Networking

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Hub

A hub is the most simple central connection device. It is simply a device that provides a
connection between the ports that allows the computers plugged into it to talk to one another.
Hubs typically provide from 4 to 24 connections, allowing anything from 2 to 24 devices to
communicate with one another.

Function and responsibility

Hubs can only route network traffic using the same protocol as the hub is programmed to use. 

How does hub work?

Node 1 is transmitting some data to Node 6 but all nodes are receiving the data as well. This
data will be rejected by the rest of the nodes once they figure out it's not for them.

This is accomplished by the node's network card reading the destination MAC address of the
frame (data) it receives, it examines it and sees that it doesn't match with it's own and therefor
discards the frame. Please see the Datalink layer in the OSI section for more information on
MAC addresses.

Most hubs these days also have a special port which can function as a normal port or as an
uplink port. An uplink port allows you to connect another hub to the existing one, increasing
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the amount of ports which will be available to you. This is a cheap solution when you need to
get a few more computers networked and it works quite well up to a point.

Advantage or Disadvantage

Advantage:
Hub is less expensive product.

Diadvantages:
 It will broadcast to all the ports
 It runs half duplex
 If 10 Ports in a hub it will share bandwidth of 100 MbPs.
 So each port share 10 Mbp

Bridge

 Bridges are the networking devices that divided up the network into different
segments to reduce the amount of traffic on each network. 
 A bridge blocks and forwards the data packets based on their MAC addressees. 
 By blocking the unnecessary traffic to enter the other part of the network segments,
it reduces the amount of traffic and the other issues such network congestions and
the bottleneck. 

Function on responsibility

 Bridges inspect incoming traffic and decide whether to forward or discard it.
 Ethernet bridge, for example, inspects each incoming Ethernet frame including the
source and destination MAC addresses, and sometimes the frame size in making
individual forwarding decisions.
 Traditional bridges, though, support one network boundary, whereas switches usually
offer four or more hardware ports. Switches are sometimes called multi-port bridges
for this reason.
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How the bridge work

The diagram show:

1. 6 machines have been connected using two hubs.

2. Imagine that Node 1 wants to send some data to Node 2.

3. Node 1 will send its frames destined for Node 2 onto the network. Because hubs are
dumb devices, the first hub will see the frames from Node 1, and merrily forward
these frames onto all of its ports.

4. Hence the second hub will also receive these frames, and it too will forward them on
to all the machines on its other side. Obviously, this is pointlessly reproducing
network traffic.

Advantage or disadvantage

 Self-configuring
 Simple bridges are inexpensive
 Isolate collision domain.
 Transparent to protocols above the MAC layer
 LANs interconnected are separate, and physical constraints such as number of stations,
repeaters and segment length don't apply
 Helps minimize bandwidth usage
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Disadvantage

 Does not limit the scope of broadcasts .

 Does not scale to extremely large networks.
 Buffering and processing introduces delays.
 Bridges are more expensive than repeaters or hubs.
 A complex network topology can pose a problem for transparent bridges.

Software or protocol used in devide

 Spanning-Tree Protocol (STP) as defined in the IEEE 802.1D

 A link management protocol that provides path redundancy while preventing
undesirable loops in the network.
 IEEE 802.1D, 802.3 , 802.1Q
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Switch

 The switches and hubs must carry either 10/100 Megabits per second (Mbit/s) or
10/100/1000 Mbit/s ports.
 An Ethernet switch is the traffic control center for the local area network (LAN). A
LAN is a method of connecting multiple computers, printers, Internet routers and other
related devices.
 The network switches are required to manage the transmission of data packets between
multiple devices.
 A standard configuration would include four computers, a printer and an Internet
router.

Function or responsibility
 Switches work at Layer 2 of the OSI model, not Layer 1 like a hub.
 Switches switch Ethernet frames.
 Switches don’t look at IP address information, only Ethernet MAC addresses.
 Switches keeps a table of all MAC addresses traversing the switch and what port they
are on (this table is called the bridge forwarding table or CAM table).
 Switches only sends traffic to the devices that are the destination for that traffic,
saving bandwidth.
 Each device connected to the switch gets the full bandwidth of the switch port because
the switch prevents collisions.

How the switch work

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 A switch filters the data packets, and only sends the packet to the port which is
connected to the destination address of that packet.
 It does this by keeping a table of each destination address and its port.
 When the switch receives a packet, it reads the destination address and then
establishes a connection between the source port and the destination port.
 After the packet is sent, the connection is terminated.

Advantage or disadvantage
 A switch provides higher total through put than a hub because it can support multiple
simultaneous conversations. .

 Switches also run in full duplex mode, which allows data to be sent and received
across the network at the same time. Switches can effectively double the speed of the
network when compared to a hub which only supports half duplex mode

New technology

 LINDY Fully Managed SNMP 24 Port 10/100Base-TX + GIGA Expansion N-Way

Switch(Part No. 25030) is a high performance web-managed Layer 2 Switch that
provides 24 Fast Ethernet 10/100Mbps ports.
 The built-in expansion slot can accommodate a number of different modules. Optional
Gigabit/Fast Ethernet modules can be copper or fibre based and support
10/100/1000Base-T, 100Base-FX, and 1000Base-SX.
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Router

A router is a networking tool or device with the aim of selecting the appropriate path for to
transfer data packages between different networks. This procedure is identified as routing
A router is a device that establishes the appropriate passageway for information package to
pass from one network to another network. Routers join networks collectively for example a
LAN to a WAN, a LAN to LAN and so on, in order to access or see the Internet.

Function or responsibility
 Restrict network broadcasts to the local LAN
 Act as the default gateway.
 Move data between networks
 Learn and advertise loop free paths between sub-networks.

How the router work

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The router is the central component in connecting all of your computers and network devices
together, allowing them to access and share one high-speed Internet connection. It organizes
all of the devices in the home network so that they can communicate with each other and
share information. A router combines the functions of a switch, which organizes and controls
data flow among your computers and network devices.  A switch is best for sharing files and
printers within wired networks.  A switch does not provide Internet access. 
A router joins two networks, your home network and the Internet, passing information from
one to the other.  It also determines how the information is passed in the most efficient
manner.  The router's two main jobs are:

1. To make sure that information doesn't travel where it's not needed
2. To make sure that information travels to its intended destination

Advantage or disadvantage
Advantage of Router
 Router limits the collision domain.
 Router can function on LAN & WAN.
 Router can connects different media & architectures.
 Router can dtermine best path/route for data to reach
 the destination.
 Router can filter the broadcasts
Diadvantage of Router
 Router is more expensive than Hub, Bridge & Switch.
 Router only waork with routable protocol.
 Routing updates consume bandwidth.
 Increase latency due to greater degree of packet
 filtering.

Sofware or protocol
 Network protocols occur at the upper five layers of the OSI reference model:
1. Network layer
2. Transport layer
3. Session layer
4. Presentation layer
5. Application layer.
 Routed protocols are protocols that are routed over an internetwork.
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 Examples of such protocols are the Internet Protocol (IP), DECnet, AppleTalk, Novell
NetWare, OSI, Banyan VINES, and Xerox Network System (XNS).
 Routing protocols, on the other hand, are protocols that implement routing algorithms.
Put simply, routing protocols are used by intermediate systems to build tables used in
determining path selection of routed protocols.

New Technology

Belkin N1 Vision Router Makes 802.11n

 Belkin's latest N1 series router, the N1 Vision, isn't just hands-down the
smokiest 802.11ndraft 2.0 router we've seen
 it tries to one-up everyone else with a built-in LCD screen that displays info ranging
from a bandwidth speedometer to the number of neighbors leeching your internet
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REFERENCE

1. http://wiki.answers.com/Q/What_is_the_function_of_a_hub
2. http://www.ehow.com/how-does_4597482_computer-network-hub-work.html
3. http://www.windowsnetworking.com/articles_tutorials/autoslct.html
4. http://www.csl.mtu.edu/cs4451/www/notes/Networking%20Devices.pdf
5. http://www.techfuels.com/general-internet-terms/10249-hub-network-devices.html
6. http://www.comptechdoc.org/independent/networking/guide/netdevices.html
7. http://www.just2good.co.uk/bridgeSwitch.php
8. http://www.garethjmsaunders.co.uk/pc/net_wfwg_01_hardware.html
9. http://www.ehow.com/facts_5022880_definition-network-bridge.html
10. http://www.firewall.cx/hubs.php
11. http://www.allinterview.com/showanswers/60068.html
12. http://simple.wikipedia.org/wiki/Network_bridge
13. http://www.javvin.com/protocolSTP.html
14. http://www.wisegeek.com/what-is-an-ethernet-switch.htm
15. http://www.petri.co.il/csc_how_a_cisco_switch_functions_on_an_ethernet_network.ht
m
16. http://www.lindy-usa.com/tips/hubsAndSwitches.html
17. http://www.linksysbycisco.com/static/us/Learning-Center/Network-Basics/Network-
Hardware/How-Routers-Work/index.html
18. http://www.allinterview.com/showanswers/60080.html
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19. http://www.tech-faq.com/network-routers.html