A network configuration involves executing a user program and the Analyzer program on different PCs connected by a local area network.
The local configuration involves executing the user program and the analyzer program on the single PC.
The figure below shows the local configuration on the left and the network configuration on the right.
Local configuration is possible due to the standard TCP/IP stack function — TCP loopback. The TCP loopback function allows network applications to communicate in a standard way within a single PC. The most widely used IP address in the TCP loopback mechanism is 127.0.0.1. It is also possible to use the symbolic name localhost instead of the numeric address 127.0.0.1.
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The network configuration does not restrict the client in choice of OS. The local configuration limits the client in choice of OS — only Windows. |
