LAN Devices:

• 1. Repeater

• 2. Hub

• 3. Switch

• 4. Router

• 5. Gateway

• 6. Network Interface Card (NIC)

• 7. Modem
[Link]:
• Repeaters are network devices operating at physical layer of the
OSI model that amplify or regenerate an incoming signal which
has lost its strength.
• Repeaters amplify the attenuated signal and then retransmits it.
• They are incorporated in networks to expand its coverage area.
• They are also known as signal boosters.
• Repeaters are popularly incorporated to connect between two
LANs thus forming a large single LAN.

Types of Repeaters:
 • According to the types of signals that they regenerate, repeaters
can be classified into two categories −
• Analog Repeaters − They can only amplify the analog signal.
• Digital Repeaters − They can reconstruct a distorted signal.
• According to the types of networks that they connect, repeaters can
be categorized into two types −
• Wired Repeaters − They are used in wired LANs.
• Wireless Repeaters − They are used in wireless LANs and
cellular networks.
• According to the domain of LANs they connect, repeaters can be
divided into two categories −
• Local Repeaters − They connect LAN segments separated by
small distance.
• Remote Repeaters − They connect LANs that are far from each
other.
Advantages of Repeaters:
• Repeaters are simple to install and can easily extend the length or
the coverage area of networks.
• They are cost effective.
• Repeaters don’t require any processing overhead.
• They can connect signals using different types of cables.
Disadvantages of Repeaters:
• Repeaters cannot connect dissimilar networks.
 • They cannot differentiate between actual signal and noise.
• They cannot reduce network traffic or congestion.
• Most networks have limitations upon the number of repeaters that
can be deployed.
[Link]:
• A hub is a physical layer networking device which is used to
connect multiple devices in a network. They are generally used to
connect computers in a LAN.
• A hub has many ports in it. A computer which intends to be
connected to the network is plugged in to one of these ports.
• When a data frame arrives at a port, it broadcasts to every other
port, without considering whether it is destined for a particular
destination or not.
• Hub is not an intelligent device .It is a passive device.
There are three types of the hub that are given below:
• Passive Hub
• Active Hub
• Intelligent Hub
Advantages of Hub:
• It provides support for different types of Network Media.
• It can be used by anyone as it is very cheap.
• The use of a hub does not impact on the network performance.
• Additionally, it can expand the total distance of the network.
Disadvantages of Hub:
• It has no ability to choose the best path of the network.
• It does not include mechanisms such as collision detection.
• It does not operate in full-duplex mode.
• It cannot reduce the network traffic as it has no mechanism.
• It is not able to filter the information as it transmits packets to all
the connected segments.
3. Switch:
• Switches are networking devices operating at layer 2 or a data link
layer of the OSI model.
• They connect devices in a network and send, receive or forward
data frames over the network.
• A switch has many ports, to which computers are plugged in.
 • When a data frame arrives at any port of a network switch, it
examines the destination address, performs necessary checks and
sends the frame to the corresponding device(s).
• It supports unicast, multicast as well as broadcast communications.
Advantages of Switch:
• Switch increases the bandwidth of the network.
• It reduces the workload on individual PCs as it sends the
information to only that device which has been addressed.
• It increases the overall performance of the network by reducing the
traffic on the network.
• There will be less frame collision as switch creates the collision
domain for each connection.

Disadvantages of Switch:
• A Switch is more expensive than network hub.
• A Switch cannot determine the network connectivity issues easily.
• Proper designing and configuration of the switch are required to
handle multicast packets.
Frame forwarding methods by Switch:
There are 2 methods that all switch use for forwarding the frames
(switching data) between the network ports:
1. Store and forward switching
2. Cut-through switching
1. Store and forward switching :
In this switching technique, when the switch receives the
frame , it stores the frame data in buffers until the full frame has been
received. During this process, the switch analyses the current frame for
information about its destination. This process also involves the another
process of an error check using the Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC)
which is operated by the switch.
• CRC checks the number of bits (1s) in the frame to determine
whether the received frame has an error or not. After confirming
that there is no error in the frame, the frame is forwarded out the
appropriate port, toward its destination.
• When an error is found in a frame, the switch discards the frame.
Bandwidth consumed by the corrupt data is reduced by discarding
the error containing frame.

2. Cut-through switching :
In this switching technique, the switch acts upon the data as
soon as it is received, even if the full frame is not received (transmission
is not complete).
The switch buffers is enough of the frame to read the destination MAC
address so that it can find the port where it supposed to send the data.
The switch takes the destination MAC address from switching table,
determines the outgoing interface port, and forwards the frame onto its
destination through the designated switch port. This switching technique
does not involve any error check process by the switch.

4. ROUTER :
• Routers are networking devices operating at layer 3 or a network
layer of the OSI model.
• They are responsible for receiving, analysing, and forwarding data
packets among the connected computer networks.
When a data packet arrives, the router inspects the destination
address, consults its routing tables to decide the optimal route and then
transfers the packet along this route.
Two types of Routing table
• [Link] Routing table
• 2. Dynamic Routing table

Types of Routing:
Routing is a process that is performed by layer 3 (or
network layer) devices in order to deliver the packet by
choosing an optimal path from one network to another.

There are 3 types of routing:

1. Static routing –
Static routing is a process in which we have to manually
add routes to the routing table.
[Link] Routing:
• Dynamic routing makes automatic adjustments of the routes
according to the current state of the route in the routing table.
• Dynamic routing uses protocols to discover network destinations
and the routes to reach them. RIP and OSPF are the best examples
of dynamic routing protocols. Automatic adjustments will be made
to reach the network destination if one route goes down.
3. Default Routing :

This is the method where the router is configured to send all packets
towards a single router (next hop). It doesn’t matter to which network
the packet belongs, it is forwarded out to the router which is
configured for default routing.
It is generally used with stub routers. A stub router is a router that
has only one route to reach all other networks.
5. GATEWAY:
It is the networking device which is used to connect different
networks which are working on different prorocols.
 A Gateway is also called as ' Protocol Converter ' because it can convert the data
packets as per the destination network protocol requirement.
 A Gateway is the most intelligent device among the network connecting devices.
Intelligent in terms of its working, error control, data packet routing,
transmission speed, etc. It is a combination of both hardware as well as software
components.
 A gateway operates on all the layers of the OSI model, so it can be used as a one-
stop solution for all kinds of network device connectivities.
 6. Network Interface Card(NIC):

A network interface card (NIC) is a hardware component without which a

computer cannot be connected over a network. It is a circuit board installed in a
computer that provides a dedicated network connection to the computer.

 NIC allows both wired and wireless communications.

 NIC allows communications between computers connected via local area network (LAN) as
well as communications over large-scale network through Internet Protocol (IP).
 NIC is both a physical layer and a data link layer device, i.e. it provides the necessary
hardware circuitry so that the physical layer processes and some data link layer processes
can run on it.

Types of NIC Cards

NIC cards are of two types –

Internal Network Cards:

In internal networks cards, motherboard has a slot for the network card where it can be
inserted. It requires network cables to provide netwo rk access
External Network Cards:
In desktops and laptops that do not have an internal NIC, external NICs are used.
External network cards are of two types: Wireless and USB based. Wireless network
card needs to be inserted into the motherboard, however no network cable is required
to connect to the network. They are useful while traveling or accessing a wireless
signal.

7. MODEM: (Modulation Demodulation)

Modem stands for Modulation Demodulation. A modem converts the digital data signals into
analogue data signals.
Types of Modems:

[Link] modem

[Link] modem

[Link] modem

[Link] modem:

Internal modems are also known as on-board modems.

An internal modem is a network device that is contained on an expansion board that plugs
into the motherboard. Unlike an external modem, an internal modem contains no lights to inform
the user of its current function or changing modem states. Instead, the user must rely on the
software that came with the modem.

[Link] modem:

An external modem is a network device that is in a self-contained enclosure external to a

computer.

External modems have lights indicating various modem functions and they can easily be moved
from one computer system to another.

3. DSL modem: (Digital Subscriber Line (DSL)

DSL are used for transmission of the digital data over telephone lines. These modems offer high-
speed internet connection through telephone lines. Two types of DSL modem include
asymmetric and symmetric DSL that use existing telephone wiring within your home wiring.
Due to the use of existing wiring, these modems are cost-effective.