Network

 A network, is a series of points, or nodes, interconnected by communication paths for the

purpose of transmitting, receiving and exchanging data, voice and video traffic.
 A network consists of two or more computers that are linked in order to share resources (such as printers
and CDs), exchange files, or allow electronic communications. The computers on a network may be linked
through cables, telephone lines, radio waves, satellites, or infrared light beams.

Types of Network
1. Local Area Network (LAN)
 LAN is a privately owned computer network confined to small geographical areas, such as
an office or factory and is widely used to connect office PC’s to share information and
resources.
 They can cover an area up to a few kilometers.
 In a LAN two or more computers are connected by same physical medium, such as a
transmission cable.
 An important characteristic of a LAN is speed i.e. they deliver the data very fast compared
to other types of networks.
 Various topologies are possible for LANs and they are: mesh, star, bus and ring.

1. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

 A MAN is basically a bigger version of LAN it may be a single network such as a cable television
network or it may be a means connecting a number of LAN into a large network e.g. a
company can use a MAN to connect the LANs in all of its offices throughout a city.
 Expensive to implement and maintain.
 A MAN typically covers an area between 5 to 50 Kilometer diameters. Many MANs cover
an area the size of a city although in some cases MANs may be as small as a group of
buildings.
2. Wide Area Network (WAN)
 WAN usually refers to a network which covers a large geographical area, often a country
or a continent.
 It contains a collection of machines intended for running different applications. These
machines are called hosts. The hosts are connected by a communication subnet; whose job is
to carry data from host to host. The hosts are owned by customers and the subnets are owned
by Internet Service Providers.
 In most WANs a subnet consists of two types of elements: transmission lines and switching
elements.
 Transmission lines move bits between machines.
 Switching elements are specialized computers that connect three or more transmission lines.
When data arrives on an incoming line, switching element must choose an outgoing line on
which to forward them.

Network Devices
 Network devices are communication devices.
 The purpose of network devices is to transmit and receive data quickly and securely.
 Network devices are physical devices that enable communication and interaction between hardware on
a computer network. Each networking device operates in a distinct computer network segment and
performs distinct functions.
 Adding a network device facilitates the seamless sharing of network resources between different systems.

Types of Network Devices

1. Router
 A router is a network device similar to a switch that routes data packets based on their IP addresses.
 The router is primarily a Network Layer device.
 A router is also known as an intelligent device because it can automatically calculate the best route to
pass network packets from source to destination.
 A router examines a data packet's destination IP address and uses headers and forwarding tables to
determine the best way to transfer the packets.
 It communicates between two or more networks using protocols such as ICMP.
 Advantages of Router
 It offers advanced routing, flow control, and traffic isolation.
 It can select the best path across the internetwork using dynamic routing algorithms.
 It can reduce network traffic by establishing collision domains as well as broadcast domains.

Disadvantages of Router
 A router is more expensive than a bridge or a repeater.
 The router is slower than bridges or repeaters because it must analyze data transmission from
the physical to the network layer.

2. Switch
 A switch is a multiport network device with a buffer and design that can improve
its efficiency (having a large number of ports means less traffic) and performance.
 A switch is a networking device that operates at the data link layer.
 A switch has numerous ports into which computers can be plugged.
 When a data frame arrives at any network switch port, it evaluates the destination address
(destination MAC address), performs the necessary checks, and sends the frame to the
associated device.
 The switch performs error checking before forwarding the data, making it very efficient because
it does not forward packets with errors and only forwards good packets to the correct port.

Advantages of Switch
 Switches boost the network's available bandwidth.
 Switch-based networks will have fewer frame collisions because switches create collision
domains for each connection.
 Switches improve the network's efficiency.

Disadvantages of Switch
 It is challenging to identify network connectivity problems using the network switch.

3. 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
to extend the length to which the signal can be transmitted over the same network.
 An important point about repeaters is that they not only amplify the signal but also regenerate it. When
the signal becomes weak, they copy it bit by bit and regenerate it.

Advantages of Repeater
 Repeaters can increase the overall distance of a network.
 Repeaters are easy to set up and can easily increase network length or coverage area.
 Repeaters have no significant impact on network performance.
 It is a cost-effective network device.
Disadvantages of Repeater
 Repeaters are unable to connect disparate networks.
 Repeaters cannot reduce network traffic.
 Most repeaters on a network generate noise on the wire, increasing the possibility of packet
collisions.
 4. 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 also called protocol converters and can operate at any network layer.
 Gateways are generally more complex than switches or routers. A gateway is also called a protocol
converter.

Advantages of Gateway
 A gateway increases network flexibility by allowing multiple computers to be connected to a
single gateway. The gateway may be capable of interpreting data from computers.
 We can link two different kinds of networks.
 A gateway can effectively handle traffic problems.

Disadvantages of Gateway
 Gateways can never filter out the data.
 Protocol conversion is done, so the transmission rate is slower.

5. Bridge
 A bridge is a network device that operates at the data link layer device.
 A bridge is a repeater with the added functionality of filtering content by reading the MAC addresses of
the source and destination.
 It is also used to connect two LANs that use the same protocol. It has a single input and output port,
making it a two-port device.

Advantages of Bridge
 Bridges reduce network traffic with minor segmentation.
 Bridges can also help to reduce network traffic on a segment by splitting up network
communications.
 Bridge expands the number of connected workstations and network segments.
 It reduces collisions.

Disadvantages of Bridge
 It is slower than repeaters due to the filtering process.
 A bridge is more expensive than repeaters or hubs.
 Bridges are not scalable to an extremely large network.