Submitted to:

Sir Saad Qaiser

Submitted by:
Muhammad Arslan Nadeem
Topic:
Getting familiar with Networking Devices
Subject:
Computer Network
Semester:
4th (2M)
S23BDOCS1M01110

Department of Computer Science

The Islamia University of

Bahawalpur
 Repeaters in Computer Network
A computer network is made up of various devices such as the hub, repeater,
modem, switch, computer devices, etc. Each device plays a vital role in networking.
Repeaters are used in order to extend the network and provide security, strength, and
no data loss. The below article describes in detail a networking device known as a
repeater.

What is a Repeater?

Repeaters are defined as a networking device that is used to amplify and generate the
incoming signal. Repeaters work at the physical layer of the OSI model. The main
aim of using a repeater is to increase the networking distance by increasing the
strength and quality of signals. The performance of Local Area Networks
(LANs) and Wide Area Networks (WANs) repeaters are used. Using repeaters helps
to reduce error, and loss of data and provides with delivery of data at specified
locations only. The major advantage of using a repeater is that it provides with
transfer of data with more security and over a long distance.
Features of Repeaters

 Repeater can regenerate the signal without modifying it.

 Repeaters can be used in analog signals and digital signals.
 Repeaters can extend the range of networks.
 Dynamic networking is supported by repeater.
 Use of Repeaters reduces error and loss of data.
 Power is required for working of repeaters.
 Using repeater can add complexity in the network.

Advantages of Repeater

 Better Performance of Network: Repeaters provide with better performance of

network because they do not always depend on processing overheads at the time.
 Cost Effective: Repeaters are more cost effective as compared to other network
devices therefore they are cost effective.
 Extends the network: Repeaters provides with an advantage to extend the
available network for transmission of data.
 No Physical barriers: Using physical devices can led to some barrier while
transmission of signals. With the help of wireless repeaters such issues are
resolved.
 Enhanced Signals: When computer devices and routers are connected in a
network over long distance it weakens the strength of signals. While using
repeaters it improves the strength of signals even over long distances.

Disadvantages of Repeater

 Network Traffic: Repeaters do not have features to segment the network traffic.
Therefore repeaters do lack with the property to congestion.
 Network Segmentation: As repeaters do not have feature to segment the network
traffic repeaters cannot create a separate traffic from one cable to another.
 Limited number of repeaters: Use of limited number of repeaters is supported by
the network. If more number of repeaters are used that the specified one, it can
even create collision of packets and increase the noise.

 Collision Domain: The information is passed from various domains repeater is

not able to separate the devices.

What is the Hub?

A hub is a common connection point, also known as a network hub, which is used
for connection of devices in a network. It works as a central connection for all the
devices that are connected through a hub. The hub has numerous ports. If a packet
reaches at one port, it is able to see by all the segments of the network due to a
packet is copied to the other ports. A network hub has no routing tables or
intelligence (unlike a network switch or router), which is used to send information
and broadcast all network data across each and every connection.
Although most of the hubs can recognize network troubles or errors like collisions,
broadcasting all information to the several ports can be a security risk and cause
bottlenecks. The network hubs were popular in the past time as they were cheaper
as compared to a switch or router. Nowadays, switches are much cheaper than a
hub and provide a better solution for any network. Furthermore, a hub is
no IP address, as it is a dumb device.

Passive Hub: The passive hubs are the connection point for wires that helps to
make the physical network. It is capable of determining the bugs and faulty
hardware. Simply, it accepts the packet over a port and circulates it to all ports. It
includes connectors (10base-2 port and RJ-45) that can be applied as a standard in
your network. This connector is connected to all local area network
(LAN) devices. Additionally, the advanced passive hubs have AUI ports, which
are connected as the transceiver according to the network design.

Active Hub: As compared to a passive hub, it includes some additional features. It

is able to monitor the data sent to the connected devices. It plays an important role
between the connected devices with the help of store technology, where it checks
the data to be sent and decides which packet to send first.

It has the ability to fix the damaged packets when packets are sending, and also
able to hold the direction of the rest of the packets and distribute them. If a port
receives a weak signal, but still it is readable, then the active hub reconstructs the
weak signal into a stronger signal before it’s sending to other ports. It can boost the
signal if any connecting device is not working in the network. Therefore, it helps to
make the continuity of services in LAN.

Intelligent Hub: It is a little smarter than passive and active hubs. These hubs have
some kinds of management software that help to analyze the problem in the
network and resolve them. It is beneficial to expend the business in networking;
the management can assign users that help to work more quickly and share a
common pool efficiently by using intelligent hubs. However, it offers better
performance for the local area network. Furthermore, with any physical device, if
any problem is detected, it is able to detect this problem easily.

Advantages of Hub
o It provides support for different types of Network Media.
o It can be used by anyone as it is very cheap.
o It can easily connect many different media types.
o The use of a hub does not impact on the network performance.
o Additionally, it can expand the total distance of the network.
Disadvantages of Hub

o It has no ability to choose the best path of the network.

o It does not include mechanisms such as collision detection.
 o It does not operate in full-duplex mode and cannot be divided into the
Segment.
o It cannot reduce the network traffic as it has no mechanism.
o It is not able to filter the information as it transmits packets to all the
connected segments.

What is a Network Switch

The Switch is a network device that is used to segment the networks into different
subnetworks called subnets or LAN segments. It is responsible for filtering and
forwarding the packets between LAN segments based on MAC address.
Switches have many ports, and when data arrives at any port, the destination address
is examined first and some checks are also done and then it is processed to the
devices. Different types of communication are supported here like unicast, multicast,
and broadcast communication.

Features of Network Switches

 It operates in the Data Link Layer in the OSI Model.

 It performs error checking before forwarding data.
 It transfers the data only to the device that has been addressed.
 It operates in full duplex mode.
 It allocates each LAN segment to a limited bandwidth.
 It uses Unicast (one-to-one), multicast (one-to-many), and broadcast (one-to-all)
transmission modes.
 Packet-switching techniques are used to transfer data packets from source to
destination.
 Switches have a more significant number of ports.

What is a Layer 2 Switch?

A Layer 2 switch operates at Layer 2 of OSI model, which is the Data Link Layer.
The switch forwards data packets depending on the devices’ MAC (Media Access
Control) addresses that are in its network. Most commonly they are found in Local
Area Networks (LAN) where their main purpose includes providing different
collision domains while reducing congestion within that network .To enable delivery
of this data to specific destination layer II switches find out appropriate port for
these packets on MAC basis.

What is a Layer 3 Switch?

A Layer 3 Switch is identical to an ordinary switch in its operation with a router at

the same time, working at both data link layer (Layer 2) and network layer (Layer 3)
under the Open Systems Interconnection model. Layer 3 switches can route packets
between diverse subnets or VLANs (virtual LANs) with the application of IP
addresses, similar to the manner in which networking devices called routers handle
them. Hence they are suitable for big-sized networks necessitating fast switching
together with routing abilities.

Advantages of Switches

 Prevents traffic overloading in a network by segmenting the network into smaller

subnets.
 Increases the bandwidth of the network.
 Less frame collision as the switch creates the collision domain for each
connection.

Disadvantages of Switches

 It cannot stop traffic destined for a different LAN segment from traveling to all
other LAN segments.
 Switches are more expensive.
 Introduction of a Router
A Router is a networking device that forwards data packets between computer
networks. One or more packet-switched networks or subnetworks can be connected
using a router. By sending data packets to their intended IP addresses, it manages
traffic between different networks and permits several devices to share an Internet
connection.

How Does Router Work?

 A router determines a packet’s future path by examining the destination IP

address of the header and comparing it to the routing database. The list of routing
tables outlines how to send the data to a specific network location. They use a set
of rules to determine the most effective way to transmit the data to the specified
IP address.
 To enable communication between other devices and the internet, routers utilize
a modem, such as a cable, fiber, or DSL modem. Most routers include many
ports that can connect a variety of devices to the internet simultaneously. In order
to decide where to deliver data and where traffic is coming from, it needs routing
tables.
 A routing table primarily specifies the router’s default path. As a result, it might
not determine the optimum path to forward the data for a particular packet. For
instance, the office router directs all networks to its internet service provider
through a single default channel.
 Static and dynamic tables come in two varieties in the router. The dynamic
routing tables are automatically updated by dynamic routers based on network
activity, whereas the static routing tables are configured manually.
Advantages of Router

 Easier Connection: Sharing a single network connection among numerous

machines is the main advantage of router. This enables numerous people to
connect to the internet, boosting total productivity. In addition, routers have
connections between various media and network designs.
 Security: Undoubtedly, installing a router is the first step in securing a network
connection. Because using a modem to connect directly to the internet exposes
your computer to several security risks. So that the environment is somewhat
secure, routers can be utilized as an intermediary between two networks. While
not a firewall or antivirus replacement.
 NAT Usage: Routers use Network Address Translation (NAT) to map multiple
private IP addresses into one public IP address. This allows for a better Internet
connection and information flow between all devices connected to the network.
 Supports Dynamic Routing: The router employs dynamic routing strategies to aid
in network communication. The internet work’s optimum path is chosen
through dynamic routing. Additionally, it creates collision and broadcast
domains. Overall, this can lessen network traffic.
 Filtering of Packets: Switching between packets and filtering packets are two
more router services. A collection of filtering rules are used by routers to filter
the network. The packets are either allowed or passed through.

Disadvantages of Router

 Slower: Routers analyze multiple layers of information, from the physical

layer to the network layer, which slows down connections. The same issue can
also be encountered when multiple devices are connected to these network
devices, causing “connection waiting”.
 High Cost: They are more expensive than some other tools for systems
administration. This includes security, extension, and the focal point. As a result,
routers are typically not the greatest option for issues.
 Need for configuration: The router must be properly configured to work properly.
In general, the more complex the intended use, the more configuration is
required. This requires professional installation, which can add to the cost of
buying a router.

 Quality Issues: The time transitions are not always accurate. Even yet, some
modern devices use the 2.4GHz band, which is frequently deactivated. These
kinds of separations are frequently possible for those who live in apartments and
condominiums.
 Bandwidth shortages: Dynamic routing techniques used by routers to support
connections tend to cause network overhead, consuming a lot of bandwidth. This
leads to a bandwidth shortage that significantly slows down the internet
connection between connected devices.

What is Bridge
The bridge is a networking device in a computer network that is used to connect
multiple LANs to a larger LAN. In computer networks, we have multiple
networking devices such as bridges, hubs, routers, switches, etc, each device has its
own specification and is used for a particular purpose. The bridge is a networking
device that connects the larger LAN networks with the group of smaller LAN
networks.
In this article, we are going to discuss everything about the bridge including what
exactly a bridge is, and the type of bridges we have in computer networks including
transparent bridges, source routing bridges, and translational bridges, which will be
followed by advantages and disadvantages of the bridge in networking. Then how
the bridge is different from the gateway and last we will look into the applications
and functions of the bridge in the network.
The primary responsibility of a switch is to examine the incoming traffic and
determine whether to filter or forward it. Basically, a bridge in computer networks is
used to divide network connections into sections, now each section has a
separate bandwidth and a separate collision domain. Here bridge is used to improve
network performance.
Advantages

 Bridges can be used as a network extension like they can connect two network
topologies together.
 It has a separate collision domain, which results in increased bandwidth.
 It can create a buffer when different MAC protocols are there for different
segments.
 Highly reliable and maintainable. The network can be divided into
multiple LAN segments.
 Simple installation, no requirement of any extra hardware or software except the
bridge itself.
 Protocol transparency is higher as compared to other protocols.

Disadvantages

 Expensive as compared to hubs and repeaters.

 Slow in speed.
 Poor performance as additional processing is required to view the MAC address
of the device on the network.
 As the traffic received is in bulk or is broadcasted traffic, individual filtering of
data is not possible.
 During the broadcasting of data, the network has high broadcast traffic and
broadcast storms can be formed.

Introduction of Gateways
A gateway is a network node or device that connects two networks that use different
transmission protocols. Gateways play an important role in connecting two
networks. It works as the entry-exit point for a network because all traffic that passes
across the networks must pass through the gateway. In this article, we are going to
discuss all important points related to Gateways.

What are Gateways?

A network gateway is a device that connects different networks by translating

messages from one protocol into another protocol. The gateway monitors and
controls all the incoming and outgoing network traffic. Gateways are also known as
protocol converters because they play an important role in converting protocols
supported by traffic on different networks. As a result, it allows smooth
communication between two networks.
Advantages of Gateways

 Gateway helps in connecting two different network.

 Gateway is used to filters and does not allow anything that can harm to the
network.
 Gateway is worked as the protocol converter.
 Gateway is the highly secure device that provides security from external attacks.

Limitations of Gateways

There are few limitations of gateways as well. Here are some of them:
 Gateway causes time delay since the conversion of data according to the network
requires time.
 Failure of the gateway might lead to the failure of connection with other
networks.
 The implementation of Gateway is very complex and it is not cost efficient.
 Gateway is hard to manage