Router: Hardware Packets Network Drop
Router: Hardware Packets Network Drop
Router: Hardware Packets Network Drop
A router is hardware device designed to receive, analyze and move incoming packets to another
network. It may also be used to convert the packets to another network interface, drop them, and
perform other actions relating to a network. The picture shows the Linksys BEFSR11 wireless
router and is what many home routers resemble.
A router has a lot more capabilities than other network devices, such as a hub or a switch that
are only able to perform basic network functions. For example, a hub is often used to transfer
data between computers or network devices, but does not analyze or do anything with the data it
is transferring. By contrast, routers can analyze the data being sent over a network, change how it
is packaged, and send it to another network or over a different network. For example, routers are
commonly used in home networks to share a single Internet connection between multiple
computers.
In the above example, of a home network, there are two different types of a router: the router and
the wireless router. In this example, the router allows all the computers and other network
devices to access the Internet. The wireless router allows a laptop to wirelessly connect to the
home network and access the Internet as well. Below are some additional examples of different
types of routers used in a large network.
GATEWAY
A gateway is a node (router) in a computer network, a key stopping point for data on its way to
or from other networks. Thanks to gateways, we are able to communicate and send data back and
forth. The Internet wouldn't be any use to us without gateways (as well as a lot of other hardware
and software).
In a workplace, the gateway is the computer that routes traffic from a workstation to the outside
network that is serving up the Web pages. For basic Internet connections at home, the gateway is
the Internet Service Provider that gives you access to the entire Internet.
A node is simply a physical place where the data stops for either transporting or reading/using.
(A computer or modem is a node; a computer cable isn't.) Here are a few node notes:
On the Internet, the node that's a stopping point can be a gateway or a host node.
A computer that controls the traffic your Internet Service Provider (ISP) receives is a
node.
If you have a wireless network at home that gives your entire family access to the Internet, your
gateway is the modem (or modem-router combo) your ISP provides so you can connect to their
network. On the other end, the computer that controls all of the data traffic your Internet Service
Provider (ISP) takes and sends out is itself a node.
When a computer-server acts as a gateway, it also operates as a firewall and a proxy server. A
firewall keeps out unwanted traffic and outsiders off a private network. A proxy server is
software that "sits" between programs on your computer that you use (such as a Web browser)
and a computer server—the computer that serves your network. The proxy server's task is to
make sure the real server can handle your online data requests.
The gateway (or default gateway) is implemented at the boundary of a network to manage all the
data communication that is routed internally or externally from that network. Besides routing
packets, gateways also possess information about the host network's internal paths and the
learned path of different remote networks. If a network node wants to communicate with a
foreign network, it will pass the data packet to the gateway, which then routes it to the
destination using the best possible path.
Default Gateway
Definition - What does Default Gateway mean?
A default gateway serves as an access point or IP router that a networked computer uses to send
information to a computer in another network or the internet. Default simply means that this
gateway is used by default, unless an application specifies another gateway. The default server
does not even need to be a router; it may be a computer with two network adapters, where one is
connected to the local subnet and the other is connected to an outside network.
Network administrators configure the computer’s routing capability with an IP range's starting
address as the default gateway and point all clients to that IP address.
SWITCH
A switch is a device in a computer network that connects together other devices. Multiple data
cables are plugged into a switch to enable communication between different networked devices.
Switches manage the flow of data across a network by transmitting a received network packet
only to the one or more devices for which the packet is intended. Each networked device
connected to a switch can be identified by its network address, allowing the switch to direct the
flow of traffic maximizing the security and efficiency of the network.
A switch is more intelligent than an Ethernet hub, which simply retransmits packets out of every
port of the hub except the port on which the packet was received, unable to distinguish different
recipients, and achieving an overall lower network efficiency.
An Ethernet switch operates at the data link layer (layer 2) of the OSI model to create a separate
collision domain for each switch port. Each device connected to a switch port can transfer data to
any of the other ports at any time and the transmissions will not interfere.[a] Because broadcasts
are still being forwarded to all connected devices by the switch, the newly formed network
segment continues to be a broadcast domain. Switches may also operate at higher layers of the
OSI model, including the network layer and above. A device that also operates at these higher
layers is known as a multilayer switch.
HUB
An Ethernet hub, active hub, network hub, repeater hub, multiport repeater, or simply hub
is a network hardware device for connecting multiple Ethernet devices together and making them
act as a single network segment. It has multiple input/output (I/O) ports, in which a signal
introduced at the input of any port appears at the output of every port except the original
incoming.[1] A hub works at the physical layer (layer 1) of the OSI model.[2] A repeater hub also
participates in collision detection, forwarding a jam signal to all ports if it detects a collision. In
addition to standard 8P8C ("RJ45") ports, some hubs may also come with a BNC or an
Attachment Unit Interface (AUI) connector to allow connection to legacy 10BASE2 or
10BASE5 network segments.
Hubs are now largely obsolete, having been replaced by network switches except in very old
installations or specialized applications. As of 2011, connecting network segments by repeaters
or hubs is deprecated by IEEE 802.3.[3][4][5]
NIC
Short for Network Interface Card, the NIC is also referred to as an Ethernet card and
network adapter. It is an expansion card that enables a computer to connect to a network; such
as a home network, or the Internet using an Ethernet cable with an RJ-45 connector.
Due to the popularity and low cost of the Ethernet standard, most new computers have a network
interface build directly into the motherboard. The top image shows the SMC EZ Card 10/100
PCI network card, one of the more common examples.
The bottom picture shows a PC Card, more specifically the SMC EZ Card 10/100 wireless
network card; found in laptop computers that do not have onboard wireless capabilities.
COMPUTER NETWORK
Computer Network
Definition - What does Computer Network mean?
A computer network is a group of computer systems and other computing hardware devices that
are linked together through communication channels to facilitate communication and resource-
sharing among a wide range of users. Networks are commonly categorized based on their
characteristics.
TYPES OF LAN
Personal Area Network (PAN)
The smallest and most basic type of network, a PAN is made up of a wireless modem, a
computer or two, phones, printers, tablets, etc., and revolves around one person in one building.
These types of networks are typically found in small offices or residences, and are managed by
one person or organization from a single device.
Using routers, LANs can connect to wide area networks (WANs, explained below) to rapidly and
safely transfer data.
The Internet is the most basic example of a WAN, connecting all computers together around the
world. Because of a WAN’s vast reach, it is typically owned and maintained by multiple
administrators or the public.
If you have questions about which type of network is right for your organization, or want to learn
more about Belden’s network solutions that improve uptime, maintain security, and help improve
user access, check out info.belden.com/lan.