Unit-2

What are Network Devices?

Definition: The devices which are used for communication between different
hardware’s used in the computer network are known as network devices. These
devices are also known as physical devices, networking hardware, and network
equipment otherwise computer networking devices. In a computer network, each
network device plays a key role based on their functionality, and also works for
different purposes at different segments.

Types of Network Devices

There are different types of network devices used in a computer network which
include the following.

Network Hub

The network hub is one kind of networking device in a computer network, used to
communicate with various network hosts and also for data transferring. The
transferring of data in a computer network can be done in the form of packets.
Whenever the data processing can be done from a host to a network hub, then the data
can transmit to all the connected ports. Similarly, all the ports identify the data path
which leads to inefficiencies & wastage. Because of this working, a network hub
cannot be so safe and secure. In addition, copying the data packets on all the ports will
make the hub slower which leads to the utilize of the network switch.

network-hub
Network hubs are classified into two types like active hub & passive hub.

Active Hub

These hubs have their own power supply and these hubs are used to clean, increase &
transmit the signal using the network. It works as a wiring center & repeater. Active
hubs play a key role in extending the distance between nodes.

Passive Hub

These hubs collect wiring from the power supply and different nodes of an active hub.
These hubs transmit the signals over the network without improving & cleaning them.
These hubs are not suitable for extending the distance between nodes like an active
hub.

Network Switch
Similar to a hub, this is also working at the layer in the LAN and a switch is more
clever compare with a hub. As the hub is used for data transferring, whereas a switch
is used for filtering & forwarding the data. So this is the more clever technique to deal
with the data packets.

network-switch
Whenever a data packet is obtained from the interfaces in the switch, then the data
packet can be filtered & transmits to the interface of the proposed receiver. Due to this
reason, a switch maintains a content addressable memory table to maintain system
configuration as well as memory. This table is also named as FIB (forwarding
information base) otherwise forwarding table.

Modem

A modem is the most important network device and it is used daily in our life. If we
notice the internet connection to homes was given with the help of a wire. then wire
carries internet data from one place to another. But, every computer gives digital or
binary data in the form of zeros & ones.
 modem
The full form of the modem is a modulator and a demodulator. So it modulates as
well as demodulates the signal among the computer and a telephone line because the
computer generates digital data whereas the telephone line generates an analog signal.

Network Router

A network router is one kind of network device in a computer network and it is used
for routing traffic from one network to another. These two networks could be private
to a public company network. For example, here a router is considered as traffic
police at the junction, he directs dissimilar traffic networks to dissimilar directions.

Bridge

A Bridge in the computer network is used to unite two or more network segments.
The main function of a bridge in network architecture is to store as well as transmit
frames among the various segments. Bridges use MAC (Media Access Control)
hardware for transferring frames.

bridge-
in-network-devices
These are also used for connecting two physical local area networks to a larger logical
local area network. In the OSI model, bridges work at the data link & physical layers
to divide the networks from larger to smaller by controlling the data flow between the
two. In recent years, bridges are replaced by switches to provide more functionality.

Repeater

The operating of a repeater can be done at the physical layer. The main function of
this device is to reproduce the signal on a similar network before the signal gets weak
otherwise damaged. The significant point to be noted regarding these devices is that
they do not strengthen the signal. Whenever the signal gets weak, then they reproduce
it at the actual strength. A repeater is a two-port device.

repeater
Gateway

Generally, a gateway performs at the session & transport layers in the OSI model.
Gateways offer conversion between networking technologies like OSI (Open System
Interconnection) & TCP/IP. Because of this, these are connected to two or many
autonomous networks, where each network has its own domain name service, routing
algorithm, topology, protocols, and procedures of network administration & policies.

gateway-device
Gateways execute all the functions of routers. Actually, a router with additional
conversion functionality is a gateway, so the conversion between various network
technologies is known as a protocol converter.

What are the Ethernet Standards?

An Ethernet standard describes the properties, functions, and implementation of a

specific media type. There are various types of media. A media type can provide
different speeds of transmission on different types of implementation. An Ethernet
standard specifies a specific implementation of a particular media type. Ethernet
standards are defined by IEEE.

Ethernet Terminology

Ethernet standards are expressed by using the following terminology.

Transmission speed, type of transmission, and length or type of cabling

PPP Protocol

The PPP stands for Point-to-Point protocol. It is the most commonly used protocol for
point-to-point access. Suppose the user wants to access the internet from the home,
the PPP protocol will be used.

It is a data link layer protocol that resides in the layer 2 of the OSI model. It is used to
encapsulate the layer 3 protocols and all the information available in the payload in
order to be transmitted across the serial links. The PPP protocol can be used on
synchronous link like ISDN as well as asynchronous link like dial-up. It is mainly
used for the communication between the two devices.

It can be used over many types of physical networks such as serial cable, phone line,
trunk line, cellular telephone, fiber optic links such as SONET. As the data link layer
protocol is used to identify from where the transmission starts and ends, so ISP
(Internet Service Provider) use the PPP protocol to provide the dial-up access to
the internet.

Services provided by PPP

o It defines the format of frames through which the transmission occurs.

o It defines the link establishment process. If user establishes a link with a server,
then "how this link establishes" is done by the PPP protocol.
o It defines data exchange process, i.e., how data will be exchanged, the rate of
the exchange.
o The main feature of the PPP protocol is the encapsulation. It defines how
network layer data and information in the payload are encapsulated in the data
link frame.
 o It defines the authentication process between the two devices. The
authentication between the two devices, handshaking and how the password
will be exchanged between two devices are decided by the PPP protocol.

PPP has two main uses which are given below:

o It is widely used in broadband communications having heavy loads and high

speed. For example, an internet operates on heavy load and high speed.
o It is used to transmit the multiprotocol data between the two connected (point-
to-point) computers. It is mainly used in point-to-point devices, for example,
routers are point-to-point devices where PPP protocol is widely used as it is a
WAN protocol not a simple LAN ethernet protocol.

Frame format of PPP protocol

The frame format of PPP protocol contains the following fields:

o Flag: The flag field is used to indicate the start and end of the frame. The flag
field is a 1-byte field that appears at the beginning and the ending of the frame.
The pattern of the flag is similar to the bit pattern in HDLC, i.e., 01111110.
o Address: It is a 1-byte field that contains the constant value which is
11111111. These 8 ones represent a broadcast message.
o Control: It is a 1-byte field which is set through the constant value, i.e.,
11000000. It is not a required field as PPP does not support the flow control
and a very limited error control mechanism. The control field is a mandatory
field where protocol supports flow and error control mechanism.
o Protocol: It is a 1 or 2 bytes field that defines what is to be carried in the data
field. The data can be a user data or other information.
o Payload: The payload field carries either user data or other information. The
maximum length of the payload field is 1500 bytes.
o Checksum: It is a 16-bit field which is generally used for error detection.
Transition phases of PPP protocol

The following are the transition phases of a PPP protocol:

o Dead: Dead is a transition phase which means that the link is not used or there
is no active carrier at the physical layer.
o Establish: If one of the nodes starts working then the phase goes to the
establish phase. In short, we can say that when the node starts communication
or carrier is detected then it moves from the dead to the establish phase.
o Authenticate: It is an optional phase which means that the communication
can also moves to the authenticate phase. The phase moves from the establish
to the authenticate phase only when both the communicating nodes agree to
make the communication authenticated.
o Network: Once the authentication is successful, the network is established or
phase is network. In this phase, the negotiation of network layer protocols take
place.
o Open: After the establishment of the network phase, it moves to the open
phase. Here open phase means that the exchange of data takes place. Or we
can say that it reaches to the open phase after the configuration of the network
layer.
o Terminate: When all the work is done then the connection gets terminated,
and it moves to the terminate phase.
References: Different sources from internet