A user can view a web page from a server halfway around the world by sending and receiving the information through a series of connected nodes.
Relay networks can use many different topologies, from a line to a ring to a tree shape, to pass along information in the fastest and most efficient way possible.
Often the relay network is complex and branches off in multiple directions to connect many servers and computers.
It also speeds up data transmission by choosing the best path to travel between nodes to the receiver's computer.
An array of adaptive units receives its input signals through a relaying network.