Networks are vital to modern computing, because without networks, everything just kind of falls apart. Because modern devices are meant to talk to one another, and the only way that they can talk to one another is if they are on a network. A network essentially connects multiple devices so that they can talk. So if you think of my phone here, my phone would be a device. And a device can be a computer, a tablet, a phone, a printer, even my lights are devices on the network. Really, if it is network capable, it is considered a device. But let's just think in terms of my phone and my computer.

Really, if it is network capable, it is considered a device. But let's just think in terms of my phone and my computer. So if our devices are buildings that are isolated by themselves, then the roads that would connect those devices or those buildings together would be the network. And then the cars or the vehicles that are on those roads going back and forth, that would be the data being transferred between our devices. So that's a network. It connects devices together. But that's also an oversimplification, because we actually have two types of networks. We have a local area network, or LAN, L-A-N, and that's just a localized network.

But that's also an oversimplification, because we actually have two types of networks. We have a local area network, or LAN, L-A-N, and that's just a localized network. You can think of it as a network that is contained within a single building. So in my case, in my home, I have a network. So I have a LAN. You probably have a LAN. If you are in an office building, chances are very good you have a LAN. Then we have a wide area network, or WAN, W-A-N. And a WAN connects multiple LANs together. And the largest WAN that we have is the internet.

And a WAN connects multiple LANs together. And the largest WAN that we have is the internet. So in actuality, my home LAN is connected to the internet. And if your home LAN is connected to the internet, then guess what? Our LANs are connected to one another. And I could access any of the devices on your LAN, except that there are utilities and appliances in place to protect individual LANs. It's a device called a firewall, and its primary purpose is to protect a LAN from any intrusion from the WAN. So even though my LAN is connected to your LAN through the WAN, that is the internet,

from the WAN. So even though my LAN is connected to your LAN through the WAN, that is the internet, we can't interact with each other's devices because of our firewalls protecting our LANs. So if a network exists to connect our devices so that they can talk to one another, then it goes without saying that our devices can talk to one another, but they have to be able to understand one another. Just like whenever we communicate, we use a language, the devices on a network, they don't necessarily use a language, but they use what are called protocols. And the most commonly used protocol on a network is the TCP/IP protocol. And it's rather ingenious how it works.

And the most commonly used protocol on a network is the TCP/IP protocol. And it's rather ingenious how it works. So let's say that you're on your phone, and you decide to go to larrycast.com. So you type in larrycast.com, you tap enter, and your phone is going to submit data to the device handling the larrycast.com website. But the way it sends it is really something, because it takes that data, and it separates it into individual packets. And those packets can take the same path, or they can take multiple different paths. Eventually they all reach their destination, where they are reassembled and processed. So in this case, the larrycast.com website, or the device handling it, is going to divide

Eventually they all reach their destination, where they are reassembled and processed. So in this case, the larrycast.com website, or the device handling it, is going to divide that data into individual packets, which will then route back to your device, which will then reassemble those packets, and then process it. So networks are essentially the roads and the highways of data, which allows our digital world to function seamlessly. But of course, in order for one device to send data to another device, well it kind of needs to know where that other device is. It needs to know its address. And we will talk about that in the next episode.

It needs to know its address. And we will talk about that in the next episode.