ABSTRACT
Networks are sometimes characterized according to the type of equipment with which they interface. A network is said to be heterogeneous if it is made up of a variety of different equipment and nodes. This frequently implies the need for so-called front-end processing to isolate the communications subnet functions from the varying interface protocols. A network is said to be homogeneous if it uses only one protocol procedure, thus obligating host functions with whatever protocol translations are necessary for interfacing with the network. Networks are typically heterogeneous, while the communications subnet will commonly be configured so that it is homogeneous.
