Wired and wireless networks (1.3) GapFill

Networks make use of many different types of hardware to connect devices, including routers, switches, NICs and WAPs. Routers send data  wirelesslybetween networksbetween two serverssecurely; switches connect devices on a single network and identify where to send data by using the  MAC addressesRFIDsLANsdomain names of the connected devices; NICs allow devices to  make wireless connectionsconnect to networksdetect transmission errorsidentify other devices on the network and a WAP allows devices to connect to the network  securelywithout a MAC addressonly if it is connected to the Internetwirelessly.

As well as using different types of device, networks can also differ in how the devices communicate with each other. One way that devices can be configured is as a client-server network, in which a central server  (a computer that makes requests to clients)(a computer that handles data and services for other devices on a network)(a removable storage device)(a peer-to-peer computer) communicates with every client device  (router)(removable storage devices)(computers that handle data and services for other devices on a network)(computers that make requests to servers) on the network. Another commonly used arrangement is a  ringstarpeer-to-peerserver-server network, where devices communicate directly with each other and can act as both clients and servers. As all data on a client-server network passes through the server, client-server networks can be made more secure than peer-to-peer networks, although this also means that if the server in a client-server network fails, the entire network will fail.

A  WANclient-server networkLANpeer-to-peer network is a type of network used to connect devices (and smaller networks) across large geographical areas. One example of this type of network is the Internet, which uses IP addresses to identify devices when transferring data. IP addresses are hard for people to remember, and so  nicknamesdomain namesWAPsLANs are also used as a way for people to be able to easily read and remember how to access devices (often servers hosting web pages) on the Internet. These can be converted to IP addresses by sending a request to a  WANwebDNSMAC server.

The performance of a network is affected by its bandwidth  (maximum number of users)(the rate at which it can transfer data)(the amount of cloud storage it uses)(the frequency of errors along the network), its latency  (the amount of cloud storage it uses)(the rate at which it can transfer data)(the time between a message being sent and received)(the number of virtual networks running on the network) and  the number of virtual networks running on the networkthe time between a message being sent and receivedthe amount of cloud storage it usesthe frequency of errors along the network. The transmission medium used greatly affects bandwidth, latency and error frequency. For example, fibre-optic cabling  has higher latency thanhas lower latency thanhas a shorter range thansupports less users than copper cabling as it transmits data at the speed of light. It also has a lower error frequency as the individual wires in a fibre-optic cable do not cause electrical interference with each other. As a result of the wires not interfering with each other, a higher bandwidth because a cable can use more wires to transmit more data per second.