Network Connections Paper-Week

Network Connections

Richard Cogdal

NTC/415

June 8, 2015

Mark Baker

Network Connections

Introduction

     Providing a sufficient type of network connection is an important part of a network architecture. A good network connection will allow a business and its users to have reliable connectivity. There are different modes of connectivity the most common are, copper, fiber, DSL, coaxial cables, and wireless. When moving data through the network there are different protocols that are used based upon the type of connectivity. Each type of connectivity mode has a different cost amount. This is a big factor when it comes to making a final decision on the network design. Another factor that a network administrator needs to look into when implementing a network is speed. The speed of a network will allow a company to maintain normal business operations and be successful.

Types of Network Connections and Issues

     There are several types of connectivity that a business or individual  consumer can select from, such as a dial-up connection, Virtual Private Network (VPN) connection, and local area connection (Ethernet, cable modem, DSL, FDDI, IP over ATM, IDSN, wireless). Most homes and small businesses use a digital subscriber line (DSL) connection. “It is a modem that uses existing twisted-pair telephone lines similar to the dial-up connection so that it can handle high-bandwidth applications, such as multimedia and video”.

     “The DSL connection has two main advantages compared to dial-up service:

• Dial-up service is limited to 53.3 Kbps, whereas DSL service can enable up to 6.122 Mbps.

• Dial-up service is initiated “on-demand” by the end-user, the DSL service is a dedicated connection, in that it is always on” ("Dial-Up, Dsl And Cable Modems", n.d.).

     The Ethernet can use un-shielded twisted pair cables, fiber optics and coaxial cables to support a connection. But, it can be subjected to some limitations of connectivity such as, the length of the cable or collisions that might happen through the network. The length of most types of twisted pair cables is around a 100 meters and can support up to 1024 users on a single line. The Ethernet uses a Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) method when accessing the network. “If the network is free and two devices transmit at the same time there will be a collision on the line. “When a device wants to gain access to the network, it checks to see if the network is free. If the network is not free the device waits before retrying” (Rouse, 2014).

     The ATM connection is mainly used in large corporations, it is intended as a universal networking technology for a sonnet backbone that handles the transmission of video, voice and data. “ATM uses a connection-oriented paradigm in which an application first creates a virtual channel (VC), uses the channel for communication, and then terminates it” (Mitchell, 2014).Unlike the Ethernet network connection, the ATM connection has no limit on speed. The distance that the data has to travel does not affect the efficiency of the network.