Assignment 1

Introduction to Repeater, Hub, Bridge, Switch, Router, Gateway

1 REPEATER
Repeater is a device that operates only on the physical layer of the OSI Model. Signals that carry
information within a network can travel a fixed distance before attenuation endangers the integrity of the
data. A repeater installed on a link receives the signal before it becomes too weak or corrupted,
regenerates the original bit pattern and puts the refreshed copy back onto the link. A repeater allows us to
extend the physical length of a network.

The repeater does not change the functionality of the network in any way. The two sections connected by a
repeater are, in reality, one network.

2 HUB
A hub is a very basic networking device which operates on the physical layer of the OSI Model. Hub is a
broadcasting device. In a hub a frame is broadcasted to every one of its ports, it doesnt matter if the frame
is desired for only one port. The hub has no routing table or intelligence to detect which port the frame
was intended to, passing the frame along to every port ensures that it will reach its intended destination.
This places a lot of traffic in the network and often can lead to poor network connection.
3 BRIDGE
Bridge operates in the data link layer of the OSI model. Bridges can divide a large network into smaller
segments. They can also relay frames between two originally separate LANs. Unlike repeaters, however,
bridges contain logic that allows them to keep the traffic for each segment separate. In this way, they filter
traffic, a fact that makes them useful for controlling congestion and isolating problem links. Bridges can
also provide security through this partitioning of traffic.

When a frame enters the bridge, the bridge not only regenerates the signal but checks the address of the
destination and forwards the new copy only to the segment to which the address belongs.

4 SWITCH
A switch is a device that provides bridging functionality with greater efficiency. A switch may act as a
multiport bridge to connect devices or segments in a LAN. The switch normally has a buffer for each link
(network) to which it is connected. When it receives a packet, it stores the packet in the buffer of the
receiving link and checks the address to find the outgoing link. If the outgoing link is free, the switch sends
the frame to that particular link.
5 ROUTER
Routers and bridges are same hardware devices capable of executing specific tasks. Routers are more
sophisticated. They have access to network layer addresses and contain software that enables them to
determine which of several possible paths between those addresses are the best for a particular
transmission is. Routers operate mainly in the Network Layer of the OSI model.

Routers relay packets among multiple interconnected networks, they route packets from one network to
any of a number of potential destination networks on an internet.

6 GATEWAY
Gateways potentially operate in all seven layers of the OSI model. A gateway is a protocol converter. A
router by itself transfers, accepts and relays packets only across networks using similar protocols. A
gateway, on the other hand, can accept a packet formatted for one protocol and convert it to a packet
formatted for another protocol before forwarding it.

A gateway is generally a software installed in a router. The gateway understands the protocols used by
each network linked into the router and is therefore able to translate from one to another.