Hubs and Switches

Hubs and Switches

Carrier Medium

Devices need to be connected via a carrier medium:

• Metal cable:

1. Advantages: It uses electrical signals and it is cheap to  by.
2. Disadvantages: limited capacity maycause problems in installation.

• Fibre optic cable:

1. Advantages: uses light beams, it also have a high capacity, resistant to interference and weathering.
2. Disadvantages: it is more expensive and needs special NICs.

• Wireless: 

1. Advantages: no need for building work and it's easy to add new nodes.
2. Disadvantages: security is more difficult to achieve and it has a limited range.