A computer network is a digital telecommunications network for sharing resources between nodes, which are computing devices that use a common telecommunications technology. Data transmission between nodes is supported over data links consisting of physical cable media, such as twisted pair or fibre-optic cables, or by wireless methods, such as Wi-Fi, microwave transmission, or free-space optical communication.

Networking hardware, also known as network equipment or computer networking devices, are electronic devices which are required for communication and interaction between devices on a computer network. Specifically, they mediate data transmission in a computer network.^[1] Units which are the last receiver or generate data are called hosts or data terminal equipment.