Understanding Optical Fiber Types
Two major types of optical fibers exist for communication systems: multimode and single mode. Multimode fiber can carry many modes of light rays, while single mode fiber can only carry one mode of light ray. More ...
Overview of How DNS (Domain Name System) Works
This article presents a high-level overview of how DNS works. it focuses on the hostname-to-IP-address translation service. More ...
Network Topologies
The physical arrangement of the cables, computers and components is referred to as the networks topology. There are five basic topologies, bus, star, ring, mesh, and wireless. More ...
Computer Network Routers, Hubs, and Switches
The most common components on a computer network, not counting cables, are "routers", "hubs", and "switches". Many of these modules can be appear similar and there can be significant overlap in roles. This article explains the difference between these important network components. More ...
Fiber Distributed Data Interface
The Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) uses pulses of light and fiber optic cable to send signals with a 100 Mbps throughput over dual counter-rotating rings. More ...
Transparent Bridging and MAC Address Filtering
A bridge uses a database to send frames across network segments. The database is a list of nodes MAC addresses and their locations on the network. To send a frame between two segments a bridge reads a frame's destination MAC address and decides to either forward or filter. More ...
Understanding Wireless LAN Networking
Wireless networking allows computers and peripherals to communicate using radio frequency (RF) transmissions rather than over conventional network cabling. Using wireless Ethernet adaptors, any device capable of being used on a regular computer network can be accessed over a wireless connection. More ...
System Area Network Interface Cards
Whereas the standard network may use twisted-pair cabling, the System Area Network may use separate fiber-optic cabling. System Area Network interface cards are special high speed circuits that provide communications between the servers over the System Area Network. More ...
Routing Technologies, Bandwidth Management and Traffic Shaping
Bandwidth is the overshadowing issue for most network quality problems. The response to that problem is often to add more bandwidth. However, more bandwidth often comes at a relativel high cost. More ...
How to Choose the Proper Fiber Optic Connector for Your FTTH (Fiber To The Home) Installation
Fiber optic connectors can be divided into three groups: simplex, duplex and multiple fiber connectors. Simplex connector means only one fiber is terminated in the connector. Duplex connector means two fibers are terminated in the connector. More ...
Spanning Tree Protocol (STP) Operation
When a switch receives a broadcast frame, the switch floods the frame out all switch ports other than the port on which the frame was received. More ...
Multilayer Switch
A network switch operates at layer 2 the OSI model. A multilayer switch also works at layer 3 or higher, all the way up to layer 6 of the OSI model. More ...
What Are Fiber Optic Circulators?
An optical circulator is an nonreciprocal passive device that directs light sequentially from port to port in only one direction. The operation of a circulator is similar to that of an isolator except its constructions is more complex. More ...
