Two devices are in a network if—

Concept

A computer network exists when distinct devices can communicate and exchange data through a communication medium and agreed protocols. Process execution, local identifiers, or a common operating system alone do not establish that communication relationship.

Application

1. Identify the entities in the stem: two distinct devices, each capable of hosting processes.

2. Look for a condition that states communication across the device boundary.

3. The statement about a process on one device exchanging data with a process on the other directly supplies that condition.

Contrast

• Processes merely running on both devices describes local execution, not communication.

• Equal PIDs have no networking significance because a PID is scoped to its own operating-system instance.

• Identical operating systems are unnecessary because standard protocols permit heterogeneous systems to communicate.

• None of these is excluded because one offered condition explicitly describes inter-device data exchange.

Result

The defining condition is that a process on one device can exchange data with a process on the other device.