WHAT ARE THE DIFFERENT NETWORKING DEVICES?

Hub

A common connection point for devices in a network. Hubs are devices commonly used to connect segments of a LAN. The hub contains multiple ports. When a packet arrives at one port, it is copied to the other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see all packets.

Switch

A hardware device that channels incoming data from multiple input ports to a specific output port that will take it toward its intended destination. It is a small device that transfers data packets between multiple network devices such as computers, routers, servers or other switches.

Router

A hardware device designed to receive, analyze and move incoming packets to another network. It may also be used to convert the packets to another network interface, drop them, and perform other actions relating to a network. The picture shows the Linksys BEFSR11 wireless router and is what many home routers resemble.

Bridge

A type of computer network device that provides interconnection with other bridge networks that use the same protocol. Bridge devices work at the data link layer of the Open System Interconnect (OSI) model, connecting two different networks together and providing communication between them.

Networking Interface Card

A computer hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network. Early network interface controllers were commonly implemented on expansion cards that plugged into a computer bus.

 

Modem

A device which converts the computer-generated digital signals of a computer into analog signals to enable their travelling via phone lines. The 'modulator-demodulator' or modem can be used as a dial up for LAN or to connect to an ISP.

 

Transceivers

A group of transceivers comprising both a transmitter and a receiver which are combined and share common circuitry or a single housing. When no circuitry is common between transmit and receive functions, the device is a transmitter-receiver. The term originated in the early 1920s.

Firewall

A network security system that monitors and controls incoming and outgoing network traffic based on predetermined security rules. A firewall typically establishes a barrier between a trusted internal network and entrusted external network, such as the Internet.