SECTION 2 - THE FUNCTIONS OF THE BASIC COMPONENTS OF A NETWORK

Network Transmission Media

Network transmission media is a pathway that carries the information from sender to receiver. We
use different types of cables or waves to transmit data. Data is transmitted normally through
electrical or electromagnetic signals. Transmission media is also called Communication channel.
Network transmission media comes in two forms, Wired and Wireless.

WIRED MEDIAS
Wired Medias are cables used in the transmission of data from one device to another. Examples of
wired media are twisted pair, coaxial and fibre optic. We will examine each cable closely.

Twisted pair cables are insulated copper

wires for the physical layer of the network.
Twisted pair is used to network computers in
homes and businesses. We use this type of
cabling to network the computer in this lab.

Coaxial cable used by cable television (TV)

companies to send signals between
communities’ antennas and end user homes
and many businesses. Digicel Play in Nevis
and the Cable in St. Kitts use this type of
cabling to connect televisions to their service.

Fiber optic cable is a networking cable technology that is made up of or uses plastic (or glass)
threads (fibers) to transmit data. Telephone companies such as FLOW use type of cabling for their
telephone communication service.

Advantages of Wired Network Technology

Wired networks offer the fastest transfer speed of all the networks. Gigabit Ethernet is currently the
best choice for wired networks and provides speeds of up to one gigabit per second.

Wired networks consist of physical, fixed connections which are not prone to interference and
fluctuations in available bandwidth caused by factors such as walls.

Limitations of Wired Network Technology

Wired network require greater resources such as cabling, switch/hub and network cards to install
and to maintain, therefore the initial and long term costs are much higher.

Wired networks can also be a hassle to install new components into because of all the hardware
required to do this. Cables and network cards are required to install new computers to the system and
wires need to be drawn from the switch to the computers.

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WIRELESS MEDIAS
Wireless Medias are cables used in the transmission of data from one device to another. Examples
of wireless media are radio wave, broadcast radio, cellular radio, microwave, satellite and
infrared. We will examine each cable closely.
Radio wave is an electromagnetic wave that is used for sending
signals through the air without using wires. It is a form of
electromagnetic spectrum radiation, which also includes visible
and ultraviolet light and X-rays. Each type of electromagnetic
radiation has a characteristic range of wavelengths determined
by the speed of light, 186,000 miles per second. Examples of devices that use radio wave are
televisions, mobile phones and radios.
Broadcast Radio in an over-the-air radio communication service intended for direct reception by the
general public.  Electrons rush up and down the transmitter, shooting out radio waves.
The radio waves travel through the air at the speed of light. When the radio waves hit a receiver,
they make electrons vibrate inside it, recreating the original signal. These are called radio waves.
Cellular Radio communication is
based on a network of transmitters
each serving a small area known as a
cell: used in personal communications
systems in which the mobile receiver
switches frequencies automatically as
it passes from one cell to another.
The most common example of
a cellular network is
a mobile phone (cell phone)
network. A mobile phone is a
portable telephone which receives or
makes calls through a cell site (base
station) or transmitting
tower. Radio waves are used to
transfer signals to and from the cell phone.
A microwave is a communications system that uses a
beam of radio waves in the microwave frequency
range to transmit video, audio, or data between two
locations, which can be from just a few feet or meters
to several miles or kilometers apart.

Communications satellites bounce signals from one
side of Earth to the other, a bit like giant mirrors
in space. A ground-
based satellite transmitter dish beams a signal to the
satellite's receiving dish.
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Infrared transmission is also referred to as an electromagnetic radiation
spectrum. That has a wavelength longer than those of visible light, but
shorter than those of radio waves. Equally, infrared frequencies are
higher than microwaves, but lower than those of visible light.
Advantages Of Wireless Technology
 Wireless Networking is relatively cheaper than Wired Networks since they require no cables
between the computers as well as lower long term costs due to less maintenance since there is
less equipment.
 Wireless Networking is also very mobile and versatile; it is adaptable to most situations and
requirements. Wireless networks can easily be set up and dissembled, which is perfect for many
people who are on temporary worksites/homes or leased space.

Limitations of Wireless Network Technology

Wireless networks have limited bandwidth; hence they cannot support Video Teleconferencing
(VTC).
Wireless networks also have an increased chance of jamming and interference due to external
factors such as fog and dust storms or when a flying object such as an aeroplane passes over the
field.

Network Switch
A network switch (also called switching hub, bridging hub, officially
MAC bridge) is networking hardware that connects devices on a
computer network by using packet switching to receive, and forward
data to the destination device.  Switches for Ethernet are the most
common form of network switch.

Router
A router is a networking device that forwards data packets between computer
networks. A packet is typically forwarded from one router to
another router through the networks that constitute an internetwork (e.g. the
Internet) until it reaches its destination node. To put it simply, a router connects
devices within a network by forwarding data packets between them. This data
can be sent between devices, or from devices to the internet. The router
does this by assigning a local IP address to each of the devices on the
network.
Modem
Short for modulator-demodulator, a modem is a device that enables a
computer to transmit data over, for example, telephone or cable lines. Computer
information is stored digitally, whereas information transmitted over telephone
lines is transmitted in the form of analog waves. A modem is typically used to
send digital data over a phone line. The sending modem modulates the data
into a signal that is compatible with the phone line, and the
receiving modem demodulates the signal back into digital data.
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Wireless modems convert digital data into radio signals and back. There are generally TWO (2)
types of modems; Cable – top right and Digital Subscriber Line (DSL) – above. Cable modems are
used by Digital Play and DSL modems are used by FLOW.
Network Interface Card / Network Adapter
A Network Interface Card (NIC) / Network Adapter is a
hardware component, typically a circuit board or chip,
which is installed on a computer so that it can connect to
a network. Originally, network controllers were
implemented as expansion cards that could be plugged

into a computer port, router or USB device. A

computer's network card works by taking the data given to
it by the CPU and sending it to a destination. It translates the data into a form that can be transferred

via cables and then translates the data it receives back into data usable by the computer.