Straight-Through Cable

A straight-through cable is a type of twisted pair cable that is used in local area networks to connect a computer to a network hub such as a router. This type of cable is also sometimes called a patch cable and is an alternative to wireless connections where one or more computers access a router through a wireless signal. One way to identify the specific use of a straight-through cable is to compare it to a slightly different kind of cable called a crossover cable. On a straight-through cable, the wired pins match, while in a crossover cable the pins are typically reversed. A crossover cable is often used to connect two of the same kinds of devices. Straight-through cable and crossover cable designs use many of the same standards and conventions. For e ample, a cat!e or "ategory !e cable structure can be used for both. These cables are also sub#ect to various other technical standards that provide consistency for these kinds of hardware connectors. Typically, a straight-through cable will terminate in a registered #ack connector that looks somewhat like the common #acks on traditional telephone cables. Specific models of $% connectors are used for these cable designs &cory #anssen, '()(*.

http+,,www.techopedia.com,definition,)--!.,straight-through-cable Crossover Cable

A crossover cable is a type of cable installation that is used for the interconnection of two similar devices. /t is enabled by reversing the transmission and receiving pins at both ends, so that output from one computer becomes input to the other, and vice versa. A crossover cable is generally implemented on a twisted pair cable that consists of four pairs of cables. For crossover cable to work, both ends should follow the same wiring format. The reversing or swapping of cables varies, depending on the different network environments and devices in use. For e ample, in a )((0aseT1 network, the second and third pair must be swapped at each end to create a crossover cable. A crossover cable is also used to create mesh networks that work without an intermediate network device, such as a hub or switch.&cory #anssen, '()(*. http+,,www.techopedia.com,definition,'2--,crossover-cable

router
/n packet-switched networks such as the /nternet, a router is a device or, in some cases, software in a computer, that determines the ne t network point to which a packet should be forwarded toward its destination. The router is connected to at least two networks and decides which way to send each information packet based on its current understanding of the state of the networks it is connected to. A router is located at any gateway &where one network meets another*, including each point-of-presence on the /nternet. A router is often included as part of a network switch. A router may create or maintain a table of the available routes and their conditions and use this information along with distance and cost algorithms to determine the best route for a given packet. Typically, a packet may travel through a number of network points with routers before arriving at its destination. $outing is a function associated with the 3etwork layer &layer -* in the standard model of network programming, the Open Systems /nterconnection &OS/* model. A layer-- switch is a switch that can perform routing functions. An edge router is a router that interfaces with an asynchronous transfer mode &AT4* network. A brouter is a network bridge combined with a router. For home and business computer users who have high-speed /nternet connections such as cable, satellite, or 5S6, a router can act as a hardware firewall. This is true even if the home or business has only one computer. 4any engineers believe that the use of a router provides better protection against hacking than a software firewall, because no computer /nternet 7rotocol address are directly e posed to the /nternet. This makes port scans &a techni8ue for e ploring weaknesses* essentially impossible. /n addition, a router does not consume computer resources as a software firewall does. "ommercially manufactured routers are easy to install, reasonably priced, and available for hard-wired or wireless networks&4argaret $ouse, #uly '((9*. http+,,searchnetworking.techtarget.com,definition,router A network device that forwards packets from one network to another. 0ased on the destination network address in the incoming packet and an internal routing table, the router determines which port &line* to send the packet out &ports typically connect to :thernet cables*. $outers re8uire packets to be formatted in a routable protocol, and the global standard routable protocol today is T"7,/7, or simply ;/7.; /n the home or small office, a wireless router is commonly used to direct traffic to and from the /nternet. /t combines a router, network switch and <i-Fi in one bo &see wireless router*. =owever, in a large company, routers are also used to separate local

networks &6A3s* into subnetworks &subnets* to balance traffic within workgroups and to filter traffic for security purposes and policy management. 6arge-scale enterprise routers take traffic load, congestion, line costs and other factors into consideration to determine which port to forward to&>iff 5avis, )229-'()?*. http+,,www.pcmag.com,encyclopedia,term,!(9-@,router

Switch
/n a telecommunications network, a switch is a device that channels incoming data from any of multiple input ports to the specific output port that will take the data toward its intended destination. /n the traditional circuit-switched telephone network, one or more switches are used to set up a dedicated though temporary connection or circuit for an e change between two or more parties. On an :thernet local area network &6A3*, a switch determines from the physical device &4edia Access "ontrol or 4A"* address in each incoming message frame which output port to forward it to and out of. /n a wide area packet-switched network such as the /nternet, a switch determines from the /7 address in each packet which output port to use for the ne t part of its trip to the intended destination. /n the Open Systems /nterconnection &OS/* communications model, a switch performs the 6ayer ' or 5ata-link layer function. That is, it simply looks at each packet or data unit and determines from a physical address &the ;4A" address;* which device a data unit is intended for and switches it out toward that device. =owever, in wide area networks such as the /nternet, the destination address re8uires a look-up in a routing table by a device known as a router. Some newer switches also perform routing functions &6ayer - or the 3etwork layer functions in OS/* and are sometimes called /7 switches. On larger networks, the trip from one switch point to another in the network is called a hop. The time a switch takes to figure out where to forward a data unit is called its latency. The price paid for having the fle ibility that switches provide in a network is this latency. Switches are found at the backbone and gateway levels of a network where one network connects with another and at the subnetwork level where data is being forwarded close to its destination or origin. The former are often known as core switches and the latter as desktop switches. /n the simplest networks, a switch is not re8uired for messages that are sent and received within the network. For e ample, a local area network may be organiAed in a token ring or bus arrangement in which each possible destination inspects each message and reads any message with its address&4argater $ouse,#uly '((@*.

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Computer
A computer is a device that accepts information &in the form of digitaliAed data* and manipulates it for some result based on a program or se8uence of instructions on how the data is to be processed. "omple computers also include the means for storing data &including the program, which is also a form of data* for some necessary duration. A program may be invariable and built into the computer &and called logic circuitry as it is on microprocessors* or different programs may be provided to the computer &loaded into its storage and then started by an administrator or user*. TodayBs computers have both kinds of programming. 4ost histories of the modern computer begin with the Analytical :ngine envisioned by "harles 0abbage following the mathematical ideas of Ceorge 0oole, the mathematician who first stated the principles of logic inherent in todayBs digital computer. 0abbageBs assistant and collaborator, Ada 6ovelace, is said to have introduced the ideas of program loops and subroutines and is sometimes considered the first programmer. Apart from mechanical calculators, the first really useable computers began with the vacuum tube, accelerated with the invention of the transistor, which then became embedded in large numbers in integrated circuits, ultimately making possible the relatively low-cost personal computer. 4odern computers inherently follow the ideas of the stored program laid out by %ohn von 3eumann in )2?!. :ssentially, the program is read by the computer one instruction at a time, an operation is performed, and the computer then reads in the ne t instruction, and so on. $ecently, computers and programs have been devised that allow multiple programs &and computers* to work on the same problem at the same time in parallel. <ith the advent of the /nternet and higher bandwidth data transmission, programs and data that are part of the same overall pro#ect can be distributed over a network and embody the Sun 4icrosystems slogan+ ;The network is the computer.;&4argaret $ouse, September '((!*. http+,,searchwindowsserver.techtarget.com,definition,computer A programmable machine that performs high-speed processing of numbers, as well as of te t, graphics, symbols, and sound. All computers contain a central processing unit that interprets and e ecutes instructionsD input devices, such as a keyboard and a mouse, through which data and commands enter the computerD memory that enables the computer to store programs and dataD and output devices, such as printers and

display screens, that show the results after the computer has processed data &=oughton 4ifflin, '((!*. http+,,www.thefreedictionary.com,computer