Definition
A network is a set of computers and devices connected by communication links and protocols to share resources and exchange data. By reach, networks are classified into LANs, MANs and WANs.
How it works
Devices are linked over wired or wireless media and communicate through a layered protocol stack: IP handles addressing and routing, while TCP and UDP provide end-to-end transport. Switches and routers decide how packets travel from one end to the other.
Usage
A home Wi-Fi setup is the smallest network; corporate intranets and the interconnection of servers in a data center are the everyday objects of network engineering; connect the world’s networks together and you get the internet.
Related and confusable terms
A network is any collection of interconnected devices at any scale and topology; the internet is the one particular network that spans the globe; Wi-Fi is only one wireless access technology for a network, not the network itself.