Experiment No: 1

Aim:- Study of Components of LAN.

Theory:-

A Local Area Network (LAN) is a group of computers and associated devices that share a common
communications line or wireless link. Typically, connected devices share the resources of a single
processor or server within a small geographic area. A LAN is useful for sharing resources like files,
printers, games or other applications. A LAN in turn often connects to other LAN’s, and to the
Internet or other WAN.

Components of LAN:
A LAN is made up of three basic elements
A. The hardware which is connected to form the LAN.
B. The software (or programs) which is accessed through the LAN.
C. The users, who create, work with and manage the various files.

IEEE 802.3 is a working group and a collection of Institute of Electrical and Electronics
Engineers (IEEE) standards produced by the working group defining the physical layer and
data link layer's media access control (MAC) of wired Ethernet. This is generally a local
area network (LAN) technology with some wide area network (WAN) applications. Physical
connections are made between nodes and/or infrastructure devices (hubs, switches, routers)
by various types of copper or fiber cable.
802.3 is a technology that supports the IEEE 802.1 network architecture.
802.3 also defines LAN access method using CSMA/CD.
Each of these elements can be divided into a number of components.
A. Hardware Components:
A LAN can be thought of as a system composed of a series of building blocks. These blocks can be
added and configured as needed. Some of basic hardware components of LAN’s are:

1. Networking Interface Card (NICs):

A network
interface
card (NIC)
is a circuit
board or
card that is
installed
in a
computer
so that it
can be
connected
to a network. Each networked device contains a Network Interface Card. The NIC may be a
separate board installed into a computer’s slot, or it may be built into the motherboard.
2. Transmission Medium:
1. GuidedMedia:
It is also referred to as Wired or Bounded transmission media. Signals being transmitted are directed
and confined in a narrow pathway by using physical links.
There are 3 major types of Guided Media:
(i) Twisted Pair Cable –
It consists of 2 separately insulated conductor wires wound about each other. Generally, several
such pairs are bundled together in a protective sheath. They are the most widely used Transmission
Media. Twisted Pair is of two types:

1. Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP):

This type of cable has the ability to block interference and does not depend on a physical
shield for this purpose. It is used for telephonic applications.

2. Shielded Twisted Pair (STP):

This type of cable consists of a special jacket to block external interference. It is used in fast-
data-rate Ethernet and in voice and data channels of telephone lines.
(ii) Coaxial Cable –
It has an outer plastic covering containing 2 parallel conductors each having a separate insulated
protection cover. Coaxial cable transmits information in two modes: Baseband mode(dedicated
cable bandwidth) and Broadband mode(cable bandwidth is split into separate ranges). Cable TVs
and analog television networks widely use Coaxial cables.
(iii) Optical Fibre Cable –
It uses the concept of reflection of light through a core made up of glass or plastic. The core is
surrounded by a less dense glass or plastic covering called the cladding. It is used for transmission
of large volumes of data.
2. Unguided Media:
It is also referred to as Wireless or Unbounded transmission media.No physical medium is required
for the transmission of electromagnetic signals.
(i) Radiowaves –
These are easy to generate and can penetrate through buildings.The sending and receiving antennas
need not be aligned. Frequency Range:3KHz – 1GHz. AM and FM radios and cordless phones use
Radiowaves for transmission.
Further Categorized as: (i) Terrestrial and (ii) Satellite.
(ii) Microwaves –
It is a line of sight transmission i.e. the sending and receiving antennas need to be properly aligned
with each other. The distance covered by the signal is directly proportional to the height of the
antenna. Frequency Range:1GHz – 300GHz. These are majorly used for mobile phone
communication and television distribution.
(iii) Infrared –
Infrared waves are used for very short distance communication. They cannot penetrate through
obstacles. This prevents interference between systems. Frequency Range:300GHz – 400THz. It is
used in TV remotes, wireless mouse, keyboard, printer, etc.
3. Station:
A station is a computer that is connected with a server computer over the LAN, and communicate
with other devices connected with it.

4. HUB:

A common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are commonly used to connect
segments of a LAN. A hub contains multiple ports. When a packet arrives atone port, it is copied to
the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see all-packets.
5. Switch:
A switch is like a hub in that it is a central point for connecting network cables; however, a switch is
able to receive a packet and transmit it to only the destination computer.
6. Router:
Routers make the connection to the Internet for LANs. They use a configuration table to decide
where packets should go.
7. Access point:
A hardware device or a computer’s software that acts as a communication hub for users of a
wireless device to connect to a wired LAN.
8. Power Supply:
Both wired and wireless networks need a power supply. A wireless network uses the current to
generate radio waves. A cabled network sends data interpreted as an electronic pulse.
9. Connector:

A network connector refers to any device that used to connect many LAN connection with the
hardware of the computer.
10. Shared Peripheral Device:
A peripheral device is any device—such as a printer, hard disk drive, CD-ROM drive or modem—
that is connected to and controlled by a computer. Any or all of these devices can be accessed by
multiple users when connected to a LAN in the proper manner.

Topology:

11. LAN Software:

Once the physical building blocks of the LAN are put into place, the next step is to make them
functional. Software is needed for devices to function cooperatively and effectively on the LAN.
There are three categories of software found on a LAN:

The operating system of each attached server: The server operating system is considered
to be the brains of the network:
The operating system of each attached station: All PCs require an operating system to
function.
Applications software accessed by LAN users: Applications software is those software,
which are used to perform a specific task. The most common business applications are word
processing, spreadsheet analysis and database management.
Groupware: A second type of application software has been introduced for the LAN environment
— groupware. Groupware refers to programs that help people work together collectively while
located remotely from each other.
Client/server computing: In client/ server computing, the applications software is created and sold
for use expressly on a LAN. Client/server software has two distinct parts—the client part which
runs on the user’s station and the server part which is installed on the file server.
A LAN consists of a group of computers and devices connected by switches and hubs. For this LAN
to gain access to the Internet it must contain a router. The speed of the network greatly depends on
the configuration of the switches and hubs.

Conclusion: Hence, we understood the various Components of LAN.