Different Types of Network Cables - Cat 3, Cat 5, Cat 5e, Cat 6, Cat 6a, Cat 7

Running head: NETWORKING PROJECT
Networking Project
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1NETWORKING PROJECT
Question 1
Bridge: A bridge primarily acts as an interconnection between two LAN connections that are
using the same protocol. It can be used to connect different types of networks such that they
can intercommunicate and perform as one LAN connection. It can also be used as a repeater
working in the data link layer with the additional function of data packet filtering using the
MAC addresses of the source and the destination of the packets.
Router: A router can be defined as a device that can be used to direct data packets by using
their IP addresses (Medhi & Ramasamy, 2017). It is a device that works in the network layer
and can be used to find the best possible route for a packet of data to reach its destination.
Routers are primarily used to establish connection between LAN and WAN and have a
dynamic routing table that continuously updates itself while making routing decisions for
data packets.
DSL Modem: A digital subscriber line can be used to transmit data packets over telephone
connections. Therefore, a DSL Modem is a modem that can be used to establish a connection
between a digital subscriber line and a computer. This modem features a DSL filter that can
be used to block any high frequency interference and therefore supporting the simultaneous
use of voice services along with DSL services.
Switch: It is a device that works in the data link layer and can be used to check for errors in
data before forwarding them to their respective destinations. It is a bridge with multiple ports
and is designed to boost its performance and efficiency by using many ports.
Network interface card: It is a vital part of a computer that it uses to connect to a network.
NIC is classified depending on the type of connection it uses. It can be either a wired
connection popularly known as an Ethernet or a wireless connection that is known as Wi-Fi
(Liang & Yu, 2015). The type of NIC card used depends on the configuration of a computer

2NETWORKING PROJECT
and the environment it is about to be used. Generally, users opt for wired NIC if they require
a connection with stability and speed and they opt for wireless NIC if they prefer mobility.
Hub: A hub functions as a repeater with multiple ports. It is used to connect multiple wires
originating from different stations. They do not support the feature of filtering data and thus
these packets are directly sent to their destinations. They even cannot develop the best path
for data packets and thus there is a huge amount of time wastage and packet loss while
transmitting data.
Illustration of a network
The network begins with a DSL modem being connected to a DSL line. The modem
establishes a connection between a DSL line and the required network. It modulates and
demodulates the incoming signals. A router is then connected to the DSL modem. The router
functions as a device that would create the best possible path for the data packets entering
from the DSL line. A router is necessary to establish a connection between the DSL modem
and the network and is responsible for reducing the time required for a data packet to reach
its destination after entering the network (Gebali, 2016). A switch is then connected to the
router to filter the corrupted data packets from the incoming packets of data. This device is
necessary as there are many corrupted data packets among the packets arriving at the
network. Filtering the corrupted data packets helps to boost the experience for the Internet
users as they would get less lags and achieve non-corrupted file transfers over the network. It
is then connected to a hub before linking to several workstations connected through ethernet
wires. The computers can be connected to the network by using different network topologies
such as star, tree, bus, mesh and hybrid. The choice of the topology depends on the number of
computers to be connected to the network and the level of communication that they want to
achieve (Younis et al., 2014). A bridge can be connected to the router to create support for a