E-Business

Bridges are used for connecting machines in the LAN or machines in the same segment of a network. Routers perform the same function as bridges, but they also filter the information passing through a network. VLANs are virtual LANs that don't have any physical connections.

LANs are used to connect machines in a small area, say office or lab. WANs connect systems scattered over a wide geographic area. After discussing network infrastructure, the chapter examined enterprise networks, including the Internet, extranet and Intranet. Extranets are networks that connect a company to its suppliers, customers and other channel partners.

Intranets are internal networks within a company that are used to share information among employees. The chapter then described various data storage mechanisms such as DAS, NAS and SAN. DAS is used for direct storage on a network; NAS is used for shared storage on a network; while SAN is dedicated to data storage on the network.