definition computer networking

Definition Computer networking is the study of how computers can be linked to share data. The concept of connecting computers dates back to the 1960s, when the Department of Defense led the first attempt to create a computer network that painstakingly linked a handful of computers around the U.S. Since then, wireless networking has taken off and networking is now considered an essential part of computing. A computer without a network, arguably, has little use in daily life.

Computer networking involves many things coming together, and there are many challenges and important problems to solve in the field of networking:

• Scaling hardware and software to very high (e.g., 100+ Gbps) speeds (routers, switches)
• Effective interaction with user (web technologies)
• Privacy protection and security (firewalls, antivirus software)
• Meeting growing wireless demand (smartphones, handhelds)
• Scaling the number of participants to many billions (sensors, Internet-of-Things)
• Maintaining healthy Internet economics among service providers
• Addressing social phenomena
• Seamless connection to highly mobile devices

Since it became as essential as computing, networking solutions are actively sought by industry, government, and military. There many core networking companies that generate solutions purely in computer networking. However, any IT or software company today needs experts in networking. Typically, an IT company has a communications and networking division as one of its biggest divisions