1.32 wired and wireless networks + protocols and layers

• What is the purpose of the network device: a wireless access point


  Provides a link between wireless and wired networks by creating a wireless local area that allows WiFi enabled devices to connect to a wired network.
• Name 2 examples of a wireless access point


  A hotspot in a phone or cafe
• How can a wireless access point be embedded?


  It can be a separate piece of hardware or built into another networking device such as a router.
• What is the purpose of a router?


  They receive data packets and use the IP address in the data packet to determine the best route to transport the data.

  Data is transferred from router to router across the internet (international network)
• What does the router store?


  The router stores the IP address of each computer connected to it in a network and uses a routing table to determine the fastest and slowest routing paths for data to be transferred
• What is the function of a switch?


  The switch is used to connect devices together on a LAN. It recieves the data packets, reads the destination address in the data packet, and sends it to the corresponding destination in the LAN.
• How does the switch function?


  The switch generates a list of MAC addresses of all devices connected to it when it receives data, and which correspondingly scans for the address of the destination before sending.
• What is the alternative to a switch?


  A hub, although it is slower and less secure because it forwards a copy of all received data to all nodes.
• What is the function of a network purpose interface / card? (NIC)


  The NIC is an internal piece of hardware that connects the computer to the network by providing a MAC address, which is used when it is sending data across a LAN.
• How can an NIC be used physically?


  Plugging in an ethernet cable to allow data to be exchanged between the device and a network.
• Name 3 types of transmission media

  Ethernet cables are used to transfer data between nodes and switches.

  Fibre Optic cables are very fast however very expensive and fragile because they transfer data in pulses of light across a WAN

  Coaxial cables that are made of copper and are old, slow, and can be interfered with by electromagnets