All of the computers and other hardware connected to a particular network must follow the same rules or operations commonly called protocols. Operational rules are typically divided up into layers so a programmer or network administrator need only be concerned with the layer with which the software is communicating. In defining these layers, reference models have been created. At this level, available reference models for classifying communication protocols and protocol suites include the: U.S. Department of Defense, Open Systems Interconnection and Berkeley University framework.
In order to send data over a network, the necessary programs must be executed. However, datum must be organized for transmission. Consequently, a very important networking concept is the packet. Packets are telecommunication units transmitted from a sending device to a receiving device with an appended header. Substantively, a packet header contains information that is required to transfer attached data across the network.
“View Part I of the A Few Fundamentals of Networking Electronically Encoded Data series here”
Post Note: “A Few Fundamentals of Networking Electronically Encoded Data – Part II” was originally published through Suite101.com under the title “A Few Fundamentals of Networking Electronically Encoded Data”