IN THE NAME OF ALMIGHTY ALLAH

1-Media and Topologies

Recognize the following logical or physical network topologies given a schematic
diagram or description:

> Ethernet Networks

In the diagram below you will see two ethernet configurations. On the left the computers are
connected together with a single cable coming from the router/switch, this is called a bus or
thin ethernet configuration.

In bus topologies, all computers are connected to a single cable or "trunk or backbone", by a
transceiver either directly or by using a short drop cable. All ends of the cable must be
terminated, that is plugged into a device such as a computer or terminator. Most bus
topologies use coax cables.

The number of computers on a bus network will affect network performance, since only one
computer at a time can send data, the more computers you have on the network the more
computers there will be waiting send data. A line break at any point along the trunk cable will
result in total network failure.

Computers on a bus only listen for data being sent they do not move data from one computer
to the next, this is called passive topology.

On the right side of the diagram each computer connects directly to the router/switch. this is
how most ethernets are configured today. In this topology management of the network is
made much easier (such as adding and removing devices), because of the central point.
However because it is centralized more cable is required. If one computer fails the network
will continue to function.

If computers are connected in a row, along a single cable this is called a bus topology, if they
branch out from a single junction or hub this is known as a star topology. When computers
are connected to a cable that forms a continuous loop this is called a ring topology.

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>Star Topology

Star networks are one of the most common computer network topologies. In its simplest
form, a star network consists of one central switch, hub or computer which acts as a router to
transmit messages. If the central node is passive, the originating node must be able to tolerate
the reception of an echo of its own transmission, delayed by the two-way transmission time
(i.e. to and from the central node) plus any delay generated in the central node. An active star
network has an active central node that usually has the means to prevent echo-related
problems.

The star topology reduces the chance of network failure by connecting all of the systems to a
central node. When applied to a bus-based network, this central hub rebroadcasts all

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transmissions received from any peripheral node to all peripheral nodes on the network,
sometimes including the originating node. All peripheral nodes may thus communicate with
all others by transmitting to, and receiving from, the central node only. The failure of a
transmission line linking any peripheral node to the central node will result in the isolation of
that peripheral node from all others, but the rest of the systems will be unaffected.

Advantages of a Star Network

• Good performance.
• Easy to set up and to expand.
• Any non-centralised failure will have very little effect on the network, whereas on a
ring network it would all fail with one fault.
• Easy to detect faults
• Data Packets are sent quickly as they do not have to travel through any unnecessary
nodes.

Disadvantages of a Star Network

• Expensive to install
• Extra hardware required
• If the host computer fails the entire system is affected.

>Hierarchical Topology (also known as Tree)

The type of network topology in which a central 'root' node (the top level of the hierarchy) is
connected to one or more other nodes that are one level lower in the hierarchy (i.e., the
second level) with a point-to-point link between each of the second level nodes and the top
level central 'root' node, while each of the second level nodes that are connected to the top
level central 'root' node will also have one or more other nodes that are one level lower in the
hierarchy (i.e., the third level) connected to it, also with a point-to-point link, the top level
central 'root' node being the only node that has no other node above it in the hierarchy –

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the hierarchy of the tree is symmetrical, each node in the network having a specific fixed
number, f, of nodes connected to it at the next lower level in the hierarchy, the number, f,
being referred to as the 'branching factor' of the hierarchical tree.

Notes:

1.) A network that is based upon the physical hierarchical topology must have at least three
levels in the hierarchy of the tree, since a network with a central 'root' node and only one
hierarchical level below it would exhibit the physical topology of a star.

2.) A network that is based upon the physical hierarchical topology and with a branching
factor of 1 would be classified as a physical linear topology.

3.) The branching factor, f, is independent of the total number of nodes in the network and,
therefore, if the nodes in the network require ports for connection to other nodes the total
number of ports per node may be kept low even though the total number of nodes is large –
this makes the effect of the cost of adding ports to each node totally dependent upon the
branching factor and may therefore be kept as low as required without any effect upon the
total number of nodes that are possible.

4.) The total number of point-to-point links in a network that is based upon the physical
hierarchical topology will be one less that the total number of nodes in the network.

5.) If the nodes in a network that is based upon the physical hierarchical topology are
required to perform any processing upon the data that is transmitted between nodes in the
network, the nodes that are at higher levels in the hierarchy will be required to perform more
processing operations on behalf of other nodes than the nodes that are lower in the hierarchy.

>Bus Topology

In bus topologies, all computers are connected to a single cable or "trunk or backbone", by a
transceiver either directly or by using a short drop cable. All ends of the cable must be
terminated, that is plugged into a device such as a computer or terminator. Most bus
topologies use coax cables.

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The number of computers on a bus network will affect network performance, since only one
computer at a time can send data, the more computers you have on the network the more
computers there will be waiting send data. A line break at any point along the trunk cable will
result in total network failure.

Computers on a bus only listen for data being sent they do not move data from one computer
to the next, this is called passive topology.

Advantages

• Easy to implement and extend

• Requires less cable length than a star topology
• Well suited for temporary or small networks not requiring high speeds(quick setup)
• Initially less expensive than other topologies

Disadvantages

• Difficult to administer/troubleshoot.
• Limited cable length and number of stations.
• If there is a problem with the cable, the entire network goes down.
• Maintenance costs may be higher in the long run.
• Performance degrades as additional computers are added or on heavy traffic.
• Low security (all computers on the bus can see all data transmissions).
• Proper termination is required.(loop must be in closed path).
• If one node fails, the whole network will shut down.
• If many computers are attached, the amount of data flowing causes the network to
slow down.

>Mesh Topology

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A Mesh topology Provides each device with a point-to-point connection to every other device
in the network. These are most commonly used in WAN's, which connect networks over
telecommunication links. Mesh topologies use routers to determine the best path.

Mesh networks provide redundancy, in the event of a link failure, meshed networks enable
data to be routed through any other site connected to the network. Because each device has a
point-to-point connection to every other device, mesh topologies are the most expensive and
difficult to maintain.

Mesh networks differ from other networks in that the component parts can all connect to each
other via multiple hops, and they generally are not mobile. Mobile ad-hoc networking
(MANET), featured in many consumer devices, is a subsection of mesh networking.

Mesh networks are self-healing: the network can still operate even when a node breaks down
or a connection goes bad. As a result, a very reliable network is formed. This concept is
applicable to wireless networks, wired networks, and software interaction.

There are three distinct generations of wireless mesh architectures. In the first generation one
radio provides both backhaul (packet relaying) and client services (access to a laptop). In the
second generation, one radio relayed packets over multiple hops while another provided
client access. This significantly improved backhaul bandwidth and latency. Third generation
wireless mesh products use two or more radios for the backhaul for higher bandwidth and
low latency. Third generation mesh products are replacing previous generation products as
more demanding applications like voice and video need to be relayed wirelessly over many
hops of the mesh network.

>Ring Topology

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In a ring topology network computers are connected by a single loop of cable, the data
signals travel around the loop in one direction, passing through each computer. Ring topology
is an active topology because each computer repeats (boosts) the signal before passing it on
to the next computer.

One method of transmitting data around a ring is called token passing. The token is passed
from computer to computer until it gets to a computer that has data to send.

If there is a line break, or if you are adding or removing a device anywhere in the ring this
will bring down the network. In an effort to provide a solution to this problem, some network
implementations (such as FDDI) support the use of a double-ring. If the primary ring breaks,
or a device fails, the secondary ring can be used as a backup.

Advantages

• Data is quickly transferred without a ‘bottle neck’

• The transmission of data is relatively simple as packets travel in one direction only.
• Adding additional nodes has very little impact on bandwidth
• It prevents network collisions because of the media access method or architecture
required.

Disadvantages

• Because all stations are wired together, to add a station you must shut down the
network temporarily.
• It is difficult to troubleshoot the ring.
• Data packets must pass through every computer between the sender and recipient
Therefore this makes it slower.
• If any of the nodes fail then the ring is broken and data cannot be transmitted
successfully.

>Wireless

A wireless network consists of wireless NICs and access points. NICs come in different
models including PC Card, ISA, PCI, etc. Access points act as wireless hubs to link multiple
wireless NICs into a single subnet. Access points also have at least one fixed Ethernet port to
allow the wireless network to be bridged to a traditional wired Ethernet network, such as the
organization’s network infrastructure. Wireless and wired devices can coexist on the same
network.

2-Media and Topologies

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Specify the main features of 802.2 (Logical Link Control), 802.3 (Ethernet), 802.5 (token
ring), 802.11 (wireless), and FDDI (Fiber Distributed Data Interface) networking
technologies, including:

> 802.3 (Ethernet) Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD)
LAN Ethernet

Access method

• CSMA/CA (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Avoidance)

• CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision Detection)

A type of media access control. With CSMA/CD, a computer listens to the network to
determine whether another computer is transmitting a data frame. If no other computer is
transmitting, the computer can then send its data. While the computer is listening for a data
signal, that would be the carrier sense part. Multiple access means, there are multiple
computers trying to access or send data on the network at the same time. Collision detection
indicates that the computers are also listening for collisions, if two computers try to send data
at the same time and a collision occurs, they must wait a random period of time before
transmitting again.

Designation Supported Media Maximum Transfer Topology

Segment Speed
Length
10Base-5 Coaxial 500m 10Mbps Bus
10Base-2 ThinCoaxial (RG-58 185m 10Mbps Bus
A/U)
10Base-T Category3 or above 100m 10Mbps Star,using either
unshielded twisted- simple repeater hubs or
pair (UTP) Ethernet switches
1Base-5 Category3 UTP, or 100m 1Mbps Star,using simple
above repeater hubs
10Broad-36 Coaxial(RG-58 A/U 3600m 10Mbps Bus(often only point-
CATV type) to-point)
10Base-FL Fiber-optic- two 2000m (full- 10Mbps Star(often only point-
strands of multimode duplex) to-point)
62.5/125 fiber
100Base- Category5 UTP 100m 100Mbps Star,using either
TX simple repeater hubs or
Ethernet switches
100Base-FX Fiber-optic- two 412 meters 100 Mbps Star(often only point-
strands of multimode (Half- to-point)
62.5/125 fiber Duplex) (200 Mb/s

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 2000 m (full- full-duplex
duplex) mode)
1000Base- Fiber-optic- two 260m 1Gbps Star,using buffered
SX strands of multimode distributor hub (or
62.5/125 fiber point-to-point)
1000Base- Fiber-optic- two 440m 1Gbps Star,using buffered
LX strands of multimode (multimode) distributor hub (or
62.5/125 fiber or 5000 m point-to-point)
monomode fiber (singlemode)
1000Base- Twinax,150-Ohm- 25m 1Gbps Star(or point-to-point)
CX balanced, shielded,
specialty cable
1000Base-T Category5 100m 1Gbps Star

> 802.5 (token ring)

The IEEE 802.5 Token Ring standards define services for the OSI physical layer and the
MAC sublayer of the data link layer. Token Ring computers are situated on a continuous
network loop. A Token Ring controls access to the network by passing a token, from one
computer to the next. Before they can transmit data they must wait for a free token, thus
token passing does not allow two or more computers to begin transmitting at the same time.

Media MAC Signal Propagation Speed Topologies Maximum

Method Method Connections
Twisted- Tokenpassing Forwardedfrom device 4Mbps Ring 255nodes per
pair(various to device (or port to port segment
types) on a hub) in a closed 16 Star-using
loop Mbps Token
Ring
repeater
hubs

> 802.11b (wireless)

802.11b is a wireless Ethernet technology operating at 11MB. 802.11b devices use Direct
Sequence Spread Spectrum (DSSS) radio technology operating in the 2.4GHz frequency
band.

An 802.11b wireless network consists of wireless NICs and access points. Access points act
as wireless hubs to link multiple wireless NICs into a single subnet. Access points also have
at least one fixed Ethernet port to allow the wireless network to be bridged to a traditional
wired Ethernet network.. Wireless and wired devices can coexist on the same network.

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802.11b devices can communicate across a maximum range of 50-300 feet from each other.

> FDDI networking technologies

Fiber Distributed Data Interface, shares many of the same features as token ring, such as a
token passing, and the continuous network loop configuration. But FDDI has better fault
tolerance because of its use of a dual, counter-rotating ring that enables the ring to
reconfigure itself in case of a link failure. FDDI also has higher transfer speeds, 100 Mbps for
FDDI, compared to 4 - 16 Mbps for Token Ring.

Unlike Token Ring, which uses a star topology, FDDI uses a physical ring. Each device in
the ring attaches to the adjacent device using a two stranded fiber optic cable. Data travels in
one direction on the outer strand and in the other direction on the inner strand. When all
devices attached to the dual ring are functioning properly, data travels on only one ring.
FDDI transmits data on the second ring only in the event of a link failure.

Media MAC Signal Propagation Method Speed Topologies Maximum

Method Connections
Fiber- Token Forwardedfrom device to device 100 Double 500 nodes
optic passing (or port to port on a hub) in a Mbps ringStar
closed loop

3-Media and Topologies

Specify the characteristics (For example: speed,length, topology, and cable type) of the
following cable standards:

Cable Type Maximum Max. Speed Topology

Length

10Base-T Category 3 or 100 m 10 Mbps Star, using either

above unshielded simple repeater
twisted-pair (UTP) hubs or Ethernet
switches

10BASE-FL Fiber-optic Segment may be Fiber optic link

up to 2,000 segments a star
meters in length topology
if only 10BASE-
FL
equipment is
used on the
segment.

100Base-TX Category 5 UTP 100 m 100 Mbps Star, using either

simple repeater
hubs or Ethernet
switches

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100Base-FX Fiber-optic 412 meters 100 Mbps Star (often only
(Half-Duplex) point-to-point)
(200 Mb/s full-
2000 m (full- duplex mode)
duplex)

1000Base- Fiber-optic 440 m 1 Gbps Star, using

LX (multimode) buffered
5000 m distributor hub (or
(singlemode) point-to-point)

1000Base-T Category 5 100 m 1 Gbps Star

100BASE-
TX

1000BASE- Copper cable maximum of 1 Gbps Obsolete standard

CX (balanced shielded 25m per for 1GB Ethernet
twisted pair). segment over short
distances.
Succeeded
by 1000BASE-T

10GBASE- unshielded twisted 100m A standard Proposal for

T pair cables proposed 10GBASE-T calls
Category 5e or by the IEEE 802 will use the
Category 6 or committee to conventional RJ-
Category provide 10 45 used for
7 cables. Gigabit/second ethernet
Augmented LANs.
Category 6 cable is
being developed IEEE P802.3an
which will to (10GBASE-T)
reduce crosstalk Task Force
between the cables

10 GBASE- multimode fiber From 30m up to 10 Gbps

SR 300 meters
Two strands of depending on
62.5/125 (30m)or the type and
50/125 (300m) quality of
micron core fiber the multimode
cable fiber.

10 GBASE- single-mode fiber 10 kilometers 10 Gbps

LR

10 GBASE- Fiber optic cable 40 kilometers 10 Gbps

ER

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 4-Media and Topologies

Recognize the following media connectors and describe their uses:

> RJ-11 (Registered Jack)

Standard telephone cable connectors, RJ-11 has 4 wires (and RJ-12 has 6 wires).

Pinout of the 1-Wire plug RJ-11 Pin Signal Name

that connects to the socket
on a TINI E20 Revision C board,
or a 9097U adapter.
1 VCC (5 volts regulated)
2 Power Ground
3 One Wire Data
4 One Wire Ground
5 No Connect

6 V+ (unregulated DC)

> RJ-45 (Registered Jack)

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RJ-45 The "RJ" stands for Registered Jack. These connectors are used with 10-100BaseT
cables, and resemble telephone RJ-11 connectors, but are larger. They are connected to the
cable by crimping.

Used for Ethernet cable connectors, where usually 8 pins (4 pairs) are used, e.g., a male-to-
male cable to connect a cable or ADSL modem to the computer Ethernet network card.
Applications include other networking services such as ISDN and T1.

25 Pair Color Code Chart

RJ-45 Wiring (EIA/TIA-568B)

Pin Pair Wire Color Pins

1 2 1 white/orange
2 2 2 orange
3 3 1 white/green
4 1 2 blue
5 1 1 white/blue
6 3 2 green
7 4 1 white/brown

8 4 2 brown

> F-Type

The F connector is a type of RF connector commonly used for cable and universally for
satellite television. They are also used for the cable TV connection in DOCSIS cable
modems, usually with RG-6 tri-shield cable. The F connector is inexpensive, yet has good
performance up to 1 GHz. One reason for its low cost is that it uses the center wire of the
coaxial cable as the pin of the male connector. The male connector body is typically crimped
onto the exposed outer braid. Female connectors have a 3/8-32 thread. Most male connectors
have a matching threaded connecting ring, though push-on versions are also available.

> ST (Straight Tip) and SC (Subscriber Connector or Standard Connector)

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Fiber network segments always require two fiber cables: one for transmitting data, and one
for receiving. Each end of a fiber cable is fitted with a plug that can be inserted into a
network adapter, hub, or switch. In the North America, most cables use a square SC
connector (Subscriber Connector or Standard Connector) that slides and locks into place
when inserted into a node or connected to another fiber cable, Europeans use a round ST
connector (Straight Tip) instead.

SC connector (Subscriber Connector or Standard Connector)

ST connector (Straight Tip)

Both connectors offer the same features as far as distance and reliability, Connectors of
different types can communicate with the use of adapters or couplers, but it is best to choose
one type of connector and stick with it over your entire network.

> IEEE 1394 (FireWire)

Is a personal computer (and digital audio/video) serial bus interface standard, offering high-
speed communications and isochronous real-time data services. FireWire can be considered a
successor technology to the obsolescent SCSI Parallel Interface. Up to 63 devices can be
daisy-chained to one FireWire port.

IEEE 1394 connectors are used to connect FireWire devices such as host controllers,
adapters, hard drives, hubs, repeaters, and card readers. FireWire, a registered trademark of
Apple Computer, is a communications protocol for the transmission of data, video, and audio

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over a single cable at very high bit rates. IEEE 1394 is an interface standard adopted by the
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE) for digital data transfers at 400 Mbps.
The popularity of IEEE 1394 is due in part to its use of a bus-powered architecture that does
not require peripherals to supply their own power. Products that support the IEEE 1394
standard adhere to its specifications, but often use proprietary trade names. For example,
Sony uses the term iLink to describe its FireWire products. iLink is a registered trademark of
the Sony Corporation.

There are two basic types of IEEE 1394 connectors: four-pin and six-pin. Four-pin or four-
position FireWire connectors are used with digital video camcorders and other devices that
have a small footprint and do not require external power. By contrast, six-pin or six-position
connectors are used with personal computers (PCs), rewritable compact disc rewritable drives
(CDRWs), external hard drives, digital audio stations, and other larger, more durable
FireWire devices that use external power. Four-pin connectors are rectangular, 1/4” by 1/8”
devices in which one of the longer sides is indented. Six-pin connectors are rectangular, 1/2”
by 3/16” devices in which one of the smaller sides is rounded. Four-pin and six-pin IEEE
1394 connectors are either straight or right-angled.

> Fiber LC (Local Connector)

These connectors are used for single-mode and multimode fiber-optic cables. FC connectors
offer extremely precise positioning of the fiber-optic cable with respect to the transmitter's
optical source emitter and the receiver's optical detector. FC connectors feature a position
locatable notch and a threaded receptacle.

> MT-RJ (Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack)

MT-RJ connectors are used with single-mode and multimode fiber-optic cables. The MT-RJ
connectors are constructed with a plastic housing and provide for accurate alignment via their
metal guide pins and plastic ferrules.

Used for Gigabit ethernet. To connect to modules with MT-RJ interfaces, use multimode
fiber-optic cables.

> USB (Universal Serial Bus)

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Universal Serial Bus, or USB, is a computer standard designed to eliminate the guesswork in
connecting peripherals to a PC. It is expected to replace serial and parallel ports. A single
USB port can be used to connect up to 127 peripheral devices, such as mice, modems,
keyboards, digital camera's, printers, scanners, MP3 players and many more. USB also
supports Plug-and-Play installation and hot plugging.

• USB 1.1 standard supports data transfer rates of 12 Mbps.

• USB 2.0 (Also referred to as Hi-Speed USB) specification defines a new High-speed
transfer rate of 480 Mb/sec.

USB 2.0 is fully compatible with USB 1.1 and uses the same cables and connectors.

USB has with two connector types. The first is Type A (on the right), This connector
connects to the PC's USB port.

The Type B (on the left) connector and is for connecting to the relevant peripheral.

Where as the type A connector is truly standard, the Type B connector could be changed in
size etc. with individual peripherals meaning they require there own unique cables.

> Coaxial Connectors

BNC connector for coaxial cables. These are either soldered, or crimped to the
end of the cable.

BNC T connector, which joins the network card to the network cable.

BNC barrel connector, used to connect two cables together. It is better to use
one continuous length of cable, as these connectors weaken the signal strength.

A thicknet network connection uses a 15 pin attachment unit interface (AUI) to

connect the 15 pin DB 15 connector on the back of the network adapter card to
an external transceiver (shown left). The transceiver for thicknet Ethernet includes a vampire
tap (shown on top of the transceiver) which pierces the thicknet cable to make the network

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 connection. From the transceiver to the network card a drop cable is
attached.

5-Media and Topologies

Recognize the following media types and describe their uses:

> Category 3
cable, commonly known as Cat-3, is an unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable designed to
reliably carry data up to 10 Mbit/s, with a possible bandwidth of 16 MHz. It is part of a
family of copper cabling standards defined jointly by the Electronic Industries Alliance and
the Telecommunications Industry Association. Category 3 was a popular cabling format
among computer network administrators in the early 1990s, but has since been almost
entirely replaced by the very similar Cat-5 standard, which offers higher top speeds.

> Category 5

cable, commonly known as Cat 5, is an unshielded twisted

pair type cable designed for high signal integrity. The actual
standard defines specific electrical properties of the wire,
but it is most commonly known as being rated for its
Ethernet capability of 100 Mbit/s. Its specific standard
designation is EIA/TIA- 568. Cat 5 cable typically has
three twists per inch of each twisted pair of 24 gauge copper
wires within the cable. The twisting of the cable reduces electrical interference and crosstalk.
Another important characteristic is that the wires are insulated with a plastic (FEP) that has
low dispersion, that is, the dielectric constant of the plastic does not depend greatly on
frequency. Special attention also has to be paid to minimizing impedance mismatches at
connection points.

Cat 5 cables are often used in structured cabling for computer networks such as Fast Ethernet,
although they are also used to carry many other signals such as basic voice services, token
ring, and ATM (at up to 155 Mbit/s, over short distances).

> RJ-45 electrical connectors are nearly always used for connecting category 5 cable.
Generally solid core cable is used for connecting between the wall socket and the socket in
the patch panel whilst stranded cable is used for the patch leads between hub/switch and
patch panel socket and between wall port and computer. However it is possible to put plugs
onto solid core cable and some installations save on the cost of patch panels and/or wall ports
by putting plugs directly onto the fixed category 5 wiring and plugging them straight into the
computers and/or hub/switches.

> Cat 5e cable is an enhanced version of Cat 5 for use with 1000BASE-T (gigabit)
networks, or for long-distance 100 Base-T links (350 m, compared with 100 m for Cat 5). It
must meet the EIA/TIA 568A-5 specification. Virtually all cables sold as Cat 5 are actually
Cat 5e. The markings on the cable itself reveal the exact type.

> Category - 6 cable, (ANSI/TIA/EIA-568-B.2-1) A cable standard for Gigabit Ethernet and
other interconnect that is backward compatible with Category 5 cable, Cat-5e and Cat-3. Cat-
6 features more stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise. The cable standard is
suitable for 10BASE-T / 100BASE-TX and 1000BASE-T (Gigabit Ethernet) connections.

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The cable contains four twisted copper wire pairs, just like earlier copper cable standards,
although each twisted pair is made up of slightly larger 23 gauge copper wire as opposed to
Cat 5's 24 gauge wire. When used as a patch cable, Cat-6 is normally terminated in RJ-45
electrical connectors. If components of the various cable standards are intermixed, the
performance of the signal path will be limited to that of the lowest category. The distance
without losing data is 220 m.

> Category 7 cable (CAT7), (ISO/IEC 11801:2002 category 7/class F), is a cable standard
for Ultra Fast Ethernet and other interconnect technologies that can be made to be backwards
compatible with traditional CAT5 and CAT6 Ethernet cable. CAT7 features even more
stringent specifications for crosstalk and system noise than CAT6. To achieve this, shielding
has been added for individual wire pairs and the cable as a whole.

The CAT7 cable standard has been created to allow 10-gigabit Ethernet over 100 m of copper
cabling. The cable contains four twisted copper wire pairs, just like the earlier standards.
CAT7 can be terminated in RJ-45 compatible GG45 electrical connectors which incorporate
the RJ-45 standard, and a new type of connection to enable a smoother migration to the new
standard. When combined with GG-45 connectors, CAT7 cable is rated for transmission
frequencies of up to 600 MHz.

Also being considered is a non-RJ-45-compatible standard developed by Siemon which

forgoes compatibility in exchange for performance, and doubles the transmission frequencies
of RJ-45.[1] The TERA interface is the only non-RJ category 7/class F industry-standard
connector recognized within ISO/IEC 11801 Ed. 2.0.

> UTP (Unshielded Twisted Pair)

UTP is the most commonly used type of networking cable. UTP cables are often called
"ethernet cables" after Ethernet, the most common data networking standard that utilizes UTP
cables, although not the most reliable.

In contrast to FTP and STP cabling, UTP cable is not surrounded by any shielding. It is the
primary wire type for telephone usage and is very common for computer networking,
especially in patch cables or temporary network connections due to the high flexibility of the
cables.

> STP (Shielded Twisted Pair)

This cable has a conductive braided or foil casing for each pair and theoretically offers very
good protection from interference and crosstalk. It was commonly used for token ring
networks. Shielded Twisted Pair is rarely used due to the fact that the potential performance
increase over UTP is not worth the much greater cost of STP.

> Coaxial cable

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Coaxial cable is an electrical cable consisting of a round conducting wire, surrounded by an
insulating spacer, surrounded by a cylindrical conducting sheath, and usually surrounded by a
final insulating layer.

The cable is designed to carry a high-frequency or broadband signal, as a high-frequency

transmission line. Because the electromagnetic field carrying the signal exists (ideally) only
in the space between the inner and outer conductors, it cannot interfere with or suffer
interference from external electromagnetic fields.

They used to be common for implementing computer networks, in particular Ethernet, but
twisted pair cables have replaced them in most applications.

> SMF (Single Mode Fiber) optic cable

Single-mode optical fiber is an optical fiber in which only the lowest order bound mode can
propagate at the wavelength of interest. Single mode fibers are best at retaining the fidelity of
each light pulse over longer distances and exhibit no dispersion caused by multiple spatial
modes; thus more information can be transmitted per unit time giving single mode fibers a
higher bandwidth in comparison with multi-mode fibers. A typical single mode optical fiber
has a core radius of 5-10 micrometers and a cladding radius of 120 micrometers. Currently,
data rates of up to 10 Gigabits/second are possible at distances of over 60 km with
commercially available transceivers.

Equipment for Single mode fiber is more expensive than equipment for Multi-mode optical
fiber, but the single mode fiber itself is usually cheaper in bulk.

> MMF (Multimode Fiber) optic cable

Multi-mode optical fiber (multimode fiber or MM fiber) is a type of optical fiber mostly used
for communication over shorter distances, e.g. within a building. It can carry 1 Gbit/s for
typical building distances; the actual maximum speed (given the right electronics) depends
upon the distance. It is easier to connect to than single-mode optical fiber, but its limit on
speed x distance is lower. Multi-mode fiber has a larger center core than single-mode fiber,
which allows it to support more than one propagation mode, or path within the fiber.

The equipment used for communications over multi-mode optical fiber is less expensive than
that for single-mode optical fiber. Typical transmission speeds/distances limits are 100 Mbit/s
up to 2 km (100BASE-FX), 1 Gbit/s for distances up to 500-600 meters (1000BASE-LX,
1000BASE-SX), and 10 Gbit/s for distances up to 300 meters (10GBASE-SR).

6-Media and Topologies

Identify the purposes, features and functions of the following network components:
> Hubs

A hub or concentrator is a device used to connect all of the computers on a star or ring
network. A hub, is nothing more than a box with a series of cable connectors in it. Hubs are
available in a variety of sizes, from four- and five-port devices designed for home and small

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business networks to large rack-mounted units with up to 24 ports or more. Installing a single
hub is simply a matter of connecting it to a power source and plugging in cables connected to
the network interface adapters in your computers. However, it's important for a network
technician to understand what goes on inside a hub.

Like network interface adapters, hubs are associated with specific data-link layer protocols.
Ethernet hubs are the most common, because Ethernet is the most popular data-link layer
protocol, but Token Ring MAUs are hubs too, and other protocols, such as the Fiber
Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) also use hubs.

Stackable hubs Small Hub

Ethernet Hubs: An Ethernet hub is also called a multiport repeater. A repeater is a device
that amplifies a signal as it passes through it, to counteract the effects of attenuation. If, for
example, you have a thin Ethernet network with a cable segment longer than the prescribed
maximum of 185 meters, you can install a repeater at some point in the segment to strengthen
the signals and increase the maximum segment length. This type of repeater only has two
BNC connectors, and is rarely seen these days. The hubs used on UTP Ethernet networks are
repeaters as well, but they can have many RJ45 ports instead of just two BNC connectors.

When data enters the hub through any of its ports, the hub amplifies the signal and transmits
it out through all of the other ports. This enables a star network to have a shared medium,
even though each computer has its own separate cable. The hub relays every packet
transmitted by any computer on the network to all of the other computers, and also amplifies
the signals. The maximum segment length for a UTP cable on an Ethernet network is 100
meters. A segment is defined as the distance between two communicating computers.
However, because the hub also functions as a repeater, each of the cables connecting a
computer to a hub port can be up to 100 meters long, allowing a segment length of up to 200
meters when one hub is inserted in the network.

> Switches

Switches are a special type of hub that offers an additional layer of intelligence to basic,
physical-layer repeater hubs. A switch must be able to read the MAC address of each frame it
receives. This information allows switches to repeat incoming data frames only to the
computer or computers to which a frame is addressed. This speeds up the network and
reduces congestion.

Switches operate at both the physical layer and the data link layer of the OSI Model.

> Bridges

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A bridge is used to join two network segments together, it allows computers on either
segment to access resources on the other. They can also be used to divide large networks into
smaller segments. Bridges have all the features of repeaters, but can have more nodes, and
since the network is divided, there is fewer computers competing for resources on each
segment thus improving network performance.

Bridges can also connect networks that run at different speeds, different topologies, or
different protocols. But they cannot, join an Ethernet segment with a Token Ring segment,
because these use different networking standards.

Bridges operate at both the Physical Layer and the MAC sublayer of the Data Link layer.
Bridges read the MAC header of each frame to determine on which side of the bridge the
destination device is located, the bridge then repeats the transmission to the segment where
the device is located.

> Routers
Are networking devices used to extend or segment networks by forwarding packets from one
logical network to another. Routers are most often used in large internetworks that use the
TCP/IP protocol suite and for connecting TCP/IP hosts and local area networks (LANs) to
the Internet using dedicated leased lines.

Routers work at the network layer (layer 3) of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)
reference model for networking to move packets between networks using their logical
addresses (which, in the case of TCP/IP, are the IP addresses of destination hosts on the
network). Because routers operate at a higher OSI level than bridges do, they have better
packet-routing and filtering capabilities and greater processing power, which results in
routers costing more than bridges.

Routers contain internal tables of information called routing tables that keep track of all
known network addresses and possible paths throughout the internetwork, along with the cost
of reaching each network. Routers route packets based on the available paths and their costs,
thus taking advantage of redundant paths that can exist in a mesh topology network. Because
routers use destination network addresses of packets, they work only if the configured
network protocol is a routable protocol such as TCP/IP or IPX/SPX. This is different from
bridges, which are protocol independent.

Static routers: These must have their routing tables configured manually with all network
addresses and paths in the internetwork.

Dynamic routers: These automatically create their routing tables by listening to network
traffic.

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You can use routers, to segment a large network, and to connect local area segments to a
single network backbone that uses a different physical layer and data link layer standard.
They can also be used to connect LAN's to a WAN's.

> Gateways

A gateway is a device used to connect networks using different protocols. Gateways operate
at the network layer of the OSI model.

In order to communicate with a host on another network, an IP host must be configured with
a route to the destination network. If a configuration route is not found, the host uses the
gateway (default IP router) to transmit the traffic to the destination host. The default t
gateway is where the IP sends packets that are destined for remote networks. If no default
gateway is specified, communication is limited to the local network.

Gateways receive data from a network using one type of protocol stack, removes that
protocol stack and repackages it with the protocol stack that the other network can use.

Examples

• E-mail gateways—for example, a gateway that receives Simple Mail Transfer

Protocol (SMTP) e-mail, translates it into a standard X.400 format, and forwards it to
its destination
• Gateway Service for NetWare (GSNW), which enables a machine running Microsoft
Windows NT Server or Windows 2000 Server to be a gateway for Windows clients so
that they can access file and print resources on a NetWare server
• Gateways between a Systems Network Architecture (SNA) host and computers on a
TCP/IP network, such as the one provided by Microsoft SNA Server
• A packet assembler/disassembler (PAD) that provides connectivity between a local
area network (LAN) and an X.25 packet-switching network

> CSU / DSU (Channel Service Unit / Data Service Unit)

A CSU/DSU is a device that combines the functionality of a channel service unit (CSU) and
a data service unit (DSU). These devices are used to connect a LAN to a WAN, and they take
care of all the translation required to convert a data stream between these two methods of
communication.

A DSU provides all the handshaking and error correction required to maintain a connection
across a wide area link, similar to a modem. The DSU will accept a serial data stream from a
device on the LAN and translate this into a useable data stream for the digital WAN network.
It will also take care of converting any inbound data streams from the WAN back to a serial
communication.

A CSU is similar to a DSU except it does not have the ability to provide handshaking or error
correction. It is strictly an interface between the LAN and the WAN and relies on some other
device to provide handshaking and error correction.

> NICs (Network Interface Card)

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Network Interface Card, or NIC is a hardware card installed in a computer so it can
communicate on a network. The network adapter provides one or more ports for the network
cable to connect to, and it transmits and receives data onto the network cable.

Wireless Network
Interface Card

Network Interface
Card

Every networked computer must also have a network adapter driver, which controls the
network adapter. Each network adapter driver is configured to run with a certain type of
network adapter.

A networked computer must also have one or more protocol drivers (sometimes called a
transport protocol or just a protocol). The protocol driver works between the upper-level
network software and the network adapter to package data to be sent on the network.

In most cases, for two computers to communicate on a network, they must use identical
protocols. Sometimes, a computer is configured to use multiple protocols. In this case, two
computers need only one protocol in common to communicate. For example, a computer
running File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks that uses both NetBEUI and TCP/IP
can communicate with computers using only NetBEUI or TCP/IP.

> ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) adapters

Integrated Services Digital Network adapters can be used to send voice, data, audio, or video
over standard telephone cabling. ISDN adapters must be connected directly to a digital
telephone network. ISDN adapters are not actually modems, since they neither modulate nor
demodulate the digital ISDN signal.

Like standard modems, ISDN adapters are available both as internal devices that connect
directly to a computer's expansion bus and as external devices that connect to one of a

23
computer's serial or parallel ports. ISDN can provide data throughput rates from 56 Kbps to
1.544 Mbps (using a T1 carrier service).

ISDN hardware requires a NT (network termination) device, which converts network data
signals into the signaling protocols used by ISDN. Some times, the NT interface is included,
or integrated, with ISDN adapters and ISDN-compatible routers. In other cases, an NT device
separate from the adapter or router must be implemented.

ISDN works at the physical, data link, network, and transport layers of the OSI Model.

> WAPs (Wireless Access Point)

A wireless network adapter card with a transceiver sometimes called an access point,
broadcasts and receives signals to and from the surrounding computers and passes back and
forth between the wireless computers and the cabled network.

Access points act as wireless hubs to link multiple wireless NICs into a single subnet. Access
points also have at least one fixed Ethernet port to allow the wireless network to be bridged to
a traditional wired Ethernet network..

> Modems

A modem is a device that makes it possible for computers to communicate over telephone
lines. The word modem comes from Modulate and Demodulate. Because standard telephone
lines use analog signals, and computers digital signals, a sending modem must modulate its
digital signals into analog signals. The computers modem on the receiving end must then
demodulate the analog signals into digital signals

Modems can be external, connected to the computers serial port by an RS-232 cable or
internal in one of the computers expansion slots. Modems connect to the phone line using
standard telephone RJ-11 connectors.

> Transceivers (media converters)

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Transceiver short for transmitter-receiver, a device that both transmits and receives analog or
digital signals. The term is used most frequently to describe the component in local-area
networks (LANs) that actually applies signals onto the network wire and detects signals
passing through the wire. For many LANs, the transceiver is built into the network interface
card (NIC). Some types of networks, however, require an external transceiver.

In Ethernet networks, a transceiver is also called a Medium Access Unit (MAU).

Media converters interconnect different cable types twisted pair, fiber, and Thin or thick
coax, within an existing network. They are often used to connect newer 100-Mbps, Gigabit
Ethernet, or ATM equipment to existing networks, which are generally 10BASE-T,
100BASE-T, or a mixture of both. They can also be used in pairs to insert a fiber segment
into copper networks to increase cabling distances and enhance immunity to electromagnetic
interference (EMI).

> Firewalls

In computing, a firewall is a piece of hardware and/or software which functions in a

networked environment to prevent some communications forbidden by the security policy,
analogous to the function of firewalls in building construction.

A firewall has the basic task of controlling traffic between different zones of trust. Typical
zones of trust include the Internet (a zone with no trust) and an internal network (a zone with
high trust). The ultimate goal is to provide controlled connectivity between zones of differing
trust levels through the enforcement of a security policy and connectivity model based on the
least privilege principle.

There are three basic types of firewalls depending on:

• whether the communication is being done between a single node and the network, or
between two or more networks
• whether the communication is intercepted at the network layer, or at the application
layer
• whether the communication state is being tracked at the firewall or not

With regard to the scope of filtered communication there exist:

• personal firewalls, a software application which normally filters traffic entering or

leaving a single computer through the Internet.
• network firewalls, normally running on a dedicated network device or computer
positioned on the boundary of two or more networks or DMZs (demilitarized zones).
Such a firewall filters all traffic entering or leaving the connected networks.

25
The latter definition corresponds to the conventional, traditional meaning of "firewall" in
networking.

In reference to the layers where the traffic can be intercepted, three main categories of
firewalls exist:

• network layer firewalls An example would be iptables.

• application layer firewalls An example would be TCP Wrapper.
• application firewalls An example would be restricting ftp services through
/etc/ftpaccess file

These network-layer and application-layer types of firewall may overlap, even though the
personal firewall does not serve a network; indeed, single systems have implemented both
together.

There's also the notion of application firewalls which are sometimes used during wide area
network (WAN) networking on the world-wide web and govern the system software. An
extended description would place them lower than application layer firewalls, indeed at the
Operating System layer, and could alternately be called operating system firewalls.

Lastly, depending on whether the firewalls track packet states, two additional categories
of firewalls exist:

• stateful firewalls
• stateless firewalls

Network layer firewalls

Network layer firewalls operate at a (relatively low) level of the TCP/IP protocol stack as IP-
packet filters, not allowing packets to pass through the firewall unless they match the rules.
The firewall administrator may define the rules; or default built-in rules may apply (as in
some inflexible firewall systems).

A more permissive setup could allow any packet to pass the filter as long as it does not match
one or more "negative-rules", or "deny rules". Today network firewalls are built into most
computer operating system and network appliances.

Modern firewalls can filter traffic based on many packet attributes like source IP address,
source port, destination IP address or port, destination service like WWW or FTP. They can
filter based on protocols, TTL values, netblock of originator, domain name of the source, and
many other attributes.

Application-layer firewalls

Application-layer firewalls work on the application level of the TCP/IP stack (i.e., all browser
traffic, or all telnet or ftp traffic), and may intercept all packets traveling to or from an
application. They block other packets (usually dropping them without acknowledgement to
the sender). In principle, application firewalls can prevent all unwanted outside traffic from
reaching protected machines.

26
By inspecting all packets for improper content, firewalls can even prevent the spread of the
likes of viruses. In practice, however, this becomes so complex and so difficult to attempt
(given the variety of applications and the diversity of content each may allow in its packet
traffic) that comprehensive firewall design does not generally attempt this approach.

> Proxies

A proxy device (running either on dedicated hardware or as software on a general-purpose

machine) may act as a firewall by responding to input packets (connection requests, for
example) in the manner of an application, whilst blocking other packets.

Proxies make tampering with an internal system from the external network more difficult,
and misuse of one internal system would not necessarily cause a security breach exploitable
from outside the firewall (as long as the application proxy remains intact and properly
configured). Conversely, intruders may hijack a publicly-reachable system and use it as a
proxy for their own purposes; the proxy then masquerades as that system to other internal
machines. While use of internal address spaces enhances security, crackers may still employ
methods such as IP spoofing to attempt to pass packets to a target network.

7-Media and Topologies

Specify the general characteristics (For example: carrier speed, frequency, transmission
type and topology) of the following wireless technologies:

> Infrared

Infrared (IR) radiation is electromagnetic radiation of a wavelength longer than that of visible
light, but shorter than that of microwave radiation. The name means "below red" (from the
Latin infra, "below"), red being the color of visible light of longest wavelength.

> Bluetooth

Is an industrial specification for wireless personal area networks (PANs). Bluetooth provides
a way to connect and exchange information between devices like personal digital assistants
(PDAs), mobile phones, laptops, PCs, printers and digital cameras via a secure, low-cost,
globally available short range radio frequency.

802.11 802.11x Infrared Bluetooth

Speed 500 802.11a > 54 115.2 Kbps 1.2 > 720 Kbps
Kbps Mbps
2.0 > 2.1 Mbps
802.11b > 11
Mbps

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 802.11g > 54
Mbps

Frequency Radio Radio Wave Light Wave Radio Wave

Wave
802.11a > 5 2.45 GHz. In order to
GHz avoid interfering with other
protocols which use the
802.11b > 2.4 2.45 GHz band, the
GHz Bluetooth protocol divides
the band into 79 channels
802.11g > 2.4 (each 1 MHz wide) and
GHz changes channels up to
1600 times per second.

Transmission FHSS DSSS and Light FHSS

OFDM (modulated,
switched on
and off, to
encode the
data.)

Topology Various Various Various Various

FHSS Frequency-hopping spread spectrum is a spread-spectrum method of transmitting radio

signals by rapidly switching a carrier among many frequency channels, using a
pseudorandom sequence known to both transmitter and receiver.

Spread-spectrum transmission offers these advantages over a fixed-frequency transmission:

• Highly resistant to noise and interference.

• Signals are difficult to intercept. A Frequency-Hop spread-spectrum signal sounds
like a momentary noise burst or simply an increase in the background noise for short
Frequency-Hop codes on any narrowband receiver except a Frequency-Hop spread-
spectrum receiver using the exact same channel sequence as was used by the
transmitter.
• Transmissions can share a frequency band with many types of conventional
transmissions with minimal interference. As a result, bandwidth can be utilized more
efficiently.

DSSS direct-sequence spread spectrum is a modulation technique where the transmitted

signal takes up more bandwidth than the information signal that is being modulated, which is
the reason that it is called spread spectrum.

Comparison of DSSS and Frequency Hopped SS

DSSS

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 • Flexible support of variable data rates
• High capacity is possible with enhancements (interference cancellation, adaptive
antenna, etc.)
• Suffers from near-far effect

FHSS

• Suitable for ad hoc networks (no near-far problem)

• Robust to interference
• Limited data rate

OFDM Orthogonal frequency-division multiplexing, also called discrete multitone

modulation (DMT), is a transmission technique based upon the idea of frequency-division
multiplexing (FDM).

• Used in some wireless LAN applications, including WiMAX and IEEE 802.11a/g
• Used in many communications systems such as: ADSL, Wireless LAN, Digital audio
broadcasting.

8-Media and Topologies

Identify factors which affect the range and speed of wireless service (For example:
interference, antenna type and environmental factors).

> 802.11g

Suffers from the same interference as 802.11b in the already crowded 2.4 GHz range.
Devices operating in this range include microwave ovens, Bluetooth devices, and cordless
telephones.

Since the 2.4 GHz band is heavily used, using the 5 GHz band gives 802.11a the advantage of
less interference. However, this high carrier frequency also brings disadvantages. It restricts
the use of 802.11a to almost line of sight, necessitating the use of more access points; it also
means that 802.11a cannot penetrate as far as 802.11b since it is absorbed more readily, other
things (such as power) being equal.

> 802.11a

Transmits radio signals in the frequency range above 5 GHz. This range is "regulated,"
meaning that 802.11a gear utilizes frequencies not used by other commercial wireless
products like cordless phones. In contrast, 802.11b utilizes frequencies in the unregulated 2.4
GHz range and encounters much more radio interference from other devices.

> IEEE 802.11a / IEEE 802.11h

This is also a physical layer enhancement. IEEE 802.11a provides significantly higher
performance than 802.11b, at 54 Mbps. Unlike 802.11b, the 802.11a standard operates within
the frequency range of 5.47 to 5.725 GHz and is not subject to the same interference from
other commercial electronic products. This higher frequency band allows significantly higher
speeds of communication over the 2.4 GHz range.

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802.11g APs are backward compatible with 802.11b APs. This backward compatibility with
802.11b is handled through the MAC layer, not the physical layer. On the negative side,
because 802.11g operates at the same frequency as 802.11b, it is subject to the same
interferences from electronic devices such as cordless phones. Since the standard’s approval
in June 2003, 802.11g products are gaining momentum and will most likely become as
widespread as 802.11b products. Table II-1 displays basic 802.11b/a/g characteristics.

The common range of operation for 802.11b is 150 feet for a floor divided into individual
offices by concrete or sheet-rock, about 300 feet in semi-open indoor spaces such as offices
partitioned into individual workspaces, and about 1000 feet in large open indoor areas.
Disadvantages of 802.11b include interference from electronic products such as cordless
phones and microwave ovens.

Range

The layout of your building can reduce the range.

• A lot of concrete walls can reduce your range.

• The size of the antenna and the placement greatly affect the range of their signals
• The weather and amount of water vapor in the air can affect your signals strength

Speed

• The layout of your building can reduce the speed

• The size of the antenna and its signal can affect your speed
• The weather and amount of water vapor can weaken the signal and affect your speed

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