Multiple choiceQuestion 1 · Recall
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By the end you can describe what each piece of LAN hardware does: switch, server, NIC, WNIC, WAP, cables, bridge and repeater.
Someone hands you a box of network kit and says "make the office work by Monday". Here's what's in the box, and what each part is for.
| Hardware | Job |
|---|---|
| NIC (network interface card) | Lets a device connect to a wired network. Every NIC has a unique MAC address, set when it is made. |
| WNIC (wireless NIC) | Lets a device connect to a wireless network, sending and receiving radio signals through an antenna. |
| WAP (wireless access point) | Lets wireless devices connect to the wired LAN. Plugged into a switch by cable; talks to WNICs by radio. |
| Switch | Connects the devices in a LAN (the centre of a star). Reads each frame's destination MAC address and forwards it only to the port of that device. |
| Server | A computer that provides services to the others: files, printing, email, web pages, databases. |
| Cables | The wired medium linking devices: twisted-pair copper (Ethernet), coaxial or fibre-optic. |
| Bridge | Connects two LAN segments that use the same protocol, so they act as one network. It forwards a frame to the other segment only if the destination is there. |
| Repeater | Regenerates (boosts) a weakened signal and retransmits it, so data can travel further than the cable's maximum length. |