Summary
This chapter has established how LANs are interconnected. The need for careful documentation was addressed in this chapter. The importance of this will become more relevant as the complexity in network topics increases from chapter to chapter. Internetworking hardware such as bridges, switches, and routers were discussed and examples of using these technologies presented.
A technique for internetworking the LANs using routers has been presented. In addition, the purpose of a router and its hardware interface has been defined. The use of switches and hubs to connect to the routers has been demonstrated. The purpose of a gateway has been explained and demonstrated. The concept of a network segment has been examined.
The concepts the student should understand from this chapter are the following:
- How bridges are used to interconnect separate LANs
- How a switch is used in a network and why the switch improves network performance
- Understand and be able to identify the various connections on a the router interface
- How a router is used to interconnect LANs
- The purpose of a gateway in a computer network
- The concept of a network segment
- The concept of auto-negotiation