Editing Network operating system (section)

==History==
[[Packet switching]] networks were developed to share hardware resources, such as a [[mainframe computer]], a [[Printer (computing)|printer]] or a large and expensive [[hard disk]].<ref name="McHoes 2012">{{cite book |last1=McHoes |first1=Ann |last2=Flynn |first2=Ida M. |date=2012 |title=Understanding Operating Systems |publisher=CEngage Learning |isbn=9781133417569 |edition=6 }}</ref>{{Rp|318}}

Historically, a network operating system was an [[operating system]] for a computer which implemented network capabilities. Operating systems with a [[network stack]] allowed [[personal computer]]s to participate in a [[client–server model|client-server architecture]] in which a [[Server (computing)|server]] enables multiple clients to share resources, such as [[Printer (computing)|printers]].<ref>{{cite book |last=Dean |first=Tamara |date=2009 |chapter=Network Operating Systems |title=Network+ Guide to Networks |isbn=9781337569330 |pages=421, 483 }}</ref><ref name="Winkelman 2009">{{cite web |last=Winkelman |first=Roy |date=2009 |at=6: Software |title=An Educator's Guide to School Networks |url=http://fcit.usf.edu/network/chap6/chap6.htm |website=FCIT.USF.edu |publisher=Florida Center for Instructional Technology, University of South Florida |access-date=December 23, 2024 }}</ref><ref>{{cite magazine |date=2011 |title=Network Operating System |magazine=PC Magazine |publisher=[[Ziff Davis]] }}</ref>

These limited client/server networks were gradually replaced by [[Peer-to-peer]] networks, which used networking capabilities to share resources and files located on a variety of computers of all sizes. A peer-to-peer network sets all connected computers equal; they all share the same abilities to use resources available on the network.<ref name="Winkelman 2009" />

Today, [[distributed computing]] and [[groupware]] applications have become the norm. Computer operating systems include a networking stack as a matter of course.<ref name="McHoes 2012" />{{Rp|318}} During the 1980s the need to integrate dissimilar computers with network capabilities grew and the number of networked devices grew rapidly. Partly because it allowed for multi-vendor [[interoperability]], and could route packets globally rather than being restricted to a single building, the Internet protocol suite became almost universally adopted in network architectures. Thereafter, computer operating systems and the [[firmware]] of network devices tended to support Internet protocols.<ref name="McHoes 2012" />{{Rp|305}}