Local area network (1)

Editor's Notes

1. Good morning to everyone. I first want to introduce myself: My name is Joachim Gau and I am in the sales department. I will give you in the next half hour a short overview about the network techniques. But it is really only a summary because we can’t become experts in half a hour. It could be useful to you, if you have already heard about some expressions: So first we want to see the types of networks and the network topology. What is LAN? An Introduction to TCP/IP and to IEEE-802.11
2. What is a network? Easy said: It is a group of computers and peripheral equipment which are linked together to use there common resources. (data’s, printer, fax, scanner, programs, modem and of course memory. The relevant type for the Ecolog-Net is the LAN
3. Network topology, that means the placing and the arrangement about computers and cables. They determine the hardware which can be used, as well as the access methods. These again have influence on transmission rate and the throughput of the data.   The table is to give an overview of the pro and cons of the 3 basic topologies: The star structure is the relevant structure for our Ecolog-Net, also the today’s standard, It is very simple to add more computers or dataloggers, Main server at the ground floor or in the cellar, at each floor there is a router or a switch One disadvantage is the high wiring because for each node there must be a separate cable to the next switch. The company I worked before sells computer cable. More than 100 km in one buliding
4. Difference: the HUB copy the packets to the other ports, so that all segments of the LAN can see all packets! A SWITCH switches direct connections between the attached devices. So a switch is an intelligent HUB, who recognise over which port which device is connected.
5. Schnittstelle = interface between the wired LAN and the wireless LAN
6. IP by itself is something like the postal system. It allows you to address a package and drop it in the system, but there's no direct link between you and the recipient. TCP/IP, on the other hand, establishes a connection between two hosts so that they can send messages back and forth for a period of time.