F2 It
Making connections
Hardware
For networks to function properly, they need a number of different pieces of network
hardware.Each piece of hardware has its own role to play in ensuring that the networ
functions correctly.
Servers
servers provide services to a network. You investigated the functions that they can offer
devices in the previous Learn box.
Network Interface Controller
A Network Interface Controller (NIC) must be present in a device to enable it to communicate with
other devices over a network. Sometimes these are physical cards that can be plugged into a PC. but
often they are built into a device using smaller electronic circuitry. Mobile phone NiCs are much
smaller than a PC NIC, for example. Every NIC has a MAC address that uniquely identifies the
device on a network. The MAC address is assigned when the device is manufactured and cannot be
changed.
Switch
A switch connects together multiple devices on a network. It stores the MAC address of every
device that it is connected to. When one device wants to send data to another, it uses the MAC
address to send the data only to the device that is meant to receive it. Often switches connect large
numbers of devices together using ethernet cables.
Wireless Access Point
A Wireless Access Point (WAP) allows devices to connect to a network using Wi-Fi,
Router
A router connects dilferent networks together and provides access to the internet. If you want to
send data from one place to another, a router finds the lastest route to send the data.
All-in-one devices
More networks often use an all-in- one device that combines a router with a WAP and switch.The
WAP allows devices to connect to the network via Wi-Fi, and a four -port switch allows users to
connect up to four devices directly to the network via an ethernet cable.
Wired vs wireless
the devices that make up a network can be connected in a varioty of ways, all of which can be
categorised into wired or wireless
Wired connections
Wired connections use copper wire or fibre optic cable. Fibre-optic cables are usually used to
connect LANs together to form WANs across large geographic areas.
Copper wire: Copper wire, also known as othernet cable, transmits data as electrical.
pulses and can transmit around 10Gb per second it is often used to connect devices on a LAN as it
transmits data reliably over a distance of about 100 metrese.Copper wire is fairly cheap but is-prone
to interforence.
Fibre-optic cable: Fibre-optic cables transmit data as pulses of light, which is mush faster than
electrical signals. This means that they have a high bandwidth of up to 100 Tb per second, much
faster than the copper aiternative. Fibre-optic cables are not as prone to interference, so they are
more reliable than copper cables.
Wired connections are often much more reliable and faster than wireless connections; however, they
do have some drawbacks:
• Wired connections can be expensive to install Imagine how much ethernet cable
you would need to wire up every device to the network switches in your school
• Devices connected via cabling are not portable, as they can move only as far as the
wires will allow!
Wireless connections
The table shows the most common standards of wireless communication.
Method of wireless transmission/Bandwidth
Wi-Fi - The latest version of WI-Fi is capable of transmitting data at 9.6 Gbps (9600 Mbps).
Bluetooth - Bluetooth is capable of transmitting data at 2 Mbps
3G - The average speed of 3G is 3 Mbps.
4G- The average speed of 4G is between 8 and 10 Mbps.
5G - The average speed of 5G is 100 Mbps.
Wireless connections are great for convenience, but they have some drawbacks.
• Wireless networks are often subject to interference, which can prevent data from transmitting
accurately.
• The data transmitted over a wireless network can be intercepted easily.
• wireless networks are often slower than wired networks.
