CCNA 01 - Network Devices
Network Devices
AliIn today’s entry we shall tackle all of life’s big questions:
- Why am I here?
- What is the meaning of life?
- What is the purpose of my life?
- What is a network? Switch? Router? Firewall? Server? Client?
Introduction
I am not sure if I am the adequate person to answer the first three questions, but I MIGHT be the adequate person to answer the last four. So let’s get to it.
What is a network?
Idk, but according to Google a network is conceived when two or more computers are connected together. So, I guess that’s it. I mean, I could go on and on about how a network is a group of devices connected together to share resources, but that’s just a fancy way of saying that two or more computers are connected together.
By computers I mean any device that is marketed to you as being SMART.
And a switch?
Anything that has way too many blinking lights and ethernet cables(RJ-45 for the cool kids), it’s a switch.
And a Router?
It’s the crappy little box that your ISP gives you when you sign up for internet. It’s also the crappy little box that you have to reset every time your internet goes down.
And a Firewall?
It’s the annoying thing that your company’s IT department uses to block all the fun websites.
Types of firewalls
- Network-based firewall (hardware) → All the fancy devices that brands like Cisco, Juniper, Fortinet, etc. sell.
- Host-based firewall (software) → The crappy little firewall that comes with Windows or Linux.
And a Server?
Servers don’t exist, they are a myth.
It’s just a fancy name for a computer that is always on and is exists somewhere on THE CLOUD, in a totally secure location, maintained by a team of highly trained professionals and companies can be completely trusted with huge amount of personal user data (ง ◉ _ ◉)ง.
And a Client?
It’s you dear reader, you are the client. You are the one that uses the server to host your website, or your Minecraft server, or your Discord bot, or your VPN, or your whatever.
It allows to send and receive data from a server.
AKA lets you browse the internet. AKA lets you watch cute little videos. AKA lets you read this blog. AKA lets you waste your time. AKA lets you procrastinate. AKA lets you avoid doing your homework. AKA lets you avoid doing your chores. AKA lets you avoid doing your job. AKA lets you avoid doing your taxes. AKA lets you avoid doing your life.
Also helps the government to spy on you, but that’s a story for another day.
TLDR
- A network is two or more computers connected together.
- A switch is a device that allows to send and receive data in a LAN.
- A router is a device that allows to send and receive data between different networks.
- A firewall is a device that allows to block or allow traffic based on a set of rules. There are 2 types:
- Network-based firewall (hardware)
- Host-based firewall (software)
- A server is a computer that is always on and exists somewhere on THE CLOUD.
- A client is a device that allows to send and receive data from a server.