All but the most basic of networks require devices to provide
connectivity and functionality Understanding how these networking devices
operate and identifying the functions they perform are essential skills
for any network
8 Port mini Ethernet Hub
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Bridges can also connect networks
that run at different speeds, different topologies, or different protocols. But
they cannot, join an Ethernet segment with a Token Ring segment, because these
use different networking standards. Bridges operate at both the Physical Layer
and the MAC sublayer of the Data Link layer. Bridges read the MAC header of
each frame to determine on which side of the bridge the destination device is
located, the bridge then repeats the transmission to the segment where the
device is located.
Routers Are networking devices used
to extend or segment networks by forwarding packets from one logical network to
another. Routers are most often used in large internetworks that use the TCP/IP
protocol suite and for connecting TCP/IP hosts and local area networks (LANs)
to the Internet using dedicated leased lines.
Brouters are a combination of router
and bridge. This is a special type of equipment used for networks that can be
either bridged or routed, based on the protocols being forwarded. Brouters are
complex, fairly expensive pieces of equipment and as such are rarely used..jpg)
administrator and requirements for a Network+ candidate.This chapter introduces commonly used networking devices,
and, although
it is true that you are not likely to encounter all of the
devices mentioned in
this chapter on the exam, you can be assured of working with
at least some
of them.
Hubs
At the bottom of the networking food chain, so to speak, are
hubs. Hubs are
used in networks that use twisted-pair cabling to connect
devices. Hubs can
also be joined together to create larger networks. Hubs are simple devices
that direct data packets to all devices connected to the hub,
regardless of
whether the data package is destined for the device. This
makes them inefficient
devices and can create a performance bottleneck on busy
networks.
In its most basic form, a hub does nothing except provide a
pathway for the
electrical signals to travel along. Such a device is called a
passive hub. Far
more common nowadays is an active hub,
which, as well as providing a path
for the data signals, regenerates the signal before it
forwards it to all of the
connected devices. A hub does not perform any processing on
the data that
it forwards, nor does it perform any error checking.
Hubs come in a variety of shapes and sizes. Small hubs with
five or eight connection
ports are commonly referred to as workgroup hubs. Others can
accommodate larger numbers of devices (normally up to 32).
These are
referred to as high-density devices. Because hubs don’t perform any processing,
they do little except enable communication between connected
devices. For
today’s high-demand network applications, something with a
little more
intelligence is required. That’s where switches come in.
Networks using a Star topology
require a central point for the devices to connect. Originally this device was
called a concentrator since it consolidated the cable runs from all network
devices. The basic form of concentrator is the hub.
As shown in Figure; the hub is a
hardware device that contains multiple, independent ports that match the cable
type of the network. Most common hubs interconnect Category 3 or 5 twisted-pair
cable with RJ-45 ends, although Coax BNC and Fiber Optic BNC hubs also exist.
The hub is considered the least common denominator in device concentrators.
Hubs offer an inexpensive option for transporting data between devices, but
hubs don't offer any form of intelligence. Hubs can be active or passive.
An active hub strengthens and
regenerates the incoming signals before sending the data on to its destination.
Passive hubs do nothing with the signal.
Ethernet Hubs
An Ethernet hub is also called a
multiport repeater. A repeater is a device that amplifies a signal as it passes
through it, to counteract the effects of attenuation. If, for example, you have
a thin Ethernet network with a cable segment longer than the prescribed maximum
of 185 meters, you can install a repeater at some point in the segment to
strengthen the signals and increase the maximum segment length. This type of
repeater only has two BNC connectors, and is rarely seen these days.
8 Port mini Ethernet Hub
The hubs used on UTP Ethernet
networks are repeaters as well, but they can have many RJ45 ports instead of
just two BNC connectors. When data enters the hub through any of its ports, the
hub amplifies the signal and transmits it out through all of the other ports.
This enables a star network to have a shared medium, even though each computer
has its own separate cable. The hub relays every packet transmitted by any
computer on the network to all of the other computers, and also amplifies the
signals.
The maximum segment length for a UTP
cable on an Ethernet network is 100 meters. A segment is defined as the
distance between two communicating computers. However, because the hub also
functions as a repeater, each of the cables connecting a computer to a hub port
can be up to 100 meters long, allowing a segment length of up to 200 meters
when one hub is inserted in the network.
Multistation Access Unit
A Multistation Access Unit (MAU) is a special type of hub used for token ring networks. The word "hub" is used most often in relation to Ethernet networks, and MAU
only refers to token ring networks. On the outside, the MAU looks like a hub.
It connects to multiple network devices, each with a separate cable.
Unlike a hub that
uses a logical bus topology over a physical star, the MAU uses a logical ring
topology over a physical star.
When the MAU detects a problem with a
connection, the ring will beacon. Because it uses a physical star topology, the
MAU can easily detect which port the problem exists on and close the port, or
"wrap" it. The MAU does actively regenerate signals as it transmits
data around the ring.
Switches
Switches are a special type of hub
that offers an additional layer of intelligence to basic, physical-layer
repeater hubs. A switch must be able to read the MAC address of each frame it
receives. This information allows switches to repeat incoming data frames only
to the computer or computers to which a frame is addressed. This speeds up the
network and reduces congestion.
Switches operate at
both the physical layer and the data link layer of the OSI Model.
Bridges
A bridge is used to join two
network segments together, it allows computers on either segment to access
resources on the other. They can also be used to divide large networks into
smaller segments. Bridges have all the features of repeaters, but can have more
nodes, and since the network is divided, there is fewer computers competing for
resources on each segment thus improving network performance.
Bridges can also connect networks
that run at different speeds, different topologies, or different protocols. But
they cannot, join an Ethernet segment with a Token Ring segment, because these
use different networking standards. Bridges operate at both the Physical Layer
and the MAC sublayer of the Data Link layer. Bridges read the MAC header of
each frame to determine on which side of the bridge the destination device is
located, the bridge then repeats the transmission to the segment where the
device is located.Routers
Routers Are networking devices used
to extend or segment networks by forwarding packets from one logical network to
another. Routers are most often used in large internetworks that use the TCP/IP
protocol suite and for connecting TCP/IP hosts and local area networks (LANs)
to the Internet using dedicated leased lines.
Routers work at the network layer
(layer 3) of the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) reference model for
networking to move packets between networks using their logical addresses
(which, in the case of TCP/IP, are the IP addresses of destination hosts on the
network). Because routers operate at a higher OSI level than bridges do, they
have better packet-routing and filtering capabilities and greater processing
power, which results in routers costing more than bridges.
Routing tables
Routers contain internal tables of
information called routing tables that keep track of all known network
addresses and possible paths throughout the internetwork, along with cost of
reaching each network. Routers route packets based on the available paths and
their costs, thus taking advantage of redundant paths that can exist in a mesh
topology network.
Because routers use destination
network addresses of packets, they work only if the configured network protocol
is a routable protocol such as TCP/IP or IPX/SPX. This is different from
bridges, which are protocol independent. The routing tables are the heart of a
router; without them, there's no way for the router to know where to send the
packets it receives.
Unlike bridges and switches, routers
cannot compile routing tables from the information in the data packets they
process. This is because the routing table contains more detailed information
than is found in a data packet, and also because the router needs the
information in the table to process the first packets it receives after being
activated. A router can't forward a packet to all possible destinations in the
way that a bridge can.
·
Static routers: These must have
their routing tables configured manually with all network addresses and paths
in the internetwork.
·
Dynamic routers: These automatically
create their routing tables by listening to network traffic.
·
Routing tables are the means by which a router selects the fastest or nearest
path to the next "hop" on the way to a data packet's final
destination. This process is done through the use of routing metrics.
·
Routing metrics which are the means of determining how much distance or time a
packet will require to reach the final destination. Routing metrics are
provided in different forms.
·
hop is simply a router that the packet must travel through.
·
Ticks measure the time it takes to traverse a link. Each tick is 1/18
of a second. When the router selects a route based on tick and hop metrics, it
chooses the one with the lowest number of ticks first.
You can use routers, to segment a
large network, and to connect local area segments to a single network backbone
that uses a different physical layer and data link layer standard. They can
also be used to connect LAN's to a WAN's.
Brouters
Brouters are a combination of router
and bridge. This is a special type of equipment used for networks that can be
either bridged or routed, based on the protocols being forwarded. Brouters are
complex, fairly expensive pieces of equipment and as such are rarely used.
A Brouter transmits two types of
traffic at the exact same time: bridged traffic and routed traffic. For bridged
traffic, the Brouter handles the traffic the same way a bridge or switch would,
forwarding data based on the physical address of the packet. This makes the
bridged traffic fairly fast, but slower than if it were sent directly through a
bridge because the Brouter has to determine whether the data packet should be
bridged or routed.
Gateways
A gateway is a device used to connect
networks using different protocols. Gateways operate at the network layer of
the OSI model. In order to communicate with a host on another network, an IP
host must be configured with a route to the destination network. If a
configuration route is not found, the host uses the gateway (default IP router)
to transmit the traffic to the destination host. The default t gateway is where
the IP sends packets that are destined for remote networks. If no default gateway
is specified, communication is limited to the local network. Gateways receive
data from a network using one type of protocol stack, removes that protocol
stack and repackages it with the protocol stack that the other network can use.
Examples
·
E-mail gateways-for example, a
gateway that receives Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) e-mail, translates
it into a standard X.400 format, and forwards it to its destination
·
Gateway Service for NetWare (GSNW),
which enables a machine running Microsoft Windows NT Server or Windows Server
to be a gateway for Windows clients so that they can access file and print
resources on a NetWare server
·
Gateways between a Systems Network
Architecture (SNA) host and computers on a TCP/IP network, such as the one
provided by Microsoft SNA Server
·
A packet assembler/disassembler (PAD)
that provides connectivity between a local area network (LAN) and an X.25
packet-switching network
CSU / DSU (Channel Service Unit / Data Service Unit)
A CSU/DSU is a device that
combines the functionality of a channel service unit (CSU) and a data service
unit (DSU). These devices are used to connect a LAN to a WAN, and they take
care of all the translation required to convert a data stream between these two
methods of communication.
A DSU provides all the
handshaking and error correction required to maintain a connection across a
wide area link, similar to a modem. The DSU will accept a serial data stream
from a device on the LAN and translate this into a useable data stream for the
digital WAN network. It will also take care of converting any inbound data streams
from the WAN back to a serial communication.
A CSU is similar to a DSU
except it does not have the ability to provide handshaking or error correction.
It is strictly an interface between the LAN and the WAN and relies on some
other device to provide handshaking and error correction.
NICs (Network Interface Card)
Network Interface Card, or NIC is a
hardware card installed in a computer so it can communicate on a network. The
network adapter provides one or more ports for the network cable to connect to,
and it transmits and receives data onto the network cable.
Wireless Lan card
Every networked computer must also
have a network adapter driver, which controls the network adapter. Each network
adapter driver is configured to run with a certain type of network adapter.
Network card
Network Interface
Adapter Functions
Network interface adapters perform a variety of functions that are crucial to getting data to and from the computer over the network.
Network interface adapters perform a variety of functions that are crucial to getting data to and from the computer over the network.
These functions are as follows:
Data encapsulation
The network interface adapter and its driver are responsible for building the frame around the data generated by the network layer protocol, in preparation for transmission. The network interface adapter also reads the contents of incoming frames and passes the data to the appropriate network layer protocol.
The network interface adapter and its driver are responsible for building the frame around the data generated by the network layer protocol, in preparation for transmission. The network interface adapter also reads the contents of incoming frames and passes the data to the appropriate network layer protocol.
Signal encoding and
decoding
The network interface adapter implements the physical layer encoding scheme that converts the binary data generated by the network layer-now encapsulated in the frame-into electrical voltages, light pulses, or whatever other signal type the network medium uses, and converts received signals to binary data for use by the network layer.
The network interface adapter implements the physical layer encoding scheme that converts the binary data generated by the network layer-now encapsulated in the frame-into electrical voltages, light pulses, or whatever other signal type the network medium uses, and converts received signals to binary data for use by the network layer.
transmission and
reception
The primary function of the network interface adapter is to generate and transmit signals of the appropriate type over the network and to receive incoming signals. The nature of the signals depends on the network medium and the data-link layer protocol. On a typical LAN, every computer receives all of the packets transmitted over the network, and the network interface adapter examines the destination address in each packet, to see if it is intended for that computer. If so, the network interface adapter passes the packet to the computer for processing by the next layer in the protocol stack; if not, the network interface adapter discards the packet.
The primary function of the network interface adapter is to generate and transmit signals of the appropriate type over the network and to receive incoming signals. The nature of the signals depends on the network medium and the data-link layer protocol. On a typical LAN, every computer receives all of the packets transmitted over the network, and the network interface adapter examines the destination address in each packet, to see if it is intended for that computer. If so, the network interface adapter passes the packet to the computer for processing by the next layer in the protocol stack; if not, the network interface adapter discards the packet.
Data buffering
Network interface adapters transmit and receive data one frame at a time, so they have built-in buffers that enable them to store data arriving either from the computer or from the network until a frame is complete and ready for processing.
Network interface adapters transmit and receive data one frame at a time, so they have built-in buffers that enable them to store data arriving either from the computer or from the network until a frame is complete and ready for processing.
Serial/parallel
conversion
The communication between the computer and the network interface adapter runs in parallel, that is, either 16 or 32 bits at a time, depending on the bus the adapter uses. Network communications, however, are serial (running one bit at a time), so the network interface adapter is responsible for performing the conversion between the two types of transmissions.
The communication between the computer and the network interface adapter runs in parallel, that is, either 16 or 32 bits at a time, depending on the bus the adapter uses. Network communications, however, are serial (running one bit at a time), so the network interface adapter is responsible for performing the conversion between the two types of transmissions.
Media access
control
The network interface adapter also implements the MAC mechanism that the data-link layer protocol uses to regulate access to the network medium. The nature of the MAC mechanism depends on the protocol used.
The network interface adapter also implements the MAC mechanism that the data-link layer protocol uses to regulate access to the network medium. The nature of the MAC mechanism depends on the protocol used.
Network protocols
A networked computer must also have
one or more protocol drivers (sometimes called a transport protocol or just a
protocol). The protocol driver works between the upper-level network software
and the network adapter to package data to be sent on the network.
In most cases, for two computers to
communicate on a network, they must use identical protocols. Sometimes, a
computer is configured to use multiple protocols. In this case, two computers
need only one protocol in common to communicate. For example, a computer
running File and Printer Sharing for Microsoft Networks that uses both NetBEUI
and TCP/IP can communicate with computers using only NetBEUI or TCP/IP.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) adapters
Integrated Services Digital Network
adapters can be used to send voice, data, audio, or video over standard
telephone cabling. ISDN adapters must be connected directly to a digital
telephone network. ISDN adapters are not actually modems, since they neither
modulate nor demodulate the digital ISDN signal.
Like standard modems, ISDN adapters
are available both as internal devices that connect directly to a computer's
expansion bus and as external devices that connect to one of a computer's
serial or parallel ports. ISDN can provide data throughput rates from 56 Kbps
to 1.544 Mbps (using a T1 carrier service).
ISDN hardware requires a NT (network
termination) device, which converts network data signals into the signaling
protocols used by ISDN. Some times, the NT interface is included, or
integrated, with ISDN adapters and ISDN-compatible routers. In other cases, an
NT device separate from the adapter or router must be implemented. ISDN works
at the physical, data link, network, and transport layers of the OSI Model.
WAPs (Wireless Access Point)
A wireless network adapter card with
a transceiver sometimes called an access point, broadcasts and receives signals
to and from the surrounding computers and passes back and forth between the
wireless computers and the cabled network.
Access points act as wireless hubs to
link multiple wireless NICs into a single subnet. Access points also have at
least one fixed Ethernet port to allow the wireless network to be bridged to a
traditional wired Ethernet network.
Modems
A modem is a device that makes it
possible for computers to communicate over telephone lines. The word modem
comes from Modulate and Demodulate. Because standard telephone lines use analog
signals, and computers digital signals, a sending modem must modulate its
digital signals into analog signals. The computers modem on the receiving end
must then demodulate the analog signals into digital signals.
Modems can be external, connected to
the computers serial port by an RS-232 cable or internal in one of the
computers expansion slots. Modems connect to the phone line using standard
telephone RJ-11 connectors.
Transceivers (media converters)
Transceiver short for
transmitter-receiver, a device that both transmits and receives analog or
digital signals. The term is used most frequently to describe the component in
local-area networks (LANs) that actually applies signals onto the network wire and
detects signals passing through the wire. For many LANs, the transceiver is
built into the network interface card (NIC). Some types of networks, however,
require an external transceiver.
In Ethernet networks, a transceiver
is also called a Medium Access Unit (MAU). Media converters interconnect
different cable types twisted pair, fiber, and Thin or thick coax, within an
existing network. They are often used to connect newer 100-Mbps, Gigabit
Ethernet, or ATM equipment to existing networks, which are generally 10BASE-T,
100BASE-T, or a mixture of both. They can also be used in pairs to insert a
fiber segment into copper networks to increase cabling distances and enhance
immunity to electromagnetic interference (EMI).
Firewalls
In computing, a firewall is a piece
of hardware and/or software which functions in a networked environment to
prevent some communications forbidden by the security policy, analogous to the
function of firewalls in building construction.\
A firewall has the basic task of
controlling traffic between different zones of trust. Typical zones of trust
include the Internet (a zone with no trust) and an internal network (a zone
with high trust). The ultimate goal is to provide controlled connectivity
between zones of differing trust levels through the enforcement of a security
policy and connectivity model based on the least privilege principle.
There are three
basic types of firewalls depending on:
·
whether the communication is being
done between a single node and the network, or between two or more networks
·
whether the communication is
intercepted at the network layer, or at the application layer
·
whether the communication state is
being tracked at the firewall or not
With regard to the
scope of filtered communication these firewalls are exist:
·
Personal firewalls, a software
application which normally filters traffic entering or leaving a single
computer through the Internet.
·
Network firewalls, normally running
on a dedicated network device or computer positioned on the boundary of two or
more networks or DMZs (demilitarized zones). Such a firewall filters all
traffic entering or leaving the connected networks.
In reference to the
layers where the traffic can be intercepted, three main categories of firewalls
exist:
·
network layer firewalls An example
would be iptables.
·
application layer firewalls An
example would be TCP Wrapper.
·
application firewalls An example
would be restricting ftp services through /etc/ftpaccess file
These network-layer and
application-layer types of firewall may overlap, even though the personal
firewall does not serve a network; indeed, single systems have implemented both
together.
There's also the notion of
application firewalls which are sometimes used during wide area network (WAN)
networking on the world-wide web and govern the system software. An extended
description would place them lower than application layer firewalls, indeed at
the Operating System layer, and could alternately be called operating system
firewalls.
Lastly, depending
on whether the firewalls track packet states, two additional categories of
firewalls exist:
·
stateful firewalls
·
stateless firewalls
Network layer firewalls
Network layer firewalls operate at a
(relatively low) level of the TCP/IP protocol stack as IP-packet filters, not
allowing packets to pass through the firewall unless they match the rules. The
firewall administrator may define the rules; or default built-in rules may
apply (as in some inflexible firewall systems).
A more permissive setup could allow
any packet to pass the filter as long as it does not match one or more
"negative-rules", or "deny rules". Today network firewalls
are built into most computer operating system and network appliances.
Modern firewalls can filter traffic
based on many packet attributes like source IP address, source port,
destination IP address or port, destination service like WWW or FTP. They can
filter based on protocols, TTL values, netblock of originator, domain name of
the source, and many other attributes.
Application-layer firewalls
Application-layer firewalls work on
the application level of the TCP/IP stack (i.e., all browser traffic, or all
telnet or ftp traffic), and may intercept all packets traveling to or from an
application. They block other packets (usually dropping them without
acknowledgement to the sender). In principle, application firewalls can prevent
all unwanted outside traffic from reaching protected machines.
By inspecting all packets for
improper content, firewalls can even prevent the spread of the likes of
viruses. In practice, however, this becomes so complex and so difficult to
attempt (given the variety of applications and the diversity of content each
may allow in its packet traffic) that comprehensive firewall design does not
generally attempt this approach.
Proxies
A proxy device (running either on
dedicated hardware or as software on a general-purpose machine) may act as a
firewall by responding to input packets (connection requests, for example) in
the manner of an application, whilst blocking other packets.
Proxies make tampering with an
internal system from the external network more difficult, and misuse of one
internal system would not necessarily cause a security breach exploitable from
outside the firewall (as long as the application proxy remains intact and
properly configured). Conversely, intruders may hijack a publicly-reachable
system and use it as a proxy for their own purposes; the proxy then masquerades
as that system to other internal machines. While use of internal address spaces
enhances security, crackers may still employ methods such as IP spoofing to
attempt to pass packets to a target network.
