Interconnecting devices

A router is a device that transfers data from one network to the other in a clever way.The router fowards packets of data to their destination in the most effective way.To do this the router has a micro computer inside it this holds a table in its memory that contains a list of all the networks that it is connected to,along with the latest infomation on how busy each path in the network is,at the moment.This is also called the ROUTING TABLE.when a data packet arrives it does the following:reads the data packets address.looks up all the paths avaliable.checks how busy each path is.sends the path along the fastest route possible in the particular network.Routers can also filter traffic that is usefull to protect against hackers.

A repeater boosts the signal back to its correct level the typical cabal lengths are copper cable-100m,thich ethernet cable-500m and thin ethernet cable-150m

A gateway converts the data passing beteeen dissimilar networks so that each side can communicate to each over for example converts each data into the correct network protocol.the gateway is a mixture of componants and software.

A swithch has a number of ports and it stores all of the adresses of all the devices that or directly or indirectly connected to the port.As a data packet arrives at the switch the desination is checked to make sure that it is secure then a direct connection between the two devices is mase.

A bridge connects two networks together so that it look like one very large network.A bridge is not as capable as a router but it is less expensive.

The network/Hub allows computers to share packets of dat within a network.each computer is connected to a single port on the hub so if you purchase a 8 port hub then you can connect 8 computers to the network.star and tree networks allow the use of a hub wheras bus and ring networks do not allow the use of a hub.

In computer networking, a wireless access point (WAP or AP) is a device that allows wireless communication devices to connect to a wireless network using Wi-Fi and related standards. The WAP usually connects to a wired network, and can relay data between the wireless devices (such as computers or printers) and wired devices on the network.