Networking devices
Networking devices are physical equipment that allow hardware devices to communicate and interact with other computer networks. The following is a brief summary of different types of networking devices:
- Repeater: A repeater is a two-port (input port and output port) device that regenerates the signal over a network before it becomes weak or gets damaged.
- Bridge: A bridge is also a two-port device that joins two networks.
- Switch: A switch is a multi-port bridge that provides dedicated pathways based on MAC address association.
- Router: A router connects multiple switches and networks to form a larger network by identifying IP addresses.
- Gateway: A gateway connects different protocols and networks.
The following table details the functioning of each networking device and its corresponding OSI layer:
Networking Device |
Operates on (OSI Model Layer) |
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