NETWORK DEVICES
WEEK 2
SSYR2
SEPTEMBER
What are network devices?
Network Devices: Network devices, also For example:
known as networking hardware, are Repeater
Hub
physical devices that allow hardware on
Bridge
a computer network to communicate Switch
and interact with one another. Routers
Gateway
Bridge
NIC
Modem
Hub
• Hubs are hardware devices that can have
a number of other devices connected to
them.
• They are used primarily to connect
devices together to form a local area
network (LAN), often in the same
building.
• A hub will take a data packet received at
one of its ports and broadcast it to every
device connected to it.
Because data packets are delivered to
every device on the network:
» hubs are not very secure because every
device will receive every data packet
» there will be unnecessary traffic on the
network, which results in reduced
bandwidth.
Switches
Switches are ‘intelligent’ versions of hubs.
As with hubs, they connect a number of
devices together to form a LAN.
However, unlike a hub, a switch stores the
MAC addresses of all devices on the
network.
Each port on the switch connected to a
device will have a matching MAC
address(called a look-up table) as shown in
the next slide.
Consequently, switches are more secure than hubs (because only the
intended device is sent the data) and do not waste bandwidth (because
network traffic is reduced).
In summary:
» both a hub and a switch are used to connect devices in a LAN
» both hubs and switches use data packets
» hubs send data packets to every device on the network; whereas
switches send data packets to a specific device only
Bridges Bridges are devices that connect one LAN
to another LAN that uses the same
protocol (communication rules).
They are often used to connect together
different parts of a LAN so that they can
function as a single LAN.
Routers
• Routers are used to send data packets
from one network to another network,
based on IP addresses. • When a data packet is received at one of its
ports, the router inspects the IP address and
• It can do this because each router has its determines whether the data packet is meant
own IP address. for its own network or for another, external
• Routers are used to join a LAN to the network.
internet. • If the data packet is meant for its own
network, then the data packet is routed to
the local switch or hub. Otherwise, the data
packet is transmitted to a different router
Many modern broadband ‘routers’ actually combine the functions of a
router and a switch – this means that they store MAC addresses and IP
addresses to enable data packets to be sent to the correct network and
then to the correct device on the network.
Gateway
• A gateway, as the name suggests, is a
passage to connect two networks
that may work upon different
networking models.
• They work as messenger agents that
take data from one system, interpret
it, and transfer it to another system.
• Gateways are generally more
complex than switches or routers.
NIC-Network Interface Card
• NIC or network interface card is a network
adapter that is used to connect the
computer to the network.
• It is installed in the computer to establish
a LAN.
• It has a unique id that is written on the
chip, and it has a connector to connect
the cable to it.
• The cable acts as an interface between
the computer and the router or modem.
Modem
• The name modem means modulator
demodulator.
• A modem is a type of network device
that helps devices in getting connected
with internet. It converts digital data in
a suitable format for analogue
transmission.