Network Interface Card (NIC)

1
Is a card that will normally plug into one of the PCI slots in the motherboard which will
allow the computer to connect to a network. The card will normally be an Ethernet card
but there are other types such as a card which would allow the computer to use token
rings.

2 Servers

A server is a computer which provides services to other computers such as applications,

file sharing, storage space, internet, printing and a variety of other tasks.

As networks grow dedicated servers are required for the various tasks such as:

File Servers: Stores and manages files including access rights and levels of access
rights to users

Print Servers: Manages printers and print requests

Web Servers: Allows access to requested web pages

Mail Servers: Provides email services and manages mail boxes

3 Linking Hardware

Linking hardware refers to hardware which allows parts of a network or connecting

networks to link or use various peripheral devices. Linking hardware refers to bridges,
switches, routers, hubs and gateways.

• Hubs: Traditionally a hub is one of the most critical devices for a LAN because it
 was normally the point of central connection of all shared devices, however they
are largely being superseded by switches. A typical LAN will have multiple ports
to which devices will connect. A hub will not be intelligent. In other words any
packet received will be sent to all connected devices but only the device which it
is addressed to will answer. Because of its lack of ability to address packets for
the intended computer a hub will not be as efficient as other devices.
• Switches: Are similar to routers but will also amplify the signal like a repeater.
Most switches are normally thought of as being a device which filters and
forwards segments within LAN segments. These swictes worked on the layer 2
of the OSI model. Layer 2 is the data layer. This meant that switches could not
transfer data between networks because they did not have access to the
protocols. The new switches are also refrred to as routing switches and work at
OSI layer 3 which is the network layer and can actually perform the same
functions as a router. (Microsoft: networking Essentials Plus, 3rd edition pages
312-316 ATM switches), (webopedia: routing switches )
• Routers : Routers are located at gateways, the places where two or more
networks connect. Routers also have the added intelligence of providing an
alternate path to a node. ROUTERS WORK BY USING IP ADDRESSES
STORED IN A TABLE. Unlike hubs, routers are intelligent devices which rout
packets of data directly to the intended computer. A large network may have 25
LANs with large numbers of users on each of them and may support 500 or
thousands of users. If we were depending on hubs relaying every message out
to every computer and waiting for the correct computer to accept the message
the network would collapse with only minimal amount of traffic ever able to use
it. That is why routers are critical.
• Gateways: A gateway connects a LAN to the internet and external traffic. It may
be a router with a hardware configured firewall or a server may act as a
gateway.
• Repeaters: amplify the signal when a LAN is spread over a larger area than
normal. A repeater will not filter or join different LANs. All they can do is amplify
a signal
• Bridges: Join two or more LANS and are a cobination of hardware and
software. They are similar to routers but can only make binary decision
dependent on information stored in its Address table. UNLIKE ROUTERS
BRIDGES WORK BY USING THE MAC ADDRESS A bridge will not allow
traffic to pass unless it is addressed to one of the addresses in that table.
Because of this bridges can be used as a security device to stop traffic between
different parts of a LAN.
• Network Interface Card : The network interface card (NIC) allows computers to
connect through an ethernet. An ethernet cable will connect to the NIC and then
directly to another computer in a P2P connection or to a router, hub, switch etc...

List of Networking Devices, Bettscomputers, How Stuff Works, Wikipedia

How routers work

4 Transmission Media

There are 2 categories of transmission mediums:

 • Cable Mediums: (twisted pair, coaxial cable, fiber
optic cable)
• LEFT: This is a picture of fiber optic cable. The cable is
no more than the thickness of a human hair yet can
carry huge numbers of users at the same time and can
be used in 10 Gigabit Ethernet transmissions capable
networks. It is often not used over short distance
because of costs yet some areas require light weight,
security or a medium
which will not be susceptible to radiation or
other transmission noise. In these cases even
over short distance optic fiber would be the
preferred medium. It is becoming more
common as prices begin to fall.

• Non- Cable Mediums: (wireless,

microwave, satelite,
Bluetooth)

5 Twisted Pair (telephone cable)

Twisted pair cable is the cabling which runs from a junction box on the footpath to a
building.

A twisted-pair cable consists of two thin insulated copper wires, twisted to form a spiral.
 Twisting reduces the amount of interference from other cabling. Twisted-pair cable is
used over short distances, such as connecting a modem to a wall socket. Twisted-pair
cables can transmit data in millions of bits per second for short distance. Twisted pair
cabling comes in two varieties: shielded and unshielded. Unshielded twisted pair (UTP)
is the most popular and is generally the best option for most networks. The quality of
UTP may vary from telephone-grade wire to extremely high-speed cable. The cable has
four pairs of wires inside the jacket. Each pair is twisted with a different number of twists
per inch to help eliminate interference from adjacent pairs and other electrical devices.
Shielded twisted pair (STP) is suitable for environments with electrical interference;
however, the extra shielding can make the cables quite bulky. Shielded twisted pair is
often used on networks using Token Ring topology.

Coaxial Cable
6
A number of very thin copper wires are enclosed within an outer protective cover to form
the cable. They are individually wrapped in insulation so that they do not touch each
other and short out. A cable can handle several thousand calls at one time. Coaxial
cable has been laid on the seabed and is also used for communication between
continents.

Fiber Optic Cable

7
Optic fiber is gradually replacing coaxial cable. In this technology, the data is converted
into pulses of visible, laser light. This is transmitted to its destination by repeated
reflections through very fine, optically pure glass fiber through which light can be
reflected to transmit images or data from one end to the other. This fiber is no thicker
than a human hair and the transmission is without distortion or interference. Although
expensive to produce and install, optical fibers can carry more data than traditional
cables, and are less susceptible to interference. Standard optical fiber transmitters can
send up to 10 billion bits of information per second by switching a laser beam on and off.
Bundles of such tubes are enclosed in a protective covering to form a cable, but one that
is much thinner and cheaper to produce and maintain than a standard coaxial cable.

Optical fibers are increasingly being used to replace metal communications cables, the
messages being encoded as digital pulses of light rather than as fluctuating electric
current. Current research is investigating how optical fibers could replace wiring inside
computers.

Bundles of optical fibers are also used in endoscopes to inspect otherwise inaccessible
parts of machines or of the living body

Fiber-optics technology uses very fine glass fibers to transmit data or images, and has
increasingly come to replace metal communications cables. Fiber optics is also used in
endoscopes (instruments used to visualize the body's organs), in which different bundles
of fibers are used to illuminate the area under examination and to transmit the image.