Networking hardware includes all computers, peripherals, interface cards and other equipment needed to perform data-processing and communications within the network.
Network Hardware
File Server
In computing, a file server is a computer attached to a network that has the primary purpose of providing a location for shared disk access, i.e. shared storage of computer files (such as documents, sound files, photographs, movies, images, databases, etc.) that can be accessed by the workstations that are attached to the same computer network. The term server highlights the role of the machine in the client–server scheme, where the clients are the workstations using the storage. A file server is not intended to perform computational tasks, and does not run programs on behalf of its clients. It is designed primarily to enable the storage and retrieval of data while the computation is carried out by the workstations.
Workstation
A workstation is a high-end microcomputer designed for technical or scientific applications. Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly connected to a local area network and run multi-user operating systems. The term workstation has also been used to refer to a mainframe computer terminal or a PC connected to a network.
Network Interface Card
In computer networking, a NIC provides the hardware interface between a computer and a network. A NIC technically is network adapter hardware in the form factor of an add-in card such as a PCI or PCMCIA card.
Some NIC cards work with wired connections while others are wireless. Most NICs support either wired Ethernet or WiFi wireless standards. Ethernet NICs plug into the system bus of the PC and include jacks for network cables, while WiFi NICs contain built-in transmitters / receivers (transceivers).
Hub
- The messages that are understood by the object.
- The arguments that these messages may be supplied with.
- The types of results that these messages return.
- The invariants that are preserved despite modifications to the state of an object.
- The exceptional situations that will be required to be handled by clients to the object.
from one network device to another. Several types of cable 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.There are four types of cables namely :
- Unshielded Twiested Pair (UTP)
- Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
- Coaxial Cable
- Fiber Optic Cable
- Wireless LANs
Unshielded Twiested Pair (UTP)
- four pairs of wires inside the jacket
- each pair is twisted with different twist per inch to help eliminate interference from adjacent pairs and other electrical devices.
Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
- consists of two individual wires wrapped in a foil shielding to help provide a more reliable data communication.
- suitable for environments with electrical interference but the extra shielding can make the cables quite bulky.
- often used on networks using Token Ring topology.
- Coaxial cabling has a single copper conductor at its center.
- A plastic layer provides insulation between the center conductor and a braided metal shield.
- The metal shield helps to block any outside interference from fluorescent lights, motors, and other computers.
- The most common type of connector used with coaxial cables is the Bayone-Neill-Concelman (BNC) connector.
- Fiber Optic Cable consists of a center glass core surrounded by several layers of protective materials and transmits light rather than electronic signals eliminating the problem of electrical interference.
- Fiber Optic Cable is ideal for certain environments that contain a large amount of electrical interference.
- It is able to transmit signals over much longer distances than coaxial and twisted pair.
Repeater
Network repeaters regenerate incoming electrical, wireless or optical signals. With physical media like Ethernet or Wi-Fi, data transmissions can only span a limited distance before the quality of the signal degrades. Repeaters attempt to preserve signal integrity and extend the distance over which data can safely travel.
Actual network devices that serve as repeaters usually have some other name. Active hubs, for example, are repeaters. Active hubs are sometimes also called "multiport repeaters," but more commonly they are just "hubs." Other types of "passive hubs" are not repeaters. In Wi-Fi, access points function as repeaters only when operating in so-called "repeater mode."
Bridges
A bridge device filters data traffic at a network boundary. Bridges reduce the amount of traffic on a LAN by dividing it into two segments.
Bridges operate at the data link layer (Layer 2) of the OSI model. Bridges inspect incoming traffic and decide whether to forward or discard it. An Ethernet bridge, for example, inspects each incoming Ethernet frame - including the source and destination MAC addresses, and sometimes the frame size - in making individual forwarding decisions.
Bridges serve a similar function as switches, that also operate at Layer 2. Traditional bridges, though, support one network boundary, whereas switches usually offer four or more hardware ports. Switches are sometimes called "multi-port bridges" for this reason.
Router
Switch
A network switch or switching hub is a computer networking device that connects network segments or network devices. The term commonly refers to a multi-port network bridge that processes and routes data at the data link layer (layer 2) of the OSI model. Switches that additionally process data at the network layer (layer 3) and above are often referred to as layer-3 switches or multilayer switches.
Protocol
In object-oriented programming, a protocol or interface is a common means for unrelated objects to communicate with each other. These are definitions of methods and values which the objects agree upon in order to cooperate.
The protocol is a description of:
If the objects are fully encapsulated then the protocol will describe the only way in which objects may be accessed by other objects.
Cabling
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