Now try to apply what you have learnt to your own company. net, extranet or Internet for your company? Use the company you created in the Introduction or use St Luago Fashion. Identify the sorts of data that your company might need to share. To start you ‘might consider: employee records, product design details, product specification, advertising brochures, price lists and store locations. Discuss whether your company needs to provide an intranet or an extranet or can simply rely on the Internet to securely supply this information. Write a short summary report of your findings for the Board of Directors. Display the report on the classroom noticeboard. e functions of the basic mponents of a network Wired network Wireless network A range of hardware devices and transmission media is used in the creation and. operation of a computer network. These are listed in Table 3.3. Give ONE advantage and ONE disadvantage of a wired network when compared to a wireless network. Table 3.3 Networking devices and transmission media 82Network designers make decisions as to which type of transmission media to use based on a number of factors, These include: * the physical environment, for example location of the rooms in relation to each, other, their size, and the material used to construct the walls the volume of data that will be transmitted and received by the various devices the flexibility and convenience required by users’ devices, for example fixed «desktop computers or mobile devices. Networks are created by combining computing devices (desktop computers, laptops, tablets and smartphones) and peripherals (printers, scanners, network-attached storage) to a central connection point known asa hub. We need to understand all the components used in a network: + Transmission media are the cables that connect everything together ubs, routers and switches make sure that data gets directed to the right computer. Network interface cards and network adapters ensure that computers can receive the data, We cover these in the next sections. Transmission media Twisted pair How many individual wires will _—— you find in a networking twisted pair? ‘Are the school’s computers vA connected to a network via ‘twisted pair cable? Figure 3,9 Twisted pac cables often used in computer networks: a) cable, () cable with connector 83Coaxial cable Coaxial cable consists of a single copper core surrounded by a metal shield to Coaxial cable was used during the 1980s to early 1990s but is hardly ever used in modern networks. Fibre optic cable Infrared Microwaves > Give one similarity and one difference between infrared and microwave as transmission media. 84 Satelite > Figure 3.10 Coal cable Figure 3.11 highperrmance fibre optic cable Fibre optic cables are high-performance and very-high-capacity communication media and so are used extensively for a country’s Internet backbone connecting the country’s main cities and towns. The backbone network is miles and miles of cable that is run either underground or overhead and that connects major conurbations together, Larger organisations are increasingly using fibre optic cable in their own. networks where high-performance networking is required, Physical transmission media are common but we also need to consider non- physical transmission. We have already considered mobile networks, Bluetooth and Wi-Fi wireless; now we will consider infrared, microwaves and satellites as transmission media, Infrared is part of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum at wavelengths that fall between visible light and radio waves at frequencies 300GHz up to 430TH2. In terms of Information Technology, infrared communication works in the same way as Wi-Fi but at a different frequency, An example of infrared transmission is) communication between a desktop and netbook computer where the distance is ‘The requirement for a clear line of sight between devices has limited the popularity of infrared communication. “Microwaves are part of the electromagnetic radiation spectrum at frequencies: [Link] 300GHz, Like infrared, microwave communication works in the same way as Wi-Fi line of sight between the two antennae, Microwave communications can be used to connect remote locations to a network providing there is a clear line of sight: for example, a hilltop weather station may be networked to the valley-bottom: laboratory using microwaves.Hub > a we LG, se eee cane Communication satellites can be included in a computer network when a remote computer system needs to join a network and no other solutions are possible because of distance or location. Many airplane flights offer Wi-Fi connection to their passengers; this can be achieved only through use of satellite communication. Other transmission media such as fibre optic cable offer much better value. Figure 3.12 Saelte communication an be used to neue computes at very erate leatons in a ator Connection devices: hubs, routers, switches In a really simple network connecting a few computers, the computers will all be directly connected together via a hub. A hub is a multiport device that connects many computing devices together. EI es a hub ee Figure 3.13 A near hv with prs or connect lip devies A simple hub works by repeating data received from one of its ports to all other ports. Every computer linked to the hub ‘hears’ everything any of the other computers ‘says’ but ignores anything not meant for thera. This is like a round- table meeting. Participants sit round a table listening to others and asking questions but respond: 1g only when remarks or questions are addressed to them. 85A large organisation will typically have hundreds of computers connected to ney Acronym traffic reaches a roundabout it needs to be sent in the correct direction to reach its destination, Routers and switches send data on a network in the right direction. Router A router is an intelligent network device that connects two networks together. ‘The term ‘Internet router’ refers to the device that home users and small offices ‘use to connect their LAN to the Internet, Its usually a combined hub and router in one device, Acting as a hub it allows all your computing devices to be attached 10 each other, wired or wirelessly. The router is also connected to the Internet, usually via a telephone line, and it joins your loca! network to the Internet. State the difference between a hub and a router, ‘A router is an inteligent network device responsible for forwarding data between different networks, typically between your local network (LAN) and the internet (WAN). It act a8 a gateway, directing data to the appropriate destination by i. f | determining the best path for data y = transmission p _ Figure 3.14 (a) Font view ofa WF router (b rearview of a irelss router showing conection pos MEG EEN poring borne router: hub and router @ © @ Look at a home router, or pictures of home routers. © Identity switch is an intelligent + whore the twisted pair cables will be connected (the router acting as a hub) device used within a single + the antenna which allows wireless devices to join the network (the router actin network (local area network or: \ 9 i as a hub) LAN) to connect devices like computers, printers, and ‘+ where the telephone line connects tothe router {the router joining two networks servers within that network. It together) forwards data frames between * Sketch a router and label each of the above items in your notebook devices on the same network + Identity where you have seen a home router and identify similarities to and by learning the MAC iyanerey "v auidresses of each connected differences from the one sketched. device, * Share your findings with a partner. Switch ® A switch is an intelligent device that routes incoming data directly to the specific output port that will take the data towards its intended destination. ‘Scan to watch an Key Differences: ‘overview of the Internet. Then answer this, 'N.B. MAC Address: This is lke a permanent ID for a device (ike a computer or phone) on your local network. It helps devices identify and talk to each other on the same network. Router connects multiple networks (LAN to WAN, for: question: ‘example), whereas a What isthe role of switches and | switch connects devices _/IP Address: This is ike a home address that tells devices routers on the Internet? within a single network. | where to find each other on the internet or within different networks. Its used to send data between different networks. A rrouter uses IP addresse to determine routing, while | So, the MAC address works for devices talking to each a switch uses MAC other in the same local network, while the IP address helps: 86 addresses to forward data. | find devices across different networks or the internetSwitches and routers are similar devices but operate on a different technical level. For example, switches use MAC (Media Access Control) addresses while routers use IP (Internet Protocol) addresses. Modem b> ‘Modems are now much less common because they offer only slow Internet connection and connect only a single computer to the Internet, Modems are being replaced by more up-to-date technologies, Network interface card D> Figure 3.15 Aneworinteac ads inside the computing device Anetwork adapter is a converter that adapts/extends a USB port in order for it to. networking component. MG ER onstructing a wired AN * Using readily available materials (for example, string for cables, matchbox for a hub) construct a madel of a basic computer network connected using a hub. Network adapter * Display your model in the classroom. 87