Definition: Routers are physical devices that join multiple wired or wireless networks together.

Technically, a wired or wireless router is a Layer 3 gateway, meaning that the wired/wireless router connects networks (as gateways do), and that the router operates at the network layer of the OSI model.

Definition: The OSI model defines internetworking in terms of a vertical stack of seven layers. The upper layers of the OSI model represent software that implements network services like encryption and connection management. The lower layers of the OSI model implement more primitive, hardware-oriented functions like routing, addressing, and flow control. In the OSI model, data communication starts with the top layer at the sending side, travels down the OSI model stack to the bottom layer, then traveses the network connection to the bottom layer on the receiving side, and up its OSI model stack. The OSI model was introduced in 1984. Although it was designed to be an abstract model, the OSI model remains a practical framework for today's key network technologies like Ethernet and protocols like IP The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model has been an essential element of computer network design since its ratification in 1984. The OSI is an abstract model of how network protocols and equipment should communicate and work together (interoperate). The OSI model is a technology standard maintained by the International Standards Organization (ISO). Although today's technologies do not fully conform to the standard, it remains a useful introduction to the study of network architecture.

The OSI Model Stack

The OSI model divides the complex task of computer-to-computer communications, traditionally called internetworking, into a series of stages known as layers. Layers in the OSI model are ordered from lowest level to highest. Together, these layers comprise the OSI stack. The stack contains seven layers in two groups: Upper layers 7. application 6. presentation 5. session Lower layers 4. transport 3. network 2. data link 1. physical

Topology in Network Design

Think of a topology as a network's virtual shape or structure. This shape does not necessarily correspond to the actual physical layout of the devices on the network. For example, the computers on a home LAN may be arranged in a circle in a family room, but it would be highly unlikely to find a ring topology there. Network topologies are categorized into the following basic types:

bus ring star tree mesh

More complex networks can be built as hybrids of two or more of the above basic topologies.

Bus Topology
Bus networks (not to be confused with the system bus of a computer) use a common backbone to connect all devices. A single cable, the backbone functions as a shared communication medium that devices attach or tap into with an interface connector. A device wanting to communicate with another device on the network sends a broadcast message onto the wire that all other devices see, but only the intended recipient actually accepts and processes the message. Ethernet bus topologies are relatively easy to install and don't require much cabling compared to the alternatives. 10Base-2 ("ThinNet") and 10Base-5 ("ThickNet") both were popular Ethernet cabling options many years ago for bus topologies. However, bus networks work best with a limited number of devices. If more than a few dozen computers are added to a network bus, performance problems will likely result. In addition, if the backbone cable fails, the entire network effectively becomes unusable. Illustration - Bus Topology Diagram

Ring Topology
In a ring network, every device has exactly two neighbors for communication purposes. All messages travel through a ring in the same direction (either "clockwise" or "counterclockwise"). A failure in any cable or device breaks the loop and can take down the entire network. To implement a ring network, one typically uses FDDI, SONET, or Token Ring technology. Ring topologies are found in some office buildings or school campuses. Illustration - Ring Topology Diagram

Star Topology

Many home networks use the star topology. A star network features a central connection point called a "hub node" that may be a network hub, switch or router. Devices typically connect to the hub with Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Ethernet. Compared to the bus topology, a star network generally requires more cable, but a failure in any star network cable will only take down one computer's network access and not the entire LAN. (If the hub fails, however, the entire network also fails.) Illustration - Star Topology Diagram

Tree Topology
Tree topologies integrate multiple star topologies together onto a bus. In its simplest form, only hub devices connect directly to the tree bus, and each hub functions as the root of a tree of devices. This bus/star hybrid approach supports future expandability of the network much better than a bus (limited in the number of devices due to the broadcast traffic it generates) or a star (limited by the number of hub connection points) alone. Illustration - Tree Topology Diagram

Mesh Topology
Mesh topologies involve the concept of routes. Unlike each of the previous topologies, messages sent on a mesh network can take any of several possible paths from source to destination. (Recall that even in a ring, although two cable paths exist, messages can only travel in one direction.) Some WANs, most notably the Internet, employ mesh routing. A mesh network in which every device connects to every other is called a full mesh. As shown in the illustration below, partial mesh networks also exist in which some devices connect only indirectly to others.

What is a Protocol?
A protocol is a system of rules that define how something is to be done. In computer terminology, a protocol is usually an agreed-upon or standardized method for transmitting data and/or establishing communications between different devices. Just as two humans need to have a common language between them before they can begin to share ideas and information, so must computers have a common way of sending information between them. The Internet is often used as an example of a successful protocols-based system in which the implementation of key qualities of protocols, such as error correction and message formatting, are utilized and respected across a wide variety of hardware and software.

user profile - technical definition

The preferences and current desktop configuration of a user's machine. User profiles enable several users to work on the same computer with their own desktop setup. When stored in a server, user profiles enable users to obtain their desktop configuration when working at a different machine. See system policy. Definition: IP (Internet Protocol) is the primary network protocol used on the Internet, developed in the 1970s. On the Internet and many other networks, IP is often used together with the Transport Control Protocol (TCP) and referred to interchangeably as TCP/IP. IP supports unique addressing for computers on a network. Most networks use the Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) standard that features IP addresses four bytes (32 bits) in length. The newer Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) standard features addresses 16 bytes (128 bits) in length. Data on an Internet Protocol network is organized into packets. Each IP packet includes both a header (that specifies source, destination, and other information about the data) and the message data itself. IP functions at layer 3 of the OSI model. It can therefore run on top of different data link interfaces including Ethernet and Wi-Fi.
What is Internet Protocol? Internet Protocol is a set of technical rules that defines how computers communicate over a network. There are currently two versions: IP version 4 (IPv4) and IP version 6 (IPv6). What is IPv4? IPv4 was the first version of Internet Protocol to be widely used, and accounts for most of todays Internet traffic. There are just over 4 billion IPv4 addresses. While that is a lot of IP addresses, it is not enough to last forever. What is IPv6? IPv6 is a newer numbering system that provides a much larger address pool than IPv4, amongst other features. It was deployed in 1999 and should meet the worlds IP addressing needs well into the future.

IP address classes These IP addresses can further be broken down into classes. These classes are A, B, C, D, E and their possible ranges can be seen in Figure 2 below. Class A B C D E Start address 0.0.0.0 128.0.0.0 192.0.0.0 224.0.0.0 240.0.0.0 Figure 2. IP address Classes If you look at the table you may notice something strange. The range of IP address from Class A to Class B skips the 127.0.0.0-127.255.255.255 range. That is because this range is reserved for the special addresses called Loopback addresses that have already been discussed above. The rest of classes are allocated to companies and organizations based upon the amount of IP addresses that they may need. Listed below are descriptions of the IP classes and the organizations that will typically receive that type of allocation. Default Network: The special network 0.0.0.0 is generally used for routing. Class A: From the table above you see that there are 126 class A networks. These networks consist of 16,777,214 possible IP addresses that can be assigned to devices and computers. This type of allocation is generally given to very large networks such as multi-national companies. Loopback: This is the special 127.0.0.0 network that is reserved as a loopback to your own computer. These addresses are used for testing and debugging of your programs or hardware. Class B: This class consists of 16,384 individual networks, each allocation consisting of 65,534 possible IP addresses. These blocks are generally allocated to Internet Service Providers and large networks, like a college or major hospital. Class C: There is a total of 2,097,152 Class C networks available, with each network consisting of 255 individual IP addresses. This type of class is generally given to small to mid-sized companies. Class D: The IP addresses in this class are reserved for a service called Multicast. Class E: The IP addresses in this class are reserved for experimental use. Finish address 126.255.255.255 191.255.255.255 223.255.255.255 239.255.255.255 255.255.255.255

Broadcast: This is the special network of 255.255.255.255, and is used for broadcasting messages to the entire network that your computer resides on. Private Addresses There are also blocks of IP addresses that are set aside for internal private use for computers not directly connected to the Internet. These IP addresses are not supposed to be routed through the Internet, and most service providers will block the attempt to do so. These IP addresses are used for internal use by company or home networks that need to use TCP/IP but do not want to be directly visible on the Internet. These IP ranges are: Class A B C Private Start Address 10.0.0.0 172.16.0.0 192.168.0.0 Private End Address 10.255.255.255 172.31.255.255 192.168.255.255

If you are on a home/office private network and want to use TCP/IP, you should assign your computers/devices IP addresses from one of these three ranges. That way your router/firewall would be the only device with a true IP address which makes your network more secure.
Proxy ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) : is a technique by which a device on a given network answers the ARP queries for a network address that is not on that network. The ARP Proxy is aware of the location of the traffic's destination, and offers its own MAC address in reply, effectively saying, "send it to me, and I'll get it to where it needs to go." Serving as an ARP Proxy for another host effectively directs LAN traffic to the Proxy. The "captured" traffic is then typically routed by the Proxy to the intended destination via another interface Bit rate is the number of bits transmitted during one second whereas baud rate refers to the number of signal units per second that are required to represent those bits.

Question: What Is a DNS Server? The Domain Name System (DNS) is a standard technology for managing the names of Web sites and other Internet domains. DNS technology allows you to type names into your Web browser like compnetworking.about.com and your computer to automatically find that address on the Internet. A key element of the DNS is a worldwide collection of DNS servers. What, then, is a DNS server? Answer: A DNS server is any computer registered to join the Domain Name System. A DNS server runs special-purpose networking software, features a public IP address, and contains a database of network names and addresses for other Internet hosts
HUB is an Layer1 device which uses traditional way of communication, every time it broadcasts the incomming traffic, it does not store mac-address, it logically star but physically bus topology. SWITCH : Switch is a layer2 device and intelligent device as it stores mac-table so that it can unicast,

multicast, and broadcast the incoming traffic, we can manage certain switches through console port where hub doesn't provide this facility.. Router : It is a layer3 device which connects different networks and provides a best path for a packet to reach the destination in addition to this router can perform many services like security with ACLs, NAT, DHCP services....

A Physical address is a 48-bit flat address burned into the ROM of the NIC card which is a Layer1 device of the OSI model. This iis divided into 24-bit vendor code and 24-bit serial address. This is unique for each system and cannot be changed. A Logical address is a 32- bit address assigned to each system in a network. This works in Layer-3 of OSI Model. This would be generally the IP address.
Why should we care about the OSI Reference Model ?

It is very important model for networking: The main aim to design the OSI model is that actully they want to set a standerd for the communication and want to standarized the network equipement so that they would not be any Brand consuines ISO stands International Standards Organization established 1940's and ISO developed OSI means Open System Interconnection model for communication at 1970's. It is a layerd model. Advantages of layered model is 1.complexity can be reduced. 2. Modifications can be achieved without affecting higher and lower layers.
What difference between a directory and active directry?

An Directory is the database that holds information about component locations, users, groups, passwords, security, and other COM information. Some of this information is currently stored in the Registry, but will eventually (with Windows 2000) be moved to the Active Directory. The main difference between of Directory and AD is Directory is the repository of data stored but AD not only stores data but have the services by which stored data can be available to the users
What is Bandwidth?

Every line has an upper limit and a lower limit on the frequency of signals it can carry. This limited range is called the bandwidth. bandwidth is the maximum of data or frequency of signals can be carried over the link in sec.

What is a server?
A server is a computer system who's primary purpose (or even sole purpose) is to host files and/or applications and provide access to them on a network. Server can share resources with various clients. a server in a network is a central computer that is accessed by other networked computers which are operated by individual users. A server is maintained by a network technician, but in general it functions on its own without a human operator. A server is a host, it is used to host a network over a WAN, LAN, and any other connection types. with a network you can transmit files between computers and onto a system stored within the server. It is used to help computers to communicate with minimal collisions on the network route. A server is a computer with more storage space to hold all of the files that are used on each of the computers i.e. each computer that is used will back up the information or transmit it to the server to be stored securely and or backed up at the end of a period of time Explain 5-4-3 rule? In a Ethernet network, between any two points on the network, there can be no more than five network segments or four repeaters, and of those five segments only three of segments can be populated. What is Message Oriented Middleware (MOM)? MOM allows general purpose messages to be exchanged in a Client/Server system using message queues. Applications communicate over networks by simply putting messages in the queues and getting messages from queues. It typically provides a very simple high level APIs to its services. MOM's messaging and queuing allow clients and servers to communicate across a network without being linked by a private, dedicated, logical connection. The clients and server can run at different times. It is a post-office like metaphor.