Networking Device

• Computer networking devices are units that mediate data in a computer network i.e.
they lie between source and sink of data. They are also called as network equipment. 
• Functions of a network device is to connect networks or expand a network.
• These equipment connect two LANs or a WAN with a LAN or two LANS via a WAN.
• Going by definition, examples of Network Devices are:
Repeaters
Hubs
Switches
Bridges
Routers
Gateways
Modems
Transceivers (media converters)
 Repeaters
• To extend the length of the network, a repeater
may be used.
• A repeater can be considered as two
transceivers joined together and connected to
two different segments.
• The repeater passes the digital signal bit-by-bit
in both directions between the two segments.
• Important features of a repeater are as follows:
A repeater connects different segments of a LAN
A repeater forwards every frame it receives i.e. it
has no filtering capability.
A repeater is a regenerator, not an amplifier
It can be used to create a single extended LAN
With reference of the ISO model, a repeater is
considered as a level-1 relay
 Hubs
• A HUB can be considered as a multiport
repeater.
• It regenerates data and broadcasts them
to all ports.
• Hub as a multi-port repeater can be
connected in a hierarchical manner to
form a single LAN with many nodes.
• A HUB, like a repeater is also a layer 1
device i.e. works at Physical Layer.
 Bridges
• The device that can be used to interconnect two
separate LANs is known as a bridge.
• It is commonly used to connect two similar or
dissimilar LANs .
• Bridges examine network traffic using the MAC
addresses of the destination and not any of the
network protocols .
• The bridge operates in layer 2, that is data-link
layer and that is why it is called level-2 relay
• Key features of a bridge are mentioned below:
A bridge operates both in physical and data-link layer
A bridge uses a table for filtering/routing
A bridge does not change the physical (MAC)
addresses in a frame
 Bridges
• Types of Bridging algorithms are as follows:
Transparent bridging is found primarily in Ethernet environments.
Source-Route bridging occurs primarily in Token Ring environments.
Translational bridging provides translation between the formats and transit principles of
different media types (usually Ethernet and Token Ring).
 Source-Route Transparent bridging combines the algorithms of transparent bridging and
source-route bridging to enable communication in mixed Ethernet/Token Ring
environments.
Bridges
 Bridges
Formation of Birding Table—Address Learning
 Switches
• A switch is essentially a fast bridge.
• Bridges use software to create and manage a filter table
whereas Switches use application specific integrated circuits
(ASICs) to build and maintain their filter tables.
• A two-layer switch, as a bridge, also makes a filtering decision
based on the MAC address of the frame it receives i.e. it also
a layer 2 device.
• Some of important functionalities are:
Ports are provided with buffer
Switch maintains a directory: #address - port#
Each frame is forwarded after examining the #address and
forwarded to the proper port#
The switching approaches used are: Cut-through Switching & Store
& Forward Switching .
Switches can logically group together some ports to form a virtual
local area network (VLAN)
Switches
 Routers
• A router is considered as a layer-3 relay that operates in
the network layer, that is it acts on network layer frames.
• They use the “logical address” of packets and routing
tables to determine the best path for data delivery.
• The routing tables are normally dynamic and are updated
using routing protocols. Routing Protocols collect data
about current network status and contribute to selection
of the best path .
• A router is a firmware that determines the next network
point to which a packet should be forwarded toward its
destination.
• As packets are passed from routers to routers, Data Link
layer source and destination addresses are stripped off
and then recreated.
 Layer-3 Switches
• Layer-3 switches operate in both layer 2 (data link layer) and 3 (network layer)
• Can perform both MAC switching and IP routing
• A combination of switch and router but much faster and easier to configure than
router
 Brouters
• Brouter is short term for bridge + router.
• A brouter is a device that can function as a bridge or a router.
• When routable packets such as TCP/IP arrive, brouters perform the function of a
router and route them from the source network to the destination network.
• Any packet with an unroutable protocol, such as NetBEUI, is simply forwarded
like a bridge would do.
 Difference Between Bridges and Routers
• Bridges forward everything they don’t recognize.
• Routers select the best path.
• Routers are layer 3 devices which recognize network address
• Bridges are layer 2 devices which look at the MAC sub layer node address
 Gateways
• A gateway works in application layer &
hence it is known as a Layer-7 relay.
• A gateway is a network point that acts as
an entrance to another network.
• Gateway: device to interconnect
DISSIMILAR Networks i.e. with different
protocols.
• Router: device to interconnect SIMILAR
networks, i.e. with similar.
 Collision & Broadcast Domain
• A collision domain is, as the name implies,
a part of a network where packet collisions
can occur. A collision occurs when two
devices send a packet at the same time on
the shared network segment. The packets
collide and both devices must send the
packets again, which reduces network
efficiency. Collisions are often in a hub
environment, because each port on a hub
is in the same collision domain. By contrast,
each port on a bridge, a switch or a router
is in a separate collision domain.
 Collision & Broadcast Domain
• A broadcast domain is a domain in which a
broadcast is forwarded. A broadcast
domain contains all devices that can reach
each other at the data link layer (OSI layer
2) by using broadcast. All ports on a hub or
a switch are by default in the same
broadcast domain. All ports on a router are
in the different broadcast domains and
routers don't forward broadcasts from one
broadcast domain to another.
How many collision domains?

18/06/23 S Ward Abingdon and Witney College

18/06/23 S Ward Abingdon and Witney College

No VLANs
18/06/23 S Ward Abingdon and Witney College
 How many broadcast domains?

18/06/23 S Ward Abingdon and Witney College