Introduction to Network Distributors

In our introduction to networks, We mentioned that you could connect one computer to another. This can be done using their serial ports: This is possible because almost every computer has a serial port. If you have to connect many computers to produce a network, this serial connection would not be practical. The solution is to use a central object that the computers and other resources can connect to, and then this object becomes responsible to distribute or manage network traffic: The most regularly used types of network distributors are the hub, the router, and the switch.

Hub
A hub is rectangular box that is used as the central object on which computers and other devices are connected. To make this possible, a hub is equipped with small holes called ports. Here is an example of a hub:

Although this appears with 4 ports, depending on its type, a hub can be equipped with 4, 5, 12, or more ports. Here is an example of a hub with 8 ports:

When configuring it, you connect an RJ-45 cable from the network card of a computer to one port of the hub. In most cases for a home-based or a small business network, you may not need a hub.

Routers: Wired or Wireless

Like a hub, a router is another type of device that acts as the central point among computers and other devices that are part of a network. Here is an example of a wired router:

A router functions a little differently than a hub. In fact, a router can be considered a little "intelligent" than the hub. Like a hub, the computers and other devices are connected to a router using network cables. To make this possible, a router is equipped with holes, called ports, in the back. Here is an example:

Based on advances in the previous years from IEEE and other organizations or research companies, there are wireless routers. With this type, the computers and devices connect to the router using microwaves (no physical cable). In our (small) network, we wish to use a wireless router. Therefore, this is the kind we suggest you purchase. You can purchase a wireless router from a computer store or on the internet (http://www.tigerdirect.com, http://www.3com.com, http://www.provantage.c om, etc). You can also buy a wireless router from a computer store.

Wired Network Cards

In order to connect to a network, a computer must be equipped with a device called a network card. A network card, or a network adapter, also called a network interface card, or NIC, allows a computer to connect to the exterior. If you buy a computer from one of those popular stores or big companies on the Internet, most of their computers have a network card tested and already. You can reliably use it. If you go to a store that sells or manufactures computers, you can ask them to install or make sure that the computer has a network card. If you have a computer that doesnt have a network card, you can install one. If you have a computer that already has a network card, you can still replace it. When it comes to their installation, there are roughly two categories of network cards: internal and external. An internal network card looks like a printed circuit board with some objects "attached" or "glued" to it and it appears as follows:

What this card looks like may not be particularly important and it may depend on the manufacturer but some of its aspects particularly are. To start, there are two types of cards and you should know which one is suited (or which one you want to use) for your computer. One type of NICs uses a peripheral component interconnect (PCI) connection. Another type uses industry standard architecture (ISA). There are two primary ways you replace a network card. In most cases, you will remove the card your computer already has and install a new one. In some other cases, you will only add a new card but you cannot replace the existing one because it is part of the motherboard (I have found that out lately when opening a few computers for my users (I was not aware of that)). The area where you add a network card is called a slot.

To proceed, you must find out what your computer has to offer when it comes to network cards. To do this, you have three main alternatives. You can open the computer and examine the available slots of your computer. They are usually located inside of what would be considered as the back (wall) of the computer (if you know where you connect the monitor, you should be able to locate the area that has the slots. Unfortunately, unless you have experience with this, simply looking at the slots will not tell you what type of connection you are dealing with.

The second alternative is to open the manual that came with you computer (provided you havent thrown it away). The manual usually lists the (types of) slots that your computer provides and where they are located. The last alternative to knowing the types of slots that your computer provides is to contact the company that sold you the computer. They usually know, provided you can get a human being on the phone, as long as you give them the model of the computer. Once you know the type of slot available to you, you can go on the Internet or to a computer store and buy an appropriate network card. One of the most important characteristics of a network card is the speed it can use to carry information. The speeds are either 10 or 100Mbps (megabits per second). When buying a network card, you should pay attention to this.

TRANSLATE

Pengenalan kepada Rangkaian Pengedar

Dalam pengenalan kepada rangkaian kami, Kami telah menjelaskan bahawa andaboleh

menyambung satu komputer kepada yang lain. Ini boleh dilakukan denganmenggunakan port bersiri mereka:

Ini mungkin kerana hampir setiap komputer mempunyai port siri. Jika anda perlu untuk menyambung komputer yang banyak untuk menghasilkan rangkaian, sambungan siriini tidak akan praktikal. Penyelesaiannya adalah dengan menggunakan objek pusat komputer dan sumber-sumber lain boleh menyambung, dan maka objek ini menjadibertanggungjawab "mengedarkan" atau men guruskan trafik rangkaian:

Hab
Hab kotak segi empat tepat yang digunakan sebagai objek pusat komputer danperanti lain yang berkaitan. Untuk membuat ini, hab dilengkapi dengan lubang-lubang kecil yang dipanggil pelabuhan. Berikut adalah contoh hab:

Walaupun ini muncul dengan 4 port, bergantung kepada jenis, hab boleh dilengkapi dengan 4, 5, 12, atau lebih pelabuhan. Berikut adalah contoh hab 8 port:

Apabila mengkonfigurasi, anda menyambung kabel RJ-45 dari kad rangkaiankomputer kepada satu pelabuhan hab. Dalam kebanyakan kes berasaskan rumah atau rangkaian perniagaan kecil, andamungkin tidak perlu hab.

Router: berwayar atau wayarles

Seperti hub, router merupakan satu lagi jenis alat yang bertindak sebagai titik pusat di kalangan komputer dan peranti lain yang sebahagian daripada rangkaian. Berikut adalah satu contoh router berwayar:

Router A berfungsi sedikit berbeza daripada hub. Sebenarnya, router itu boleh dianggap sebagai sedikit "pintar" daripada hab. Seperti hub, komputer dan peranti lain yang disambungkan ke router menggunakan kabel rangkaian. Untuk membuat ini, router dilengkapi dengan lubang, dikenali sebagai pelabuhan, di belakang. Berikut adalah contoh: