TLE-ICT

COMPUTER SYSTEMS SERVICING

QUARTER 1 – MODULE 4

COMPUTER NETWORK
 MANGALDAN NATIONAL HIGH SCHOOL
MELC: Familiarize oneself with computer peripheral/ devices/systems in accordance with
established procedures on correct operation and safety.

This learning module will equip you with the basic knowledge in computer network. It
will also help you understand the different types of network and familiarize you with the
different network devices.

Computer Network

A computer network refers to a group of computing devices that are connected

together in order to exchange files, share resources, data, and applications and allow
electronic communication.

Three Basic Types of Network

1. Local Area Network (LAN)

A LAN is a collection of connected devices in one

physical location, such as a home or an office. A LAN can
be small or large, ranging from a home network with one
user to a large enterprise network with thousands of users
and devices. A LAN may include both wired and wireless
devices.

Regardless of size, a LAN's particular characteristic is

that it connects devices that are in a single, limited area.
Figure .1LAN Diagram

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2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

Figure 2. MAN Diagram

MAN is a large computer network that usually
spans a city or a large campus. It is usually formed
by connecting multiple LANs.

Essentially, this is a computer network which

links users and serves them various resources
across an area that is too large to be covered by a
LAN, but smaller than is required by a WAN.

MAN is used in communication between the

banks in a city, college within a city, and even for
communication in the military.

3. Wide Area Network (WAN)

A WAN extends over a large

geographical area and connects individual
users or multiple LANs. The Internet can be
considered a WAN. Large organizations use
WANs to connect their various sites, remote
employees, suppliers, and data centers so
they can run applications and access
necessary data.

Physical connectivity in WANs can be achieved by leased lines, cellular connections,

satellite links, and other means.

Figure 3. WAN Diagram

The three network types can differ from each other in many aspects. Some of the
significant differences are listed in the table below.

Parameters LAN MAN WAN

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 Ownership of network Private Private or public
Private or
public
Small Moderate Very large
Geographical area
covered
Easy Difficult Difficult
Design and
maintenance

Bandwidth Low Moderate High

Data rates High Moderate Low

Congestion Less More More

Application Country, Continent

College, School, Small towns,
Hospital City

Table 1. Differences between LAN, WAN and MAN

Network Devices

Network devices, also known as network equipment are electronic devices which are
necessary to allow communication and interaction between devices on a network. They
mediate data transmission within a computer network.

Common Network Devices

Hub

It is the simplest in the family of network connecting

devices because it connects LANonents comp with identical
protocols. Hubs notdo perform packet filtering or addressing
functions; they just send data packets to all connected
devices.

Figure 4. Hub

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Switch

Switches have a more

intelligent role than hubs. A switch is
a multiport device that improves
network efficiency. The switch
maintains limited routing information
about nodes in the internal network,
and it allows connections to systems
like hubs or routers. Generally,
switches can read the hardware
addresses of incoming packets to
Figure 5. How a switch works. transmit them to the appropriate
destination.

Router

A router derives its name from the fact that it can route data it receives from one
network into another. When a router receives a packet of data, it reads the header of the
packet to determine the destination address. Once it has determined the address, it looks in
its routing table to determine whether it knows how to reach the destination and, if it does, it
forwards the packet to the next hop on the route. The next hop might be the final destination,
or it might be another router.

Modem
Figure 6. How a router works.
A modem, short for modulator/demodulator, is a device that
converts the digital signals generated by a computer into analog signals
that can travel over conventional phone lines. The modem at the
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receiving end converts the signal back into a format the computer can understand. Modems
can be used as a means to connect to an ISP or as a mechanism for dialing up to a LAN.

Repeater

A repeater is an electronic device that amplifies the signal it

receives. You can think of repeater as a device which receives a
signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power so that
the signal can cover longer
distances, more than 100 meters for
standard LAN cables.

Figure .8Repeater

Bridge

Bridges are used to divide larger networks into smaller sections. They do this by
sitting between two physical network segments and managing the flow of data between the
two. By looking at the MAC (Media Access Control) address of the devices connected to
each segment, bridges can select to forward the data or block it from crossing.

Figure 9. How a bridge is used to segregate networks

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Network Interface Ca
rd

Network Interface Card

, also called network card or LAN
card is a device
that enable
s a computer to connect to the network.

Figure 11. Network Interface Card

Gateway

A gateway is simply a device or

hardware that acts as a "gate" between the
networks. We can also define it as a node that
acts as an entry for other network nodes. It is
also responsible for facilitating the traffic flow
within the network.
A gateway is essentially a system used
to communicate between networks with
different protocols and are responsible for
converting one protocol into another. It is
responsible for providing access to the internet
for households, thereby serving as an internet
service provider.

Figure 12. How a gateway works.

Firewall

A firewall is a network device

that monitors and either blocks or allows
traffic based on a set of rules. It protects
the computer network from unauthorized
access. Firewalls can be software,
hardware, or a combination of both.
Additionally, the rules firewalls use can
be based on something straightforward
like ports and IP addresses or use
heuristics to identify malicious behavior.
Figure 12. How a firewall works.

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