Information Sheet 2 Network Hardware

1. Networking Hardware
Network Interface card (NIC)
It also known as a network adaptor, and are used to connect a pc to a network. In most networks,
every computer must have a network interface card to be able to connect to the network. The
cards are installed in an expansion slot in each computer and server on the network. After the
NIC has been installed, the network cable is attached to the card’s port to make the actual
communication b/n the computer & the rest of the network. NICs are usually specific to a
particular type of cabling.
For Ex-, NIC may have either an RJ-45 connector or BNC connector also it is possible to get
combo cards, which include more than one type of connector.
The role of the NIC
 Prepare data from the computer for the network cable
 Send the data to another computer
 Control the flow of data b/n computer & cabling system
 Receive incoming data from the cable & translate it into bytes that can be understood by
the computer’s central processing unit (CPU)

2. Network Cables
Network cables are used to interconnect computer & network components together. Many cable
types are available to meet the varying needs & size of the networks from small to large. There
are three major groups of cabling to connect the majority of networks.
 Coaxial cable
 Twisted-pair cable
 Fibre-optic cable
The choices of the network cable for a particular networking purpose depends upon a number of
factors like:-
 Cost; budget for getting the cable
 Distance; network coverage area
 Number of computer involved
 Bandwidth; how fast data is to be transferred
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Coaxial cable
In its simplest form, coaxial cable consists of a core of copper wire surrounded by insulation, a
braided metal shielding, and an outer cover. Figure 1 shows the various components that make
up a coaxial cable.

The shielding protects transmitted data by absorbing stray electronic signals, called noise, so that
they do not get onto the cable and distort the data. The core of a coaxial cable carries the
electronic signals that make up the data. This wire core can be either solid or stranded. If the core
is solid, it is usually copper. Surrounding the core is an insulating layer that separates it from the
wire mesh. The braided wire mesh acts as a ground and protects the core from electrical noise.
Coaxial cable uses the BNC connector to connect to computers and other devices.

Coaxial cable is more resistant to interference and attenuation than twisted-pair cabling. The
stranded, protective sleeve absorbs stray electronic signals so that they do not affect data being
sent over the inner copper cable. For this reason, coaxial cabling is a good choice for longer
distances.

Figure 1 – The components of coaxial cable and the BNC connector

There are two types of coaxial cable: thinnet and thicknet. Thicknet cabling is thicker, and a
better choice for longer distances, but is more expensive and more difficult to work with. Thinnet
coaxial cable can carry a signal for a distance of up to approximately 185 meters before the
signal starts to suffer from attenuation. Thicknet cable can carry a signal for 500 meters.
Therefore, because of thicknet's ability to support data transfer over longer distances, it is
sometimes used as a backbone to connect several smaller thinnet-based networks.

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Twisted-pair cable
In its simplest form, twissted-pair cable consists of two insulated strands of copper wire twisted
around each other. Figure 2 shows the two types of twisted-pair cable: unshielded twisted-pair
(UTP) and shielded twisted-pair (STP) cable.

Figure 2 – Unshielded and shielded twisted pair cabling

UTP is the most popular type of twisted-pair cable and is fast becoming the most popular LAN
cabling. It is cheap and easy to use. However, its performance over long distances is not as good
as coaxial cable. The maximum cable length segment of UTP is 100 meters. There are a number
of different types (or categories) of UTP cable, which differ in their specification and in the
number of pairs of wire contained within the cable. Most telephone systems use UTP cable (with
the RJ11 connector), and many LANs nowadays also use UTP (with the RJ45 connector). STP is
higher quality than UTP, but more expensive and less popular.

Fibre-optic cable
It is constructed of plastic and glass. In fibre-optic cable, optical fibres carry digital data signals
in the form of modulated pulses of light. This is a relatively safe way to send data because,
unlike copper-based cables that carry data in the form of electronic signals, no electrical
impulses are carried over the fibre-optic cable. This means that fibre-optic cable cannot be
tapped, and its data cannot be stolen.

Fibre-optic cable is good for very high-speed, high-capacity data transmission because of the
purity of the signal and lack of signal attenuation. It cost more than either twisted pair or coaxial
cable.

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 Figure 3 – Fibre optic cable

3. Network Devices
Repeaters
A common problem in the networking world is that of weakening electronic signals. Electrical
signals travelling through wires weaken due to the wire’s electrical resistance. This effect limits
the length of the cable that can be used. A repeater will overcome this limit, when there is need
to connect computers at a larger distance.
Repeaters extend network segments. They amplify the incoming signal received from one
segment and send to another attached segment. Using repeaters simply allows extending network
distance limitation. The repeater takes the weak signal from one segment, regenerates it, and
passes it to the next segment.

Figure 4 – Repeater
Hubs
One network component that has become standard equipment in networks is the hub. A hub acts
as the central component in a star topology, and typically contains 4, 8, 16 or even more different
ports for connecting to computers or other hubs. It is similar in operation to a repeater, except
that it broadcasts data received by any of the ports to all other ports on the hub. Hubs can be
active, passive or hybrid.

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 Figure 5 – Hub
Most hubs are active; that is, they regenerate and retransmit signals in the same way as a repeater
does. Because hubs usually have eight to twelve ports for network computers to connect to, they
are sometimes called multiport repeaters. Some types of hubs are passive. They act as
connection points and do not amplify or regenerate the signal; the signal passes through the hub.
Advanced hubs that will accommodate several different types of cables are called hybrid hubs.

Bridges
For large networks it is often necessary to partition it into smaller groups of nodes to help isolate
traffic and improve performance. A bridge is a device that acts as an interface between two sets
of nodes. For example, if a company’s network has been partitioned into two subnets, for the
sales department and administration department respectively, a bridge will be placed between the
two networks. If a computer on the sales subnet sends data to another computer on the sales
subnet, the bridge will not pass on the data to the administration subnet. However, if the same
computer sends data to a computer on the administration subnet, it will be forwarded by the
bridge. Because not all data is passed onto the other subnet, network traffic is reduced.

Figure 6 – Bridge

Switches
Switches work and function like bridges but instead of reading the entire frame before
forwarding it to the destination segment, switches only read the destination address in the frame
before retransmitting to the correct segment. In this way, switches forward frames faster than
bridges offering less delay through the network.
A switch can also be seen as a more intelligent hub – whereas a hub passes on all data to every
port, a switch will only pass data on to the port that it is intended for.

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 Figure 7 – Switchs

Routers
It is considered as the backbone of the internet. Any information sent through the internet goes
through router. A router is also used for connecting networks together (LANs, MAN and
WANs). However, unlike a bridge, a router can be used to connect networks that use different
network technologies. Routers are very commonly found in the hardware infrastructure that
forms the basis of the Internet.

Figure 8 – Router

4. Network Cable Arrangement

There are two ways of making UTP/STP cables: the straight-through cable that is used to
connect a computer to a hub or switch, and a crossover cable. Crossover cables are only used
when connecting two computers directly together, and for hub-to-hub connections. Figure 2
shows how the different pins on the RJ45 connector should be connected for each of the two
types.

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 Figure 2 – Adding RJ45 connectors to Category 5 UTP/STP cable to make straight-
through and crossover cables

Here is what the internals of the cable look like:

Internal Cable Structure and Color Coding

Standard, Straight-Through Wiring Diagram(both ends are the same):

Wire Color Wire Diagram 10Base-T Signal
RJ45 Pin # 1000Base-T Signal
(T568A) (T568A) 100Base-TX Signal
1 White/Green Transmit+ BI_DA+
2 Green Transmit- BI_DA-
3 White/Orange Receive+ BI_DB+
4 Blue Unused BI_DC+
5 White/Blue Unused BI_DC-
6 Orange Receive- BI_DB-
7 White/Brown Unused BI_DD+
8 Brown Unused BI_DD-

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 Wire Color Wire Diagram 10Base-T Signal
RJ45 Pin # 1000Base-T Signal
(T568B) (T568B) 100Base-TX Signal
1 White/Orange Transmit+ BI_DA+
2 Orange Transmit- BI_DA-
3 White/Green Receive+ BI_DB+
4 Blue Unused BI_DC+
5 White/Blue Unused BI_DC-
6 Green Receive- BI_DB-
7 White/Brown Unused BI_DD+
8 Brown Unused BI_DD-

Crossover Cable Wiring Diagram(T568B):

RJ45 Pin # Diagram End RJ45 Pin # Diagram End
Wire Color Wire Color
(END 1) #1 (END 2) #2
1 White/Orange 1 White/Green
2 Orange 2 Green
3 White/Green 3 White/Orange
4 Blue 4 Blue
5 White/Blue 5 White/Blue
6 Green 6 Orange
7 White/Brown 7 White/Brown
8 Brown 8 Brown

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