A bridge is a hardware and software devices designed for bridging applications. Bridge start on the OSI Model Data Link Layer. Their function is to detect an error and control the flow on the physical link. They look for the MAC addresses for Ethernet and Token Ring to determine whether or not to forward or ignore a packet. The Purpose of a Bridge are isolating networks by Mac address, manages network traffic by filtering packets and translate from one protocol to another.
Hub is like a repeater. When a packet goes in one of the port, it gets duplicate inside …show more content…
It operates a layer 2 of the OSL model because it requires a MAC address to send the packets. It is not suitable to be used as a host as it is usually connected to a hub. When a packet reached a bridge on one of port it will check if the destination MAC address is on the other port. If yes, the packet will be sent to the port.
A switch is similar to a bridge. But, it more efficient than a hub. For example, it has more than 2 ports. It does not have limitations that are on the hub and the bridge. It filters packets based on MAC address. It can manage a traffic better than a hub. It also more ports than a bridge to connect to many devices or a …show more content…
It is not as popular as cat 3 and cat 5 cables as it is usually used for voice and low-speed data applications with a maximum speed of 16mpbs.
Third is the cat 5 cable. They are quite common for most people with a maximum speed of 100mbps.
Cat 5e cable was then introduced as higher speed was needed. It has a maximum speed of 1000mpbs. This has become the new replacement for the cat 5 cable.
However, all these cables are unreliable as they tend to be slow. More and more homes and company are starting to replace their normal UTP cables with fiber optical cables. These optical fiber cables are thin strands of glass the size of a human hair. They are more reliable and the doesn’t lose packets and they travel at the speed of light. (Explainthatstuff, 2016) stated that a single strand of optical fiber can carry approximately 25,000 telephone calls and a bundle of the optical fiber can carry a million calls.
Another type of network cable is the coaxial cable. It is mainly used by telephone companies to provide interference-free transmission electrical signals. It has a few layers of electrical conductors and insulator. This ensures that the signal is kept within the cable to prevent electrical noise from interfering with the signal. The inner layer is a conducting wire usually made of copper. This follows by an insulating material that surrounds the wire. Then a third layer of braided copper mesh that surround the 2 layer inside it, follow by another insulated