Std XII Computer Science

Unit -2 Computer Networks

HANDOUT Module: 1/1 Network Devices

Network Devices

Network devices are components used to connect computers or other

electronic devices together so that they can share files or resources.
Some of the common network devices are as follows:

• MODEM
• RJ 45 CONNECTOR
• ETHERNET CARD
• HUB
• SWITCH
• REPEATER
• ROUTER
• GATEWAY
• BRIDGE
• WI FI CARD

Modem

A modem (Modulator - Demodulator) is a peripheral device that enables a

computer to transmit data over, telephone or cable lines.

The computers operate digitally using binary language (a series of zeros and
ones), but transmission mediums (Telephone lines or cables) are analogue.
The digital signals when pass from one value to another, there is no middle
or half way point, it's one or zero. Conversely, analogue does not change

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"per step", it covers all the values, so you can have 0, 0.1, 0.2, 0.3 ...1.0 and
all values in between.

A modem converts between these two forms. It changes the digital data from
your computer into analog data, a format that can be carried by telephone
lines. In a similar manner, the Modem at the receiving end changes the
analog signal back into digital data that can be read by the receiving
computer.

This is why modem is an acronym of MOdulator/DEModulator.

Note: Modulation is the process of sending data on a wave. Three types of

modulation techniques are used. AM (Amplitude Modulation), FM (Frequency
Modulation), PM (Phase Modulation)

RJ45 connector

RJ-45 , short form of Registered Jack - 45 , is an eight wired connector that

is used to connect computers on a local area network(LAN), especially
Ethernet.
RJ-45 connectors look similar to the RJ-11 connector used for connecting
telephone equipment, but they are somewhat wider.

Ethernet Card

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An Ethernet card is a kind of network adapter and is also known as Network
Interface Card (NIC). These adapters support the Ethernet standard for high-
speed network connections via cables. An Ethernet Card contains
connections for either coaxial or twisted pair cables or even for fibre optic
cable.
Newer Ethernet cards are installed usually by the manufacturer inside the
desktop computers. These insert conveniently into slots on the side or front
of the device.
Ethernet cards may operate at different network speeds depending on the
protocol standard they support. Old Ethernet cards were capable only of the
10 Mbps maximum speed offered by Ethernet originally. Modern Ethernet
adapters can support the speed of upto100 Mbps. Fast Ethernet standards
are also available now that offer speeds upto1 Gbps (Gigabit Ethernet ).

Hub

Hubs are simple devices that interconnect groups of users.

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 A Hub forward every data packet which it receives from one workstation to
all the other workstations connected to it.
All users connected to a single hub or stack of connected hubs are in the
same segment, sharing the hub’s bandwidth or data carrying capacity.
This results in traffic overloading on the network.
Hubs can be active or passive.
Active hubs electrically amplify the signal as moves from one connected
device to another.
Passive hubs allow the signal to pass from one computer to another
without any change.

Switch

A switch is a device that is used to break a network into different sub-

networks called subnet or LAN segments. This prevents traffic overloading
on the network. They allow different nodes of a network to communicate
directly with one another in a smooth and efficient manner. Network switches
appear nearly identical to network hubs, but a switch generally contains more
intelligence than a hub. We can say that a switch is an intelligent hub and is
obviously more expensive than a hub. Unlike hubs, network switches are
capable of inspecting data packets as they are received, determining the
source and destination device of each packet, and forwarding them
appropriately. By delivering messages only to the connected device
intended, a network switch conserves network bandwidth and offers
generally better performance than a hub.

Repeater

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A repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal , amplifies it and then
retransmits it on the network so that the signal can cover longer distances.
Network repeaters regenerate incoming electrical, wireless or optical signals.
An electrical signal in a cable gets weaker with the distance it travels, due to
energy dissipated in conductor resistance and dielectric losses. Similarly a
light signal travelling through an optical fibre suffers attenuation due to
scattering and absorption. With physical media like Ethernet or WiFi, data
transmissions can only span a limited distance before the quality of the signal
degrades. Repeaters attempt to preserve signal integrity by periodically
regenerating the signal and extend the distance over which data can safely
travel.

Bridge

A bridge is a network device that establishes an intelligent connection

between two local networks with the same standard. Bridge main
objective is to connect various LANs.Bridges are smart enough to know
which computers are on which side of the bridge.As a packet arrives, the
bridge examines the physical destination address of the packet to decide
whether or not to let the packet cross.

Routers

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A Router is a network device that works like a bridge to establish connection
between two networks but it can handle networks with different protocols. For
example a router can link an Ethernet network to a mainframe or to internet.
If the destination is unknown to the router, it sends the traffic to another
router which knows the destination. The data is sent to the router which
determines the destination address (using logical address) and then
transmits the data accordingly. Hence routers are smarter than hubs and
switches. Using a routing table that stores calculated paths, routers make
sure that the data packets are travelling through the best possible paths to
reach their destinations. If a link between two routers fails, the sending router
can determine an alternate route to keep traffic moving. Routers provide
connectivity inside enterprises, between enterprises and the Internet, and
within an Internet Service Provider (ISP). Routers can be wireless or wired.

Gateway

A gateway is a network device that establishes an intelligent connection

between a local network and external networks with completely different
structures i.e. it connects two dissimilar networks. In simple terms, it is a
node on a network that serves as an entrance to another network.
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The computers that control traffic within your company's network or at your
local Internet Service Provider (ISP) are gateway nodes. A network gateway
can be implemented completely in software, completely in hardware, or as a
combination of both. In the network for an enterprise, a computer server
acting as a gateway node is often also acting as a proxy server and a firewall
server. Here a proxy server is a node that is not actually a server but just
appears to be so and a firewall is a system designed to prevent unauthorised
access to or from a private network. A gateway is often associated with both
a router, which knows where to direct a given packet of data that arrives at
the gateway, and a switch, which furnishes the actual path in and out of the
gateway for a given packet. It expands the functionality of the router by
performing data translation and protocol conversion. You will sometimes see
the term default gateway on network configuration screens in Microsoft
Windows.
In computer networking, a default gateway is the device that passes traffic
from the local subnet to devices on other subnets. The default gateway often
connects a local network to the Internet, although internal gateways for local
networks also exist.

Wi-Fi Card

Wi-Fi cards are small and portable cards that allow your desktop or laptop
computer to connect to the internet through a wireless network. Wi-Fi
transmission is through the use of radio waves. The antenna transmits the
radio signals and these signals are picked up by Wi-Fi receivers such as
computers and cell phones equipped with Wi-Fi cards. These devices have
to be within the range of a Wi-Fi network to receive the signals. The Wi-Fi
card then reads the signals and produces a wireless internet connection.
Once a connection is established between user and the network, the user will
be prompted with a login screen and password if the connection being
established is a secure connection. Wi-Fi cards can be external or internal. If
a Wi-Fi card is not installed in your computer, you may purchase a USB
antenna attachment and have it externally connected to your device. Many
newer computers, mobile devices etc. are equipped with wireless networking
capability and do not require a Wi-Fi card. However, it is important to
understand that the Wi-Fi connection only exists between the device and the
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router. Most routers are further connected to a cable modem, which provides
internet access to all connected devices.

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