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BCS CNT Networking Lesson 2 : D E V I C E S (part 1)

HUB

Hub is a network hardware device for connecting multiple devices in a network together. It has
multiple input/output (I/O) ports. When a packet arrives at one port, it is copied to all the other ports so
that all devices of the LAN can see all packets. A hub cannot direct traffic to a specific device.

NETWORK SWITCH

A network switch connects devices together on a computer network and enables a given device to
communicate with another. A network switch forwards data only to the intended recipient rather than
broadcasting the same data to everyone. Multiple data cables are plugged into a switch to enable
communication between different devices. Each networked device connected to a switch can be
identified using a MAC address.
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MAC Address

Media Access Control address (MAC address) is a unique identifier assigned to the
Network Interface Card for communications in a LAN. It is a hardware level address
assigned by the NIC manufacturer which cannot be changed.

IP addresses issued to devices on the Internet are software created addresses (i.e. logical
addresses). They can be changed. MAC addresses cannot be changed (i.e. physical
addresses).

ROUTER

A router is a device that forwards data packets along networks. Routers perform the "traffic directing"
functions on the Internet. A data packet is typically forwarded from one router to another through the
networks that makes up the Internet until it reaches its destination node.

A router is connected to at least two networks, commonly a LAN and Internet. There are wired routers
used LAN’s (Ethernet) and wireless routers used in Wi-Fi networks.

Wired Ethernet Router Wireless Router used in WiFi

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FIREWALL

A firewall is a device that protects a network from varous external threats such as hackers and
malware. A firewall sits between the internal LAN and the outside Internet and controls the incoming
and outgoing network traffic based on security rules. It performs packet filtering to block suspicious
packets which may contain malware and other harmful information.

Advanced enterprise firewalls are separate hardware devices (e.g. Cisco PIX) while simple firewalls can
be implemented on software.

Additional Note:

PACKET SWITCHING

Packet switching is a method of data communication in which messages are broken down into
fixed size units called packets and transmitted along the network. Each packet contains
addressing information (senders IP address, reciever’s IP address) , message, packet sequence
number and error control information. Different packets can take different routes depending
on the line availability.