Definition of Networking Software
Networks consist of hardware, such as servers, Ethernet cables and wireless routers, and networking software. Networking software differs from software applications in that the software does not perform tasks that end-users can see in the way word processors and spreadsheets do. Instead, networking software operates invisibly in the background, allowing the user to access network resources without the user even knowing the software is operating.
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History
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Computer networks, and the networking software that enabled them, began to appear as early as the 1970s. Early networks consisted of computers connected to each other through telephone modems. As personal computers became more pervasive in homes and in the workplace in the late 1980s and early 1990s, networks to connect them became equally pervasive. Microsoft enabled usable and stable peer-to-peer networking with built-in networking software as early as 1995 in the Windows 95 operating system.
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Types
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Different types of networks require different types of software. Peer-to-peer networks, where computers connect to each other directly, use networking software whose basic function is to enable file sharing and printer sharing. Client-server networks, where multiple end-user computers, the clients, connect to each other indirectly through a central computer, the server, require networking software solutions that have two parts. The server software part, running on the server computer, stores information in a central location that client computers can access and passes information to client software running on the individual computers. Application-server software work much as client-server software does, but allows the end-user client computers to access not just data but also software applications running on the central server.
Features
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Networking software varies widely in the type and number of computers the software can support. Basic features common to most networking software solutions include user management, which is the ability to add and remove users to and from the network, and file management, which is the component of the software that allows the network administrator to define where data is stored and to define which users can have access to which sets of data.
Considerations
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Networking software packages vary widely in the degree to which they are easy to use and easy to manage, as well as in the relative security they provide for the data inside the network. Similarly, different software can provide support for different numbers of users, which can be a factor in choosing software if the network plan calls for rapid growth.
Benefits
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Networks and networking software allows many users to access a shared set of documents and in some cases to access a shared application. For example, a business may choose to operate an email server that can send and receive emails for its employees and store copies of all the email messages that each employee keeps on his personal computer.
References
Resources
- Photo Credit "What keeps us connected..." is Copyrighted by Flickr user: cell105 (Vivek Patankar) under the Creative Commons Attribution license.
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Comments
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Networking software packages vary widely in the degree to which they are easy to use and easy to manage. Read more: Definition of Networking Software | eHow.com http://www.ehow.com/about_5549226_definition-networking-software.html#ixzz1mgPhqsny.
