Networking Devices

1 Modes of Communication

Objectives
Modes of Communication
Modes of Communication
Unicast

• Communication where information is sent from one

point to another point

• There is just one sender and one receiver

• Sender knows the location of receiver before the

information is sent.

• Most widely used form of data transmission on

computer Networks.
Modes of Communication
Broadcast

• Communication where a piece of information is

sent from one point to all other points.

• In this case there is just one sender, but the

information is sent to all connected receivers.

• Broadcast is supported on LANs and is used to send

information to multiple devices at once.
Modes of Communication
Multicast

• Communication where a piece of information is sent

from one or more points to a set of other points.

• In this case there is may be one or more senders, and

the information is distributed to a set of receivers

• Multicasting is the networking technique of delivering

the same packet simultaneously to a group of clients.

• In IP communication, a specific multicast group is used

to send multicast traffic.
Networking Devices
Repeater
• A layer 1 device that operates in the physical layer.

• Deals with bits or electrical signals.

• Its job is to regenerate the signal over the same network

before the signal becomes too weak or corrupted.

• They do not amplify the signal.

• When the signal becomes weak, they copy the signal bit by
bit and regenerate it at the original strength.
Hub
• A layer 1 device that operates in the physical layer.

• Deals with bits or electrical signals.

• Used to connect multiple devices to the same network.

• Not an intelligent device. Forwards the incoming

messages to other devices without checking for errors or
processing

• When a data packet arrives a port in the hub, it broadcasts

it to all the other ports .
Hub
Advantages of using a Hub:
• It is simple to implement.
• The implementation cost is low.
• It does not require any special system
administration configuration. We can just plug
and play it.
Disadvantages of using a Hub:
• It can connect devices of the same network
only.
• It uses a half-duplex mode of communication.
• It is less secure, as it broadcasts the data
packets.
• It can be used in a limited network size only.
Bridge
• A layer 2 device that operates in the physical and the data-link layer.

• Interprets the data in the form of frames.

• In Physical layer, acts like a repeater and in data-link layer, checks

the MAC address of the data frames for transmission.

• Used to connect multiple devices to the same network and segment

the network.

• Not an intelligent device. Forwards the incoming messages to other

devices without checking for errors or processing

• When a data packet arrives a port in the hub, it broadcasts it to all

the other ports .
Bridge
Advantages of using a Bridge: Disadvantages of using a Bridge:

• It is not so complex to implement. • It can connect devices of the same network

only.
• The implementation cost is medium.
• There is a delay in forwarding the frames due
• It does not require any special system
to error checking.
administration configuration. We can just plug
and play it. • There is a need to maintain an Address table.

• Improves security by limiting the scope of

data frames.

• It has the filtering capability.

• It can be used in a large network.

Switch
• A layer 2 device that operates in the physical and the data-
link layer.

• Interprets the data in the form of frames.

• Acts as a multiport bridge with greater efficiency.

• An intelligent device with filtering capabilities. Will discard

the faulty frames.

• Switch maintains tables with MAC addresses of all devices

connected to it.

• Reduces unnecessary traffic in the network.

Switch
Advantages of using a Switch: Disadvantages of using a Switch:

• The implementation cost is medium. • It can connect devices of the same network only.

• Improves security by limiting the scope of data • There is a delay in forwarding the frames due to
frames. error checking.

• It has the filtering capability. • There is a need to maintain a Switch table.

• It can be used in a large network.

• It uses full-duplex mode of communication

Router
• A Layer 3 Network connecting device. i.e. works on
the physical, data-link and network layers.

• Interprets the data in the form of data packets.

• Used to connect devices of different networks. Or

the router Routes traffic between the networks.

• Acts as the Gateway of a network.

• Each interface has an IP address assigned.

• Maintains a routing table using routing algorithms.

Router
Advantages of using a Router: Disadvantages of using a Router:

• It can connect devices and provides routing • It is very complex to implement.

facilities over different networks implementing the
• The implementation cost is quite high.
same protocol and structure.
• There is a need to maintain a Routing table.
• Improves security by limiting the scope of data
packets. • There is a delay in forwarding the packets due to
error checking.
• It has the filtering capability.
• It requires a special system administration
• It can be used in a large network.
configuration.
• It uses full-duplex mode of communication
Modem
• Modem stands for Modulator and Demodulator.

• It is a device that modulates signals to encode digital

information for transmission and demodulates signals to
decode the transmitted information.

• A modem transmits data in bits per second (bps).

• It is necessary for communication between digital devices

and Analog devices.

• It converts the digital signal to Analog and vice versa to

communicate between devices.

• It encodes the signal and decodes at the other end and

vice versa between the devices.
Modem
Modem