Experiment 1: Study and submission of Report on Network Hardware Components,

Network cables and Servers.

Aim: To study and submission of Report on Network Hardware Components, Network cables
and Servers.

Study the following Network Devices along with network cables and servers in Detail.
• Repeater
• Hub
• Switch
• Bridge
• Router
• Gate Way

Apparatus (Software): No software or hardware needed.

Theory: Following should be study to understand in practical aspect.

1. Repeater: Functioning at Physical Layer. A repeater is an electronic device that receives

a signal and retransmits it at a higher level and/or higher power, or onto the other side of
an obstruction, so that the signal can cover longer distances. Repeater have two ports, so
cannot be use to connect for more than two devices.

2. Hub: An Ethernet hub, active hub, network hub, repeater hub, hub or concentrator is a
device for connecting multiple twisted pair or fiber optic Ethernet devices together and
making them act as a single network segment. Hubs work at the physical layer (layer 1)
of the OSI model. The device is a form of multiport repeater.

3. Switch: A network switch or switching hub is a computer networking device that

connects network segments. The term commonly refers to a network bridge that
processes and routes data at the data link layer (layer 2) of the OSI model. Switches that
additionally process data at the network layer (layer 3 and above) are often referred to as
Layer 3 switches or multilayer switches.

4. Bridge: A network bridge connects multiple network segments at the data link layer
(Layer 2) of the OSI model. A bridge and switch are very much alike; Switch or Layer 2
switch is often used interchangeably with bridge .Bridges can analyze incoming data
packets to determine if the bridge is able to send the given packet to another segment of
the network.

5. Router: A router is an electronic device that interconnects two or more computer

networks, and selectively interchanges packets of data between them. Each data packet
 contains address information that a router can use to determine if the source and
destination are on the same network, or if the data packet must be transferred from one
network to another.

6. Gate Way: In a communications network, a network node equipped for interfacing with
another network that uses different protocols.
• A gateway may contain devices such as protocol translators, impedance matching
devices, rate converters, fault isolators, or signal translators as necessary to provide
system interoperability. It also requires the establishment of mutually acceptable
administrative procedures between both networks.
• A protocol translation/mapping gateway interconnects networks with different
network protocol technologies by performing the required protocol conversions.

Network Cables:

Coaxial Cable:

Coaxial cables have a single copper conductor at the center, while a plastic layer provides
insulation between the center conductor and braided metal shield. The metal shield blocks
outside interference from fluorescent lights, motors, and other computers.

Fiber Optic Cable:

Fiber optic cables possess a center glass core surrounded by multiple layers of protective
materials. They avoid electrical obstruction by transmitting light instead of electronic signals,
making them perfect for environments with large amounts of electrical interference. Fiber optic
cables have become the standard for connecting networks across buildings because of their
resistance to moisture and lighting.

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cable

Often referred to colloquially as simply Ethernet cables, STP cables employ a special type of
copper telephone wiring used for business installations. An external shield functioning as a
ground is added to the standard twisted pair of telephone wires.

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable

Unshielded twisted pair (UTP) cables are broadly used in the telecommunications and computer
industries as ethernet cables and telephone wires. In a UTP cable, conductors forming a single
circuit are twisted around one another to cancel out electromagnetic interference (EMI) from
external sources.
Servers:

A network server is a computer designed to act as central repository and help in providing
various resources like hardware access, disk space, printer access, etc,. to other computers in the
network.

A network server might not differ from a workstation in hardware, but the functionality it
performs clearly differentiates it from other workstations. Network servers help in simplifying
the different tasks for system administrators including those centering on management.

Features of network servers:

 Computers are provided with more memory and storage capacity and also are configured
to do additional processing to handle the different client requests.
 Machines are usually high performing personal computers with reliable and fast hard
disks, powerful processors and high amounts of available RAM.
 Can also act as a central file storage unit. This can prevent data being stored in different
workstations in the network.
 Authentication and user control can be set on another workstation using a network server.
 Security control measures can be more convenient to manage using a network server.
 Network server is also capable of running an intranet.
 Some of the common examples of network servers are FTP servers and web servers.