Network services are the foundation of a networked computing environment. Generally network services are installed on one or more
serverA server is an application running on a computer that delivers a service. For example, a web server will deliver web pages when requested by a browser . The way a server and a client dialogs is called a protocol...
s to provide
shared resourceIn computing, a shared resource or network share is a device or piece of information on a computer that can be remotely accessed from another computer, typically via a local area network or an enterprise Intranet, as if it were a resource in the local machine.Examples are shared file access ,...
s to
clientA client is an application or system that accesses a remote service on another computer system, known as a server, by way of a network. The term was first applied to devices that were not capable of running their own stand-alone programs, but could interact with remote computers via a network...
computers.
Network services are configured on corporate
LANA local area network is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport...
’s to ensure security and user friendly operation. They help the LAN run smoothly and efficiently. Corporate LANs use network services such as DNS (Domain Name System) to give names to
IPThe Internet Protocol is a protocol used for communicating data across a packet-switched internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite, also referred to as TCP/IP....
and
MAC addressIn computer networking, a Media Access Control address is a unique identifier assigned to most network adapters or network interface cards by the manufacturer for identification, and used in the Media Access Control protocol sublayer. If assigned by the manufacturer, a MAC address usually...
es (people remember names like “nm.lan” better than they remember numbers like “210.121.67.18”), and
DHCPThe Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol is a computer networking protocol used by devices to obtain configuration information for operation in an Internet Protocol network...
to ensure that everyone on the network has a valid IP address.
DHCP eases administrative burden by automating the IP assignment of nodes on the network.
Network services are the foundation of a networked computing environment. Generally network services are installed on one or more
serverA server is an application running on a computer that delivers a service. For example, a web server will deliver web pages when requested by a browser . The way a server and a client dialogs is called a protocol...
s to provide
shared resourceIn computing, a shared resource or network share is a device or piece of information on a computer that can be remotely accessed from another computer, typically via a local area network or an enterprise Intranet, as if it were a resource in the local machine.Examples are shared file access ,...
s to
clientA client is an application or system that accesses a remote service on another computer system, known as a server, by way of a network. The term was first applied to devices that were not capable of running their own stand-alone programs, but could interact with remote computers via a network...
computers.
Network services are configured on corporate
LANA local area network is a computer network covering a small physical area, like a home, office, or small group of buildings, such as a school, or an airport...
’s to ensure security and user friendly operation. They help the LAN run smoothly and efficiently. Corporate LANs use network services such as DNS (Domain Name System) to give names to
IPThe Internet Protocol is a protocol used for communicating data across a packet-switched internetwork using the Internet Protocol Suite, also referred to as TCP/IP....
and
MAC addressIn computer networking, a Media Access Control address is a unique identifier assigned to most network adapters or network interface cards by the manufacturer for identification, and used in the Media Access Control protocol sublayer. If assigned by the manufacturer, a MAC address usually...
es (people remember names like “nm.lan” better than they remember numbers like “210.121.67.18”), and
DHCPThe Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol is a computer networking protocol used by devices to obtain configuration information for operation in an Internet Protocol network...
to ensure that everyone on the network has a valid IP address.
DHCP eases administrative burden by automating the IP assignment of nodes on the network. Adding or removing nodes from the network doesn’t create problems with IP address retrieval; the DHCP service handles this automatically. Authentication servers are another network service, they allow every user to have their own account, and everything they do on that account is logged under their user name. This means that not only are users accountable for anything they do while on the network, but also it increases security as anyone wanting to access the LAN must have a registered user name and password.
Doing network administration without having user accounts to track user activity (illegal or otherwise) or DHCP to automate IP assignment to nodes, or DNS to simplify IP address access would be troublesome indeed. Enabling these few network services automates complex and time consuming administration to the network, and thus eases downtime for network administrators.
Email, printing and network file sharing services are also network services. They are seldom not used in a LAN environment, as they allow users to access any printer connected to the network, files on the server or other nodes connected, and streamline data transfer within the network. They require users to have permissions to access the resources shared, and are simple to configure security and access rights for, with the directory service- also a network service.
Common network services include:
- Authentication server
Authentication servers are servers that provide authentication services to users or other systems via networking. Remotely placed users and other servers authenticate to such a server, and receive cryptographic tickets...
s
- Directory services
- Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol is a computer networking protocol used by devices to obtain configuration information for operation in an Internet Protocol network...
(DHCP)
- DNS
The Domain Name System is a hierarchical naming system for computers, services, or any resource connected to the Internet or a private network. It associates various information with domain names assigned to each of the participants...
- e-Mail
Electronic mail, often abbreviated as email or e-mail, is a method of exchanging digital messages, designed primarily for human use...
- Printing
Printing is a process for reproducing text and image, typically with ink on paper using a printing press. It is often carried out as a large-scale industrial process, and is an essential part of publishing and transaction printing.-History:...
- Network file system
Network File System is a network file system protocol originally developed by Sun Microsystems in 1984, allowing a user on a client computer to access files over a network in a manner similar to how local storage is accessed. NFS, like many other protocols, builds on the Open Network Computing...
See also
- Internet hosting service
An Internet hosting service is a service that runs Internet servers, allowing organizations and individuals to serve content to the Internet. There are various levels of service and various kinds of services offered....
- Web hosting service
A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and organizations to make their own website accessible via the World Wide Web. Web hosts are companies that provide space on a server they own or lease for use by their clients as well as providing Internet...
- DNS hosting service
A DNS hosting service is a service that runs Domain Name System servers. Most, but not all, domain name registrars include DNS hosting service with registration. Free DNS hosting services also exist...
- E-mail hosting service
An email hosting service is an Internet hosting service that runs email servers.Email hosting services usually offer premium email at a cost as opposed to advertising supported free email or free webmail. Email hosting services thus differ from typical end-user email providers such as webmail sites...
- Simple Network Management Protocol
Simple Network Management Protocol is a UDP-based network protocol. It is used mostly in network management systems to monitor network-attached devices for conditions that warrant administrative attention. SNMP is a component of the Internet Protocol Suite as defined by the Internet Engineering...