Subtopic Notes
3.4 Network hardware
3. Hardware
Network Interface Card (NIC): Required to enable a device to access a network like the Internet
Media Access Control (MAC)
- A network interface card is given a MAC address at the point of manufacture
- Constant for every device
- Usually 48 or 64 bits
- Groups of two hex digit separated by colon
- First half represents manufacturer’s code
- Second half represents serial number
- Example - 98:CA:33:67:B2:21 | 98CA33 represents Apple Inc.
IP Address
- Allocated by the network
- Gives the location of device on the network
| Static IP Address | Dynamic IP Address |
|---|---|
| Manually assigned by the ISP (Internet Service Provided) | Assigned automatically by DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol) server |
| Used when sites need to remember a device, e.g VPNs whitelisting | More secured, hence used where data privacy is quite important. |
| Never changes | Updates regularly |
| Faster | Cheaper |
| Less secure |
| IPv4 - Internet Protocol Version 4 | IPv6 - Internet Protocol Version 6 |
|---|---|
| Four groups of decimal separated by dots | Eight groups of hexadecimal separated by colons |
| 32 Bit Size | 128 Bit Size |
| Example: 192.168.0.1 | Example: 1652:abcd:1234:5678:9876:baef:5a6d:2fed::6591::abcd |
| Has a limit to number of addresses | Provides larger number of addresses |
| Allocated manually using DHCP | Primarily assigned using stateless autoconfiguration. |
Router
- Packet Switching
- Checks the destination IP address of incoming data packets.
- Utilizes routing tables to decide the next hop or router on the path to the destination.
- Send the data packet to the designated next hop.
- Assign IP Addresses to devices on local network
- Can connect a local network to the internet
- Acts as the gateway between a local network and the internet
- Links the local network to the ISP network.
- Forwards packets from devices on local network to internet
- Forwards packets from internet to devices on local network