Introduction
Have you ever listened or sat in on a concept or network design meeting and been fed an alphabet soup of acronyms and words or technical jargon that just didn’t make sense to you? Well, the chances are that Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, and Wireless were among some of those being spoken.
In this writing, the author plans to help one understand, in simple terms (where possible), what exactly these technologies are and where they may belong. He provides an overview of each, explains the differences between them, and outlines the advantages and disadvantages of using them. His goal is to provide you, the reader, with the ability to understand at a high-level what these technologies are, and how they can be used.
What are Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, and Wireless?
They are all Local Area Network (LAN) technologies or standards for communication across different medium. In the past decades the essence of internetworking has vastly increased. As always, demand breeds supply, and several different LAN technologies have emerged. LANs can be implemented in several ways. They can be divided into several subgroups based on e.g. physical implementation or standardized technologies. Choosing the right kind of LAN solution for a particular purpose always depends on several issues, e.g. size of the network, location of the terminals, and cost. Let us look a little deeper in the details.
Ethernet
Ethernet is the most widely used local area network (LAN) technology. The original and most popular version of Ethernet supports a data transmission rate of 10 Mb/s. Newer versions of Ethernet called "Fast Ethernet" and "Gigabit Ethernet" support data rates of 100 Mb/s and 1 Gb/s (1000 Mb/s). An Ethernet LAN may use coaxial cable, special grades of twisted pair wiring, or fiber optic cable. "Bus" and "Star" wiring topologies are supported. Ethernet devices compete for access to the network using a protocol called Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection (CSMA/CD).
Token Ring & Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI)
Ethernet CSMA/CD networks provide a relatively simple way of passing data. However, many industry observers correctly note that CSMA/CD breaks down under the pressure exerted by many computers on a network segment. These observers are correct; the constant contention for bandwidth that is part and parcel of Ethernet does not always scale efficiently.
In an attempt to circumvent this problem, IBM and the IEEE created another networking standard called 802.5. IEEE 802.5 is more commonly identified with token ring; FDDI also uses the 802.
COMP09022 Network Design BSc COMPUTER NETWORKING COMP09022 ICMPv6 Prepared by B00270675 13-03- 2015 WORD COUNT (0000) TABLE OF CONTENTS TITLE PAGE……………………………………………... 1 TABLE OF CONTENTS………………………………….. 2 INTRODUCTION TO THE REPORT……………………. 3 TABLE OF FEATURES.......................................................4
There multiple LAN standards because there might be wide range of data rate and transmission that might need to support. For that reason there are a set of standard that are developed by IEEE 802 committee which are accepted and used by most of the product in the market today. Some may use the standard for Token ring, Ethernet and Wireless.
... access to what and in which sequence. The router connects the LAN to other networks, which could be the Internet or another corporate network so that the LAN can exchange information with networks external to it. The most common LAN operating systems are Windows, Linux, and Novell. Each of these network operating systems supports TCP/IP as their default networking protocol. Ethernet is the dominant LAN standard at the physical network level, specifying the physical medium to carry signals between computers, access control rules, and a standardized set of bits used to carry data over the system. Originally, Ethernet supported a data transfer rate of 10 megabits per second (Mbps). Newer versions, such as Fast Ethernet and Gigabit Ethernet, support data transfer rates of 100 Mbps and 1 gigabits per second (Gbps), respectively, and are used in network backbones.
Ethernet is often built into hardware devices such as network interface controllers, to allow the sending and receiving of data packets to that piece of hardware. Ethernet can be used to create a wired local area network, which can subsequently communicate with other LAN’s, ad infinium, which in turn creates the internet. Ethernet uses a system called CSMA/CD or Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detection. This system is able to deal with collisions which happen when two messages are sent at the same time. When two nodes on a network attempt to exchange data at the same time, they collide and create an error. When this happens, all nodes involved are notified. The Ethernet protocol will then set a random time interval, after which the node will re-attempt the transmission. This will be done until the message is successfully sent. Just as the hypertext transfer protocol and transmission control protocols will be used every single time a student at PCO’s learning centre accesses internet, so too is the ethernet protocol. This, however, will be done in a slightly different way. As the students will be using Wi-Fi to connect to the modem, ethernet will not be used. In saying this, ethernet will be used to connect to the NAS and the printer. For example, if two students want to print something, and they do so at the exact same time, the messages will collide. As the printer is connected through ethernet, the printer, and two computers will be notified of the collision. The ethernet protocol will then set a random time interval, and the printing request will be sent again at different times for each computer. Although this is a reasonably complex process, in real time, the students will have no idea this is happening, and the printer will print both students documents like nothing has
Wireless networks – While the term wireless network may technically be used to refer to any type of network that is wireless, the term is most commonly used to refer to a telecommunications network whose interconnection between nodes is implemented without the use of wires, such as a computer network. Wireless telecommunication networks are generally implemented with some type of remote information transmission system that uses electromagnetic waves, such as radio waves, for the carrier and this implementation usually takes place at the physical level or “layer” network.
Information and Software Technology Years 7–10: Syllabus. (2003, June). Retrieved April 10, 2014, from http://www.boardofstudies.nsw.edu.au/syllabus_sc/pdf_doc/info_soft_tech_710_syl.pdf
The Unistep IRP Elexol EtherIO 24 Module is a network board that is integrated with features that allow multiple devices over the same network to communicate. This microcontroller was designed to be implemented as an addition to a larger network system; the multiple features and capabilities allow for various industrial and home applications. Ethernet is very common and used in most networks, which makes the IRP a great candidate for networking problems both at home and in the work field.
Sending data through the internet efficiently has always posed many problems. The two major technologies used, Ethernet and Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), have done an admirable job of porting data, voice and video from one point to another. However, they both fall short in differing areas; neither has been able to present the "complete" package to become the single, dominant player in the internet market. They both have dominant areas they cover. Ethernet has dominated the LAN side, while ATM covers the WAN (backbone). This paper will compare the two technologies and determine which has a hand-up in the data trafficking world.
A switch can be used to make various connections. Ethernet, Token Ring, and various other types of packet switched network segments together to form a heterogeneous network operating at OSI Layer 2.
Token ring was invented by Olof Söderblom in the late 1960s. It was later licensed to IBM, who popularized the use of token ring LANs in the mid 1980s when it released its IBM token ring architecture based on active multi-station access units (MSAUs or MAUs) and the IBM Structured Cabling System. The Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers or IEEE (http://www.ieee.org) later standardized a token ring LAN system as IEEE 802.5 (http://www.ieee802.org/5/).
In conclusion, a local area network is made up of computers and a myriad of devices, such as routers, servers, switches, and firewalls. In order for it to connect to the Internet, a router must be installed. Servers provide special functions such as printing, file sharing, etc. Switches connect the computers together from different parts of the network. Firewalls prevent unauthorized access. There are a host of other devices that may be used as well. These devices are hubs, gateways, repeaters, wireless access points,
Anyone that has worked with a computer on a network has at some point been exposed to the 802 standards. The 802 standards developed by the Institute of Electrical and Electonics Engineers for the primary use in the computer and electronics industry. The IEEE 802 standards for local area networks are widely followed. The IEEE only establishes the standard. The industry leaders in network technology have for the most part accepted these standards and develop their products to meet these standards.
Give examples of their pros and cons, their uses now & express my opinion as to which one I believe to be better option and why.
technologies such as Bluetooth and ZigBee which are used to carry the information from perception devices to a nearby gateway based on the capabilities of the communicating parties. Internet technologies such as WiFi, 2G, 3G, and 4G carry the information over long distances based on the application. Since applications aim to create smart homes, smart cities, power system monitoring etc.
Local Area Networks also called LANs have been a major player in industrialization of computers. In the past 20 or so years the worlds industry has be invaded with new computer technology. It has made such an impact on the way we do business that it has become essential with an ever-growing need for improvement. LANs give an employer the ability to share information between computers with a simple relatively inexpensive system of network cards and software. It also lets the user or users share hardware such as Printers and scanners. The speed of access between the computers is lighting fast because the data has a short distance to cover. In most cases a LAN only occupies one or a group of buildings located next to each other. For larger area need there are several other types of networks such as the Internet.