Host (network)
A network host is a computer or other device connected to a computer network. A host may work as a server offering information resources, services, and applications to users or other hosts on the network. Hosts are assigned at least one network address.
A computer participating in networks that use the
Network hosts that participate in applications that use the client–server model of computing, are classified as server or client systems. Network hosts may also function as nodes in peer-to-peer applications, in which all nodes share and consume resources in an equipotent manner.
Origins
In
The term Internet host or just host is used in a number of Request for Comments (RFC) documents that define the Internet and its predecessor, the ARPANET. RFC 871 defines a host as a general-purpose computer system connected to a communications network for "... the purpose of achieving resource sharing amongst the participating operating systems..."[2]
While the ARPANET was being developed, computers connected to the network were typically mainframe computer systems that could be accessed from
Nodes, hosts, and servers
A
Every network host is a node, but not every network node is a host. Network infrastructure hardware, such as modems, Ethernet hubs, and network switches are not directly or actively participating in application-level functions, and do not necessarily have a network address, and are not considered to be network hosts.
See also
- Communication endpoint – Type of communication network node
- End system – Computer connected to a network
- Port (computer networking) – Communications endpoint in an operating system
- Terminal (telecommunication) – Device which ends a telecommunications link
References
- ISBN 9780130194695.
- .
- ISBN 0-13-018380-6.
- ^ "Exchange Server architecture".
External links
- R. Braden, ed. (October 1989). Requirements for Internet Hosts -- Communication Layers. .