Module 3 Networking media and components

Network Topologies
Understanding Network Basics

Understanding Network Basics

Module 3 Networking media and components

Module 3 Networking Media and Components

Overview

This module deals with the cables and their standards which is the medium through which information usually moves from one network device to another. There are several types of cable which are commonly used with LANs. In some cases, a network will utilize only one type of cable, other networks will use a variety of cable types. This module also deals with the understanding of the characteristics of different types of cable and how they relate to other aspects of a network is necessary for the development of a successful network. Lessons covered in this module
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Media Standards and Types

Understanding Network Basics Network Components

Module 3 Networking media and components

Lesson 1 Media Standards and Types

Introduction

Cable is the medium through which information usually moves from one network device to another. There are several types of cable which are commonly used with LANs. In some cases, a network will utilize only one type of cable, other networks will use a variety of cable types. The type of cable chosen for a network is related to the networks topology, protocol, and size. Understanding the characteristics of different types of cable and how they relate to other aspects of a network is necessary for the development of a successful network. Understanding Network Basics

Module 3 Networking media and components

Lesson 1 Media Standards and Types

Topics covered in this lesson are
Cable Standards Media Types Media Connectors Crimping

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Understanding Network Basics

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Topic 1 Cable Standards

A wide range of cabling types are been used to run Ethernet systems. Therefore, different types of cabling standards are being used for the networks involved in connecting devices together using different types of cabling system. Some of the common cable standards are discussed in this topic.

10BASET
10BASET cabling system is a popular Ethernet networking standard that uses unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cable to connect the computers. The 10 represents its maximum throughput of 10Mbps, the Base indicates that it uses baseband transmission, and the T stands for twisted pair, the medium it uses. . It is an extremely popular LAN technology which is usually found on Ethernet star connected by UTP cables. They are usually connected to a central hub or a switch. On a 10BaseT network, one pair of wires in the UTP cable is used for transmission, while a second pair of wires is used for reception. 10BaseT networks use two pairs of wires for full duplex transmission.
Understanding Network Basics

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Topic 1 Cable Standards

10BaseT is used usually used for home and small office networks because it is affordable with high performance. A 100Base-T solution may be required for large organizations if there are a large number of PCs connected to the network, or if a large amount of data is frequently transferred.

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Topic 1 Cable Standards

100BaseT
The LANs that can use the same infrastructure as the popular 10BaseT technology is met by 100BaseT, also known as Fast Ethernet. There are two 100BaseT specifications which differs primarily in the way they achieve the 100Mbps transmission rate, which affects their cabling requirements.

100BaseTX 100BaseT4

100BaseTX 100BaseTX is the variations of 100BaseT specified by the Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE). It carries 100Mbps and used baseband signaling with the maximum distance of 100 meters per cable. data that 10BaseT uses. Therefore, 100BaseTX is also capable of full-duplex transmission like 10BaseT. Full duplexing can potentially double the bandwidth of a 100BaseT network to 200 Mbps. It achieves its speed by sending the signal ten times faster and condensing the time between digital pulses as well as the time a station must wait and listen for a signal.
Understanding Network Basics

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Topic 1 Cable Standards

100BaseT4 This variation of 100BaseT uses all four pairs of wires in a UTP cable and therefore, can use lower cost CAT 3 wiring. It achieves its speed by breaking the 100Mbps data stream into three streams of 33Mbps each. These three streams are sent over three pairs of wire in the cable. However, because 100BaseT4 technology uses all four wire pairs for unidirectional signaling, it cannot support full duplexing. Hence, 100BaseT4 is less popular than 100BaseTX because it cannot support full duplexing.

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Topic 1 Cable Standards

1000BASE-T
1000BaseT specifies Gigabit Ethernet over Cat 5e UTP cabling and provides data transfer rates of 1000 Mb/s. It utilizes all four pairs of cable wires for transmission. The maximum cable segment length is 100 meters. 1000BaseTX specifies Gigabit Ethernet over Cat 6 UTP cabling, but is not part of the IEEE 802.3ab standard.

1000BASE-CX
1000BaseCX specifies Gigabit Ethernet over a special 150Ohm shielded coaxial cable, also known as twinax, with DB-9 connectors. It is specifically designed for short cable runs such as server-to-server connections and specifies a maximum cable length of 25 meters.
Understanding Network Basics

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Topic 1 Cable Standards

1000BASE-SX
1000BaseSX uses multimode fiber with a cable length up to 500 meters IEEE standard specifies SC connectors.

1000BASE-LX
1000BaseLX uses multimode fiber with a maximum length of 550 meters or single-mode fiber with a maximum length of 5 km.

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Understanding Network Basics

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Topic 2 Media Types

A cable is a device which contains a number of signal conductors usually in the form of separate wires. It is the medium through which information usually moves from one system to another through the network. There are several types of cable which are commonly used with the local area network. The cable is relatively popular for wide variety of communication systems like television, telephone, computer networks etc.

Twisted Pair
Twisted pair cable is the most common type of network medium used in LANs today. A transmission media consists of color coded pairs of two shielded or unshielded insulated copper wires which are arranged in a spiral pattern. The spiral pattern is an important aspect of twisted-pair cables in order to minimize crosstalk or interference between adjoining wires. The advantage of using twisted pair cables are:
It is lighter, thinner and more flexible. Easy to install It is inexpensive
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Topic 2 Media Types

The twisted pair cable is most often implemented in star

topology. It can handle the faster networking transmission rates. The major disadvantage of twisted pair is because of its flexibility, it is more prone to physical damage. Therefore it is ideal in offices or work groups that are free of electromagnetic interference. There are two varieties of twisted pair cabling, they are:
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
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Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)

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Topic 2 Media Types

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP)
Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cabling consists of two unshielded wires twisted around each other that contain no shielding. It is commonly used in the telephone wires and is common for computer networking because of high flexibility of the cables. It is a plastic connector that looks like a large telephone-style connector. The standard connector for unshielded twisted pair cabling is RJ-45 connector.

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Topic 2 Media Types

Categories of Unshielded Twisted Pair
The categories of the unshielded twisted pair cable are described below.
Category 1
It is a form of UTP that contains two pairs of wire. CAT1 is suitable for voice communications but not for data.

It can carry up to 128 kilobits per second (Kbps) of data.

It is usually used for telephone wire Data rate -1 Mbps. This type of wire is

not capable of supporting computer network traffic and is not twisted.

Category 2
It contains four wire pairs and can carry up to 4 Mbps of data.

CAT2 is rarely found on modern networks.

Category 2 or CAT 2 is capable of transmitting data at up to 4 Mbps. This

type of cable is seldom used.

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Category 3

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CAT 3 is made up of four twisted-pair wires; each twist is three times per foot. It is certified to transmit data up to 10 Mbps CAT3 has typically been used for 10 Mbps Ethernet or 4 Mbps Token Ring networks. The CAT3 cabling is gradually replaced with CAT5 to accommodate higher throughput. Category 4 CAT 4 is made up of four twisted-pair wires, specialized to transmit data up to 16 Mbps and is rarely used in new installations. CAT4 may be used for 16 Mbps Token Ring or 10 Mbps Ethernet networks. It is guaranteed for signals as high as 20 MHz and provides more protection against crosstalk and attenuation than CAT1, CAT2, or CAT3.

Understanding Network Basics

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Category 5

CAT 5 is the most popular twisted pair Ethernet cabling designed for high signal integrity which is in common use today. CAT5 contains four wire pairs and supports up to 100 Mbps throughput. It is the most popular form of UTP for new network installations and upgrades to Fast Ethernet. In addition to 100 Mbps Ethernet, CAT5 wiring can support other fast networking technologies. It is popular because it is both affordable and high-speed for todays local area networks. Cat 5 cables are often used in structured cabling for computer networks such as fast Ethernet.
Understanding Network Basics

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Topic 2 Media Types

CAT5 Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable

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Category 5e CAT5e is a higher-grade version of CAT5 wiring for used with 1000BASE-T gigabit networks It contains high-quality copper, offers a high twist ratio, and uses advanced methods for reducing crosstalk. Enhanced CAT5 can support a signaling rate as high as 200 MHz, double the capability of regular CAT5 (Gigabit Ethernet Data rate-1000Mbps). Category 6 CAT 6 cable was originally designed to support gigabit Ethernet. It is similar to CAT5 wire, but contains a physical separator between the four twisted copper wire pairs to further reduce the electromagnetic interference. It is a twisted-pair cable that contains four wire pairs, each wrapped in foil insulation. Additional foil insulation covers the bundle of wire pairs, and a fire-resistant plastic sheath covers the second foil layer. The foil insulation provides excellent resistance to crosstalk and enables CAT6 to support at least six times the throughput supported by regular CAT5. When the Cat 6 is used as a patch cable, it is usually terminated in RJ-45 electrical connectors. Each Cat 6 cable segment lengths up to 220 m beyond which loss of data may occur (gigabit Ethernet Data rate-1000Mbps), because it is new and most network technologies cannot exploit its superlative capacity, CAT6 is seldom used in todays networks.
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Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
Shielded Twisted-Pair cabling is usually used in several network types. STP cable usually contains four pairs of twisted copper wires. It is different from UTP in that the twisted pairs are in a shield with electrically grounded woven copper mesh separating them from the cables outer sheath. It is suitable for environments with electrical interference. The essence of the shielding is to provide resistance to external Electromagnetic Interference (EMI) and to prevent crosstalk.

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Rollover Cable
Rollover Ethernet cable can be used to connect a host to a router console serial communication port. Eight wires are used in rollover cable to connect serial devices, although not all eight are used to send information just as in Ethernet networking.

Coaxial cable
Coaxial cabling is the primary type of cabling used for many applications, mostly by the cable television industry and is also widely used for computer networks. It is expensive than the standard telephone wire, but less susceptible to interference and can carry additional data like voice and video conversations simultaneously. It is the oldest network cable that is easy to use; however difficult to install and is highly resistant to signal interference.
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It consists of a central copper conductive wire that is thicker than the

wires found in twisted-pair cable, thus enabling higher data transmission speed over longer distances. A layer of plastic foam insulating material, which is in turn surrounded by a woven copper mesh conductor, covers the center conductor. The coaxial cable has several sizes among which the two major types are: Thinnet (10Base2) Thicknet (10Base5)
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Thinnet (10Base2)

Thinnet coaxial cable is also known as 10Base2 or thin Ethernet which refers to the specifications for thin coaxial cable carrying Ethernet signals. It is a standard ethernet cable mainly used in school networks, especially linear bus networks. It is more robust, hard to damage and difficult to connect. It transmits the data over longer distances. Some of the characteristics of thinnet cable are:

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Throughput: Thinnet can transmit data at a maximum rate of 10 Mbps, via baseband transmission. Cost: Thinnet is less expensive than Thicknet and fiberoptic cable, but more expensive than twisted-pair wiring. Therefore, it is sometimes called cheapnet. Connector: Thinnet connects the wire to network devices with BNC (British Naval Connectors) T-connectors with only two open ends and are used to join two Thinnet cable segments together.
Understanding Network Basics

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Thicknet (10Base5) Thick coaxial cable is also known as 10Base5 or thickwire Ethernet which refers to the specifications for thick coaxial cable carrying Ethernet signals.

Some of the characteristics of

thicket are:

Throughput: According to the ethernet standards, thicknet transmits the data at a maximum rate of 10 Mbps. It can only be used for baseband transmission. Cost: Thicknet is less expensive than the other types of cable, but more expensive than other types of coaxial cabling, such as thinnet. Connector: Thicknet networks can include a few different types of connectors, which are very different from those used on modern networks.
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Fiber Optic Cable
Fiber optic cable is the standard cable for connecting networks between buildings due to its resistance to the effect of moisture and lightening. This technology is popular for LAN but it is expensive and fragile too. The fibre optic cable is designed to carry laser light to a long distance at a high speed rather than transmitting electronic signals. It carries the digital data signals in the form of modulated pulses of light. This is relatively safe way to send the data because electrical impulses are not carried over the fibre optic cable.

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Advantages of using fiber optic cables are: Greater bandwidth Less susceptible to interference Thinner and light in weight Data transmission can be done digitally. Fiber Optic cable is classified into two types: Single-mode (SM) Multimode (MM)

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Understanding Network Basics

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Single-mode (SM)

Single mode cable is most often used in the telephone system. The data is carried over single mode fiber in the coherent light produced by a laser. Single mode fiber cable allows only one mode of light to propagate through the fiber. It is capable of higher bandwidth and greater distances. Single-mode cable is expensive than multimode cable. Its maximum cable length is more than 10 km.

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Multimode (MM)
Multimode cable is most often used in LANs. It allows multiple modes of light to propagate through the fiber. It uses light-emitting diodes (LEDs) as a light-generating device. A multimode fiber is built of two types of glass arranged in a concentric manner. The multimode cables have two sizes of fiber, 62.5/125um is used primarily in data communications and 50/100um is used primarily in telecommunications applications. The maximum cable length is 2 km.

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Understanding Network Basics

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Topic 3 Media Connectors

The media connectors are the physical devices that help to

transfer the data between the systems. Some of the major physical devices that are commonly used are discussed below.
RJ-11

RJ-11 (Registered Jack) is the standard cable connector which is used for terminating the telephone wires and the UTP cable.

RJ-45

RJ-45 (Registered Jack) is a physical interface often used for terminating twisted pair type cables. It has eight pins or electrical connections per connector.

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Topic 3 Media Connectors

ST

The ST connector is the fiber optic connector which provides the best solution for transmitting large amount of data over long distances at high speeds without interference or loss of data caused by other factors like weather, radio frequency signals or other electrical noise. It is used for both multi-mode and single-mode fiber optic cables. It has the ability to be inserted into and removed from a fiber optic cable both quickly and easily.

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Understanding Network Basics

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SC

SC is a fiber optic connector which has the same feature as the ST connector. It is primarily used with single-mode fiber optic cables. It offers low cost, simplicity and durability. It provides accurate alignment by a ceramic ferrule. It is a push on - pull off connector with a locking tab which provides quick insertion and removal ensuring a positive connection.

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Topic 3 Media Connectors

IEEE 1394 (Firewire)
The IEEE 1394 is also known as Firewire. It defines the specifications for a high speed serial bus. The IEEE 1394 provides high bandwidth, high speed data transfer significantly. It has two levels of interface, one for the backplane bus within the computer and the other for the point to point interface between device and computer on the serial cable.

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The cable consists of six copper wires, of which the two carries power and four are grouped into two twisted pairs. The IEEE interface uses six conductors with two twisted pairs of wires used to carry data and one pair to supply power. Each twisted pairs of data wires is individually shielded with another layer of shielding around the entire cable assembly. It is designed primarily for transferring digital video between a PC and a video camera, but is also used to connect printers, external hard disks, and other peripherals.

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MT-RJ

Mechanical Transfer Registered Jack (MT-RJ) is also a fiber optic connector which resembles RJ-45 connector. It is a small form connector with high quality thermoplastic ferrule. The MT-RJ connector allows two fibers to fit into the space occupied by one standard fiber connector.
Applications of MT-RJ

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Understanding Network Basics

Telecommunications Optical Networks Testing instruments Separate cord with single fiber connectors MT-RJ connector kit Adapter

Module 3 Networking media and components

Topic 3 Media Connectors

Features & Benefits
It is small and has high density Easy connection and disconnection Matching material is not required Low insertion loss & reflection

Simple & low cost

Compliant with TIA/EIA-604-12 and TIA/EIA-568-

B.3

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Topic 3 Media Connectors

Universal Serial Bus (USB)
Universal Serial Bus (USB) is an external bus standard that supports the data transfer rates of 12 Mbps and translates to 1.5 MB/sec. The USB uses a four wire cable interface. The two wires are used in a differential mode for both transmitting and receiving data, and the remaining two wires are used for power and ground.

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Understanding Network Basics

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Topic 3 Media Connectors

USB has four types of communication transfer

modes. They are:

Control mode Interrupt mode Bulk mode Isochronous mode

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Topic 3 Media Connectors

BNC
BNC connector (Bayonet Neill Concelman) is a type of RF (Radio frequency) connector used for terminating coaxial cable in a 10BASE 2 Ethernet network. It is also called as British Naval Connector. The BNC connector is used for specialized video connections, both for analog and Serial Digital Interface signals. The BNC male connector (as shown below) is mounted at each end of a cable and has a center pin connected to the center cable conductor and a metal tube connected to the outer cable shield. A rotating ring outside the tube locks the cable to any female connector.

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Topic 3 Media Connectors

BNC T-connectors which are used with the 10Base-2 system are

female devices for connecting two cables to a network interface card (NIC). A BNC barrel connector connects the two cables together. A BNC female connector is shown below.

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Understanding Network Basics

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Topic 4 Crimping
UTP Cable requires a special tool to attach a male RJ-45 connector called crimper. A crimper is a jawed device that looks like a pair of pliers. It has a set of dies in it that enables you to squeeze the two halves of an RJ-45 connector together with the wires inside. The wire is striped off a cable and is out in the bottom half of the connector at both the ends. The other half of the connector on the top of the wires squeezes the handles of the crimper to lock the two halves together. Crimping has two types of cables, they are:

Straight-through Cable Cross over Cable

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Straight-through Cable
Straight-through cable is a Cat 5 cable which has similar wiring at both the ends. It is a standard network cables that connects a computer to a network device like network hub, network switch, and network routers. A straight-through cable has each internal twisted pair of wires connected to the same pin number at each end. The twisted-pair wires must be twisted throughout the entire length of the cable. If the colors in both ends are in the same order, it is a straight-trough cable. The straight-through cable is used to connect:
Host to switch or hub Router to switch or hub

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Understanding Network Basics

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Topic 4 Crimping

Cross over cable is also a Cat 5 networking cable, which is generally used to connect two computers or network devices directly to one another without using a network hub, network, router or network switch. The crossover cable can be used to connect:
Switch to switch Hub to hub Host to host Hub to switch Router direct to host

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Understanding Network Basics

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Topic 4 Crimping
Wire Crimper
Wire crimpers are the tools used to squeeze the cable connectors onto a piece of wire. When closed, the tab fits into the notch. The connectors intended to be used with wire crimpers come in various sizes depending on the gauge of wire that is used.

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Cable Tester/Certifier
A Cable Tester is an electronic device used to verify the electrical connections in a cable. A typical cable tester is equipped with:

A source of electrical current

A volt meter
A switching matrix used to connect the current

source and the volt meter to all of the contact points in a cable

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Topic 4 Crimping
A Simple Cable Tester
The CAT 5 Unshielded Twisted Pair wires are arranged in pairs such as Pin1/Pin2, Pin3/Pin6, Pin5/Pin4, and Pin7/Pin8. The circuit below is designed so that when the ends of a UTP cable are plugged into each of the RJ45 Sockets, the circuit for each pair is completed and the LEDs (Light Emitting Diode) light up. If there is a break in a wire or the leads are incorrectly terminated, the corresponding LED will not light.

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Understanding Network Basics

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Lesson 2 Networking Media

Introduction
Internetworking is extremely complex that connects different networks and LANs through a set of rules and allows host computer to communicate with each other. This type of connection and communication is possible only through the network components and connectors which act as the media for transfer of data. The network devices play a major role in interaction and creating a small network.

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Understanding Network Basics

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Lesson 2 Networking Media

Topics covered in this lesson are:
network devices comparison between a Bridge and a Router

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Understanding Network Basics

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Topic 1 Network Devices

The basic of networks require devices to provide

connectivity and functionality. Understanding how these networking devices operate and identifying the functions they perform are essential for users. Some of the major network devices are discussed below.
Hubs

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Hubs are generally called as multiport repeaters. It plays a major role in creating a small network. Hubs allow multiple devices to be attached simultaneously. Hubs with more ports are available for networks that require greater capacity. The main function of hub is to provide the connection for transmit pins to the receive pins between the two computers. The hubs with greater data processing capabilities provide a service called store and forward. This indicates that the hubs contain buffers in which it can retain data packets in order to retransmit the data through the specific ports.
Understanding Network Basics

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Hubs are of many types with different features/specification, which provide the type of functionality required to build a network. The three major types of hubs are:
Active hubs Passive hubs Intelligent hubs (Smart hub)

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Active hubs Active hubs usually have eight to twelve ports to connect to the network computers. They provide the functionality of a repeater, regenerating and retransmitting signals to all of their devices. It requires electrical power to run and are usually expensive than passive hubs. Passive Hubs Passive hubs act as a connection point and do not amplify or regenerate the signal; the signal passes through the hub. A passive hub simply receives the signal on the input port and broadcasts it on the output port without even repairing it. Passive hubs do not require electrical power to run. Passive hubs do not repeat but merely split signals sent through them
Understanding Network Basics

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Intelligent hubs Intelligent hubs are also called as smart hubs which are of particular importance to large organization. An intelligent hub is typically a stackable and includes remote management capabilities It also provide feature, which help in improving the performance of network. An Intelligent hub helps in controlling and minimizing data traffic in the network, which results in improved performance of the network.

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Switch
A switch is a device that looks much like a hub and is considerably more expensive than hub. Switches provide more advantage than hubs which has a common connectivity and also helps in exchanging the network resources easily. Switches allow different nodes of a network to communicate directly with one another in a smooth and efficient manner. Switches on receiving the data packets transfers only to the intended recipients preventing the wastage of the network bandwidth and optimizing efficiency.

Types of switches
There are many types of switches which include

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ATM switches LAN switches WAN switches

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Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) Switch

ATM is a high performance, cell oriented technology that utilizes fixed-length information unit known as Cell for high speed transmission, and support voice, video and data applications. ATM allows customers to replace their separate voice and data networks with a single network to handle, data and other multimedia content such as video. Figure below illustrates an enterprise network in which multiple LANs are interconnected across ATM backbone.

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LAN Switches

Switches that provide a separate connection for each node in a companys internal network are known as LAN switches. Essentially, a LAN switch creates a series of instant networks that contain only two devices communicating with each other at that particular moment. LAN switches are designed to switch data frames at high speed. Figure below shows a simple network in which LAN switch interconnects 10 Mbps and 100 Mbps Ethernet segments.

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WAN Switches

A WAN switch is a multiport internetworking device used in carrier networks. Typically these devices switch traffic such as Frame Relay, X.25 and operate at the data link layer of the OSI Reference Model. Figure below shows two routers at remote ends of a WAN that are connected by WAN switch

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Forwarding techniques of Switches

Switches use two different types of forwarding techniques, they are:

Store-and-forward switching Cut-through switching

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Bridges
A bridge is a physical unit with two ports which connects the network segments together and filters the amount of traffic on each network. Bridges can only be connected to similar network segments because they require the physical address of the device to send the data frames (frames are bundles of data packets that contain the physical address of the sender). The physical address is the function of the data link layer that uses various protocols. There are several types of bridges classified into categories to best suit the networking requirements.

Types of bridges
Transparent bridge Translational bridge Source-route bridge
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Routers
A router is a device that connects two network interfaces together, forming an internetwork which operates at the network layer of the OSI reference model. Routers send the data packets through the network to their final destination. It will pass the information only if the network address is known. This ability to control the data passing through the router reduces the amount of traffic between networks. A major function of a router is that it localizes the network broadcasts sent to every device on the network. It also filters the broadcast traffic to reduce the network failure between the connected devices. The main functions of the routers are:

Segment large number of data into smaller

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segments Acts as a safety barrier between segments

Understanding Network Basics

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Gateway
Gateways are task-specific that performs protocol conversion between different types of networks or applications. They are often referred to by their particular task name. The main feature of gateway is that it performs the function of translating the data from one format to the other. It acts as server on the network; they use a significant percentage of a servers available bandwidth because they perform the data translation. Gateways usually perform the task very slow and are expensive. The data is processed by decapsulating the incoming data and encapsulating the outgoing data through the networks protocol stack and for the other network to allow transmission respectively.
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CSD/DSU A Channel Service Unit/Digital Service Unit is a digital interface device used to connect a router to a digital circuit like a T1. It provides the signal timing for communication between these devices. The advantages of channel service unit (CSU)
Used to perform loop-back testing It may perform bit stuffing It may also provide a framing and formatting pattern compatible with

the network It is the last signal regeneration point, on the loop side, coming from the central office, before the regenerated signal reaches a multiplexer or data terminal equipment (DTE)
A Data service unit (DSU) can be defined as
A device used for interfacing data terminal equipment (DTE) to the

public switched telephone network. A type of synchronous-data line driver, usually installed at a user location, which connects user synchronous equipment over a 4-wire circuit at a preset transmission rate to a servicing central-office.
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Wireless Application Protocol (WAPs)
Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) is an open international standard for applications which use wireless communication. WAPs are used in wireless networks in which more than two devices connect to the network via wireless transmissions. It was designed to provide services equivalent to a Web browser with mobile specific additions, being specifically designed to address the limitations of very small portable devices. It is now the protocol used for the majority of the mobile Internet sites also known as WAPsites. It gives the users a richer data application which would enable access to the Internet. WAP was aimed at enabling the data application to be developed with wireless technology.

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Modem
Modem (modulator/demodulator) is a device that converts the digital signals generated by a computer into analog signals that travels over conventional telephone lines. The modem at the receiving end converts the signal into a format that the computer can understand. Modem is the external device that connects to the serial or USB port of a system, (PCMCIA Personal Computer Memory Card International Association cards designed for use in laptops) or proprietary devices designed for use on other devices such as portables and handhelds.

The following are the characteristics of a Modem:

Transmission speed Error Detection Compression

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Internal modems Internal modems are electronic cards which are installed in one of the computers expansion slot. It must be configured with an interrupt request. External modems External modems are functioning external devices. It is connected to a computer using a serial cable to one of the computers serial ports and it draws power from an external source.

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Topic 1 Network Devices

Transceivers
A transceiver or a receiver is a device that transmits and receives the data to and from the network. Transceiver can be connected to the network interface card in two ways: Onboard External Transceiver Onboard An onboard transceiver is usually attached to the adapter card like RJ-45 receptacles and BNC connectors. External Transceiver An external transceiver is physically connected to the network interface card by using a small device attachment unit interface (AUI) or a Digital Intel Xerox (DIX) connector, which is attached by an extension cable. A transceiver can also connect one side to an AUI interface and the other to an RJ-45 interface.

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Understanding Network Basics

Module 3 Networking media and components

Topic 1 Network Devices

Firewall
A firewall is a protection device or software to shield the vulnerable areas and protect from the danger and is generally placed at the perimeter of the network to act as the gatekeeper for all incoming and outgoing traffic. The system connected to a network or standalone that connects to the Internet should be protected by a firewall. A wide variety of firewall products are introduced in the market of which some of them include the extended features such as virus protection and single sign-on to proxied services. Firewalls are constructed from a number of components. They are: Security policy Packet filters Proxy servers Network address translation Architecture Encryption
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Module 3 Networking media and components

Topic 1 Network Devices

There are basically four mechanisms used by firewalls to restrict

the amount of traffic. The four mechanisms are:

Packet-filtering
Circuit-level gateway Proxy server Application gateway

Firewalls can greatly enhance the security of a host or a network.

They can be used to do the following:

It is used to protect and insulate the applications, services and

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machines of your internal network from unwanted traffic coming in from the public Internet. To limit or disable access from hosts of the internal network to services of the public Internet. To support network address translation (NAT) that allows your internal network to use private IP addresses and share a single connection to the public Internet.
Understanding Network Basics

Module 3 Networking media and components

Topic 1 Network Devices

Multiplexers
Multiplexer (MUX) is a device which has several input streams and only one output stream. A multiplexer combines two or more inputs into a single output and several electrical signals into a single signal. Multiplexers are of different types for analog and digital circuits. It forwards one of the input streams to the output stream based on the values of one or more selection inputs. It performs the function of selecting the input on any one of input lines and feeding this input to one output line.

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Understanding Network Basics

Module 3 Networking media and components

Topic 1 Network Devices

Multiplexing
The combining of multiple information channels into a single transmission medium is called multiplexing.

Example: Assume that we have four lines, A0, A1, A2 and

A3, which are to be multiplexed on a single line, Output. The four input lines shown in the figure are also known as the Data Inputs. Since there are four inputs, we will need two additional inputs to the multiplexer, known as the Select Inputs, to select which of the C inputs is to appear at the output. These select lines are called A and B. The gate implementation of a 4 line to 1 line multiplexer is shown below:

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Understanding Network Basics

Module 3 Networking media and components

Topic 1 Network Devices

Network Interface Card (NIC)
Network Interface Card is the device, which enables a

workstation to connect to the network and communicate with other computers. A network adapter is also called a network interface card or NIC. An adapter is a physical device which allows one piece of hardware to be adapted to another type of hardware.. The main function of NIC is to allow a computer to connect to a LAN and transmit data at the speed of the type of network, which is usually greater than 4 Mbps and can attain 1 Gbps (Gigabit Ethernet network).
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Understanding Network Basics

Topic 2 Comparison between a Bridge and a Router

Bridge The bridge can identify local Media Access Control sublayer addresses. The bridge works at the MAC layer by looking at the destination address and forwarding the frame to the appropriate segment. A bridge can only recognize one path between networks. Router Routers recognize network addresses.

Module 3 Networking media and components

The router works with only routable protocols. It filters addresses. It forwards particular data to particular addresses or to other routers. A router can search among multiple active paths and determine the best path for that particular packet.

Bridges works at layer 1 and 2 of the OSI Router works at layer 3 of the OSI model. model, moving packets from one port to another based on IP addresses.
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Understanding Network Basics

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Summary Different types of cabling standards are used for the networks involved in connecting devices together using different types of cabling system. UTP cabling does not offer as high bandwidth or as good protection from interference as coaxial or fiber optic cables, but it is less expensive and easier to work with. The fiber optic cable is designed to carry laser light to a long distance at a high speed rather A hub is also referred to as concentrator generally called as multiport repeaters. It is the simplest network devices for interaction and the central point of connection in a star topology. Switch is capable of basic network management activities like gathering network traffic or selecting the optimal path for signal delivery within a network.
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Understanding Network Basics