What does computer network hardware include?

Computer network hardware includes: 1. Network card, also called network adapter, which is the interface that connects the computer and the transmission medium; 2. Network cable, which is used to connect various devices in the network. Common cables are double Twisted wires, optical fibers, telephone lines, etc.; 3. Network equipment, including switches, routers, modems, etc., which are terminal equipment for sending or receiving data.

The operating environment of this tutorial: Windows 10 system, Dell G3 computer.

A network is a collection of computers or computer-like network devices that are connected through various transmission media. No matter how the devices are connected, the network transmits data from one network device to another network device through the transmission medium.

Hardware equipment of computer network

1. Network card

The network card is also called the network Adapter (Network Adapter) is an interface that connects a computer and a transmission medium. Network cards are mainly used to convert computer data into signals that can be transmitted through transmission media.

Types of network cards

To access the Internet, a network device needs to be connected through a network card. Due to different ways of accessing the Internet, the types of network cards used will also be different. The types of network cards are as follows:

1) Wired network card

A wired network card is a network card that connects to the network through a "line". The "line" mentioned here refers to the network cable. The common forms of wired network cards are as shown in the figure.

2) Wireless network card

Contrary to the wired network card, the wireless network card does not need to be connected through a network cable, but through wireless signal to connect. A wireless network card usually refers specifically to a wireless network card for a Wi-Fi network. The common forms of wireless network cards are as shown in the figure.

3) Bluetooth adapter

The Bluetooth adapter is also a wireless network card. The difference between a Bluetooth adapter and a wireless network card is the data communication method. Common styles of Bluetooth adapters are shown in the figure.

Classification by installation method

Network cards are usually slave devices of network devices. According to its installation method, network cards can be divided into built-in network cards and external network cards.

1) Built-in network card

Since the network card has become a necessary device for connecting to the network, many network devices have built-in network cards. Therefore, the built-in network card is also called an integrated network card. For example, today's motherboards have integrated wired network cards, as shown in the figure. The interface pointed by the arrow is the wired network card interface provided by the built-in network card.

2) External network card

In addition to the built-in network card, many network devices allow users to install additional network cards . This type of network card is called an external network card, sometimes called a standalone network card. Since it can be inserted into various expansion slots on the motherboard, it can be removed at will and has a certain degree of flexibility. The wired network cards and wireless network cards mentioned above are external network cards.

2. Network cable

Network cable is used to connect various devices in the network for data communication between devices. Common network cables include twisted pairs, optical fibers, telephone lines, etc.

Twisted pair

Twisted pair is also a network cable. It is composed of two copper wires with an insulating protective layer wound around each other, as shown in the figure. There are 8 such copper wires in total. Each root is distinguished by its corresponding color. In real life, computers in homes and businesses generally connect to the Internet through twisted pairs. The ordering of these twisted pairs often adopts the EIA/TIA 568B line sequence, which is orange and white, orange, green and white, blue, blue and white, green, brown and white, and brown.

Optical fiber

Optical fiber is a thin and soft medium that transmits optical signals. Most optical fibers It must be wrapped by several layers of protective structure before use, as shown in the picture. The main function of optical fiber is to convert the data to be transmitted from electrical signals to optical signals for communication. "Optical cats" are installed at both ends of the optical fiber for signal conversion.

Telephone cord

The telephone cord is the line that connects the telephone. Telephone lines are also made of copper conductors with an insulating protective layer. Unlike twisted pair wires, telephone wires only have 2 or 4 wires that are not necessarily twisted together and are not color sequenced as shown in the picture.

3. Network equipment

Network equipment refers to the equipment in the network, such as switches, routers, modems, etc. They are end devices that send or receive data.

Switch

A switch can connect multiple network devices to form a local area network. It is a network device used for electrical (optical) signal forwarding and used for data exchange. The appearance of the switch is as shown in the figure.

Router

Router, also known as gateway device, is used to connect multiple logically separate networks. The so-called logical network represents a separate network or a subnet. When data is transmitted from one subnet to another, it is accomplished through the routing function of the router. It will automatically select and set the route according to the channel conditions, and send signals in the order of the best path. Routers are also used for data conversion. It is easy to distinguish between a router and a switch. The biggest difference is that a router has a WAN port and a LAN interface, but a switch does not have these interfaces.

The appearance of a common router is as shown in the figure.

Modem

Modem (Modem), commonly known as "cat", is a kind of computer hardware. It translates the computer's digital signals into pulse signals that can be sent along an ordinary telephone line. These pulse signals can be received by another modem at the other end of the line and translated into the computer's digital signal language. The appearance of the modem is as shown in the figure.

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