1. NETWORKING COMPONENTS BY: TRAVIS MARSHALL

2. HUBS A hub is a device within a network that has multiple Ethernet ports that devices can plug into. The hub takes frames/packets/data transmitted to it, and it sends this data to every port on the hub. The most common use for a hub is to connect different segments of a LAN to one another. Hubs can usually be bought for around $20.

3. SWITCHES A switch is very similar to a hub. One big difference is that switches support any packet protocol. Switches filter and forward packets between the segments in a LAN. They don’t simply copy the packet and forward it to every port available on the switch. This makes switches a good choice for extending a network to more devices requiring an Ethernet connection. Switches can be bought for as low as $10 and as high as $800+.

4. ROUTER A router works much like hubs and switches, but they are connected to at least two networks. These two networks could be two LANs or WANs or a LAN and its ISP’s network. The router is located at the gateway, which is a place where two or more networks meet. A header is used by the router and forwarding tables use these headers to determine the path for forwarding packets. Routers can be as cheap as $10 and can go up to $250+.

5. BRIDGE A bridge is a device that connects two LANs or two segments of the same LAN that us the same protocol. Different devices are capable of being a bridge. Bridges allow two networks to communicate with one another through it. The cost of a bridge could be free, as your computer can act as one, or as expensive as you want/need it to be per the situation.

6. GATEWAY Gateways have the capability of joining two networks together which use different base protocols. The gateway can be software, hardware, or both, and can have things such as firewalls integrated with them since they are at the “edge” of the network. Seeing as one of the most common gateway example is an ISP/router, prices have a large range.

7. FIREWALL Firewalls are systems designed to keep unauthorized access to or from a private network from happening. A firewall can be a hardware or a software, and both can be used in conjunction with each other as well. Most broadband routers have firewalls integrated within them. Software firewalls can be installed on a personal computer, and they can be configured to your customized liking. A cheap firewall will be around $100 and they can go up to +$225.

8. WIRELESS ACCESS POINT A wireless access point (AP) can be a hardware device or piece of software that serves the purpose of a communication hub extending to devices wanting to connect to a LAN. This means that a wireless AP can be something like a router, mobile hotspot, computer, etc. This makes the range of price a bit hard to narrow down, but gives limitless options and solutions for any amount of tasks that need to be accomplished in the area of network access.

9. EXAMPLE WITH ALL ELEMENTS Internet ISP Router, gateway, firewall, wireless AP Switch Hub Multiple Computers In this example, a router is acting as a gateway, router, and wireless AP. The router also has its own firewall. It is connected to a switch, or potentially multiple switches, which are connected to different hubs used for connecting computers to one another. The hubs could be replaced by switches, but there are circumstances in which a hub is not a poor choice in place of a switch.