Unit2: Design your own network: Size and Shape

Types of networks
PAN (Personal Area Network)
• Personal Area Networks are a type of network where devices communicate over a
small area, usually no further than 10 meters.
• This type of network is often used for devices that the user wears, such as headphones
or a smartwatch.

LAN (Local Area Network)

• Local area networks are a type of network where devices communicate over a small
geographical area.
• Examples: - home network, computer laboratory, office buildings or a group of
buildings.

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WAN (WIDE AREA NETWORK)
• Wide Area Network are a type of network where devices communicate over a large
geographical area, such as across a city or a country.
• An example of WAN is the offices in different countries these networks usually
connect together via the Internet as it would be physically impossible to lay dedicated
cables between the office buildings.
• A WAN connects different smaller networks, including LANs.

Network Hardware

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Network switch:
Network switches connect devices together on a network to form a wired network.

Router:
A router connects different networks, often connecting a LAN to the internet.
If you want to send data from one place to another, a router finds the fastest route to send
the data. A router provides access to the internet and sometimes has wireless access to the
internet and sometimes has wireless access built in.

Network Interface Card

Any device that wants to connect to a network must have a NIC. Network cards can be
wired or wireless and enable the device to access the network.
NICs must have a MAC address, which is hard-coded and cannot be changed, to identify
the device on a network.

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MAC address (Media Access Control)
A Media Access Control address (MAC address) is a hardware identifier that uniquely
identifies each device on a network.

Wireless Access Point (WAP)

A wireless access point is a network device that allows wireless-capable devices, to
connect to the network using Wi-Fi.

Ethernet cabling
Cables that are designed to work with Ethernet ports on an NIC to connect devices to a
network. They are dependable for high-speed connections with a maximum bandwidth of
10 GPS. The longer the cable, the worst the performance.

Servers
Servers are computers on a network that offer a service to other devices. Here are some
common servers found on networks.
File servers: these offer devices on a network a place to store and access files.
Print servers: this enabled devices on a network to share printers.
Mail servers: these store e-mail messages and allow users to log in to send and receive
messages.
Web servers: these provide Internet accessible files and retransmit files to users over the
worldwide web.

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Firewall
Most networks, especially business networks, you will say hardware firewall. This
examines the incoming and outgoing network traffic to check for security risk and block
any suspicious activity.

Network topology
Network topology is how the hardware devices are arranged and connected in a network.
The different types of topologies are:
• Bus topology
• Ring topology
• Star topology

Bus topology:
In a bus topology, all the devices are joined to 1 cable. There is a terminator at each end
of the cable to absorb the signals and stop them from being reflected back down the bus.

Advantages & disadvantages of bus topology

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Ring topology
In a ring topology, the device is connected to two other devices, forming a ring for the
data to travel around. The data travels in One direction and is passed through each device
until it reaches its destination.

Advantages & disadvantages of ring topology

Star topology
In a star topology, every device on the network has its own connection to a switch. The
main switch sends data packets to the destination device only.

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Advantages & disadvantages of star topology