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Networking Basics: Part 1 - Networking Hardware

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If you would like to read the other parts in this article series please go to:

Networking Basics: Part 2 - Routers

Networking Basics: Part 3 - DNS Servers
Networking Basics: Part 4 - Workstations and Servers
Networking Basics: Part 5 - Domain Controllers
Networking Basics: Part 6 - Windows Domain
Networking Basics: Part 7 - Introduction to FSMO Roles
Networking Basics: Part 8 - FSMO Roles continued
Networking Basics: Part 9 – Active Directory Information
Networking Basics: Part 10 - Distinguished Names
Networking Basics, Part 11: The Active Directory Users and Computers Console
Networking Basics: Part 12 - User Account Management
Networking Basics: Part 13 - Creating Groups
Networking Basics: Part 14 - Security Groups
Networking Basics: Part 15 - Universal Groups & Group Nesting
Networking Basics: Part 16 - The Windows Operating System's Role in Networking
Networking Basics: Part 17 - The OSI Model
Networking Basics: Part 18 - Sharing Resources
Networking Basics: Part 19 - Share Level Permissions

In the past, all of the articles that I have written for this Web site have been intended for use by
administrators with at least some level of experience. Recently though, there have been requests for
articles targeted toward those who are just getting started with networking and that have absolutely no
experience at all. This article will be the first in a series targeted toward novices. In this article series, I
will start with the absolute basics, and work toward building a functional network. In this article I will
begin by discussing some of the various networking components and what they do.

Network Adapters

The first piece of hardware that I want to discuss is a network adapter. There are many different
names for network adapters, including network cards, Network Interface Cards, NICs. These are all
generic terms for the same piece of hardware. A network card’s job is to physically attach a computer
to a network, so that the computer can participate in network communications.

The first thing that you need to know about network cards is that the network card has to match the
network medium. The network medium refers to the type of cabling that is being used on the network.
Wireless networks are a science all their own, and I will talk about them in a separate article.

At one time making sure that a network card matched the network medium was a really big deal,
because there were a large number of competing standards in existence. For example, before you
built a network and started buying network cards and cabling, you had to decide if you were going to
use Ethernet, coaxal Ethernet, Token Ring, Arcnet, or one of the other networking standards of the
time. Each networking technology had its strengths and weaknesses, and it was important to figure
out which one was the most appropriate for your organization.

Today, most of the networking technologies that I mentioned

above are quickly becoming extinct. Pretty much the only type of
wired network used by small and medium sized businesses is
Ethernet. You can see an example of an Ethernet network card,
shown in Figure A.

Figure A: This is what an Ethernet card looks like

Modern Ethernet networks use twisted pair cabling containing eight wires. These wires are arranged
in a special order, and an RJ-45 connecter is crimped onto the end of the cable. An RJ-45 cable looks
like the connector on the end of a phone cord, but it’s bigger. Phone cords use RJ-11 connectors as
opposed to the RJ-45 connectors used by Ethernet cable. You can see an example of an Ethernet
cable with an RJ-45 connector, shown in Figure B.

Figure B: This is an Ethernet cable with an RJ-45 connector installed

Hubs and Switches

As you can see, computers use network cards to send and receive data. The data is transmitted over
Ethernet cables. However, you normally can’t just run an Ethernet cable between two PCs and call it
a network.

In this day and age of high speed Internet access being almost universally available, you tend to hear
the term broadband thrown around a lot. Broadband is a type of network in which data is sent and
received across the same wire. In contrast, Ethernet uses Baseband communications. Baseband uses
separate wires for sending and receiving data. What this means is that if one PC is sending data
across a particular wire within the Ethernet cable, then the PC that is receiving the data needs to have
the wire redirected to its receiving port.

You can actually network two PCs together in this way. You can create what is known as a cross over
cable. A cross over cable is simply a network cable that has the sending and receiving wires reversed
at one end, so that two PCs can be linked directly together.

The problem with using a cross over cable to build a network is that the network will be limited to using
no more and no less than two PCs. Rather than using a cross over cable, most networks use normal
Ethernet cables that do not have the sending and receiving wires reversed at one end.

Of course the sending and receiving wires have to be reversed at some point in order for
communications to succeed. This is the job of a hub or a switch. Hubs are starting to become extinct,
but I want to talk about them any way because it will make it easier to explain switches later on.

There are different types of hubs, but generally speaking a hub is nothing more than a box with a
 bunch of RJ-45 ports. Each computer on a network would be
connected to a hub via an Ethernet cable. You can see a
picture of a hub, shown in Figure C.

Figure C: A hub is a device that acts as a central connection point for computers on a network

A hub has two different jobs. Its first job is to provide a central point of connection for all of the
computers on the network. Every computer plugs into the hub (multiple hubs can be daisy chained
together if necessary in order to accommodate more computers).

The hub’s other job is to arrange the ports in such a way so that if a PC transmits data, the data is
sent over the other computer’s receive wires.

Right now you might be wondering how data gets to the correct destination if more than two PCs are
connected to a hub. The secret lies in the network card. Each Ethernet card is programmed at the
factory with a unique Media Access Control (MAC) address. When a computer on an Ethernet
network transmits data across an Ethernet network containing PCs connected to a hub, the data is
actually sent to every computer on the network. As each computer receives the data, it compares the
destination address to its own MAC address. If the addresses match then the computer knows that it
is the intended recipient, otherwise it ignores the data.

As you can see, when computers are connected via a hub, every packet gets sent to every computer
on the network. The problem is that any computer can send a transmission at any given time. Have
you ever been on a conference call and accidentally started to talk at the same time as someone
else? This is the same thing that happens on this type of network.

When a PC needs to transmit data, it checks to make sure that no other computers are sending data
at the moment. If the line is clear, it transmits the necessary data. If another computer tries to
communicate at the same time though, then the packets of data that are traveling across the wire
collide and are destroyed (this is why this type of network is sometimes referred to as a collision
domain). Both PCs then have to wait for a random amount of time and attempt to retransmit the
packet that was destroyed.

As the number of PCs on a collision domain increases, so does the number of collisions. As the
number of collisions increase, network efficiency is decreased. This
is why switches have almost completely replaced hubs.

A switch, such as the one shown in Figure D, performs all of the

same basic tasks as a hub. The difference is that when a PC on the
network needs to communicate with another PC, the switch uses a
set of internal logic circuits to establish a dedicated, logical path
between the two PCs. What this means is that the two PCs are free
to communicate with each other, without having to worry about collisions.

Figure D: A switch looks a lot like a hub, but performs very differently

Switches greatly improve a network’s efficiency. Yes, they eliminate collisions, but there is more to it
than that. Because of the way that switches work, they can establish parallel communications paths.
For example, just because computer A is communicating with computer B, there is no reason why
computer C can’t simultaneously communicate with computer D. In a collision domain, these types of
parallel communications would be impossible because they would result in collisions.

Conclusion

In this article, I have discussed some of the basic components that make up a simple network. In Part
2, I will continue the discussion of basic networking hardware.

If you would like to read the other parts in this article series please go to:

Networking Basics: Part 2 - Routers

Networking Basics: Part 3 - DNS Servers
Networking Basics: Part 4 - Workstations and Servers
 Networking Basics: Part 5 - Domain Controllers
Networking Basics: Part 6 - Windows Domain
Networking Basics: Part 7 - Introduction to FSMO Roles
Networking Basics: Part 8 - FSMO Roles continued
Networking Basics: Part 9 – Active Directory Information
Networking Basics: Part 10 - Distinguished Names
Networking Basics, Part 11: The Active Directory Users and Computers Console
Networking Basics: Part 12 - User Account Management
Networking Basics: Part 13 - Creating Groups
Networking Basics: Part 14 - Security Groups
Networking Basics: Part 15 - Universal Groups & Group Nesting
Networking Basics: Part 16 - The Windows Operating System's Role in Networking
Networking Basics: Part 17 - The OSI Model
Networking Basics: Part 18 - Sharing Resources
Networking Basics: Part 19 - Share Level Permissions

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HOME » NETWORKING » NETWORKING BASICS: PART 1 - NETWORKING HARDWARE

A U T H O R

Brien Posey

Brien Posey is a freelance technology author and speaker with over two decades of IT
experience. Prior to going freelance, Brien was a CIO for a national chain of hospitals and
 healthcare facilities. He has also served as a network engineer for the United States
Department of Defense at Fort Knox. In addition, Brien has worked as a network administrator
for some of the largest insurance companies in America. To date, Brien has received
Microsoft’s MVP award numerous times in categories including Windows Server, IIS, Exchange
Server, and File Systems / Storage. You can visit Brien’s Website at: www.brienposey.com.

4 COMMENTS

Sudhir September 4, 2017 at 1:23 R E P L Y

am

Excellent explanation!!! Bullet train in passenger ticket.

Brien Posey September 4, 2017 at 10:30 R E P L Y

am

I am glad you liked it!

peter July 30, 2018 at 1:41 pm R E P L Y

I really think there is a large audience for writers like you. This subject is important in any
business and organization and lots of us don't know much. Thanks for the great summaries.

Brien Posey August 5, 2018 at 8:31 pm R E P L Y

Thanks Peter! I really appreciate it.

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