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Connecting Devices

The document outlines various network devices including repeaters, hubs, bridges, switches, routers, and gateways, detailing their functions and differences. Repeaters and hubs operate at the physical layer, while bridges and switches function at the data link layer, and routers operate at the network layer. Gateways serve as protocol converters connecting different networks and are more complex than the other devices mentioned.

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artdemios73
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5 views

Connecting Devices

The document outlines various network devices including repeaters, hubs, bridges, switches, routers, and gateways, detailing their functions and differences. Repeaters and hubs operate at the physical layer, while bridges and switches function at the data link layer, and routers operate at the network layer. Gateways serve as protocol converters connecting different networks and are more complex than the other devices mentioned.

Uploaded by

artdemios73
Copyright
© © All Rights Reserved
Available Formats
Download as DOCX, PDF, TXT or read online on Scribd
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Repeaters

a) A physical layer device the acts on bits not on frames or packets

b) Can have two or more interfaces

c) When a bit (0,1) arrives, the repeater receives it and regenerates it, the transmits it onto all
other interfaces

d) Used in LAN to connect cable segments and extend the maximum cable length 🡺 extending
the geographical LAN range

a) Ethernet 10base5 – Max. segment length 500m – 4 repeaters (5 segments) are used
to extend the cable to 2500m)

b) Ethernet 10Base2- Max. segment length 185m - 4 repeaters (5 segments) are used to
extend the cable to 925m

e) Repeaters do not implement any access method

a) If any two nodes on any two connected segments transmit at the same time collision
will happen

Hubs

a) Acts on the physical layer

b) Operate on bits rather than frames

c) Also called multiport repeater

d) Used to connect stations adapters in a physical star topology but logically bus

e) Connection to the hub consists of two pairs of twisted pair wire one for transmission and
the other for receiving.

f) Hub receives a bit from an adapter and sends it to all the other adapters without
implementing any access method.

Hubs Vs. Repeaters

a) Hub are different than repeaters in the following:

a) The provide network management features by gathering information about the


network and report them to a monitoring host connected to the hub so some
statistics about the network (bandwidth usages, collision rates, average frame sizes)
can be generated.

b) If an adapter is not working the hub can disconnect it internally and the network will
not be affected.

Bridges/switches

a) Acts on the data link layer (MAC address level)


b) Used to divide (segment) the LAN into smaller LANs segments, or to connect LANs that use
identical physical and data link layers protocol (see figure in next slide)

c) Each LAN segment is a separate collision domain

d) Bridge does not send the received frame to all other interfaces like hubs and repeaters, but
it performs filtering which means:

a) Whether a frame should be forwarded to another interface that leads to the


destination or dropped

e) This is done by a bridge table (forwarding table) that contains entries for the nodes on the
LAN

a) The bridge table is initially empty and filled automatically by learning from frames
movements in the network

b) An entry in the bridge table consists of : Node LAN (MAC) Address, Bridge Interface
to which the node is connected to, the record creation time

f) A bridge runs CSMA/CD before sending a frame onto the link not like the hub or repeater

g) Bridge frame handling is done in software

Switches

a) Acts on the data link layer (MAC address level)

b) Used to divide (segment) the LAN into smaller LANs segments, or to connect LANs that use
identical physical and data link layers protocol (see figure in next slide)

c) Each LAN segment is a separate collision domain

d) Bridge does not send the received frame to all other interfaces like hubs and repeaters, but
it performs filtering which means:

a) Whether a frame should be forwarded to another interface that leads to the


destination or dropped

e) This is done by a bridge table (forwarding table) that contains entries for the nodes on the
LAN

a) The bridge table is initially empty and filled automatically by learning from frames
movements in the network

b) An entry in the bridge table consists of : Node LAN (MAC) Address, Bridge Interface
to which the node is connected to, the record creation time

f) A bridge runs CSMA/CD before sending a frame onto the link not like the hub or repeater

g) Bridge frame handling is done in software

Routers
a) Operates at network layer = deals with packets not frames

b) Connect LANs and WANs with similar or different protocols together

c) Switches and bridges isolate collision domains but forward broadcast messages to
all LANs connected to them. Routers isolate both collision domains and broadcast
domains

d) Acts like normal stations on a network, but have more than one network address
(an address to each connected network)

e) Deals with global address ( network layer address (IP)) not local address (MAC
address)

f) Routers Communicate with each other and exchange routing information

g) Determine best route using routing algorithm by special software installed on them

h) Forward traffic if information on destination is available otherwise discard it (not


like a switch or bridge)

Gateway

a) A gateway, as the name suggests, is a passage to connect two networks together that may
work upon different networking models.

• They basically work as the messenger agents that take data from one system, interpret it,
and transfer it to another system.

• Gateways are also called protocol converters and can operate at any network layer.

• Gateways are generally more complex than switch or router.

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