A network is a connected (via some form of cables) system of computer hardware.
The Birkbeck College Department of Crystallography has a local network which
consists of all electronically connected computers within the department.
Such a network is called a Local Area Network (LAN). Other LANs within
the College might include those of the Chemistry, Biology, Physics, English,
German (and so on !) departments.
Some of Birkbecks computers are at a different location within the city ;
however, they are still connected to each other and hence also constitute
a LAN. When several such LANs are connected to each other (over wider distances)
we refer to the ensuing structure as a Wide Area Network (WAN) !
The Internet is the world-wide conglomerate of LANs and WANS, ethernet
links and dedicated phone lines, a network of networks. The Internet spans
political and geographical borders and through connectivity of all manner
of computers it provides information on a wealth of topics, from apple pie
over atomic decay to zeta particles !
The Crystallography department is itself connected to the Internet
which is how you can actually access our computers - and read this file !
Computers on the Internet can be accessed by specifiying their address. This can be done in two ways:
For example mv3b.cryst.bbk.ac.uk denotes the VAX computer called mv3b in the crystallography department at Birkbeck College in the Academic Community in the United Kingdom !
You can probably see that the DNS address is more user-friendly than IP numbers. DNS addresses are hierarchical and its often possible to guess addresses based on abbreviations and country codes. For example:
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