Network revision

Network revision

1. Types of network

   • Bus Topologies
     • Advantage
       • It is easy to connect a device to the network
       • It is cheaper than other network options
       • Extensions can be made to the network.
     • Disadvantage
       • Additional devices slow the network down.
       • Maintenance costs are higher
       • A break in the backbone can cause an entire network to collapse
   • Star Topology
     • Advantage
       • No disruptions to the network when connecting or removing devices.
       • Easy to detect faults and to remove parts
       • Easy to install and wire
     • Disadvantage
       • Requires more cable length than a linear bus topology.
       • If the connecting network device ( network switch) fails, nodes attached are disabled and cannot participate in computer network communication
   • Ring topology
     • Advantage
       • Flow of data is in a circular motion which minimises the chance of data collision.
       • The uni-directional ring topology provides very high speed
       • Ring topology can handle high volume of nodes in a network making it very robust
     • Disadvantage
       • A single break in the cable can cause a disturbance in the entire network
       • Ring network is much slower than Ethernet network under normal load conditions
       • Addition and removal of any node in a network is difficult and can cause issue in network activity.
   • Mesh Topologies
     • Advantage
       • Another benefit of a mesh network topology is that if one of the nodes goes down, it doesn’t necessarily bring the entire network down
       • One of the advantages of a mesh topology is that (in theory) you don’t need to add routers to the network, as each node can act as a router
     • disadvantage
       • Complexity. Each node needs to both send messages as well as act as a router, which causes the complexity of each node to go up pretty significantly
       • Network Planning. As we mentioned previously, mesh networks are often considered highly scalable, and adding a node to the network typically isn’t very involved
       • Because each node in a mesh has to act as an endpoint and a router, it has to draw more power to operate.

2. Hardware of a network

   • Router
     • A router is an important component in a computer network, because it facilitates the movement of data, or "packets," between devices and other networks. A router can also provide an additional level of security in a network. Routers can be wired or wireless devices.
   • Switch
     • Network switches create a network while routers connect networks. In other words, network switches allow different devices on a network to communicate, but routers allow different networks to communicate
   • Hub
     • Network Hub
       • These are common connection points for network devices, which connect segments of a LAN (local area network) and may contain multiple ports – an interface for connecting network
     • Passive Hub
       • These only serve as paths or conduits for data passing from one device, or network segment, to another.
     • intelligent Hub
       • Also known as manageable hubs, these hubs allow system administrators to monitor data passing through and to configure each port, meaning to determine which devices or network segments
   • wireless access points
     • Wireless application protocol (WAP) is a communications protocol that is used for wireless data access through most mobile wireless networks.
   • NIC
     • A network interface card (NIC) is a hardware component without which a computer cannot be connected over a network. It is a circuit board installed in a computer that provides a dedicated network connection to the computer. It is also called network interface controller, network adapter or LAN adapter.