Networking isn’t that hard to understand once you master the basics – as is for any sort of conceptual mastery. One of the basic things you need to understand with respect to networking is the concept of switches and routers and how they pan out in the overall scheme of things with all things to do with setting up and running networks for your business. Switches and routers are probably the first few things you need to understand to gain a better understanding of networks function.
Understanding switches
Talk about networks and you know that we are trying to connect multiple devices such as computers, printers, scanners and servers. To save on costs, most companies would want to save costs associated with running these devices by sharing these resources within the network. Switches, in effect, allow this to happen. Think of switches as devices that help connect your servers and clients with multiple devices within the network. Switches help as a regulator and controller sitting right there amidst the plethora of devices you need to use and allocate resources to get things done.
Switches are basically of two types: managed and unmanaged. Unmanaged switches are right out of the box solutions that don’t allow you to program, to make changes or tamper with the switches in any way. Most of the networking done at home and for really small business operations use these switches for hassle-free network set-up and operations. On the other hand, managed switches are more like very small computers within themselves ( more like microprocessors) wherein they allow you to program them, tamper them and allow you greater flexibility to adjust it as per your networking needs and provide with a tighter control over your network resources—with this kind of flexibility, you can choose parameters on how to allocate resources to networks, control network traffic, allow or restrict users to your network and provide greater security to your network.
Understanding Routers
Routers are probably the next important thing you need to understand within your network. Think of a router as a switch for a switch. Routers are used to connect one network to the other. Look at how a simple set of computers within a network connect to the Internet – a host of computers connect to a server (A network) , all of which are connected to a router which then helps connect to the Internet (A network of networks in itself) through your Internet Service Provider.
Other benefits of a router, aside its basic function, are that it helps you to find the optimum route to transport your communication to the destination. It also allows you to analyze this flow of information, keep an eye on the data and finally, control how the data is packed and unpacked to and from the destination. Routers are where the whirlwind of activity regarding network security protocol installed to protect networks from external and internal security threats.
Routers are the gateway to have many more networking specific applications working for your business such as firewalls, Virtual Private Networks (VPN), VoIP (Voice over Internet Protocol), etc.
Most small businesses don’t want to spend their precious time on understanding, choosing, installing and setting up their networks for them (unless they can afford to do so). For that reason The Network Pro provides our clients with end-to-end network consulting solutions to help businesses use networking for their benefit while not spending humongous amounts of time associated with networking mastery and application for businesses.