network hardware Flashcards
What does a wireless access point do?
Creates a wireless network using radio waves through which a Wi-Fi enabled device can connect to communicate with the network or the internet
What does a router do?
Directs data packets from one router to another between start and end points on a network. They sit between LANs and WANs to join them together with a public IP address for the WAN and a private IP address for the LAN. any local data is passed on to the internet by the router. ANy inbound data from the internet is received and directed internally.
What does a switch do?
Connects devices on a LAN. Receives packets and forwards them to the correct deice using a MAC address.
What does a NIC (network interface card/controller) do?
A hardware component that is required to connect any device to a network. Nearly all computers have them built into the motherboard.
What is a star network topology?
This is where all devices on a LAN are connected to a central switch that directs transmissions to the correct device using MAC adresses.
What is a mesh network topology?
A full mesh topology is where every device is connected to another device which is very reliable. Partial mesh technology is where each computer might only be connected to one or two other computers which is cheaper than full mesh topology.
What is a client to server network?
A client to server network is where a computer provides services or resources to other computers on the network. Such as providing files on request providing email and filtering spam providing web pages or queue print jobs.
What is a peer to peer network?
This is where the computers have no central network and all the devices are equal and share resources such as files peer to peer are often used in small offices or homes.
