<s>
A	O
relay	B-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
broad	O
class	O
of	O
network	B-Architecture
topology	I-Architecture
commonly	O
used	O
in	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
,	O
where	O
the	O
source	O
and	O
destination	O
are	O
interconnected	O
by	O
means	O
of	O
some	O
nodes	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
relay	B-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
is	O
a	O
type	O
of	O
network	O
used	O
to	O
send	O
information	O
between	O
two	O
devices	O
,	O
for	O
e.g.	O
</s>
<s>
server	B-Application
and	O
computer	O
,	O
that	O
are	O
too	O
far	O
away	O
to	O
send	O
the	O
information	O
to	O
each	O
other	O
directly	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Thus	O
the	O
network	O
must	O
send	O
or	O
"	O
relay	O
"	O
the	O
information	O
to	O
different	O
devices	O
,	O
referred	O
to	O
as	O
nodes	B-Protocol
,	O
that	O
pass	O
on	O
the	O
information	O
to	O
its	O
destination	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
well-known	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
relay	B-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
is	O
the	O
Internet	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
user	O
can	O
view	O
a	O
web	O
page	O
from	O
a	O
server	B-Application
halfway	O
around	O
the	O
world	O
by	O
sending	O
and	O
receiving	O
the	O
information	O
through	O
a	O
series	O
of	O
connected	O
nodes	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
In	O
many	O
ways	O
,	O
a	O
relay	B-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
resembles	O
a	O
chain	O
of	O
people	O
standing	O
together	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
He	O
is	O
the	O
sender	O
,	O
she	O
is	O
the	O
recipient	O
,	O
and	O
the	O
people	O
in	O
between	O
them	O
are	O
the	O
messengers	O
,	O
or	O
the	O
nodes	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
This	O
concept	O
,	O
the	O
way	O
a	O
network	O
is	O
laid	O
out	O
and	O
how	O
it	O
shares	O
data	O
,	O
is	O
known	O
as	O
network	B-Architecture
topology	I-Architecture
.	O
</s>
<s>
Relay	B-Protocol
networks	I-Protocol
can	O
use	O
many	O
different	O
topologies	B-Architecture
,	O
from	O
a	O
line	O
to	O
a	O
ring	O
to	O
a	O
tree	O
shape	O
,	O
to	O
pass	O
along	O
information	O
in	O
the	O
fastest	O
and	O
most	O
efficient	O
way	O
possible	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Often	O
the	O
relay	B-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
is	O
complex	O
and	O
branches	O
off	O
in	O
multiple	O
directions	O
to	O
connect	O
many	O
servers	O
and	O
computers	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Where	O
two	O
lines	O
from	O
two	O
different	O
computers	O
or	O
servers	O
meet	O
forms	O
the	O
nodes	B-Protocol
of	O
the	O
relay	B-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
Two	O
computer	O
lines	O
might	O
run	O
into	O
the	O
same	O
router	B-Protocol
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
making	O
this	O
the	O
node	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Wireless	B-General_Concept
networks	I-General_Concept
also	O
take	O
advantage	O
of	O
the	O
relay	B-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
system	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
A	O
laptop	B-Device
,	O
for	O
example	O
,	O
might	O
connect	O
to	O
a	O
wireless	B-General_Concept
network	I-General_Concept
which	O
sends	O
and	O
receives	O
information	O
through	O
another	O
network	O
and	O
another	O
until	O
it	O
reaches	O
its	O
destination	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Even	O
though	O
not	O
all	O
parts	O
of	O
the	O
network	O
have	O
physical	O
wires	O
,	O
they	O
still	O
connect	O
to	O
other	O
devices	O
that	O
function	O
as	O
the	O
nodes	B-Protocol
.	O
</s>
<s>
It	O
also	O
speeds	O
up	O
data	O
transmission	O
by	O
choosing	O
the	O
best	O
path	O
to	O
travel	O
between	O
nodes	B-Protocol
to	O
the	O
receiver	O
's	O
computer	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
Without	O
relay	B-Protocol
networks	I-Protocol
,	O
sending	O
an	O
email	O
from	O
one	O
computer	O
to	O
another	O
would	O
require	O
the	O
two	O
computers	O
be	O
hooked	O
directly	O
together	O
before	O
it	O
could	O
work	O
.	O
</s>
<s>
The	O
TOR	B-Application
Network	I-Application
is	O
an	O
example	O
of	O
a	O
relay	B-Protocol
network	I-Protocol
as	O
data	O
transfer	O
on	O
the	O
TOR	B-Application
network	I-Application
takes	O
place	O
over	O
the	O
TOR	B-Application
relay	O
such	O
that	O
the	O
data	O
is	O
transmitted	O
over	O
multiple	O
relay	O
nodes	B-Protocol
before	O
it	O
reaches	O
the	O
client	O
node	O
.	O
</s>
