Network Components

Network Components

1. Switch

   • a component which is used within a computer network
   • it stores the addresses of all network devices that are directly or indirectly connected to it on each port

2. Network Interface Card (NIC)

   • a computer hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network
   • enables a computer to connect to a network; such as a home network, or the Internet using an Ethernet cable

3. Gateway

   • a computer that routes the traffic from a workstation to the outside network that is serving the Web pages. In homes, the gateway is the ISP that connects the user to the internet

4. Router

   • a network device that connects together two or more networks
   • A common use of a router is to join a home or business network (LAN) to the Internet (WAN)

5. Bridge

   • a product that connects a local area network (LAN) to another local area network that uses the same protocol
   • creates a single aggregate network from multiple communication networks or network segments