Generally, the term 'broadband' refers to data communications where a wide band of frequencies are available to transmit information. When signals are transmitted, such as a voice signal over the telephone network, they are normally broadcast within a specific range. e.g 0 - 3000 Hz or cycles per second (Frequency is the number of complete cycles per second in alternating current direction).

The Domain Name System is a mechanism for matching all the Internet's host names to their relevant IP addresses. You see, if you wanted to access this site without the facility of DNS, you would have to know its IP address, which is incidentally 193.119.128.38. can imagine, trying to remember all your favourite sites' numerical addresses would be quite a pain. This was the primary reason DNS was implemented.

Technically, bandwidth is the range of frequencies that can be passed over a transmission channel. Frequency is measured in hertz (Hz) or cycles per second. The larger this range, the greater amount of information can be sent through the channel.

Today, network designers are moving away from using bridges and hubs and are primarily using switches and routers to build networks. A switch is a device that will create an electronic circuit between a source and destination host.

Streaming is the technique of transmitting data across the Internet in a constant flow or stream, as opposed to normal Internet traffic, which is transmitted under a request and acknowledgment basis. An analogy would be a hosepipe containing a constant stream of water, people wishing to share the water could each have their own pin-hole within the pipe.

Object Orientated programming or OOP is a special way of developing computer programs. When programming languages were first developed they were procedural, that is the lines of code would be executed one after another until the program was completed. Many languages such as C and BASIC are still procedural based.

RAID is a method of storing data by using fault tolerant devices. There are many different RAID techniques, but essentially the concept is to store the same data on multiple hard disks resulting in the redundancy of information. RAID uses a technique known as striping, which involves partitioning each drive's storage space into units or sectors.

Electrons can flow only when a circuit is complete. The diagram below displays a simple circuit (similar to how an electric torch would work).

To understand how computers store, perform arithmetic, and display the data on this page, you must have a basic understanding of the principles of Electron theory and Atoms.

Current is the flow of electrons forced into motion by voltage (electrical pressure). Current can only flow in closed loops or circuits, which are usually made from materials that are good conductors such as copper (Cu).

Ethernet is a technology that specifies how data is transferred from one computer or device to another. It was developed in the late '70s by Xerox Park Laboratories, USA and has been specified in the Institute of Electrical and Electronic Engineers (IEEE) 802.3 LAN Standards Model.