|  | 3.1 | Basic LAN Devices
| 3.1.10 | Clouds

The cloud symbol suggests another network, perhaps the entire Internet. It reminds us that there is a way to connect to that other network (the Internet), but does not supply all the details of either the connection or the network. The physical features of the cloud are many. To help you understand, you might think of all of the devices that connect your computer to some very distant computer, perhaps on another continent. There is no single picture that could display all of the processes and equipment that would be involved in making that connection.

The purpose of the cloud is to represent a large group of details that are not pertinent to a situation, or description, at a given time. It is important to remember that at this point in the curriculum, you are only interested in how LANs connect to larger WANs and to the Internet (the ultimate WAN), so that any computer can talk to any other computer, any place and any time. Because the cloud is not really a single device, but a collection of devices that operate at all levels of the OSI model, it is classified as a Layer 1-7 device.