Which system component allows a collection of computers to communicate with each other?

A computer network is a system of interconnected computing devices that exchange data and share resources. This infrastructure is specifically designed to enable communication among a collection of computers, whether in a small local area or across the globe via the internet. The network consists of hardware components like routers, switches, and network interface cards, as well as software protocols that govern the transmission of data. The primary function of a network is to facilitate this inter-computer communication.

A. Hard drive: This is a local storage device for data and does not facilitate communication between different computers.

C. Mouse: This is an input peripheral used for user interaction with a single computer's graphical interface.

D. USB connector: This is a standard for connecting peripherals to a single computer, not for networking a collection of them.

1. Kurose

J. F.

& Ross

K. W. (2017). Computer Networking: A Top-Down Approach (7th ed.). Pearson. In Chapter 1

Section 1.1

a computer network is defined as a system that connects a multitude of computing devices

enabling them to communicate.

2. Tanenbaum

A. S.

& Wetherall

D. J. (2011). Computer Networks (5th ed.). Prentice Hall. Chapter 1

Section 1.1.1

"Uses of Computer Networks

" explicitly states that the fundamental goal of a computer network is to allow remote information sharing and communication between users on different machines.

3. Massachusetts Institute of Technology. (2011). 6.02 Introduction to EECS II: Digital Communication Systems

Fall 2011. MIT OpenCourseWare. Lecture 1

"Introduction and The Channel

" introduces a communication system (the basis of a network) as consisting of a source

a transmitter

a channel

a receiver

and a destination

designed to move information between two or more points. Available at: https://ocw.mit.edu