What an Elephanterr, a NetworkLooks Like

What an Elephanterr, a NetworkLooks Like

Now would be a good time to take a closer look at what's behind the cloud, shown in Figure 1-2.

As shown in Figure 1-2, User1's PC has networking software installed. A cable connects that PC to a socket on the wall. That socket has a cable on the (hidden) other side of the wall plate. The cable runs under the floor, in the ceiling, or some other hidden place, with the other end being in a wiring closet. The wiring closet is typically a small room (hence the word closet) where all cables from all the computers run.

Inside the wiring closet, all the cables connect to a switch. A switch consists of specialized hardware and software that forwards the network traffic back and forth between the various network devices on the network.