NETWORK CONNECTIVITY DEVICES REPEATERS HUBS BRIDGES SWITCHES ROUTERS

NETWORK CONNECTIVITY DEVICES: REPEATERS, HUBS, BRIDGES, SWITCHES & ROUTERS Michael Armand Danielle Di. Luzio Ronnie Hedrick

Overview Connectivity Devices Repeaters Physical Layer Hubs Bridges Data Link Layer Network Layer Switches Routers

Repeaters Physical Layer • Physical Layer of the OSI Model • Simplest type of connectivity device which regenerates digital signals • Extend a network inexpensively • Limitations: • Non-intelligent • One input port and one output port • Suited only to bus topologies

Hubs • Physical Layer of the OSI Model • Limitations: • Non-intelligent connectivity device • Lack of security Physical Layer

Poor Performance of Hub-Based LANs

The 5 -4 -3 Rule

The Physical Layer: Repeaters vs. Hubs REPEATERS • Simplest type of connectivity device • Regenerates digital signals from one input port to one output port • Not as common since they can only be used with bus topologies HUBS • Connectivity device similar to Repeaters • Regenerates digital signals to multiple ports – all devices attached

Bridges Data Link Layer • Data Link Layer of the OSI Model • Establish connections using the MAC address of each device • Reduce traffic on a LAN by dividing it into two segments

Switches • Data Link Layer of the OSI Model • Intelligent connectivity device (i. e. , has decision-making capability) • Establish connections using the MAC address of each device • Simultaneous data transfer is possible Data Link Layer

The Data Link Layer: Bridges vs. Switches BRIDGES • Connectivity device used to connect two networks only • Has only two ports • Uses software and is therefore slower than a switch • Use MAC address SWITCHES • Connectivity device used to connect multiple networks • Has more than two ports & more configuration possibilities • Use MAC address

Routers • Network Layer of the OSI Model • Allow one or more computers to connect with each other, other networked devices, or to other networks like the Internet Network Layer

SUMMARY