2.2 Networking Hardware Devices Flashcards
Compare and contrast common networking hardware devices.
What does NIC stand for?
NIC = Network Interface Cards
What does an NIC do?
If you are connecting a device to a network, whether it’s a wired network or a wireless network, it needs some type of hardware to be able to make that connection. We call this piece of hardware a Network Interface Card, or a NIC.
What is a router and what does it do?
A router is a device that makes forwarding decisions based on a destination IP address. These are usually standalone devices, but sometimes that routing functionality can also be integrated into switches
What are switches?
One of the most common network devices we use every day is our switch. Our switch is responsible for either forwarding or dropping frames on our network, based on the destination MAC address that’s inside of our Ethernet communication
What is the difference between a “Managed” switch and an “Unmanaged” switch?
Managed switches allow you to configure different VLANs on different interfaces. There’s also some redundancy support you may be able to configure in a managed switch by using Spanning Tree Protocol. If you’re installing a network switch and you need very basic functionality, then you’ll probably want to use an unmanaged switch.You simply connect all of the devices, and they would all communicate across the same virtual LAN.
What does WAP stand for?
WAP = Wireless Access Point (Just AP would stand for Access Point).
What does a WAP do? What is its function?
A Wireless Access Point is where you have a wireless network on one side that devices connect to, and on the other side, it’s connecting to your wired Ethernet network.
What is a cloud based network controller?
It is LAN control software that runs in the cloud. So you can simply connect to the cloud-based controller from anywhere you happen to be, to be able to manage all of those access points on your network.
What is a repeater and what does it do?
A repeater extends the range (typically 300ft) of a wireless connection. A repeater receives a signal, regenerates it, and then resends that signal out another interface. It doesn’t have to make any forwarding decisions. It doesn’t have to decide which connection this is going to. This is a simple goes in one connection and goes out of another connection.
What is a HUB?
In the early days of networking, if you had to connect a lot of different devices together, you might use something like a hub. An example would be a very small Ethernet hub with only four interfaces on it. But these hubs could be tens or even hundreds of interfaces in size.
What is the difference between a Cable and DSL modem?
A common network device on both home and corporate networks are cable modems. These allow you to connect to a broadband network, usually provided by a cable television company, that is sending data across the network using a standard called DOCSIS. That’s Data Over Cable Service Interface Specification.
For both home and business networking, DSL is a viable competitor to the cable modem networks. Instead of using the same cable used for cable television, a DSL network is going to use the same wire that we traditionally use for our telephones. DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line, and you’ll sometimes hear it referred to as Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line.
What is Ethernet over Power?
EoP uses a building’s existing electrical network for
Ethernet. Requires specialized bridges between the Ethernet network and power outlets.
What is a bridge?
A bridge is a device that connects dissimilar network technologies that transmit the same signal.
What is a patch panel and what does it do?
A patch panel is simply a box with a row of female connectors (ports) in the front and permanent connections in the back, to which you connect the horizontal cables in a rack.
What is Power over Ethernet?
Technology that provides power and data transmission through a single network cable. Using PoE, you only need to plug a single Ethernet cable into the WAP to provide it with both power and a network connection. The power and network connection are both supplied by a PoE-capable switch.
