Advance Networking

Question 1

The network infrastructure contains three categories of network components:

Answer 1

• Devices
• Media
• Services

Devices and media are the physical elements, or hardware, of the network. Hardware is often the visible components of the network platform such as a laptop, PC, Switch, router, wireless access point, or the cabling used to connect the devices.

Services include many of the common network applications people use every day, like email hosting services and web hosting services. Processes provide the functionality that directs and moves the messages through the network. Processes are less obvious to us but are critical to the operation of networks.

Question 2

End Devices

Answer 2

The network devices that people are most familiar with are called end devices. An end device is either the source or destination of a message transmitted over the network. To distinguish one end device from another, each end device on a network is identified by an address. When an end device initiates communication, it uses the address of the destination end device to specify where the message should be sent.

Question 3

Intermediary Network Devices

Answer 3

Intermediary devices connect the individual end devices to the network and can connect multiple individual networks to form an internetwork. These intermediary devices provide connectivity and ensure that data flows across the network.

Intermediary devices use the destination end device address, in conjunction with information about the network interconnections, to determine the path that messages should take through the network.

Question 4

Intermediary network devices perform some or all of these functions :

Answer 4

• Regenerate and transmit data signals
• Maintain information about what pathways exist through the network and internetwork
• Notify other devices of errors and communication failures
• Direct data along alternate pathways when there is a link failure
• Classify and direct messages according to priorities
• Permit or deny the flow of data, based on security settings

Question 5

Network Media

Answer 5

Communication across a network is carried on a medium. The medium provides the channel over which the message travels from source to destination.
Modern networks primarily use :
-Metallic wires within cables
-Glass or plastic fibers ( fiber optic cable )
-Wireless transmission

Different types of network media have different features and benefits. Not all network media have the same characteristics, nor are they all appropriate for the same purpose.

Question 6

Important Terminologies

Answer 6

Network Interface Card - A NIC, or LAN adapter, provides the physical connection to the network at the PC or other end devices. The media that are connecting the PC to the networking device, plug directly into the NIC.

Physical Port - A connector or outlet on a networking device where media is connected to an end device or another networking device.

Interface - Specialized ports on a networking device that connect to individual networks. Because routers are used to interconnect networks, the ports on a router are referred to as network interfaces.

Question 7

Topology Diagrams

Answer 7

Physical topology diagrams - Identify the physical location of intermediary devices and cable installations.

Logical topology diagrams - Identify devices, ports, and addressing schemes.

Question 8

Types of networks :

Answer 8

Local Area Network - A network infrastructure that provides access to users and end devices in a small geographical area, which is typically an enterprise, home, or small business network owned and managed by an individual or IT department.