<s>
In	O
telecommunications	O
networks	O
,	O
a	O
node	O
(	O
,	O
‘	O
knot’	O
)	O
is	O
either	O
a	O
redistribution	O
point	O
or	O
a	O
communication	B-Protocol
endpoint	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
physical	O
network	B-Protocol
node	I-Protocol
is	O
an	O
electronic	O
device	O
that	O
is	O
attached	O
to	O
a	O
network	O
,	O
and	O
is	O
capable	O
of	O
creating	O
,	O
receiving	O
,	O
or	O
transmitting	O
information	O
over	O
a	O
communication	O
channel	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
passive	O
distribution	O
point	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
distribution	O
frame	O
or	O
patch	B-Protocol
panel	I-Protocol
is	O
consequently	O
not	O
a	O
node	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
data	O
communication	O
,	O
a	O
physical	O
network	B-Protocol
node	I-Protocol
may	O
either	O
be	O
data	O
communication	O
equipment	O
(	O
DCE	O
)	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
modem	B-Application
,	O
hub	B-Protocol
,	O
bridge	B-Protocol
or	O
switch	B-Protocol
;	O
or	O
data	O
terminal	O
equipment	O
(	O
DTE	O
)	O
such	O
as	O
a	O
digital	O
telephone	O
handset	O
,	O
a	O
printer	O
or	O
a	O
host	B-Device
computer	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
network	O
in	O
question	O
is	O
a	O
local	B-General_Concept
area	I-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
(	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
)	O
or	O
wide	O
area	O
network	O
(	O
WAN	O
)	O
,	O
every	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
or	O
WAN	O
node	O
that	O
participates	O
on	O
the	O
data	B-Protocol
link	I-Protocol
layer	I-Protocol
must	O
have	O
a	O
network	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
,	O
typically	O
one	O
for	O
each	O
network	B-Protocol
interface	I-Protocol
controller	I-Protocol
it	O
possesses	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Examples	O
are	O
computers	O
,	O
a	O
DSL	B-Device
modem	I-Device
with	O
Ethernet	O
interface	O
and	O
wireless	B-Device
access	I-Device
point	I-Device
.	O
</s>
<s>
Equipment	O
,	O
such	O
as	O
an	O
Ethernet	B-Protocol
hub	I-Protocol
or	O
modem	B-Application
with	O
serial	B-Protocol
interface	I-Protocol
,	O
that	O
operates	O
only	O
below	O
the	O
data	B-Protocol
link	I-Protocol
layer	I-Protocol
does	O
not	O
require	O
a	O
network	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
network	O
in	O
question	O
is	O
the	O
Internet	O
or	O
an	O
intranet	B-General_Concept
,	O
many	O
physical	O
network	B-Protocol
nodes	I-Protocol
are	O
host	B-Device
computers	I-Device
,	O
also	O
known	O
as	O
Internet	O
nodes	O
,	O
identified	O
by	O
an	O
IP	B-Protocol
address	I-Protocol
,	O
and	O
all	O
hosts	O
are	O
physical	O
network	B-Protocol
nodes	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
However	O
,	O
some	O
data-link-layer	B-Protocol
devices	O
such	O
as	O
switches	O
,	O
bridges	O
and	O
wireless	B-Device
access	I-Device
points	I-Device
do	O
not	O
have	O
an	O
IP	B-Device
host	I-Device
address	O
(	O
except	O
sometimes	O
for	O
administrative	O
purposes	O
)	O
,	O
and	O
are	O
not	O
considered	O
to	O
be	O
Internet	O
nodes	O
or	O
hosts	O
,	O
but	O
are	O
considered	O
physical	O
network	B-Protocol
nodes	I-Protocol
and	O
LAN	B-General_Concept
nodes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
the	O
fixed	O
telephone	O
network	O
,	O
a	O
node	O
may	O
be	O
a	O
public	O
or	O
private	O
telephone	O
exchange	O
,	O
a	O
remote	B-Architecture
concentrator	I-Architecture
or	O
a	O
computer	O
providing	O
some	O
intelligent	O
network	O
service	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
cable	O
television	O
systems	O
(	O
CATV	O
)	O
,	O
this	O
term	O
has	O
assumed	O
a	O
broader	O
context	O
and	O
is	O
generally	O
associated	O
with	O
a	O
fiber	B-Application
optic	I-Application
node	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
can	O
be	O
defined	O
as	O
those	O
homes	O
or	O
businesses	O
within	O
a	O
specific	O
geographic	O
area	O
that	O
are	O
served	O
from	O
a	O
common	O
fiber	B-Application
optic	I-Application
receiver	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
fiber	B-Application
optic	I-Application
node	O
is	O
generally	O
described	O
in	O
terms	O
of	O
the	O
number	O
of	O
"	O
homes	O
passed	O
"	O
that	O
are	O
served	O
by	O
that	O
specific	O
fiber	O
node	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
If	O
the	O
network	O
in	O
question	O
is	O
a	O
distributed	B-Architecture
system	I-Architecture
,	O
the	O
nodes	O
are	O
clients	B-Protocol
,	O
servers	B-Application
or	O
peers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
a	O
peer-to-peer	O
or	O
overlay	B-Architecture
network	I-Architecture
,	O
nodes	O
that	O
actively	O
route	O
data	O
for	O
the	O
other	O
networked	O
devices	O
as	O
well	O
as	O
themselves	O
are	O
called	O
supernodes	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Distributed	B-Architecture
systems	I-Architecture
may	O
sometimes	O
use	O
virtual	O
nodes	O
so	O
that	O
the	O
system	O
is	O
not	O
oblivious	O
to	O
the	O
heterogeneity	O
of	O
the	O
nodes	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
issue	O
is	O
addressed	O
with	O
special	O
algorithms	O
,	O
like	O
consistent	B-Algorithm
hashing	I-Algorithm
,	O
as	O
it	O
is	O
the	O
case	O
in	O
Amazon	B-Application
's	I-Application
Dynamo	I-Application
.	O
</s>
<s>
Within	O
a	O
vast	O
computer	O
network	O
,	O
the	O
individual	O
computers	O
on	O
the	O
periphery	O
of	O
the	O
network	O
,	O
those	O
that	O
do	O
not	O
also	O
connect	O
other	O
networks	O
,	O
and	O
those	O
that	O
often	O
connect	O
transiently	O
to	O
one	O
or	O
more	O
clouds	B-Architecture
are	O
called	O
end	B-Protocol
nodes	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Typically	O
,	O
within	O
the	O
cloud	B-Architecture
computing	I-Architecture
construct	O
,	O
the	O
individual	O
user	O
or	O
customer	O
computer	O
that	O
connects	O
into	O
one	O
well-managed	O
cloud	O
is	O
called	O
an	O
end	B-Protocol
node	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
is	O
called	O
the	O
end	B-Protocol
node	I-Protocol
problem	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
There	O
are	O
several	O
means	O
to	O
remedy	O
this	O
problem	O
but	O
all	O
require	O
instilling	O
trust	O
in	O
the	O
end	B-Protocol
node	I-Protocol
computer	O
.	O
</s>
