NETWORK DEVICES
Network devices are cards or parts of a computer that enable it to communicate with other computers. These include Ethernet cards, serial ports, USB ports, and modems. For more information on networks, click here.
Ethernet Cards
Ethernet cards are the latest and most commonly used form of network connectors,
and are based on the RJ (commonly sued RJ-45) cables. These cables look similar
to telephone wires but are far more powerful. Ethernet cards(and wires) are
used to power today's ADSL, ISDN, and BROADBAND networks. Ethernet cards(and
wires) are also very commonly foudn in offices and private LANs(Local Area
Networks). LAN or Ethernet networks are able to reach speeds far superior
to phone-line modems such as 10000000bps(bytes per second) to 10,000,000,000bps
or even higher.
Modems
Telephone modems are the now cheap and soon-obsolete form of communication
devices. The network is connected via a phone line dial-up to an Internet
Service Provider, which will then connect the computer to the internet. Most
phone-line modems are only able to achieve speeds of at most 56000bps. Modems
are either internal in the computer or connected via Serial ports.
Serial and Universal
Serial ports
Serial and USB (Universal Serial Bus) are ports which come
with your computer and can be used to network with other computer systems.
These ports, however, are not able to reach very high speeds, and therefore
are not frequently used for LAN connections. Serial ports are used mainly
for a point-to-point connection (eg. a desktop computer to a notebook computer).
Universal Serial Bus ports are sometimes but rarely used for mini-LANs in
home networks.
Wireless Ports
There are two methods of wireless transfer through computer
networks. The first means of wireless transfer is via FM waves. This method
is similar to the transfer used in cellular phones, only that it is this time
used on computers. It can operate over a relatively large radius. Another
option for wireless optical transmission is to use lasers. This is known as
infrared technology. Another example of this is the remote control. However,
this is only able to transmit data over a short distance. For these ports
to work, however, costly equipment must be purchased and features added to
a normal ethernet card. While the usefulness of this is the easy feasibility
and convenience, the downside is the fact that security is hard to manage
on this type of network. Anyone within the radius of the waves may be able
to read information which is being transferred. Furthermore, external interference
has to be removed from the area of the network.
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