Networking Hardware and Protocols

Becoming a Networking Expert

Becoming a Networking Expert
• Basic Network
Source: http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-2040.html

Becoming a Networking Expert
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 Networks are often called LANs. LAN is an acronym that stands for local area network.
 A node is a computer connected to the network.
 When a computer is turned on and can access the network, the computer is said to be online. When a computer can't access the network it's offline.
 Don't confuse local area networks with the Internet.
 Networking the computers in your home or office so that they can share information with one another, and connecting your computer to the worldwide
Internet are two entirely separate things.
Source: http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-2040.html

Becoming a Networking Expert
• Topology types
 Bus topology: All devices are connected to a central cable, called the bus or backbone.
 Star topology: All devices are connected to a central hub.
 Ring topology: All devices are connected to one another in the shape of a closed loop,
. so that each device is
Source: http://socrates.uhwo.hawaii.edu/BusAd/Flower/330/networkdefinition connected directly to two s.html
other devices, one on either side of it.

Becoming a Networking Expert
• Terminology
 bps (bits per second): A measurement of the speed at which data travels from one place to another. A 57,600 bps modem can transmit about 57,600 bits of data per second.
 Client: A program that requests services from other programs or computers that are functioning as "servers" or
"hosts."
 DNS (Domain Name Service): DNS servers translate symbolic machine names (such as www.google.com) into numerical IP addresses. For example, www.google.com is translated by DNS to 128.223.142.13. Symbolic names are a great convenience because they are easier to remember than numerical IP addresses.
Source: http://www.dummies.com/WileyCDA/DummiesArticle/id-2040.html

Becoming a Networking Expert
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 ftp (file transfer protocol): A way to transfer files from one computer to another via the Internet.
 Host: A computer that provides services to other
"client" computers on a network. On the Internet, a single computer often provides multiple host functions, such as processing email, serving web pages, and running applications.
Source: http://cc.uoregon.edu/etiquette.html#Xtte96401

Becoming a Networking Expert
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 IP address: A computer's unique Internet address usually looks like this: 128.223.142.14. Most computers also have a "domain name" assigned to them, which represents cryptic IP addresses with words that are easier to remember like www.google.com
 Network: Two or more computing devices connected together by wiring, cable, digital circuit, or other means. The Internet is a network that connects thousands of computer networks.
Source: http://cc.uoregon.edu/etiquette.html#Xtte96401

Becoming a Networking Expert
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 Protocol: A precise definition of how computers interact with one another on a network. In order for the Internet to work reliably, participants agree to set up their systems in accordance with a specific set of protocols, ensuring compatibility between systems.
 Server: A computer or application that provides files, data, or some other central body of information to multiple "client" computers by means of a network.
Source: http://cc.uoregon.edu/etiquette.html#Xtte96401

Becoming a Networking Expert
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 TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol): These are two of the main "protocols" of the Internet. To connect a computer to the Internet it must have some kind of TCP/IP communication software installed on it.
 URL (Uniform Resource Locator): A fancy term for the address of a World Wide Web page or other resource.
 World Wide Web: A system of linked servers that distribute text, graphics, and multimedia information to users all over the world.
Source: http://cc.uoregon.edu/etiquette.html#Xtte96401

Becoming a Networking Expert
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be transmitted at any given time. For digital devices, the bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per second (bps) or bytes per second. For analog devices, the bandwidth is expressed in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz).

Becoming a Networking Expert
• Hardware
• Hub
 An unintelligent network device that sends one signal to all of the stations connected to it.
 All computers/devices are competing for attention. It takes the data that comes into a port, and sends it out to all the other ports in the hub .
Source: http://www.practicallynetworked.com/networking/bridge_types.htm
http://handsonhowto.com/lan102.html

Becoming a Networking Expert
• Hardware
• Bridge
• A network bridge is a device that lets two networks talk to each other
• Connects two LANs and forwards or filters data packets between them.
• Creates an extended network in which any two workstations on the linked
LANs can share data.
• Transparent to protocols and to higher level devices like routers.
Source: http://www.homenethelp.com/

Becoming a Networking Expert
• Hardware
• Switch
• Split large networks into small segments, decreasing the number of users sharing the same network resources and bandwidth.
Source: http://projects.ischool.washington.edu/mcdonald/courses/imt546_au04/pres-
12.04/Basic%20Networking%20Hardware%20Pre%20Final%201.ppt
www.usb-switch.com/4_port_data_switch_diagram.jpg

Becoming a Networking Expert
• Hardware
• Router
 Physical devices that join multiple wired or wireless networks together .
 A device that connects any number of LANs.
 Routers are the only one of these four devices that will allow you to share a single
IP address among multiple network clients
Source: http://www.practicallynetworked.com/networking/bridge_types.htm
http://handsonhowto.com/lan102.html

Becoming a Networking Expert
• Hardware
• Wireless LAN or WLAN
 Wireless local area network that uses radio waves as its carrier.
Source: http://www.practicallynetworked.com/networking/bridge_types.htm
http://handsonhowto.com/lan102.html

Becoming a Networking Expert
• Protocols
• HTTP Hyper Text Transport Protocol:
A protocol used to transfer hypertext pages across the world wide web.
• TCP Transmission Control Protocol:
Is a protocol that enables a computer to send data to a remote computer. Unlike UDP, TCP is reliable i.e. packets are guaranteed to wind up at their target in the correct order.
• IP Internet Protocol:
IP is the underline protocol for all the other protocols in the
TCP/IP protocol suite. IP defines the means to identify and reach a target computer on the network. Computers in the IP world are identified by unique numbers which are known as IP addresses.
Source: http://www2.rad.com/networks/1997/nettut/protocols.html

Becoming a Networking Expert
• Protocols
• HTTP HyperText Transport
Protocol –
 Hypertext is ordinary text that has been dressed up with extra features, such as formatting, images, multimedia, and links to other documents.
 Markup is the process of taking ordinary text and adding extra symbols. Each of the symbols used for markup in HTML is a command that tells a browser how to display the text.
Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/HTML#What_is_HTML.3F

Becoming a Networking Expert
• Protocols
• TCP
Transmission Control Protocol
• TCP is one of the main protocols in
TCP/IP networks.
• Whereas the IP protocol deals only with packets, TCP enables two hosts to establish a connection and exchange streams of data.
• TCP guarantees delivery of data and also guarantees that packets will be delivered in the same order in which they were sent.
Source: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/T/TCP.html

Becoming a Networking Expert
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• IP Internet Protocol:
 IP specifies the format of packets, also called datagrams, and the addressing scheme.
 Most networks combine IP with a higher-level protocol called
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which establishes a virtual connection between a destination and a source.
 IP by itself is something like the postal system. It allows you to address a package and drop it in the system, but there's no direct link between you and the recipient. TCP/IP, on the other hand, establishes a connection between two hosts so that they can send messages back and forth for a period of time.
Source: http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/I/IP.html

Becoming a Networking Expert
Source: http://www.dl.ac.uk/TCSC/disco/Courses/IRIXAdmin/sect7/s_7_p1_ip.html

Becoming a Networking Expert