For any two devices to be connected, they need a common place, or a hub, as it is called in the computer world. It basically connects multiple computers together. Most of the hubs available in the market today support Ethernet standards. This is why they are called Ethernet hubs, and are most commonly used in computers for networking purposes at home. Ethernet hubs are available in different types, depending on the speed of the network connection or broadband speed. Also, the number of ports supported by the hub varies, there Read More

ISDN 30 is a type of Integrated Service Digital Network system that is used for the transmission of voice and data over wires. ISDN 30 is one of the most economical and efficient communication systems. It is used in medium as well as large businesses. Through ISDN 30, business organizations and call centers can get high speed Internet connections at very economical rates. ISDN 30 connections can be obtained from the local telephone exchange. The speed that it provides may vary; the maximum is two Mbps. ISDN 30 consists of Read More

A DSL splitter, like a DSL filter, is a device used to prevent interference problems. It filters the low frequencies of the telephone line from the high-frequency ADSL line. However, the installation of a DSL splitter requires the help of a technician to split the main telephone cable into 2 lines unlike a DSL filter which is easier to install. A DSL splitter is installed into one of the lines running to every jack in the house. After installing the splitter, a new phone point used solely for the ADSL Read More

Power over Ethernet (PoE) is a system that provides a constant supply of DC power to a computer network using the same Ethernet cables used for connectivity. Devices such as network cameras and IP telephones can hence be powered without the need for extra wiring. PoE is easy to maintain and requires little or no human intervention. Another name for PoE is Power over LAN (PoL). In order for Power over Ethernet to work effectively, the electrical current must flow through the data cable at the main supply entrance and Read More

802.1p is an IEEE standard that describes mechanisms to prioritize traffic and perform dynamic multicast filtering. Because of its support for priority specification, 802.1p is important for providing Quality of Service (QoS) for better reliability and quality. Quality of Service QoS is a mechanism that allows for better handling of data that passes over a network. There are two major types of Quality of Service (QoS) techniques, hard QoS and soft QoS. Hard QoS has a hard-set capacity reserved for certain types of service, while soft QoS just deals with Read More

A MAC address is an address that exists on Layer 2 of the OSI Model. Layer 2 of the OSI model is the Data Link Layer. The Data Link Layer consists of two sublayers, the Media Access Control (MAC) layer and the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer. The MAC sublayer controls how a network node gains access to the data and permission to transmit it. MAC addresses are globally unique and are written into hardware when manufactured. For this reason, MAC addresses are sometimes called Burned In Addresses (BIA). After Read More

A dial-up connection is any connection that is connected through a regular phone line. When that phone line is connected to a modem and then configured to dial a specific number, a user can access the Internet. It is the slowest form of Internet connection, but that is a result of also being the most inexpensive–if not free–form of Internet access available to users. According to a Pew Internet and American Life Project conducted in 2008, only about 10% of Americans were still using dial-up either because of remoteness or Read More

Two of the most popular technologies that offer speedy access to the World Wide Web are DSL broadband and the cable modem. There are several reasons why this is the case and the first one is that both of these Internet connections are considerably faster than the standard dialup connections. However, when you compare the speed of data transfer between DSL and a cable modem there is a bit of variance depending on various technical aspects. Because of these variances DSL and the cable modem might have the advantage at Read More

Mbps stands for megabits per second. This is the data transfer speed explained in megabits, the unit. Therefore, if someone were to have a Mbps of 25, that means it can move 25 megabits per second. A bit is a unit of data described by either a 1 or a 0. This is simple binary. Eight of these individual bits, when combined together, is equal to a byte. Everything that is done on a computer, whether typing an a or hitting the exclamation mark requires a byte. For example: A Read More

A switch is something that is used to turn various electronic devices on or off. However, in computer networking, a switch is used to connect multiple computers with each other. Since it is an external device it becomes part of the hardware peripherals used in the operation of a computer system. This connection is done within an existing Local Area network (LAN) only and is identical to an Ethernet hub in terms of appearance, but with more intelligence. These switches not only receive data packets, but also have the ability Read More