Network+ N10-007 ExamNotes for sub-objective 1.5 Compare and contrast the characteristics of network topologies, types, and technologies – Part 2 of 2

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Network+ N10-007 Sub-objective 1.5 ‘Compare and contrast the characteristics of network topologies, types, and technologies’.

Here are the exam objectives covered in this Part 2/2. For Part 1/2 click here. 

Types
LAN
WLAN
MAN
WAN
CAN
SAN
PAN

Technologies that facilitate the Internet of Things (IoT)
Z-Wave
Ant+
Bluetooth
NFC
IR
RFID
802.11

Types

LAN

A Local Area Network (LAN) typically consists of several network nodes or devices where each node can connect to other nodes directly through a switch. LANs can be a small as an office or cover an entire building using multiple switches and routers.

WLAN

A Wireless LAN (WLAN) describes the wireless topology of a small office or home office.

MAN

A group of LANs in the same geographic area is considered a MAN (Metropolitan Area Network). This network type can support local government, schools, Police, and Fire departments. A CAN (Campus Area Network) also covers a geographical area much the same as a MAN. These are not widely used terms but are testable on the Network+.

WAN

When a group of LANs covers a large geographical area it is called a WAN (Wide Area Network). Consider the Internet as the largest WAN.

CAN

See MAN

SAN

A Storage Area Network (SAN) describes a network made up of block-level storage devices providing high throughput connections for storage devices, disk arrays, and tape storage. The servers consider all devices as one object, enhancing the access speed of data. The SAN uses controllers connected to Fibre Channel (FC) or Fibre Channel over Ethernet (FCoE) switches. Later in the objectives, you will see how these switches provide redundancy.

PAN

Bluetooth users will be familiar with the PAN (Personal Area Network). A pan can be considered the smallest network topology a piconet) because it is centered by a personal object’s workspace. A PAN can consist of a pair of devices like your smartphone and PC as well as the smartphone connecting to your vehicle. Since the connection is based on a master/slave hierarchy the smartphone, as a master, can support up to seven slave devices.

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Technologies that facilitate the Internet of Things (IoT)

Best described as any device that can access the Internet. GPS locators, personal fitness devices, and smartwatches belong to the IoT. Smart home devices can control security cameras, locks, and temperature. You can even monitor your refrigerator. Personal assistance devices also contain interactive apps like Siri or Alexa that are voice-activated and responsive.

Z-Wave

Z-Wave is a smart home protocol used for command and control functions in the home. To receive and distribute data and commands a Z-Wave controller (or hub) is used. Z-Wave transmissions have a range of 100 meters per hop by using repeaters with the limitation of four hops.  The controlled devices themselves can serve as repeaters in a Z-Wave mesh network. This configuration allows for mapping and route selection based on latency.

Ant+

The ANT+ protocol is an ad-hoc protocol that is used for heart rate monitors, GPS and activity tracking, and other devices. The information obtained is transmitted to a PC, smartphone, or smartwatch.

Bluetooth

Based on the IEEE 802.15.1 specifications Bluetooth is a technology commonly used to connect mobile devices. Bluetooth is commonly integrated into new PCs and accessories are readily available. Bluetooth is a proximity-based technology. That proximity is directly related to the power class of the devices. There are three Bluetooth power classes shown here:

You will find a variety of Bluetooth-enabled devices in your environment. To operate each device needs to be “paired”. The pairing process requires each device to be placed in pairing mode. There may be a numeric code input on one of the devices.

NFC

A form of RFID, Near Field Communication (NFC), has a very short communication distance of 10 cm or less. The most common implementations of NFC are found in Employee ID badges and contactless payment at NFC enabled cash registers. In smartphones, data can be exchanged between two devices by tapping them together. NFC also uses tags that require no power and can be used to store up to 32 KB of data. This could include credit card information or employee identification and login information. The power to the tags is obtained from the contacting device’s RF field.

IR

The IoT has rejuvenated IR (Infrared) technology. Once used mainly in remote control devices to transmit signals IR is now applicable to other devices, like sensors, by interpreting the responses to IR. The Infrared wavelength is not visible to the naked eye. It is below our visible spectrum. The transmission is picked up by a sensor on the receiving device and converted to electrical current. An IR transmission cannot pass through solid objects. The signal can bounce or be scattered to its objective, but it is safer to provide an unobstructed line of sight.

RFID

Data is stored electromagnetically on an RFID (Radio Frequency Identification) tag. The tag can be active (battery-powered) transmitting at regular intervals or passive obtaining the power to transmit from a tag reader. RFID tags are a highly efficient inventory control tool. They can be used to select items to ship and calculate the remaining inventory.

802.11

The generic reference for WLANs is 802.11. You will need the information in the table below at a minimum to be successful when testing.

NOTE: When referencing the 802.11 specifications it is important to understand how MIMO (Multiple-Input Multiple-Output) can be used to create broader transmission channels and increasing throughput. MIMO can be configured to provide Multiple-User MIMO (MU-MIMO) enabling multiple simultaneous client communication over broader transmission channels. The 5 GHz frequency band is divided into 20 MHz bands and any adjacent bands can be combined (bonded) to add communication bandwidth. Up to eight streams are supported. 802.11ac layer 1 supports three Single-User MIMO channels up to 80 MHz wide, while 802.11ac Wave 2 allows four channels up to 160 MHz (80 MHz+80 MHz) and Multiple-User MIMO. Layer 3 supports only two 80 MHz. The Wave 3 implementation supports three data streams with a theoretical throughput of up to 10Gbps. Remember your signal’s throughput and coverage can be reduced when the network is congested.

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Good luck on the test!