Introduction to Windows Networking - MCTS Guide to Microsoft Windows Server 2008 Active Directory Configuration - page 321

• Client —A software component, such as Client for Microsoft Networks, that allows your
computer to access files, printers, and other resources on other computers.
• Service —A software component that allows your computer to offer network resources to
clients. File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks is an example of a service.
• Network —A group of computers that share the same network address and communicate
with one another through hubs or switches. (Computers communicating through a router
are on separate networks.)
• Internetwork —Two or more networks connected through a router make up an internetwork.
• Network connection —In Windows, a network connection is represented by an icon in the
Network Connections window that shows the components needed for the computer to
connect to a network. Typically, these components entail a NIC and its driver, one or more
network protocols, and configuration parameters. Some connections, such as dial-up, use a
modem instead of a NIC.
• Network discovery —Microsoft uses the term network discovery to describe the process
whereby a computer finds other computers on a network and allows other computers to
find it. Discovered computers are displayed in a network list, so users can simply double-
click a computer to view its available shared resources.

8

The Network and Sharing Center
The Network and Sharing Center is your window into your computer's network environment.
With this tool, you can create network connections, view the status of existing connections, and
troubleshoot network problems. In addition, you can enable and disable the discovery of other
computers on the network and configure folder sharing. There's a lot going on in the Network
and Sharing Center (see Figure 8-1), and you tackle this tool in sections:
• The network map
• Sharing and Discovery
• Tasks

Figure 8-1 The Network and Sharing Center