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282 Part Two Information Technology Infrastructure

FIGURE 7.2 CORPORATE NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE

Today’s corporate network infrastructure is a collection of many different networks from the public
switched telephone network, to the Internet, to corporate local area networks linking workgroups,
departments, or office floors.

the different communication networks and channels into a coherent system
that enables information to flow from one part of the corporation to another,
and from one system to another. As more and more communication networks
become digital, and based on Internet technologies, it will become easier to
integrate them.

KEY DIGITAL NETWORKING TECHNOLOGIES

Contemporary digital networks and the Internet are based on three key
technologies: client/server computing, the use of packet switching, and the
development of widely used communications standards (the most important
of which is Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, or TCP/IP) for
linking disparate networks and computers.

Client/Server Computing
Client/server computing, introduced in Chapter 5, is a distributed comput-
ing model in which some of the processing power is located within small,
inexpensive client computers, and resides literally on desktops, laptops, or in
handheld devices. These powerful clients are linked to one another through
a network that is controlled by a network server computer. The server sets
the rules of communication for the network and provides every client with an
address so others can find it on the network.

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