In the workplace and in the home office, compu­ters and other devices are commonly linked to­gether to form a computer network. A computer network is two or more computers and other hardware devices connected together for the pur­pose of communicating and sharing resources. There are several advantages to using networks.

• Networks assist in communications. Using a network, individuals can quickly communicate using email, instant messaging, chat rooms, and videoconferencing. Sometimes these commu­nications occur within an organization’s net­work; other times they occur globally over the Internet.
• Networks facilitate sharing information. When using a network, any authorized user can ac­cess data and information stored on other computers connected to the network. For ex­ample, a university may store student records on a network so that a variety of individuals within the organization could access this information.
• Networks facilitate sharing hardware. Each computer linked to a network can access and use hardware on the network. Many organi­zations use a network so users can share a printer, scanner, or other device.
• Networks facilitate sharing software. Users can often access software from a network. Many software vendors offer a site license agreement which allows an organization to provide access to software from multiple computers.

Computer networks exist in a variety of sizes and configurations. The following sections will describe the most common network types, the Internet, and the World Wide Web.