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Hardware

Network hardware consists of physical devices essential for communication within a computer network, including components like Network Interface Cards, Hubs, Switches, Routers, Bridges, and Gateways. Each device serves a specific function, such as connecting computers, managing data traffic, and facilitating communication between different networks. Network software complements this hardware by managing operations, monitoring traffic, and enhancing security within the network system.

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18 views27 pages

Hardware

Network hardware consists of physical devices essential for communication within a computer network, including components like Network Interface Cards, Hubs, Switches, Routers, Bridges, and Gateways. Each device serves a specific function, such as connecting computers, managing data traffic, and facilitating communication between different networks. Network software complements this hardware by managing operations, monitoring traffic, and enhancing security within the network system.

Uploaded by

santosh kumar
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
We take content rights seriously. If you suspect this is your content, claim it here.
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Network Hardware

• Network hardware is a set of physical or


network devices that are essential for
interaction and communication between
hardware units operational on a computer
network.

• These are dedicated hardware components


that connect to each other and enable a
network to function effectively and efficiently
• Some important network hardware are

• Network Interface Cards


• Repeater
• Switch
• Hub
• Routers
• Bridge
• Gateways
Network Interface Cards

• NIC is a hardware component used to connect a


computer with another computer onto a network
• It can support a transfer rate of 10,100 to 1000
Mb/s.
• The MAC address or physical address is encoded on
the network card chip which is assigned by the
IEEE to identify a network card uniquely.
• The NIC in the sending device is responsible for
converting digital data into these signals.
• At the receiving end, the NIC will receive the
signals and convert them back into the
corresponding digital data.
• There are two types of NIC:

⮚ Wired NIC

⮚ Wireless NIC
Wired NIC: The Wired NIC is present inside the
motherboard. Cables and connectors are used with
wired NIC to transfer data.
Wireless NIC: The wireless NIC contains the antenna to
obtain the connection over the wireless network. For
example, laptop computer contains the wireless NIC.
Hub
• A Hub is a hardware device that divides the network
connection among multiple devices.
• When computer requests for some information from a
network, it first sends the request to the Hub through
cable.
• Hub will broadcast this request to the entire network. All
the devices will check whether the request belongs to them
or not. If not, the request will be dropped.
• The process used by the Hub consumes more bandwidth
and limits the amount of communication.
• Nowadays, the use of hub is obsolete, and it is replaced by
more advanced computer network components such as
Switches, Routers.
Switch
• A switch is a hardware device that connects multiple
devices on a computer network.
• A Switch contains more advanced features than Hub.
• The Switch contains the updated table that decides
where the data is transmitted or not.
• Switch delivers the message to the correct destination
based on the physical address present in the incoming
message.
• A Switch does not broadcast the message to the entire
network like the Hub.
• It determines the device to whom the message is to be
transmitted.
• Therefore, we can say that switch provides a direct
connection between the source and destination.
• It increases the speed of the network.
Bridge
• A bridge is a network device that connects
multiple LANs (local area networks) together
to form a larger LAN.

• A bridge connects the different LAN’s so that


they appear as parts of a single network.

• Bridges operate at the data link layer of the


OSI model and hence also referred as Layer 2
switches.
Routers
• A router is a hardware device which is used to
connect a LAN with an internet connection.
• It is used to receive, analyze and forward the
incoming packets to another network.
• A router forwards the packet based on the
information available in the routing table
• It determines the best path from the available
paths for the transmission of the packet.
• There are several types of routers, but most
routers pass data between LANs (local area
networks) and WANs (wide area networks).
• A LAN is a group of connected devices
restricted to a specific geographic area.
• A LAN usually requires a single router.
Gateway
• A Gateway is a device that is used to allow the
transmission of data between dissimilar networks,
e.g. networks that use different protocols.

• A gateway can combine a variety of operations, such


as malware inspection and spam filtering.

• For example, an email security gateway can be used


between an office LAN and the internet in order to
examine the emails coming into and going out of the
office network and withhold any suspicious
communications.
Network software
• Network software is defined as a wide range
of software that streamlines the operations,
design, monitoring, and implementation of
computer networks.
• Network software is a fundamental element
for any networking system.
• It helps administrators and security
personnel reduce network complexities, and
manage, monitor, and better control network
traffic.
Functions of network software
• User management allows administrators to add
or remove users from the network
• File management lets administrators decide the
location of data storage and control user access
to that data.
• Access enables users to enjoy uninterrupted
access to network resources.
• Network security systems assist administrators in
looking after security and preventing data
breaches.

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