Difference between Hub and Switch

HUB Switch
Hub is operated on Physical layer of OSI model. While switch is operated on Data link layer of OSI
Model.

Hub is a broadcast type transmission. While switch is a Unicast, multicast and broadcast type
transmission.

Hub is not an intelligent device that sends message to While switch is an intelligent device that sends
all ports hence it is comparatively inexpensive message to selected destination so it is expensive.

Hub is a half duplex transmission mode. While switch is a full duplex transmission mode.
Transmits data in the form of binary bits. (0’s and 1’s) Transmits data in the form of frames.
Doesn’t store any MAC/IP address to transfer the data Uses MAC address to transfer the data
Hub cannot be used as a repeater. While switch can be used as a repeater.
In hub, Packet filtering is not provided. While in switch, Packet filtering is provided.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HUB,SWITCH
AND ROUTER
HUB SWITCH ROUTER
Resides in the Physical layer of OSI Resides in the Data link layer of Resides in the Network layer of OSI
model (layer 1) OSI model (layer 2) model (layer 3)

Allows a bunch of computers to be Allows various connections of Allows the devices to be connected
connected to a single network many devices within the same across many types of networks at
network. the same time using routing.
Used in LAN Used in LAN Used in LAN and MAN
Supports half duplex transmission Supports full duplex transmission Supports full duplex transmission
Doesn’t store any MAC/IP address to Uses MAC address to transfer the Uses IP address to transfer the data
transfer the data data
Transmits data in the form of binary Transmits data in the form of Transmits data in the form of
bits. (0’s and 1’s) frames. packets.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN ROUTER
AND GATEWAY
ROUTER GATEWAY
It is a hardware device which is responsible for It is a device that is used for the communication
receiving, analyzing and forwarding the data packets among the networks which have a different set of
to other networks. protocols.
It supports the dynamic routing. It does not support dynamic routing.
The main function of a router is routing the traffic The main function of a gateway is to translate one
from one network to the other. protocol to the other.
A router operates on Network layer(layer 3 )and A gateway operates upto layer 5 of the OSI model.
Transport layer (layer 4) of the OSI model. (Network,Transport,Session)
It is hosted on only the dedicated applications. It is hosted on dedicated applications, physical servers
or virtual applications.
The additional features provided by a router are The additional features provided by a gateway are
Wireless networking, Static routing, NAT, DHCP server network access control, protocol conversion etc.
etc.
REPEATER
• Repeater – A repeater operates at the physical layer.
• Its job is to regenerate the signal over the same network
before the signal becomes too weak or corrupted so as to
extend the length to which the signal can be transmitted
over the same network.
Types:
1. Amplifier – Restrengthening / amplifying all the incoming
signals over the network.
2. Signal Repeater - When the signal becomes weak, they
copy the signal bit by bit and regenerate it at the original
strength. It is a 2 port device.
BRIDGE
• A bridge operates at the data link layer.
• A bridge is a repeater, with add on the functionality of
filtering content by reading the MAC addresses of
source and destination.
• It is also used for interconnecting two LANs working on
the same protocol.
• It has a single input and single output port, thus making
it a 2 port device.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN BRIDGE AND
REPEATER
BRIDGE REPEATER
Bridge operates at the data link layer of OSI Model. Repeater operates at physical layer of OSI Model.
Destination address is used in the bridge to Repeater are not able to recognize the destination
determine where to forward a frame. address.
Filtering of the packets in network is achieved by the Repeater cannot performs packet filtering.
bridge.
In the network, if collision occurs in the one segment, Repeater forwards the collision from one segment to
it is not forwarded to another segment another, which causes the same issue to occur on all
other segments in the network.
The complete frames is understood by bridge. Repeater do not understand complete frame
Bridge connects two networks in a well organized Repeater expands the limit of the signals in the
manner. network.
 CIRCUIT SWITCHING PACKET SWITCHING
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN
Connection oriented service (A dedicated pathCIRCUIT
between the SWITCHING AND
Connection oriented service PACKET
(A dedicated path between the
SWITCHING
sender and receiver is required) sender and receiver is required)

In circuit switching there are 3 phases:

i) Connection Establishment.
ii) Data Transfer. In Packet switching directly data transfer takes place.
iii) Connection Released.

In Packet switching, each data unit just know the final

In circuit switching, each data unit know the entire path destination address intermediate path is decided by the
address which is provided by the source. routers.

Circuit switching is more reliable. Packet switching is less reliable.

Call setup is required No Call setup

Wastage of resources are more in Circuit Switching Less wastage of resources as compared to Circuit Switching

It is not a store and forward technique. It is a store and forward technique.

Transmission and processing of the data is done by the Transmission and processing of the data is done not only by
source. the source, but also by the intermediate routers.

Delay between data units in circuit switching is uniform. Delay between data units in packet switching is not uniform.
Network bandwidth The capacity of the wired/wireless communication
channel to transmit data over a network connection in a given amount
of time is called Bandwidth. Unit of bandwidth is Hertz. Typically,
bandwidth is represented in the number of bits, kilobits, megabits or
gigabits that can be transmitted in 1 second.
The maximum amount of signals that a communication channel can
transfer per second.
It is defined as the range of frequencies available for the transmission
of data through a transmission media.
It is the difference between maximum and minimum frequency of a
communication media.
Higher the bandwidth, higher the data transfer rate.
Data Transfer Rate (DTR) can be defined as the ratio of the total amount of
digital data transferred between two points in some defined period of time.
Data transfer rate is actually a measure of the speed at which network
components can exchange data(send or receive). It is measured in either bits
per second or bytes per second.
Note : Data travels in the form of signals over a channel where one signal carries
one/more bits per second. DTR refers to number of bits transmitted per second
between the source and destination nodes.
Measured in terms of bits per second. Higher units are Bytes per second (Kbps,
Mbps,Gbps). It is called as bit rate.
Difference between Bit Rate and Baud Rate:
The Baud rate refers to the total The Bit rate refers to the total Bits
number of signal units transmitted in transmitted in one unit time.
one second.
IP address
An IP address is a unique address that identifies a device on the
internet or a local network. IP stands for "Internet Protocol," which is
the set of rules governing the format of data sent via the internet or
local network.
• An IP address is a string of numbers separated by periods. IP
addresses are expressed as a set of four numbers — an example
address might be [Link]. Each number in the set can range
from 0 to 255. So, the full IP addressing range goes from [Link] to
[Link].
• IP addresses are not random. They are mathematically produced and
allocated by the Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA), a
division of the Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers
(ICANN).
MODEM
MODEM is a hardware networking device which enables the computers or another
devices such as a router or switch to get connected to the Internet.
It converts the digital data into analog signals which can be transmitted over the
telephone lines (modulation) and on the otherside the analog signals will be
converted to the digital signal that can be read by the receiving computer.
Dial-Up modems – first modems Which had to dial up a phone number to get
connected to the [Link] up modems operated over the phone lines and used the
same frequency as telephone calls.
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) / Cable Modems – Modern day modems
Above are broadband devices.
DSL modems operates over standard telephone lines and use a wider frequency.
Higher data transfer rate than dial up modems.
Cable modems send and receive the data over standard cable television lines that
use co axial cables.
NIC / Ethernet Card
A network interface card (NIC) is a hardware component without which a computer cannot
be connected over a network. It is a circuit board installed in a computer that provides a
dedicated network connection to the computer. It is also called network interface controller,
network adapter or LAN adapter.
A NIC, is equipped with a unique identifier known as the Media Access Control (MAC)
address. This address can be used by routers and switches to control access to a network.
• NIC allows both wired and wireless communications.
• NIC allows communications between computers connected via local area network (LAN) as
well as communications over large-scale network through Internet Protocol (IP).
• NIC is both a physical layer and a data link layer device, i.e. it provides the necessary
hardware circuitry so that the physical layer processes and some data link layer processes
can run on it.
Internal Network Cards
In internal networks cards, motherboard has a slot for the network card
where it can be inserted. It requires network cables to provide network
access. Internal network cards are of two types. The first type uses
Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) connection, while the second
type uses Industry Standard Architecture (ISA).
External Network Cards
In desktops and laptops that do not have an internal NIC, external NICs
are used. External network cards are of two types: Wireless and USB
based. Wireless network card needs to be inserted into the
motherboard, however no network cable is required to connect to the
network. They are useful while traveling or accessing a wireless signal.
Wi-Fi --- Wireless Fidelity
Wi-Fi is the wireless technology used to connect computers, tablets,
smartphones and other devices to the internet.
Wi-Fi is the radio signal sent from a wireless router to a nearby device,
which translates the signal into data you can see and use.
Wi-Fi Card
Wifi cards are the small and portable Wireless Internet cards / LAN
cards connected to the computers internally ( fixed on the PCI slot
provided in motherboard) or externally ( connected to the USB port ) to
get access to the Internet.
 WIRED TRANSMISSION MEDIA
Characteristics Twisted pair cable Co-axial cable Optical fiber cable

Takes place in the electrical Takes place in the electrical Takes place in an optical form
Signal transmission form over the metallic form over the inner over glass fiber.
conducting wires. conductor of the cable.

Affected due to external The external magnetic field is The external magnetic field is
External magnetic field magnetic field. less affected. not affected.

Power loss due to conduction Power loss due to power loss due to
Cause of power and radiation. conduction. absorption, scattering, and
bending.

The twisted-pair cable has Co-axial cable has Optical fiber cable has a very
Bandwidth low bandwidth. moderately high bandwidth. high bandwidth.

In twisted pair cable has very In coaxial cable has low In optical fiber cable has very
Attenuation high attenuation. attenuation. low attenuation.

Twisted pair cable supports a

Data rate low data rate.
Moderately high data rate. Very high data rate.

Twisted pair cable has low Co-axial cable has higher Optical fiber cable has the
Noise immunity noise immunity. noise immunity. highest noise immunity.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN LAN,MAN,WAN
LAN MAN WAN

MAN stands for metropolitan area

Full-Form LAN stands for local area network. WAN stands for wide area network.
network.

Operates in small areas such as the Operates in large areas such as a Operates in larger areas such as
Geographic Span
same building or campus. city. country or continent.

MAN’s ownership can be private While WAN also might not be owned
Ownership LAN’s ownership is private.
or public. by one organization.

The transmission speed of a LAN is While the transmission speed of a Whereas the transmission speed of a
Transmission Speed
high. MAN is average. WAN is low.

The propagation delay is short in a There is a moderate propagation Whereas, there is a long propagation
Propagation delay
LAN. delay in a MAN. delay in a WAN.

While there is more congestion in Whereas there is more congestion

Congestion There is less congestion in LAN.
MAN. than MAN in WAN.

While MAN’s design and Whereas WAN’s design and

LAN’s design and maintenance are
Design & Maintenance maintenance are difficult than maintenance are also difficult than
easy.
LAN. LAN as well MAN.

There is more fault tolerance in In WAN, there is also less fault

Fault tolerance While there is less fault tolerance.
LAN. tolerance.
WIRELESS TRANSMISSION MEDIA
RADIOWAVES MICROWAVES INFRARED WAVES
Sr.
No Basis Radiowave Microwave Infrared wave
.

These are omni-directional in

1. Direction These are unidirectional in nature. These are unidirectional in nature.
nature.

At low frequency, they can At low frequency, they can

penetrate through solid objects and penetrate through solid objects and They cannot penetrate through
2. Penetration
walls but high frequency they walls. at high frequency, they any solid object and walls.
bounce off the obstacle. cannot penetrate.

Frequency range: 300 GHz to 400

3. Frequency range Frequency range: 3 KHz to 1GHz. Frequency range: 1 GHz to 300 GHz.
GHz.

4. Security These offers poor security. These offers medium security. These offers high security.

Some frequencies in the radio- Some frequencies in the

There is no need of government
6. Government License waves require government license to microwaves require government
license to use these waves.
use these. license to use these.

7. Usage Cost Setup and usage Cost is moderate. Setup and usage Cost is high. Usage Cost is very less.

These are used in long distance These are used in long distance These are not used in long
8. Communication
communication. communication. distance communication.
PAN-LAN-MAN-WAN -DEFINITION
• PAN (Personal Area Network) is a computer network formed around a person.
• It generally consists of a computer, mobile, or personal digital assistant.
• PAN can be used for establishing communication among these personal devices for connecting to a digital network and the
internet.
• The Personal Area Network (PAN) is a new type of network that describes two or more devices that are located on your
person and normally connect to one another via bluetooth.
• A perfect example of a PAN is a cell phone connecting to a bluetooth headset or mobile computer connecting to a portable
bluetooth thermal printer.
*****************************************************************************************************
• A Local Area Network (LAN) is a group of computer and peripheral devices which are connected in a limited area such
as school, laboratory, home, and office building.
• It is a widely useful network for sharing resources like files, printers, games, and other application.
• The simplest type of LAN network is to connect computers and a printer in someone’s home or office.
• WAN (Wide Area Network) is another important computer network that which is spread across a large geographical
areas like in the whole country or continent and uses common carriers like satellite systems.
• WAN network system could be a connection of a LAN which connects with other LAN’s using telephone lines and radio
waves.
• It is mostly limited to an enterprise or an organization.
************************************************************************************************************************
A Metropolitan Area Network or MAN is consisting of a computer network across an entire city, college campus, or a small
region.
When two or more LAN networks connected together for the communication purpose. Fibre optic cables used as
transmission media . Hence, data delivery rate becomes fater and efficient.
***********************************************************************************************************************
TOPOLOGY
 Network topologies describe the methods in which all the elements of a network are mapped.
 The topology term refers to both the physical and logical layout of a network.
 an actual layout of the computer cables and other network devices
BUS TOPOLOGY
 Bus topology uses a single cable which connects all the included nodes.
 The main cable acts as a spine for the entire network.
 One of the computers in the network acts as the computer server.
 When it has two endpoints, it is known as a linear bus topology.
• Advantages:
• Here are pros/benefits of using a bus topology:
• Cost of the cable is very less as compared to other topology, so it is widely used to build small networks.
• Famous for LAN network because they are inexpensive and easy to install.
• It is widely used when a network installation is small, simple, or temporary.
• Disadvantages:
• Here are the cons/drawbacks of bus topology:
• In case if the common cable fails, then the entire system will crash down.
• When network traffic is heavy, it develops collisions in the network.
• Whenever network traffic is heavy, or nodes are too many, the performance time of the network significantly decreases.
• Cables are always of a limited length.
STAR TOPOLOGY
In the star topology, all the computers connect with the help of a hub.
This HUB is called as a central node, and all other nodes are connected using this central node.
It is most popular on LAN networks as they are inexpensive and easy to install.
Advantages:
• Here are pros/benefits of start topology:
• Easy to troubleshoot, set up, and modify.
• Only those nodes are affected, that has failed. Other nodes still work.
• Fast performance with few nodes and very low network traffic.
• In Star topology, addition, deletion, and moving of the devices are easy.
Disadvantages:
• Here are cons/drawbacks of using Star:
• If the hub or concentrator fails, attached nodes are disabled.
• Cost of installation of star topology is costly.
• Heavy network traffic can sometimes slow the bus considerably.
• Performance depends on the hub’s capacity
• A damaged cable or lack of proper termination may bring the network down.
TREE TOPOLOGY
Tree topologies have a root node, and all other nodes are connected which form a hierarchy. So it is also known as
hierarchical topology.
This topology integrates various star topologies together in a single bus, so it is known as a Star Bus topology.
Tree topology is a very common network which is similar to a bus and star topology.
Advantages:
Here are pros/benefits of tree topology:
• Failure of one node never affects the rest of the network.
• Node expansion is fast and easy.
• Detection of error is an easy process
• It is easy to manage and maintain
Disadvantages:
Here are cons/drawback of tree topology:
• It is heavily cabled topology
• If more nodes are added, then its maintenance is difficult
• If the hub or concentrator fails, attached nodes are also disabled.
 WEB BROWSER WEB SERVER

Web Browser is an Application program that displays a

Web server is a program or the computer that provide
World wide web document. It usually uses the
services to other programs called client.
internet service to access the document.

The Web server accepts, approve and respond to the

The Web browser requests the server for the web
request made by the web browser for a web
documents and services.
document or services.

The web browser act as an interface between the The web server is a software or a system which
server and the client and displays a web document to maintain the web applications, generate response and
the client. accept clients data.

The web browser sends an HTTP request and gets an The web server gets HTTP requests and send HTTP
HTTP response. responses.
DIFFERENCE BETWEEN HTTP AND HTTPS
HTTP HTTPS

HTTP is unsecured HTTPS is secured

Sends data over port 80 Sends data over port 443

Operates at application layer Operates at transport layer

No SSL certificates are required for HTTP Required to have an SSL certificate and it
is signed by a CA.

HTTP doesn't require domain validation HTTPS requires at least domain validation
and certain certificates even require legal
document validation.

No encryption in HTTP With HTTPS the data is encrypted before

sending
HTML
• HTML stands for Hyper Text Markup Language
• HTML is the standard markup language for creating Web pages
• HTML describes the structure of a Web page
• HTML consists of a series of elements
• HTML elements tell the browser how to display the content
• HTML is a computer language used to create websites that can be viewed by anyone with internet
access.
• The tags are the words between the <angle brackets> and separate standard text from HTML
code.
• These are displayed on webpages in the form of images, tables, diagrams, and so on.
• The tags are not displayed on the webpages but affect the appearance of data on webpages.
• Different types of tags perform different functions.
• The most straightforward tags will apply the formatting to some text, such as the example given
below:
To make <b> bold, text</b> the text on the web page will be displayed in bold.
Similarly, to make <i> italic, text</i> will be displayed in italic.
XML
Extensible Markup Language (XML) is a programming language created by the World Wide Web
Consortium (W3C).
XML facilitates encoding documents, defined by a set of rules, in a format that can be read by both
humans and machines.
By using tags, XML defines the document structure, how it should be stored and transported.
It enables the creation of web applications and web pages and is a dynamic language that
transports data.
XML is in a textual data format and focuses on generality, simplicity, and usability across the
internet.
It is used for representing arbitrary data structures in web services.
HTML XML
Is a standard markup language that defines
Is a markup language.
other markup languages.
Is not case sensitive. Is case sensitive.
Is not a presentation language nor a
Doubles up as a presentation language.
programming language.
Tags are defined as per the need of the
Has its own predefined tags. programmer. XML is flexible as tags can be
defined when needed.
Closing tags are not necessarily needed. Closing tags are used mandatorily.
White spaces are not preserved. Capable of preserving white spaces.
Showcases the design of a web page in the Enables transportation of data from database
way it is displayed on client-side. and related applications.
Used for displaying data. Used for transferring data.
Static in nature. Dynamic in nature.
HTML Vs XML
HTML XML
Is a standard markup language that defines other
Is a markup language.
markup languages.
Is not case sensitive. Is case sensitive.
Is not a presentation language nor a programming
Doubles up as a presentation language.
language.
Tags are defined as per the need of the programmer.
Has its own predefined tags.
XML is flexible as tags can be defined when needed.
Closing tags are not necessarily needed. Closing tags are used mandatorily.
White spaces are not preserved. Capable of preserving white spaces.
Showcases the design of a web page in the way it is Enables transportation of data from database and
displayed on client-side. related applications.
Used for displaying data. Used for transferring data.
Static in nature. Dynamic in nature.
ARPANET American Research Project Agency Network FTP File Transfer Protocol
NSFnet National Science Foundation Network TCP/IP Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol
Internet Interconnected networks MODEM Modulator Demodulator
NIC Network Interface Card SSL Secure Socket Layer
NIU Network Interface Unit DNS Domain Name System
MAC Media Access Control URL Uniform Resource Locator
HTML Hyper Text Markup language URI Uniform Resource Identifier
XML Extensible Markup Language SMTP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
HTTP Hypertext Transfer Protocol HTTPs Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure
POP3 Post Office Protocol 3 PPP Point to Point Protocol
SLIP Serial Line Internet Protocol Telnet Terminal / Teletype Networks
VoIP Voice over Internet Protocol LAN Local Area Network
WAN Wide Area Network MAN Metropolitan Area Network
PAN Personal Area Network UTP Unshielded Twisted Pair
STP Shielded Twisted Pair CAT 1 Category 1 UTP cables
Wi-Fi Wireless Fidelity EMI Electro Magnetic Interference
ISP Internet Service Provider IANA Internet Assigned Naming Authority
OSI Open System Interconnection ICANN Internet Corporation of Assigned Names & Numbers
ICMP Internet Control Message Protocol DHCP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
NFS Network File System TAP Terminal Access Point
bps Bits per second Bps Bytes Per Second
kbps Kilo bits per second Kbps Kilo ytes Per Second
mbps Mega bits per second Mbps Mega bytes per second
LEDs/LDs Light Emitting Diodes / Laser Diodes IM Instant Messaging
PDA Personal Digital Assistant RJ 45 Registered Jack 45
DTE Data Terminal Equipment DCE Data Communication Equipment
DEC Digital Equipment Corporation PCI Express Peripheral Component Interconnect
FDDI Fiber Distributed Data Networks ISDN Integrated Services Digital Network
NOSS Networking Operating System Software MIME Multi Purpose Internet Mail Extensions
LCP Link Control Protocol NCPs Network Control Protocols
IPCPs Internet Protocol Control Protocols PSTN Public Switched Telephone Networks
JSP Java Server Pages ASP Active Server Pages
PHP Hyper Text Preprocessor PERL Practical Extracting and Reporting Language
CSS Cascading Style Sheets WAP Wireless Application Protocol
IMAP Internet Mail Access Protocol WWW World Wide Web
W3C World Wide Web Consortium DSL Digital Subscriber Line