AP Networking 2.2-2.3

PAN

Personal Area Network

LAN

Local Area Network

MAN

Metropolitan Area Network

WAN

Wide Area Network

CAN

Campus Area Network

Point-to-Point Topology

Single connection between two devices. Not useful for corporate or home networks. Best for connections to a dedicated resource like a printer. Can be used to impose security by allowing only a single connection to a high value device.

Bus Topology

All nodes connected to a single medium that transmits data. Sever node transmits data in one direction. Simplest and least expensive to set up, but difficult to troubleshoot, less secure,  and has a single point of failure.

Star/Hub-And-Spoke Topology

All devices are connected to one central device. Best for small to medium networks. Has a single point of failure. Very reliable as even if one device fails, the rest will still work.

Mesh Topology

Every device is connected to every other device. Very reliable as packets can take many paths to reach a destination, but very expensive because of intense use of cabling. 

Ring Topology

All devices are connected in a “circle” with each device connected to two other devices. Ring must be taken down to add another device, sending the whole network offline, has single points of failures, but less expensive and easier to set up.

Hybrid Topology

When any two or more topologies are connected together.

Client Server Network

Single server controls the network for all devices.

Peer to Peer Network

All the machines are the client and the network, controlling their own username, password, and right to the machine. (Ex. iPhone)

3 Kinds of Cable in Modern Networks

Twisted Pair (Electric), Coaxial (Electric), Fiber Optic (Light)

Twisted Pairs

AKA Ethernet Cables. Use 8 colored copper cables to help reject outside electromagnetic interference. Usually use RJ45 Connectors. Can be STP (Shielded) or UTP (Unshielded). Shielded Twisted Pairs have an additional layer of foil around the cables to further prevent electromagnetic interference.

Copper Straight-Through and Crossover Cable.

Straight-Through connects two different devices (PC to router), Crossover Cable connects two of the same device. Straight-Through have same wiring standard on both ends of cable, while crossover has different.

Coaxial and Twinaxial Cables

Coaxial Cables used in households to deliver cable internet and television, and commonly have one copper core wire that is surrounded by insulators and other shields. Twinaxial Cables have two cores for faster transmission, commonly found in data centers to help transmit data more quickly.

Fiber Optic Cables

Transmits data via a digital light impulse. Have a glass or plastic core that reflect light through the cable. High speeds and longer distances than twisted pair cables, but more expensive, more difficult to repair and install. SMF have one mode of light to propagate, while MMF have multiple cores for multiple paths through the cable. SMF has higher data transmission and distance, while MMF has higher bandwidth. 

Bidirectional Wave Division Multiplexing (WDM)

Ability to send multiple data/digital signals down one strand of fiber-optic cables by using different light wavelengths.

Registered Jacks

Jacks that follow regulations and standards put in place by the FCC.

F-Type

Connector used for cable/coaxial lines. Single copper line at the core where data is transmitted.

Transceivers

Device that can both transmit and receive communications.

Quality of Service

When switches prioritize traffic like video or streaming media to ensure critical applications get enough bandwidth and low latency.

Port Mirroring

Allows data travelling on one port to be copied to another port for monitoring and analysis, often used for network troubleshooting and security analysis.