Fax machines, scanners, printers and other computers operate in the same way. Every device receives an address and a name. Software on these devices allows it to be configured so that its function is accessible to multiple computers on the same network.

At home network system also has the mail envelope or popular known as the routing data. This surrounds the data or the words on the letter. A home network comes in two main types: cabled and wireless. In a cabled network different wire bundles which are known as Ethernet cables with connectors on each end plug into either a network interface card, or NIC, in the printer, fax, computer or into a switch/router. Hubs or switches are simplified devices that allow physical connections between the components of a network.