Meaning – A backbone, in the context of networks, refers to a main network line that links several local are networks together. The result is the formation of a wide area network with a backbone connection.
The most common example of such a setup is the internet. The internet is esssentially the ultimate wide area network, and incidentally, it relies on a backbone network to carry data over large distances. The internet backbone consists of ultra-high bandwidth connections that link together many different nodes across the world. These nodes further route incoming data to smaller networks in the local region. The fewer “hops” that your data needs to make before reaching the backbone, the faster it will get reach the desired destination.
Many people compare the network backbone to the human backbone, which also carries signals to smaller nerves in the body.
Example of Usage – “Web Hosts and Internet Service Providers have direct access to the backbone network.”
