2.3 Computer Network Elements

• Types of computer network: PAN, LAN, WLAN, MAN and WAN
• Network hardware elements: DTE, DCE and connecting devices
• The functions of NIC, hub, switch, bridge, repeater, router, gateway and modem
• Network software: network operating system, browsers, email clients and more
• Network protocols and standards
• Criteria for evaluating a computer network
• Connecting a device to an available network

• identify the different types of computer networks
• describe the elements of a computer network
• evaluate the criteria of a computer network
• connect a computing device to an available network
• appreciate the role of computer networks in communication

“How are computer networks formed?”

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1. Types of network, and the devices that build them
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Networks by size from PAN to WAN, and the hardware elements - NIC, hub, switch, router, gateway and the rest - that make a network.
2. Network software, protocols, and evaluating a network
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The software that runs a network, the protocols that make communication possible, the criteria for judging a network, and connecting a device to one.
3. PAN, LAN and the school WLAN
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   The smallest networks: Bluetooth around one person, a wired school laboratory, and Wi-Fi as a LAN that uses air instead of cable.
4. MAN, WAN and the internet
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   City-scale and country-scale networks, leased lines, and why the internet is a WAN of WANs rather than a sixth type.
5. DTE, DCE and the NIC
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Who talks, who carries, and the card that gives a device its MAC address - the identity that never repeats.
6. Repeater, hub and switch
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Three devices that join copper: the repeater restores a weak signal, the hub copies every frame to every port, and the switch sends only to the right one.
7. Bridge, router, gateway and modem
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Keeping local traffic local, finding a path between networks, translating protocols, and converting to the provider line - including the combo box at home.
8. Network software you actually run
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   Network operating systems, browsers, email clients, search, and the security tools that sit on top of the cables.
9. Protocols, HTTPS and DNS
   40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
   TCP against IP, the padlock on a password, DNS as the internet directory, and why public standards let any maker join.
10. Evaluating a network and joining one
    40 min · 1 practice tasks · quiz
    Judge a network by more than speed, connect by cable or Wi-Fi, and treat access as a legal and ethical act under Kenyan law.