Networking components means the component that make communication possible between different computers. Different networking components used are: File server, workstation or clients, NIC (network interface card), NOS (Network operating system), transmission media, networking devices, etc.

In general networking components consists of both software and hardware components. Here is the brief description:

Hardware Components

• Servers - Servers are computer with high computation power which is responsible to provide functionality and services to other computers (clients) in the network. Servers can also be computer programs. Example Unix servers. Servers are made to serve specific purposes like file servers, print servers, database servers, and so on.
  
  
• Clients - Clients are the computers in a network which access data, information and instructions from the server in client-server model of computer networks. For example in the internet browsers are clients which access different servers to display web pages, stream videos, play games, and so on. Clients are connected to servers with internet sockets, internet protocols.
  
  
• Peers - Unlike client-server configuration peers are those devices (computers) in networking that acts both as clients and servers simultaneously. In short peer-to-peer is also known as P2P. Peers in computer network make information exchange quite fast by utilizing hardware resources and be creating task division within the system.
  
  
• Transmission Media - Transmission media is a communication channel that carries information in the form of signals from one device to another in the network. Transmission media can be wired media where information flow with electronic movement, transmission media can be optical where information flow in the form of light pulse or it can be electromagnetic where information flow in the form of electromagnetic wave.
• Connecting devices - Connecting devices act as middle-ware between networks or computers, by binding the network together. Some common connecting devices are : a) Routers, b) Bridges, c) hubs, d) Repeaters, e) Gateways, f) Switches

Software Components

• Networking Operating System - Network operating system of commonly known as NOS is an operating system which is designed to manage different components of computer network. It is installed on server in client-server configuration whereas it is installed in every computer in peer-to-peer networking model. Some common examples of Networking operating systems are windows 200, Linux, Unix, Sun Solaris,etc.
  
  
• Protocol Suite: There must be a commonly agreed rules between computer in a network to exchange data and information. This conceptual model used in internet and other computers in networking is know as protocol suite. Protocol suite determines how data should be packetized, addressed, transmitted, routed and received at the end-to-end data communication. Two popular protocol suite are 1) OSI Model (Open System Interconnections) and 2) TCP/IP Model (Transmission control protocol / Internet protocol)