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The purpose of most of these devices is to control how the network passes aroundinformation. This information is sent in the form of "packets". I will refer to theterm packet several times in this article. It simply means the data that the networkis transporting. I will now explain the purpose of the major components of a homenetwork.
What is a Hub
A hub is a device that has several Ethernet ports on the back of the device. One ofthese ports will likely be labeled Uplink . This port allows you to connectmultiple hubs together, if you run out of ports on your hub. If you do not have anuplink port on your hub, the hub cannot be easily extended if you run out of ports.
A hub is a device that attaches multiple computers on an Ethernet network. If youhave a number different computers that you want to connect together, you couldconnect each to the hub. Any packet that is sent out by any computer on the networkwill immediately be transmitted to the other computers. Each computer will determineif the packet was really intended for it, and filter out packets that were intendedfor other computers.
You really should not use a hub in a modern home network. You should always use aswitch in place of a hub. Switches will be discussed in the next section.
What is a Switch
A switch is a device that has several Ethernet ports on the back of the device. Oneof these ports will likely be labeled Uplink . This port allows you to connectmultiple switches together, if you run out of ports on your switch. If you do nothave an uplink port on your switch, the switch cannot be easily extended if you runout of ports.
A switch serves the same function as a hub. It allows you to connect multiplecomputers together, so that they can exchange packets. However, a switch is muchmore efficient than a hub. A switch will only send Ethernet packets to the computerthat the packet was intended for. Because of this you should always use a switch inplace of a hub.
What is a Router
A router is a device that has several Ethernet ports on the back of the device. Oneof the connectors will be labeled WAN. You should connect the WAN port to theEthernet connection on a broadband source, such as a cable or DSL modem. The otherports on the router can be connected other computers or switches/hubs that willshare the WAN connection.
Routers allow you to share your broadband connection with multiple computers in yourhouse. Rather than connecting your computer directly into your cable or DSL modemyou connect the router to the cable or DSL modem. Now any computer that you connectto the router will have access to the Internet.
If you run out of ports on your router you can always connect an additional switchto the router. To connect a switch to a router simply connects the switch s "uplink"port to one of the routers Ethernet ports. Of course, don t connect to the router sWAN port. The WAN port should only be connected to something such as a cable or DSLrouter.
Some routers come with additional features installed. Most routers also include afirewall. Firewalls are discussed in the next section. Some routers will alsoinclude a wireless access point (WAP). The WAP allows you to use wireless devices,such as wireless laptops, with the Internet.
What is a Firewall
A firewall controls traffic flow between your network and the Internet. A firewallcan be either hardware or software. Windows XP SP2 or higher includes a softwarefirewall. A hardware firewall is included with most routers.
A firewall is a very good idea. It can protect you from inbound virus attempts. Byinbound virus attempt I mean other computers that will connect to your computer andattempt to infect your computer. You do not want to run a computer directlyconnected to the Internet, without a firewall. There are just too many othercomputers out there that can connect and infect you without you even noticing.
What is a Network Attached Storage (NAS)
A network attached storage device is a device that allows a hard drive to be sharedacross the network. This hard drive is NOT attached to any of your computers. It issimply made available by the NAS. This can be a convent way to add a hard drive thatcan be accessed by several computers on your network. The other common way to add anetwork hard drive is to simply share a folder on one of your computers. However,with the NAS, you do not need to keep one of your computers on at all times.
There are two types of NAS commonly available. The first type comes with a build inhard drive. The second accepts a USB or Fire wire external hard drive. The advantageto using a USB or Fire wire hard drive is that you can upgrade the hard drive if itever were to become too small.
What is a Print Server
Just like you can buy a device to allow you to share a hard drive, you can do thesame with a printer. A print server connects directly to your printer. Your printeris then shared to all of your computers on the network. This is convent because youdo not need to leave the printer hooked to a computer, which must be turned on toprint.
Conclusions
As you can see there are many different components. Perhaps the final component thatI ave yet to mention is the cable. These components are connected together with CAT5Ethernet cable.
