NETWORKING DEVICESTHE SIMPLE GUIDE TO HUB, ROUTERS, SWITCHES, BRIDGES,

FIREWALL, GATEWAYS, AND WIRELESS ACCESS POINTS

HUBS• HUBS ARE A PRETTY BASIC TECHNOLOGY THE FIRST THING TO KNOW IS A HUB CONNECT MULTIPLE

DEVICES ON A NETWORK, HOWEVER THEY DO NOT ROUTE TRAFFIC OR SEND IT TO A SPECIFIC COMPUTER, HUBS ARE KNOW AS A DUMB TECHNOLOGY THIS IS BECAUSE HUBS RECEIVE INFORMATION FROM ONE COMPUTER THEN SEND IT TO ALL DEVICES CONNECTED TO THE HUB AND ALL DEVICES IGNORE IT EXCEPT FOR THE COMPUTER THAT IT IS SENT TOO. HUBS ALSO DIVIDE UP BANDWIDTH BASED ON THE NUMBER OF PORTS. HUBS CAN COST ANYWHERE FROM $10 TO OVER

• $1000.

ROUTERS• ROUTERS ARE REALLY IMPORTANT FOR ANY ORGANIZATION, AND ARE A

INDISPENSABLE RESOURCE TO A NETWORK. A ROUTER IS MOSTLY THERE TO ROUTE TRAFFIC THE PRIMARY USE IS TO CONNECT MULTIPLE NETWORKS TOGETHER SO FOR EXAMPLE IF YOU HAVE COMPANY A WITH 3 LOCATIONS IN DALLAS, NEW YORK, AND AUSTIN. EACH LOCATION WILL HAVE A ROUTER THAT CONNECTS TO EACH OTHER LOCATION. A ROUTER WILL HAVE A ROUTING TABLE SO IT WILL LEARN WHERE TO SEND THE PACKETS AND IF A ADDRESS IS NOT IN THE TABLE IT WILL FORWARD IT TO THE NEXT ROUTER AND IT WILL REPAST THE LOOK UP. ROUTERS ARE REALLY EXPENSIVE BUT MOST YOU CAN GET FOR UNDER $20,000 DEPENDING ON THE MODEL AND THE NEEDS OF THE ORGANIZATION.

SWITCH• A SWITCH IS USED TO CONNECT DEVICES TO A LOCAL AREA

NETWORK (LAN). A SWITCH HAS ALL THE BENEFIT OF A HUB BUT WITH SOME ADDED FUNCTIONALITY, A SWITCH DOES NOT BROADCAST A PACKET TO EVERY COMPUTER, IT SIMPLE SENDS IT TO THE COMPUTER IT IS ADDRESSED TO. SWITCHES CAN PRICE ANYWHERE FROM

• $25 ALL THE WAY TO MORE THAN $500,000 .

BRIDGES• A BRIDGE IS A DEVICE THAT CREATES A CONNECTION

BETWEEN 2 OR MORE NETWORKS. A NETWORK BRIDGE TYPICALLY FORWARDS DATA VIA MAC ADDRESS OR LAYER 2, IT IS ALSO SOMETIMES CALLED A LAYER 2 SWITCH. THIS DEVICE IS USED TO HELP CONNECT TWO LANS IN A COMPANY SHARING OFFICE SPACE THAT NEEDS TWO SEPARATE LANS. BRIDGES HAVE THE SAME PRICE POINT AS A SWITCH USUALLY AROUND $25 TO $500,000 DEPENDING ON THE NEEDS OF THE ORGANIZATION.

FIREWALLS• A FIRE WALL IS A SECURITY DEVICE THAT PROTECT THE

NETWORK FROM OUTSIDE THREATS. A FIRE WALL IS USED TO PROTECT THE USERS ON A NETWORK AND THE FIREWALL WILL LOOK AT ALL THE INFORMATION PASSED TROUGH IT AND SEE IF IT IS ANYTHING HARMFUL.

GATE WAYS• A GATEWAY IS A WAY FOR TRAFFIC TO LEAVE THE LOCAL

AREA NETWORK AND GO TO THE INTERNET OR ANOTHER WIDE ARE NETWORK. A GATE WAY IS USED BY A VARITY OF PROTOCOLS LIKE BGP. A GATE WAY WOULD BE USED IN THE SITUATION A COMPANY NEEDS TO GET INFORMATION TO ANOTHER WAN. A GATE WAY IS USUALLY THE ROUTER THAT CONNECTS TO THE CSU OR DSU, SO ITS COST IS IN THE RANGE OF A ROUTER LESS THAN $20,000.

WIRELESS ACCESS POINTS• A WAP IS A PIECE OF HARDWARE AND SOFTWARE THAT LETS A USER

CONNECT TO A NETWORK VIA WIRELESS SIGNAL A,B,G,N AND LETS THEM USE THE RESOURCES ON THAT NETWORK. WAP USUALLY COST ANYWHERE FROM $20 TO $500 AND ARE THERE SO USERS CAN USE LAPTOPS AND OTHER TECHNOLOGIES THAT ARE MOBILE.