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Network Devices (Hub, Repeater, Bridge, Switch, Router,

Gateways and Brouter)

Network Devices: Network devices, also known as networking hardware, are physical devices
that allow hardware on a computer network to communicate and interact with one another. For
example Repeater, Hub, Bridge, Switch, Routers, Gateway, Brouter, and NIC, etc.

1. 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 to be noted 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 at its star topology connectors connecting following the
original strength. It is a 2-port device.

2. Hub – A hub is a basically multi-port repeater. A hub connects multiple wires coming from
different branches, for example, the connector in star topology which connects different stations.
Hubs cannot filter data, so data packets are sent to all connected devices. In other words, the
collision domain of all hosts connected through Hub remains one. Also, they do not have the
intelligence to find out the best path for data packets which leads to inefficiencies and wastage.

Types of Hub

Active Hub:- These are the hubs that have their power supply and can clean, boost, and relay the
signal along with the network. It serves both as a repeater as well as a wiring center. These are
used to extend the maximum distance between nodes.
Passive Hub:- These are the hubs that collect wiring from nodes and power supply from the
active hub. These hubs relay signals onto the network without cleaning and boosting them and
can’t be used to extend the distance between nodes.
Intelligent Hub:- It works like an active hub and includes remote management capabilities. They
also provide flexible data rates to network devices. It also enables an administrator to monitor
the traffic passing through the hub and to configure each port in the hub.

3. Bridge – A bridge operates at the data link layer. A bridge is a repeater, with add on the
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functionality of filtering content by reading the In addresses
MAC App of the 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.

Types of Bridges

Transparent Bridges:- These are the bridge in which the stations are completely unaware of
the bridge’s existence i.e. whether or not a bridge is added or deleted from the network,
reconfiguration of the stations is unnecessary. These bridges make use of two processes i.e.
bridge forwarding and bridge learning.
Source Routing Bridges:- In these bridges, routing operation is performed by the source station
and the frame specifies which route to follow. The host can discover the frame by sending a
special frame called the discovery frame, which spreads through the entire network using all
possible paths to the destination.

4. Switch – A switch is a multiport bridge with a buffer and a design that can boost its
efficiency(a large number of ports imply less traffic) and performance. A switch is a data link
layer device. The switch can perform error checking before forwarding data, which makes it very
efficient as it does not forward packets that have errors and forward good packets selectively to
the correct port only. In other words, the switch divides the collision domain of hosts, but the
broadcast domain remains the same.

Types of Switch

1. Unmanaged switches: These switches have a simple plug-and-play design and do not offer
advanced configuration options. They are suitable for small networks or for use as an expansion
to a larger network.
2. Managed switches: These switches offer advanced configuration options such as VLANs, QoS,
and link aggregation. They are suitable for larger, more complex networks and allow for
centralized management.
3. Smart switches: These switches have features similar to managed switches but are typically
easier to set up and manage. They are suitable for small- to medium-sized networks.
4. Layer 2 switches: These switches operate at the Data Link layer of the OSI model and are
responsible for forwarding data between devices on the same network segment.
5. Layer 3 switches: These switches operate at the Network layer of the OSI model and can route
data between different network segments. They are more advanced than Layer 2 switches and
are often used in larger, more complex networks.
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 6. PoE switches: These switches have Power over Ethernet capabilities, which allows them to
supply power to network devices over the same cable that carries data.
7. Gigabit switches: These switches support Gigabit Ethernet speeds, which are faster than
traditional Ethernet speeds.
8. Rack-mounted switches: These switches are designed to be mounted in a server rack and are
suitable for use in data centers or other large networks.
9. Desktop switches: These switches are designed for use on a desktop or in a small office
environment and are typically smaller in size than rack-mounted switches.
10. Modular switches: These switches have modular design, which allows for easy expansion or
customization. They are suitable for large networks and data centers.

5. Routers – A router is a device like a switch that routes data packets based on their IP
addresses. The router is mainly a Network Layer device. Routers normally connect LANs and
WANs and have a dynamically updating routing table based on which they make decisions on
routing the data packets. The router divides the broadcast domains of hosts connected through
it.

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6. 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.

7. Brouter – It is also known as the bridging router is a device that combines features of both
bridge and router. It can work either at the data link layer or a network layer. Working as a router, it
is capable of routing packets across networks and working as the bridge, it is capable of filtering
local area network traffic.

8. NIC – NIC or network interface card is a network adapter that is used to connect the computer
to the network. It is installed in the computer to establish a LAN. It has a unique id that is written
on the chip, and it has a connector to connect the cable to it. The cable acts as an interface
between the computer and the router or modem. NIC card is a layer 2 device which means that it
works on both the physical and data link layers of the network model.

References :
Data Communications and Networking

Please write comments if you find anything incorrect, or you want to share more information
about the topic discussed above.

Article Tags : Computer Networks GATE CS

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