That was on purpose. I remember the token ring networks, but I never used it, and not only was I focusing on the TCP/IP Networking system and a bit of it’s history, but I don’t know enough about the other, older and generally no longer in use protocols to properly include them here, but if you understand how they work, and the details of the protocols involved, please add what you know! 
Ernie
Do you know/remember enough about any of those you’ve mentioned to educate the rest of us? If you or anyone else could add to this with their knowledge, this thread could become a great general Networking resource!
Ernie
After giving the subject of Token Ring Networks some thought I do remember a bit about them. I’ll arbitrarily use a ten computer network for my example here. Because we’re speaking about devices that communicate using binary ones and zeros, we’ll name our ten computers computer_0 through computer_9. All ten computers are daisy chained together, so the outgoing port of computer_0 is connected to the incoming port of computer_1, the outgoing port of computer_1 is connected to the incoming port of computer_2, and so on until we reach computer_9. It’s incoming port is connected to the outgoing port of computer_8, but it’s outgoing port is connected with the incoming port of computer_0. This creates what can be described as a ring. Each computer in the ring creates a token to identify itself, something like an addressing token that it shares with all the other computers on the Network, so if computer_1 has information it needs to send to computer_5, it includes it’s own token and computer_5’s token in each packet’s header, and sends all the data out to computer_2. When computer_2 receives the packet, it examines the token, and since the token doesn’t belong to computer_2, it sends the packet out to computer_3, and the process continues until the packet arrives at computer_5. When computer_5 receives the packet, it sees that the token belongs to it, so it takes the data from the packet, and adds it to the current incoming data stream, but it does not send the packet on to computer_6. All ten computers can send or request data to or from any of the other ten computers without concerning itself with whether any of the other computers are sending or receiving data from any of the other computers at that time. If any one computer receives a data request while processing data to or from another computer, it simply sends a busy response to the new requesting computer, then when it completes the data transaction it’s busy with, it sends a free packet to the computer that requested a connection while it was busy.
This is how I remember understanding Token Ring Networks. If I have anything wrong, please enlighten me
Ernie
Great development idea
Then, when this thread contains enough good information about Networking, one of us could take the lead, and collectively, we could organize the information we’ve collected into a Networking tutorial (I’d be willing to lead the effort, unless someone else who’s better educated than me would want to do so). This way, if @Abhishek is OK with the idea, over time, we could build a great community driven resource for anyone who want to learn.
@abhishek, what do you think? Assuming we get a first tutorial on Networking organized, would you be willing to create a category for it? And would you want to see our work first, before ‘going public’ with it? What are your thoughts sir?
Ernie
Hi Ernie,
If you are going to try and make a useful tutorial, it needs a structure.
Check what itsFOSS already has on networking… we dont want to duplicate work already done.
When I mentioned packet switching, I was thinking of the way a packet switching network works, and why it is perhaps better than other methods.
Also check outside of itsFOSS. There will be networking documents worth consulting and mentioning.
Regards
Neville
These are great suggestions, and I’ll start with them in the coming days. When I have a structure at the least, I’ll post it for everyone’s reactions and suggestions. If we do this, I want it to be a community effort, and I hope everyone else wants that too.
Ernie
Ernie, one more piece of advice.
You had better limit your scope. Networking is a huge topic… you will end up writing a book unless you restrict it.
Neville
Perhaps a section on linux based commands or in relation to linux networks. An area I have never been involved in and know nothing about.
See the FreeBSD Handbook
Links always help so I can look at the one you refer to
It is a book… available on amazon
or
The freebsd site has an online copy in html
BSD has the best networking documentation.
The internet was developed with bsd and other Unix variants. … Linux came much later when the internet already existed in a form similar to today.
This will give you the chronology
How do you suggest I do that? Perhaps a tutorial on TCP/IP Networking and a History of Networking? What do you, or any one else, suggest?
Ernie
Decide who your audiance is… that will help
Since we’re the It’s FOSS community, any tutorial should provide GNU/Linux commands to implement a Network, but first I think we should determine the primary focus of such a tutorial. Do we focus on Networking as home users, as Enterprise Network Services, or a combination of both?
Ernie
Now, there’s a great source to determine the framework we should adopt!
Ernie
A simple Internet search, “FreeBSD Handbook” yields FreeBSD Handbook | FreeBSD Documentation Portal
Ernie
Then, should we even undertake this exercise? Would we be reinventing the wheel here?
Ernie
Not to mention a great example of a framework, although perhaps with a much broader scope that we should implement!
Ernie