Networking Principles, Protocols And Devices: An Overview

Networking devices

A network of computers comprises of components and devices of connectivity. An understanding that is basic regarding networking is essential for any individual or a company that is managing a server. This is because it is important in running smoothly services as well as it makes it easy to diagnose problems.

There are various kinds of networks of computers like the Wide Area Network, Local Area Network, Metropolitan Area Network and the wireless network. There are a number of devices that are key in making the computer network infrastructure which include the switch, hub, modem, router, Local Area Network card, network cables and the Access point.

There are also various devices and standards in the network of a computer. The main standard that is commonly used for the LAN happens to be the Ethernet.

This report provides an overview of a number of the concepts of networking.

As mentioned earlier, a number of devices are used in networking to interconnect the computers and other devices like the printers among others. They include the following:

Servers – they offer access to a number of resources located in the network.

Hubs – they are used in connecting a number of computers in one workgroup of network of a LAN. The ports use RJ-45 connectors, BNC and AUI.

Routers – A router links networks physically and logically. It is used to base all the communication in the internet.

Switches – The switches are used in connecting computers located in the LAN. Devices that are connected to the switches use twisted pair cable. The common switches are the 2 layer but we also have the multilayer switch (Shenker et al., 2011).

Multilayer switch functions like layer 2 switch and also offers extra roles on the OSI layers that are higher.

Firewall allows only authorized access to the network. Any intrusion is prevented by the firewall

HIDS is used in detecting intrusion by analyzing and monitoring computer systems’ internals together with the packets of the network on its interfaces of the network.

Repeaters are used to increase the max of the medium, which is the effective distance.

Bridges – they are used in dividing a large network into smaller segments in order to enhance the performance of the network. They also connect various types of media and network architecture (Miller, Brandwine and Doane, 2011).

Wireless devices are the devices that allow connection to a wired network through the use of WiFi.

Access point is device that allows some wireless devices like the router to connect to a network.

Content filter is used to control the content that is being received by the user. It’s limited on the server side.

Load balancer controls the traffic in the network to prevent slowing down of the network

Modem converts the digital signals generated by the computer into analog signals to enable them to travel through the lines of the phone.

Packet shaper offers visibility that is deep into the traffic of the network including applications that are web-based.

VPN connector enables creation of a connection that is secure to a different network over the internet.

Networking software

Networking software assists administrators in deploying, managing and monitoring a network. It is classified into: (Tsirogiannis, Harizopoulos and Shah, 2010).

Client software – an appropriate client software enables users in logging in to a server and accessing the network resources. It enables users that are legitimate to authenticate themselves through provision of a valid password and username.

Server software – it is operated on the computing software. It offers and enhances the harnessing of underlying computing power of the server to be used with an array of computing functions and services of the high-end.

The server software can be divided into the following types;

• Web server – it offers services or content to the client or end user via the internet. It comprises of the server operating system, physical server and a software that is used in facilitating HTTP communication (Menasce, 2013).
• File server – it handles data files management and central storage of the data in order for other devices in the network can access it.
• Database server– at time it may be used as the back-end of the application of the database, hardware computer which hosts an instance or it may also be a combination of the software as well as the hardware.
• Virtualization – it enables sharing of software and hardware resources with the rest of the operating systems.
• Terminal services server – it enables a user to connect a number of client systems to connect to the network of LAN without the use of a network interface or a modem (Kim and Feamster, 2013).

Client operating system – this is the system that operates within a number of portable devices and computer desktops. They only support a single user, e.g. Smartphones.

Server operating system – it enables network administrators to manage the resources located in the network like the communication devices, storage areas for the data and printers.

Firewall – it prevents unauthorized access from or to a network that is private. It can either be implemented in a software or hardware or both may be applied. 

When setting up a network, a number of factors need to be considered while selecting a server. They include the following;

• Cost – when setting up a network and cost happens to be a major concern, LINUX server is most appropriate. This is because it is generally free. Although it is free, it has a weakness which is that, its maintenance and support are not free. Still, it is the best option.
• Purpose – a server should also be selected according to the purpose. Some have more power of processing storage and memory according to the work the server is going to handle.
• Operating system requirement – some operating systems support customization while others do not. Free open source OS such as the Debian do not support customization, while others like window server support customization (Hawking and Thistlewaite, 2009).

When setting up a network, a computer mainly is considered to be the workstation. To make a connection, network cables are used. They may be the twisted pair cable which comprises of copper wires that are either shielded or unshielded. The twisted cables use RJ 45 connectors.

Coaxial cables can also be used as well as fiber optic cables (Scherer and Sholtis, 2015).

Network cards allow network devices to receive and transmit data through the transmission media.

User access levels are set in the network where by a user must use login credentials to access the network. The network administrator sets levels that user can access the network.

System bus is also present the workstation whereby it offers a path consisting of connectors and cables for carrying data between the main memory and the microprocessor of the computer (Schnell, 2011).

When setting up the network, the local system architecture is considered according to the purpose of the network. It comprises of the memory, input and output devices and the processor. The memory size and the processor are determined by the complexity of the processes that will be carried out in the network. The I/O devices comprises of the network devices which include the printers, hubs, computers among others (Bechtolsheim, 2012).

An effective networking systems offers a number of advantages to a business. They include;

• Time saving – this is made possible when all the business activities are controlled from a central computer
• Cost effective – the cost of hiring individual is reduced as only one system administrator is required at the central point.
• Increase in production – the system detects and resolves the issues even before they are realized. This reduces any obstacles that arise during production hence ensuring minimal loss.
• Security risks are minimized– networking systems are highly protected from attacks from viruses, internal and external attacks as well as hacking (Lindsay, Bruich and Smallwood, 2014)

Conclusion

Networking has become a major aspect in all kinds of businesses as well as other fields which include education institutions, hospitals among others. It makes communication easier and is cost effective since it also allows sharing of resources over the network.

There are a number of options available while selecting networking devices hence, when selecting them, it’s advisable to have adequate information regarding all the devices to be used so that an individual can be sure that the best options are chosen. For example, when choosing the server to be used among others, the cost and purpose as well as flexibility of the server should be considered. Some servers may not be compatible with other operating systems of the users.

References

Bechtolsheim, A., 2012. The SUN workstation architecture.

Hawking, D. and Thistlewaite, P., 2009. Methods for information server selection. ACM Transactions on Information Systems (TOIS), 17(1), pp.40-76.

Kim, H. and Feamster, N., 2013. Improving network management with software defined networking. IEEE Communications Magazine, 51(2), pp.114-119.

Lindsay, R.T., Bruich, S.M. and Smallwood, B.H., Facebook Inc, 2014. Determining advertising effectiveness outside of a social networking system. U.S. Patent 8,874,639.

Miller, K.C., Brandwine, E.J. and Doane, A.J., Amazon Technologies Inc, 2011. Using virtual networking devices to manage external connections. U.S. Patent 7,937,438.

Menasce, D.A., 2013. Web server software architectures. IEEE internet computing, 7(6), pp.78-81.

Schnell, A.T., Compaq Computer Corp, 2011. Management communication bus for networking devices. U.S. Patent 6,199,133.

Scherer, C.B. and Sholtis, J.K., Mertek Industries LLC, 2015. Networking cable tracer system. U.S. Patent 9,196,975.

Shenker, S., Casado, M., Koponen, T. and McKeown, N., 2011. The future of networking, and the past of protocols. Open Networking Summit, 20, pp.1-30.

Tsirogiannis, D., Harizopoulos, S. and Shah, M.A., 2010, June. Analyzing the energy efficiency of a database server. In Proceedings of the 2010 ACM SIGMOD International Conference on Management of data (pp. 231-242). ACM.