Computer Network Components

When installing or setting up a new network, a few components/devices are essential in making the network function and usable. These basic components are ‘network components’. Not all networks require all components, the requirements vary from network to network.
The following are some of the most important network components:

1. Hardware Components:

a. Network Interface Cards:

• Also known as NIC.
• Connects one computer to another computer over a network.
• The unique MAC address of the device is coded into the NIC.
• Provides high data transfer speeds varying from 1,000 to 10,000 MB/s.

Types of NICs:

i. Wired NIC:
Part of the motherboard connects to networks using wired media like connectors and cables.

ii. Wireless NIC:
Contains the hardware to connect to a network wirelessly.

Factors to be considered when choosing a NIC:

• • Data preparation
  • Data transmission and control
  • Configuration
  • Drivers
  • Compatibility
  • Performance

b. Hub:

• A hub is a piece of hardware that splits a network connection across many devices.
• In case of any request sent by any computer over the network, the request is first sent to the hub, after which it is distributed to every
• computer in the network.
• Nowadays, the hub has been replaced by more advanced devices such as routers.

Types of hubs:

i. Active Hub:

Active Hubs employ electronics to enhance and clean up signals before broadcasting them to additional ports. These are mostly employed to increase the maximum distance between nodes. It functions as both a wiring centre and a repeater.

ii. Passive Hub:

Passive Hubs are hubs that only link to Active Hubs. These are merely used to connect all ports electrically and are often unpowered. These hubs are less expensive than passive hubs. Passive hubs do not either amplify or renew the signal.

iii. Intelligent Hub:

Intelligent hubs outperform both active and passive hubs. These are more frequently used and in demand now than active and passive hubs.  These hubs are mostly used to connect different devices. It allows for signal amplification and regeneration at any point in the incoming signal path. The intelligent hub maintains the network as well as the selection path. The intelligent hub can handle both passive and active duties.

c. Router:

• It is a Network Layer device.
• It receives and forwards packets from network to network.
• Router is responsible for routing network packets by determining the best route possible, by using its own routing table.

Types of Routers:

i. Core Routers:
Core Routers give the most bandwidth, allowing connections to other routers or switches. Large companies utilise core routers.

ii. Edge Routers:
An edge router is sometimes known as a Gateway router or just a gateway. The gateway is the network’s most remote point of contact with other networks, including the Internet. These routers are primarily used to maximise bandwidth and are built to link to other routers in order to deliver data to end users.

iii. B-routers:
B-router is an abbreviation for bridging routing device. These are unique routers that also perform bridge functions. They act as both a bridge and a router; like a bridge, they help to transmit data across networks, and like a router, they route data within a network’s devices.

iv. Broadband Routers:
It is a networking device that primarily allows end-users to connect to broadband Internet through an Internet service provider (ISP)

v. Distribution Routers:
These routers primarily receive data from the edge router (or gateway) through a wired connection and then transmit it to end-users via Wi-Fi.

vi. Wireless Routers:
These routers perform both the functions of edge routers and distribution routers. They primarily offer a WiFi connection to WiFi devices such as laptops and smartphones. These routers also support traditional Ethernet routing.

Advantages of Routers:

• Security: Information transferred to the network will traverse the whole cable, but only the specific device that has been addressed will be able to read the data.
• Reliability: If the server fails, the network fails, but no other networks serviced by the router are affected.
• Performance: The router improves the network’s overall performance. Assume there are 24 workstations on a network, each of which generates the same amount of traffic. This raises the network’s traffic strain. The router divides a single network into two networks of 12 workstations each, cutting traffic load in half.
• Network Range: The router also acts as a range extender, thereby increasing the range of the network.

d. Switch:

• This device routes information to the relevant device on a network using the device’s physical address.
• More advanced than a hub, because it does not send the message to every computer in the network, only to the one the message is meant for.
• Thus, it is faster because it transfers data directly between sender and receiver.

Types of Switches:

i. Managed Switch:

These are costly switches that are mostly utilised in businesses with big and complicated networks. The Simple Network Management Protocol sets up managed switches (SNMP). These switches give a high level of security, comprehensive network administration, and are consequently utilised in large businesses despite their high cost since they provide great scalability and flexibility.

ii. Unmanaged Switch:

These are low-cost switches that are mostly used in home networks and small enterprises. The unmanaged switch does not require configuration. Unmanaged switches may be quickly set up by just connecting them into the network; once plugged in, they begin working immediately.

iii. PoE Switch:

PoE switches are Power over Ethernet switches. With the aid of PoE technology, these switches integrate data and power transmission over the same wire, and devices connected to this switch may receive both energy and data over the same line. As a result, PoE switches provide greater flexibility.

iv. LAN Switch:

A LAN switch, also known as a Local Area Network switch, is primarily used to link devices in an organization’s internal local area network. These are beneficial in terms of decreasing network congestion. With these switches, bandwidth is distributed in such a way that no data packets in the network overlap.

e. Modem:

• Short for modulator/demodulator.
• Functions as a way to connect to the internet over a telephone line. The digital data is converted into an analog signal before it can be transmitted over the telephone line.

Types of Modem:

i. External:

A cable situated outside the computer connects it to the computer’s serial port. A second cable links the modem to the phone line.

ii. Internal:

This method consists of a plug-in circuit board that is housed within the device. A telephone cable connects this modem to the telephone line.

iii. Wireless:

It does not require any wire, as the name implies. It transmits and receives signals over the air.

f. Cables:

• Network cables serve as a physical communication route between multiple computers and network components. They let computers communicate, connect, and transmit data and information.
• The most used cables for guided transmission of signals:
  • Coaxial Cable
  • Twisted Pair Cable
  • Fibre-Optic Cable.

g. Servers:

• Manage the resources of the network.
• Responsible for serving all the requests made by the clients on the network.

h. Clients:

• Clients make requests to servers in order to receive the data that they need.

i. Peers:

• These machines make requests as well as serve requests for other clients.

j. Transmission Media:

• A transmission medium primarily offers a physical channel for information to be transmitted in bit form over a LAN.
• In the realm of data communication, it is therefore a physical path between a transmitter and a receiver.
• Signals can be transmitted via copper wire, fibre optics, atmosphere, water, and vacuum.
• Two types of transmission media exist: wired and wireless.

k. Repeater:

• A signal is attenuated in any network owing to the transmission medium or the limits of transmitting equipment. This limits the coverage area of LANs and cellular networks.
• Repeaters are deployed at regular intervals to address the issue of attenuation.
• Repeaters merely amplify or regenerate incoming signals before retransmitting them. They are networking devices that operate at the OSI Model’s physical layer.
• They aid in the expansion of network coverage and serve as Signal Boosters.

Types of Repeaters:

i. Analog:
Amplifies analog signals.

ii. Digital:
Amplifies digital signals.

iii. Wired:
Used in wired networks.

iv. Wireless:
Used in wireless networks.

v. Local:
Connects segments of local networks across small distances.

vi. Remote:
Connects local networks across larger distances.

l. Bridge:

• Different LANs in a network can be linked to build a bigger LAN. This kind of network aggregation is known as network bridging. The bridge links many LANs so that they seem to be a single network.
• Thus, a bridge links two or more separate LANs that use the same protocol and allows devices to communicate with one another.
• A network bridge divides a network into logical parts in order to decrease collisions between data packets delivered over the network. This leads to an increase in network performance.

Types of Bridges:

i. Local Bridge:

ii. Ordinary bridge.

iii. Remote Bridge:

These are mostly used to connect networks that are geographically apart from one another. In most cases, a Wide Area Network is supplied between two bridges.

m. Gateways:

• A Gateway in a network is a bridge between two systems that employ different communication protocols, data formats, or architectures. As a result, they perform a transitional function.
• They aid in the conversion of one protocol type to another. A gateway can be used to connect LANs and WANs (wide Area networks).
• A gateway is a node that serves as an entry point for other nodes in the network. It is also in charge of enabling network traffic flow.
• It communicates via more than one protocol, therefore its operations are far more sophisticated than those of a switch or router.

n. RAID Card:

• RAID (Redundant Array of Independent Disks) is a hardware or software solution that virtualizes physical storage devices to increase speed and data redundancy.
• A RAID card manages a computer’s disk drives or solid-state drives (SSDs). This allows the disk devices to collaborate to increase performance and minimise redundancy.
• RAID can be either hardware or software.

o. Hostname:

• A hostname (or computer name) is the name given to a specific network device. This aids in the identification of devices on the LAN.
• Furthermore, machines may be located by others on the network via hostnames, allowing data interchange inside a network. On the internet, hostnames are utilized, but only as part of a fully qualified domain name.

p. IP Address:

• Our computer’s IP (internet Protocol) address is the address it has on a network. It is linked to a particular device or computer network.
• It aids in linking our computer to other devices on our network as well as devices all over the world via the internet.

q. DNS Server:

• DNS (Domain Name Service) is similar to a phone directory. Each internet-connected device has its own IP address (in the form of digits or hexadecimals, so as to enable other devices to find a specific device on the internet).
• Humans find it difficult and cumbersome to memorise IP addresses.
• As a result, people visit webpages on the internet via DNS. DNS servers convert domain names to IP addresses so that browsers may access internet resources.

r. MAC Address:

• The MAC (Media Access Control) address is a hardware identification number (48-bit serial number) that uniquely identifies each network device.
• It is built into every network card, including the NIC and Wi-Fi card. It is unchangeable.

s. Port Address:

• A port in networking is a programmed docking point via which data travels from a program to a computer through the internet.

t. Network Protocols:

• Various devices are linked in a network. A defined set of rules is necessary to permit data transfer and communication amongst devices in the same network.
• These defined regulations are network protocols.
• Network protocols allow devices in a network to communicate with one another despite differences (such as internal operations, design, or structure).

2. Software Components:

a. Protocol Suite:

• The set of rules or a structure followed while setting up a network. There are two types of protocol suites: TCP/IP and OSI.

b. Networking OS:

• This is the operating system installed on the server machine of the network. It is responsible for handling everything from the database, to file sharing, operating printers etc.
• The primary goal of NOS is to allow file sharing and hardware access, such as printer access, across several computers on a network, often a LAN.
• NOS on a server has several advantages, including stability, improved security management, simple and integrated system upgrades to new hardware and technologies, and so on.

Summary

In this article, we take a look at the different components and devices, and the involvement of these devices in setting up a computer network, and also the different types of each device such as routers, modems, bridges etc. We also take a look at the software components of a network such as the Protocol Suite and the Networking OS.