The Network Devices

Networking devices are equipment used to connect computers or other electronic devices together. These devices are broken up into two classifications.

Network Devices and End-User Devices

End-user devices include computers, printers, scanners, and other devices that provide services directly to the user. Network devices include all the devices that connect the end-user devices together to allow them to communicate.
Network Device Types

The data sharing and the computer network can only possible when the network devices interconnect. The below-listed devices are commonly used to establish the network.

Network Interface Card (NIC): Network Interface Card is a circuit board that provides network communication capabilities to and from a personal computer. The NIC has a 48bit MAC address for identifying the devices.

Repeater: The repeater is a network of devices that used to regenerate the signals. The repeater regenerates analog or digital signals distorted by transmission loss due to attenuation and also it removes unwanted noise in an incoming signal.

The disadvantage of the repeaters are, it does not perform intelligent routing and it can’t filter the signal traffic.

Modem: The word ‘modem’ comes from ‘modulator-demodulator’. The modem converts digital information to analog and analog to digital information.

Hub: Hub is a networking device that used for connecting one or more devices together. There are two types of Hubs, Active and Passive.

Passive and Active Hub: Passive hubs are used to connect all ports together, usually the hub does not amplify the incoming signals.

Active hub using the electronics to amplify the incoming signal and also clean up the signal before broadcast.

Switch: Switch is a popular networking device used to connect network segments. The switch can determine whether data should remain on a LAN or not, and they can transfer the data to the connection that needs that data.

The difference between a hub and a switch is that all the nodes connected to a hub share the bandwidth among themselves, while a device connected to a switch port has the full bandwidth all to itself.

Router: Routers have all the capabilities of the previous devices. Routers can regenerate signals, concentrate multiple connections, convert data transmission formats and manage data transfers. They can also connect to a WAN, which allows them to connect LANs that are separated by a great distance.