signal called a
token, in a unidirectional manner and in a preset order.
TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
Defines how messages are routed from one end of a network to the other,
ensuring the data arrives correctly.
802.11 or Wi-Fi
(wireless fidelity)
Developed by IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) that
specifies how two wireless devices communicate over the air with each other.
Bluetooth
Defines how two Bluetooth devices use short-range radio waves to transmit
data.
UWB
(ultra-wideband)
Specifies how two UWB devices use short-range radio waves to communicate at
high speeds with each other.
IrDA (infrared
data association)
Standard used to transmit data wirelessly via infrared light waves.
RFID (radio
frequency identification)
Defines how a network uses radio signals to communicate with a tag placed
in, or attached to, an object, and animal, or a person.
802.16 or WiMAX
(Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access)
Newer standard developed by IEEE that specifies how wireless devices
communicate over the air in a wide area.
WAP (wireless
application protocol)
Specifies how some wireless mobile devices such as
smart phones and PDAs can display the content of Internet services such as
the Web, email, chat rooms, and newsgroups.