A hub network uses a main cable much like the bus network, which is called the backplane. The hub topology is shown in Figure 1.4. From the backplane, a set of cables leads to a hub, which is a box containing several ports into which devices are plugged. The cables to a connection point are often called drops, because they drop from the backplane to the ports.
Hub networks can be very large, using a high-speed fiber optic backplane and slightly slower Ethernet drops to hubs from which a workgroup can be supported. The hub network can also be small, with a couple of hubs supporting a few devices connected together by standard Ethernet cables. The hub network is scaleable (meaning you can start small and expand as you need to), which is part of its attraction.
Hub networks have become popular for large installations, in part because they are easy to set up and maintain. They also can be the least expensive system in many larger installations, which adds to their attraction. The backplane can extend across a considerable distance just like a bus network, whereas the ports, or connection points, are usually grouped in a set placed in a box or panel. There can be many panels or connection boxes attached to the backplane
Wide Area Networks
As I mentioned earlier, LANs can be combined into a large entity called a WAN. WANs are usually composed of LANs joined together by a high-speed link (such as a telephone line or dedicated cable). At the entrance to each LAN, one or more machines act as the link between the LAN and WAN: these are called gateways. I talk about gateways and the types of gateways used in a WAN in more detail on many of the following days, but for now you need to know only that a gateway is the interface between a LAN and a WAN. The same applies for any LAN that accesses the Internet: one machine usually acts as the gateway from the LAN to the Internet (which is really just a very large WAN).
Many terms other than gateway are also used. You will hear terms like router and bridge. They are all gateways, but they perform slightly different tasks. To understand their roles (which I mention many times in the next week's material), you need to take a quick look at how WANs are laid out.
LANs can be tied to a WAN through a gateway that handles the passage of data between the LAN and WAN backbone. In a simple layout, a router is used to perform this function.
Another gateway device, called a bridge, is used to connect LANs using the same network protocol. Bridges are used only when the same network protocol (such as TCP/IP) is on both LANs. The bridge does not care which physical media is used. Bridges can connect twisted-pair LANs to coaxial LANs, for example, or act as an interface to a fiber optic network. As long as the network protocol is the same, the bridge functions properly.
If two or more LANs are involved in one organization and there is the possibility of a lot of traffic between them, it is better to connect the two LANs directly with a bridge instead of loading the backbone with the cross-traffic.
In a configuration using bridges between LANs, traffic from one LAN to another can be sent through the bridge instead of onto the backbone, providing better performance. For services such as Telnet and FTP, the speed difference between using a bridge and going through a router onto a heavily used backbone can be significant.
WANs are an important subject, and I look at them again in more detail on Day 13, "Managing and Troubleshooting TCP/IP."
Hub networks can be very large, using a high-speed fiber optic backplane and slightly slower Ethernet drops to hubs from which a workgroup can be supported. The hub network can also be small, with a couple of hubs supporting a few devices connected together by standard Ethernet cables. The hub network is scaleable (meaning you can start small and expand as you need to), which is part of its attraction.
Hub networks have become popular for large installations, in part because they are easy to set up and maintain. They also can be the least expensive system in many larger installations, which adds to their attraction. The backplane can extend across a considerable distance just like a bus network, whereas the ports, or connection points, are usually grouped in a set placed in a box or panel. There can be many panels or connection boxes attached to the backplane
Wide Area Networks
As I mentioned earlier, LANs can be combined into a large entity called a WAN. WANs are usually composed of LANs joined together by a high-speed link (such as a telephone line or dedicated cable). At the entrance to each LAN, one or more machines act as the link between the LAN and WAN: these are called gateways. I talk about gateways and the types of gateways used in a WAN in more detail on many of the following days, but for now you need to know only that a gateway is the interface between a LAN and a WAN. The same applies for any LAN that accesses the Internet: one machine usually acts as the gateway from the LAN to the Internet (which is really just a very large WAN).
Many terms other than gateway are also used. You will hear terms like router and bridge. They are all gateways, but they perform slightly different tasks. To understand their roles (which I mention many times in the next week's material), you need to take a quick look at how WANs are laid out.
LANs can be tied to a WAN through a gateway that handles the passage of data between the LAN and WAN backbone. In a simple layout, a router is used to perform this function.
Another gateway device, called a bridge, is used to connect LANs using the same network protocol. Bridges are used only when the same network protocol (such as TCP/IP) is on both LANs. The bridge does not care which physical media is used. Bridges can connect twisted-pair LANs to coaxial LANs, for example, or act as an interface to a fiber optic network. As long as the network protocol is the same, the bridge functions properly.
If two or more LANs are involved in one organization and there is the possibility of a lot of traffic between them, it is better to connect the two LANs directly with a bridge instead of loading the backbone with the cross-traffic.
In a configuration using bridges between LANs, traffic from one LAN to another can be sent through the bridge instead of onto the backbone, providing better performance. For services such as Telnet and FTP, the speed difference between using a bridge and going through a router onto a heavily used backbone can be significant.
WANs are an important subject, and I look at them again in more detail on Day 13, "Managing and Troubleshooting TCP/IP."
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