science and technology

Routing

In internetworking, the process of moving a packet of data from source to destination. Routing is usually performed by a dedicated device called a router. Routing is a key feature of the Internet because it enables messages to pass from one computer to another and eventually reach the target machine. Each intermediary computer performs routing by passing along the message to the next computer. Part of this process involves analyzing a routing table to determine the best path.

Routing is often confused with bridging, which performs a similar function. The principal difference between the two is that bridging occurs at a lower level and is therefore more of a hardware function whereas routing occurs at a higher level where the software component is more important. And because routing occurs at a higher level, it can perform more complex analysis to determine the optimal path for the packet.


Network

Application developers of all stripes are getting in on Software as a Service. What are the implications of moving your apps to an on-demand model? Find out in this DevX Special Report. Sponsored by Salesforce.
Learn how Salesforce can help developers create and run their own SaaS applications. Explore these featured resources. Force.com: Create and Run Any Application On Demand
Why start from scratch building a business application when a proven on-demand framework already exists? Free white paper on salesforce.com's Force.com platform, the world's first platform as a service. Click Here
Translate Ideas into Apps Faster with Platform as a Service
See how to build enterprise-wide applications in record time by leveraging the built-in security model, reporting functionality, integration capabilities of salesforce.com's Force.com platform. Free webinar. Click Here Introducing Visualforce: User Interface as a Service
Learn about Visualforce-a key component of Force.com, salesforce.com's platform as a service-which uses standard Web development technologies to create application user interfaces for any screen or device. Click Here Get Free On-Demand Development Tools
Visit developer.force.com to get everything you need-tools, documentation, sample code, online demos, and more-to explore Force.com, the new, breakthrough platform-as-a-service technology from salesforce.com. Click Here

A group of two or more computer systems linked together. There are many types of computer networks, including:
# local-area networks (LANs) : The computers are geographically close together (that is, in the same building).
# wide-area networks (WANs) : The computers are farther apart and are connected by telephone lines or radio waves.
# campus-area networks (CANs): The computers are within a limited geographic area, such as a campus or military base.
# metropolitan-area networks MANs): A data network designed for a town or city.
# home-area networks (HANs): A network contained within a user's home that connects a person's digital devices.

In addition to these types, the following characteristics are also used to categorize different types of networks:
# topology : The geometric arrangement of a computer system. Common topologies include a bus, star, and ring. See the Network topology diagrams in the Quick Reference section of Webopedia.
# protocol : The protocol defines a common set of rules and signals that computers on the network use to communicate. One of the most popular protocols for LANs is called Ethernet. Another popular LAN protocol for PCs is the IBM token-ring network .
# architecture : Networks can be broadly classified as using either a peer-to-peer or client/server architecture.

Computers on a network are sometimes called nodes. Computers and devices that allocate resources for a network are called servers.

To connect two or more computers together with the ability to communicate with each other.


IP Masquerade

A Linux networking function. IP Masquerade, also called IPMASQ or MASQ, allows one or more computers in a network without assigned IP addresses to communicate with the Internet using the Linux server's assigned IP address. The IPMASQ server acts as a gateway, and the other devices are invisible behind it, so to other machines on the Internet the outgoing traffic appears to be coming from the IPMASQ server and not the internal PCs.

Since IPMASQ is a generic technology the server can be connected to other computers through LAN technologies like Ethernet, Token Ring, and FDDI, as well as dialup connections like PPP or SLIP.

Sources: www.webopedia.com, en.wikipedia.org, www.npl.lib.va.us