A network is a collection of computers, servers, mainframes, network devices, and peripherals that are connected together to share data. Below are some of the commonly used networking devices. Say no to plagiarism. Get a tailor-made essay on "Why Violent Video Games Shouldn't Be Banned"? Get an Original EssayBridge A network bridge joins two different computer networks using the same protocol to allow them to function as a single network. Bridges are used with local area networks (LANs) to extend their reach and cover larger physical areas. In addition to building larger areas, bridges are also used to segment larger networks into smaller ones. The bridge stores all of this by placing itself between the two portions of two physical networks and controlling the flow of data between them. It also has the ability to block incoming data flow. There are 3 types of bridges; Transparent Bridge: This device is invisible to other devices on the network. Block or forward data only according to the set protocol. Translational Bridge: This device supports translation. It converts the data format of one network to another and has the ability to connect two different networks. Source Route Bridge: This device is set in the path that the packet follows through the network and is implanted within the packet. It is mainly used in Token Ring networks which are rarely used nowadays. Source Path Bridges: Source path bridges were designed by IBM for use on Token Ring networks. The source-route bridge gets its name from the fact that the entire frame path is embedded in the frame. This allows the bridge to make specific decisions about how the frame should be forwarded across the network. The growing popularity of Token Ring makes the chances of working with a source-route bridge very slim. A router is a device that joins several computer networks together via wired or wireless connections. Routes data from one LAN to another network connection. A router allows only authorized machines to connect to other computer systems. Most routers can keep log files about local network activity. A digital subscriber line (DSL) modem allows your computer to connect to the Internet through an Internet service provider. DSL offers a substantial increase in Internet performance over a dial-up connection. A switch is a device used to network many computers together. Switches have many Ethernet ports that can connect to computers, cable or DSL modems, and other switches. High-end switches have more than 50 ports and are often rack-mounted. Switches can limit traffic to and from each port so that each device connected to the switch has a sufficient amount of bandwidth. However, switches cannot provide firewall and logging capabilities. Network interface cards (NICs) are hardware devices that connect a computer to the network. They are installed on the motherboard and have the ability to develop a physical connection between the network and the computer. Computer data is translated into electrical signals sent to the network via network interface cards. The wired NIC uses cables and connectors as a means to transfer data, while in the wireless card the connection is made using an antenna that uses radio wave technology. All modern laptops incorporate a wireless network card in addition to the wired adapter. Network interface card is one of the main components of computer network, it comes with different speeds, 10Mbps, 100Mbps and 1000Mbps, etc. Network cards.