A Review of Modern Computer Networking Technologies

Information Science and Engineering

Computer networks are very vital today for communication and giving a free flow of information due to their nature of providing an easy transfer of digital data among interlinked computing devices. At their base element, computer networks are systems of nodes connected like no other, which can be computers, servers, mobile devices, among other various networking hardware that help in sharing resources in a collaborative form of computation giving the result of unrestricted flow of information. The computer network makes it possible to execute tasks on several machines; it shares information within and among services, as well as between the machines themselves, and also allows resource utilization, which makes it a must to process commands concurrently. However, the attacks are rapidly increasing, and the complexity of networks is putting these systems under many attack vectors. So, these critical resources need protection with some intense and strict security. Modern computer networks offer a myriad of architectures, protocols, and topologies—all to address specifically the requirements and scenarios of use. Local area networks (LANs), wide area networks (WANs), and metropolitan area networks (MANs) are connected globally with others by the Internet. Network protocols such as TCP/IP, Ethernet, and Wi- Fi outline the rules and conditions for data transfer, abstracting and creating the possibility of interactivity and safe communications between otherwise different systems. The layout or topology of the network, such as bus, ring, star, mesh, or hybrid, predominantly goes on to determine the standard regarding performance, reliability, scalability, etc., which a network can achieve. Ideally, in such a network, nodes could be broadly divided into open and closed systems, where the former admit direct connections and the latter require added authentication mechanisms for access from the outside. Computer networks support very many applications and services, since they pool shared resources to include storage and printers, besides allowing for numerous opportunities for collaborative work and efficiencies. Networks may also back up even the very backbone of how essential infrastructure does its work—be that in transportation and power grids or financial networks so there is fretting for the state of security and resilience. This will be the demand in times ahead that are yet to be experienced—whereby, with consistent development in technology about high-speed, secure, and trustable computer networks, it will further drive new developments in emerging areas; this, in times yet to be experienced like the Software Defined Networking (SDN) and Network Function Virtualization (NFV), and their combination with 5G, IoT, and Edge Computing Technological advancements have called for the necessity to manage and optimize such complicated and large networks in some software inventions, among them being software-defined networking (SDN) and network function virtualization (NFV). SDN opens the door for the ability to centralize and programmatically manage networks by separating the control plane from the data plane. Network function virtualization would now allow the elasticity, scalability, and cost efficiency to come to the support of the network. Promising to offer such a base, the integration of emerging technologies like 5G with the Internet of Things (IoT) and edge computing promises to revolutionize the interconnected world of computer networks. Edge computing refers to the placement of computation close to the physical sources of data they serve, with an attempt to reduce the intensity of bandwidth for related data and reduce the needed latency to enable real-time processing and decision-making towards time- sensitive applications.

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