NETWORKING COMPONENTS

1 Networking Components To establish wired networking in a group of computers, you require some additional components that are as follows: 1] NETWORK CARD:- A network card also known as NIC – NETWORK INTERFACE CARD is used to attach a computer to a network, so that it can perform network communication. Ethernet Network Card is the most used network card. 2] NETWORKING CABLE:-

2 Network cables are used to connect devices located on local area networks (LANs), such as routers, PCs and switches. These wires are arranged in a special order, and an RJ-45 connector is crimped at both the ends of the cable. 3] MODEM: - A modem converts the digital signals of a computer into analog signals to enable their transmission via phone lines. At the destination, the receiving modem further converts the analog signal into digital signals so that the data can be understood at the receiving end. It comes as a separate part that can be installed on the Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) slots found on the mother board.

3 4]HUB:- A hub is a network device that is used to connect all the computers in a network with each other. When a computer sends a request in a network, it is first sent to the hub by the cable. The hub then transmits that request to all the other computers in the network, which check whether the message belongs to them or not. If not, then the message is dropped. This is called BROADCASTING. 5] SWITCH: -

4 A switch works like a hub. However, unlike a hub, the switch does not broadcast the message on the entire network. It transmits the message from the source computer to the destination computer only by using the physical address. This way, the switch provides a direct connection between the source and destination. As a result, the speed of the network increases. 6] ROUTER :- A router is a device that connects two different types of networks with each other, for example, a LAN with WAN. Apart from transmitting the messages on the network from a source computer to the destination computer, a router also provides the best suitable route to deliver that message. It, therefore, helps to decrease the time of

5 transmitting the message.