There are many types of network equipment that we use to build the network such as Network infrastructure Devices, Cables, Servers, End Hosts, etc. I have listed below a few mostly used equipment.
1-End Hosts.
Host devices are the devices that are used by the end-users to access the network and the mostly used end hosts are Desktops, Laptops, Tablet, Mobiles, Printers, Scanners, etc. There are 2 ways to connect the End hosts to the network.
1-Wire.
2-Wireless.
Nowadays all of our end hosts are network-aware and they have pre-built Wire NIC and wireless NIC as well. So without having the NIC card you can’t connect your end hosts to the network.
2-Network Infrastructure Devices.
A Network Infrastructure device is responsible for interconnecting the end devices with each other. Examples include switches, wireless access points, routers, and firewalls. The main goal of the network infrastructure devices is to send the user’s data over the network.
Note:-The network infrastructure devices don’t store any content, They are only transit devices between the end-users.
Hubs, switches, and Access points are basically Access Devices where the end-users are connected.
Routers’ primary job is to route the packet between the two or more different networks.
Firewalls are used to inspect networks’ legitimate and illegitimate traffic so once the firewall will detect any malicious types of traffic it will simply drop that traffic. and also firewalls are used to encrypt the network traffic so that remote workers can access applications on the company network in a secure way. it is Usually deployed at network edges (Internet, WAN links).
A firewall is basically designed for providing security such as content filtering like it may be your web filtering or other network protocol filtering.
The firewall is also used for providing security from other network-related attacks. A firewall is a device where you can control your filter based on layer-2 to layer-7 protocols.
3-Network media
There are basically two types of medium.
1-Wire.
2-Wireless.
Wired Network.
In a wired network, data is transmitted over a physical medium which we called as the network cables.There are three types of physical cables used in a wired network.
» Copper Cables (LAN).
1-Co-axial.
2-Twisted Pair.
2.1 Shielded Twisted Pair.
2.2 Unshielded Twisted Pair.
3-Fiber Optics.
» Copper Cables (WAN)
1-Seriel Cables(DB9,DB25 etc ).
Copper cables are used for building the network in small offices, Buildings, Colleges, etc. A copper cable network can’t be extended more than 150meter, If you want to extend more than that you have to use a repeater which we called a signal regenerator or signal booster.
Copper Network media is the actual path over which an electrical signal travels as it moves from one component to another.
1-Co-axial Cable.
A coaxial cable consists of a central copper conductor that is surrounded by a foil shield. The foil is covered by yet another shield known as a braided shield(BS).coaxial cables only have a single copper conductor. The conductor and the foil shield are separated by a dielectric.
Coaxial cables are basically used in the traditional cable TV industry and nowadays we don’t use coaxial cable in computer networks. The maximum distance that can be expanded to the network by using copper cables is 100-120 meters.
2-Twisted Pair.
A twisted pair cable is a type of cable made by putting two separate insulated wires together in a twisted pattern and running them parallel to each other. This cable is used in telephone communication and Ethernet network.The copper wires are persisted at 1mm in diameter.
It consists of a pair of copper wires twisted around each other; the wires are around 1 to 2 mm thick and they are twisted to reduce the interference from the surrounding wires. Remember that a current-carrying wire has a magnetic field around it that can interfere with that of another wire when in close proximity.
Copper cables are used for building the Local Area Networks(LAN)because the LAN can cover a small geographical area. The maximum distance that can be expanded to the network by using copper cables is 100-120 meters. Twisted Ethernet cables have 2 or 4 pairs of copper wire but in general, the copper ethernet cables consist of 4 pairs.
Twisted Pair has 2 types of cables, Shielded and Unshielded.
Difference between STP and UTP cables.
| Comparison | UTP | STP |
| Full Form | UTP stands for ‘Unshielded twisted pair’. UTP transmission medium is a form of coaxial cable. | STP, which represents ‘Shielded twisted pair’, is another sort of twisted ensemble. |
| Grounding Cable | A grounding cable placement is not required for a UTP cable. | A grounding cable placement is essential for a STP cable. |
| Mechanism | The cable wires are intertwined and twisted together. | The twisted pair of cables are coated with foil or shield. |
| Deployments | Places that are less prone to electrical noise and interferences like offices and apartments. | Locations with significant electromagnetic interferences like airports, railway stations, and factories. |
| Price | UTP is cheaper and needs less maintenance than the STP. | STP is costly. |
3-Fiber Optics
It is the most expensive of wired mediums and offers the highest rates of data transmission. They are often used in long-distance communications and are never affected by any electromagnetic fields. This is because it involves light.
A fiber optic cable is a thin, flexible, transparent medium made of very fine glass or plastic fibers. It utilizes the principle of total internal reflection. Unlike twisted pairs or coaxial cables, a fiber optic uses light pulses generated by a laser or an injection diode to transmit data. Each pulse of light represents a single bit of data.
We use the SFP which is the source of our fiber optic cable and GBIC was the earlier before we used to have SFP.
We have two types of fiber optic Single & multimode. But in telecommunication, we normally use the single-mode fiber.
What happens when we send data on the copper wire ??.
Everything you do on your computer generates some electrical energy even if you press a key on the keyboard it is going to generate some electrical energy. Even with every click of the mouse, it’s going to generate electrical energy . It is basically taking the electrical signal from your laptop or pc and transmitting those electrical signals across the wire. So any data you sent over the copper cables travels in the form of an electric signal.
in fiber optic, the data travels in the form of light.
Wireless Network.
A wireless network uses radio waves as the communication medium for transmitting and receiving data. There are no wires involved. An example is a wireless router in your home.
Radio waves are electromagnetic waves that are transverse in nature and they have the longest wavelength in the electromagnetic spectrum.
They travel at the speed of light and have frequencies ranging from 3 kHz to 3 GHz. Radio waves can easily be absorbed by most materials and can bend around objects as well. However, they are susceptible to nearby electromagnetic fields which can cause losses in the data rate.
Serial Cable
The earliest form of computer communications involved serial links between mainframe computers. Serial communication is still a widely used method of connecting two networks usually over long distances.
Serial cables are used to build up the WAN. Nowadays it’s not being used anymore .it can cover maximum distance. There are lots of categories in Serial cable and connectors. The exact one you need to choose based on your device-specific.
