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A White Paper on

Networking Devices
And Components

Adie Josh (Aditya Joshi)


Adapted from an Academic Assignment Report

Networking Devices And Components

Index

Introduction

Hub Repeater Switch Bridge Router Gateway

5 7 8 10 11 13

Brouter Multilayer Switch Network Interface Card Modem Firewall Load Balancer Proxy Server Protocol Converter

15 16 17 18 19 20 21 21

Since the advent of computer age, a new need started sprouting up. Data needed to be transferred between devices, between universities and military establishments. By 1960s, techniques were developed to efficiently route telephone calls through already existing telephone networks. Meanwhile the concept of packets was under development. By 1969, the Advanced Research Projects Agency Network (ARPANET) was built as the world's first operational packet switching network and the core network of a set that came to compose the global Internet. The network was funded by the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) which later evolved into the Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency (DARPA) of the United States Department of Defense for use by its projects at universities and research laboratories in the US. Rise of newer systems required newer devices. Machines needed devices to help them translate and transmit the messages over regular telephone lines. Computers directly connected to other computers needed separate kind of hardware and communication medium. These needs brought us to a totally new range of electronic devices. Digital switching and routing devices started to be developed to facilitate communication through vastly growing networks of computers. Today, computer networks are the core of modern communication. All modern aspects of the public switched telephone network (PSTN) are computer-controlled, and telephony increasingly runs over the Internet Protocol, although not necessarily the public Internet. The scope of communication has increased significantly in the past decade, and this boom in communications would not have been possible without the progressively advancing computer network. Computer networks, and the technologies needed to connect and communicate through and between them, continue to drive computer hardware, software, and peripherals industries. This expansion is mirrored by growth in the numbers and types of users of networks, from the researcher to the home user. There is a vast array of Networking Devices and components available in the market. Their applications depend on the use we desire to make of them. Many of them are ambiguous in terms of their use in trivial situations. Many modern devices can perform the jobs of other devices as well. They come in different configurations. You can buy a router for Rs. 5000/for home use and other one costing in lacs to be used in large networks and ISPs. This white paper provides an insight into mostly used networking devices and components. It also discusses their features, working and variants available in the market.

Hub
Hub is a simple layer 1 device used in Computer Networks. It is used for connecting multiple Ethernet devices together and making them act as a single network segment. It has multiple input/output (I/O) ports, in which a signal introduced at the input of any port appears at the output of every port except the original incoming. A hub works at the physical layer (layer 1) of the OSI model.

Hub
Purpose: Connecting Ethernet devices Acting Layer : 1 Commercial Examples : D-Link DE-805TP 1538 Series Micro Hub

A hub is a small rectangular box, often made of plastic, that receives its power from an ordinary wall outlet. A hub joins multiple computers (or other network devices) together to form a single network segment. On this network segment, all computers can communicate directly with each other. Ethernet hubs are by far the most common type, but hubs for other types of networks such as USB also exist.

A hub includes a series of ports that each accept a network cable. Small hubs network four computers. They contain four or sometimes five ports, the fifth port being reserved for "uplink" connections to another hub or similar device. Larger hubs contain eight, 12, 16, and even 24 ports.

Features in Commercial Models


Modern hubs like DLink 1008 provide upto 16Gbps forwarding capacity, which is more than enough for general use. It is a store-and-forward device and provides a buffer memory of 1Mb for every device connected to it. Advanced devices like Cisco 2518 combines ethernet hub and router capabilities with a builtin Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN) Basic Rate Interface (BRI). Although this can be counted as one of the hybrid devices, it is commercially available as a hub.

Working
The most common operation it performs is that it repeats all the information it receives and forward it to all PC terminals attached to it. This repetition of data results in unnecessary data traffic being sent to the network. Therefore the data is sent in bulk without the identification of its destination.

Types
Passive hubs, active hubs and intelligent hubs are three kinds of hubs most frequently used. Hubs are not often preferably used because they are considered passive devices, which do not respond to the electrical signals. Such hubs which are not capable of regenerating electrical signals to efficiently transfer data packets are known as Passive hubs. Passive hubs are often termed as concentrators. More recently there are hubs available in the market which can perform actively. Multi port repeaters which can amplify the electric signals to deliver packet of data are known as active hubs. When active hubs are developed more to be used by companies they are known as intelligent hubs. The purpose of these hubs is to preserve the space in an operation room or office. Various hubs are set one over the other to allow enough space for the human working. Intelligent hubs can also back up media and multiple protocols.

Repeater
The Repeater is a layer-1 internetworking device that simply re-times and regenerates the frames to transfer data from one network to another. Since the Ethernet repeater operates at the physical layer, it does not understand frame structures and can therefore only be used to connect networks of the same type. For example, a repeater could be used to link two Ethernet segments.

Repeater
Purpose:Extending the limits of an Ethernet network beyond the capacities of its cables Acting Layer : 1 Commercial Examples : Siecor RL6000

The ports can be AUI (Thick), BNC (Thin), RJ-45 (10 Base-T), or fiber optic (10 Base-FL)

Working

The basic function of a repeater is to take the data recieved on any port and immediately forward it to all other ports. In the process of forwarding the data, it is also retimed and amplified to eliminate any distortion which may have been introduced after the signal was originally transmitted. The repeaters would amplify the data signals before sending them on to the uplinked segment, thereby countering signal decay that occurs over extended lengths of wire. A WiFi network repeater will pick up the signal from a wireless router and amplify it, propagating signal strength to boost distance and coverage of the WLAN. For example, assume an upstairs office gets only a weak signal from a router located in the basement. The building might have a steel infrastructure, cordless phones and other forms of interference. One option is to relocate the router on another floor to see if the entire building can be covered, but this isnt always convenient. Repeaters also provide a function called partitioning. If a repeater detects many collisions originating on one of its ports, it assumes that a fault has occured somewhere on that segment and isolates it from the rest of the network. In general sense, repeaters can be categorized as under : o An analog device that amplifies an input signal regardless of its nature. o A digital device that amplifies, reshapes and retimes these functions on a digital signal Ethernet repeaters and extenders are digital devices.

Features
Digital Sampling and Amplification Most of networking devices perform as repeaters by themselves. Repetition can be performed by regular hubs and routers. Devices like D-Link DIR-505 perform repetition of wireless communication signals.
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Switch
A networking switch is the central device in a wired or wireless LAN (local area network). It receives signals from each computer on the network via Ethernet cables in a wired network or radio waves in a wireless LAN. In both cases, the networking switch directs traffic across the LAN, enabling the computers to talk to each other and share resources.

Switch
Purpose: Redirecting traffic to a particular node/port in the established network Acting Layer : 2
(commercially available in other OSI level variants too)

Most business networks today use switches to connect computers, printers and servers within a building or campus. A switch serves as a controller, enabling networked devices to talk to each other efficiently. Through information sharing and resource allocation, switches save businesses money and increase employee productivity.

Commercial Examples : D-Link DES-1210 Cisco Catalyst 6500

Working
An Ethernet switch operates at the data link layer of the OSI model to create a separate collision domain for each switch port. With 4 computers (e.g., A, B, C, and D) on 4 switch ports, any pair (e.g. A and B) can transfer data back and forth while the other pair (e.g. C and D) also do so simultaneously, and the two conversations will not interfere with one another.

Switches can be : 1. Unmanaged Switches

An unmanaged switch works right out of the box. It's not designed to be configured, so you don't have to worry about installing or setting it up correctly. Unmanaged switches have less network capacity than managed switches. 2. Managed Switches

A managed network switch is configurable, offering greater flexibility and capacity than an unmanaged switch. You can monitor and adjust a managed switch locally or remotely, to give you greater network control.

Features :
Turn particular port range on or off and setting their priority Link bandwidth and duplex settings MAC filtering and other types of "port security" features which prevent MAC flooding Use of Spanning Tree Protocol SNMP monitoring of device and link health Advanced Features Advanced switching platforms for moderate and high density 1G/10G distribution deployments Integrated services modules enhance security, manageability, and wireless control

Modern Cisco switches use Catalyst technology that uses CatOS operating system that allows software level configuration of the switches. Some newer Catalyst switch models also allow configuration via web-based graphical interface module which is hosted on a HTTP server located on the switch.

Bridge
A network bridge connects multiple network segments at the data link layer. Bridges broadcast to all ports except the port on which the broadcast was received. Bridges use MAC addresses to learn which port is the data to be forwarded to. Once the bridge associates a port and an address, it will send traffic for that address to that port only.

Bridge
Purpose: Filter and Forward data between network boundaries Acting Layer : 2 Commercial Examples : D-Link Xtreme Duo Cisco Aironet 1400 Wi

Bridges learn the association of ports and addresses by examining the source address of frames that it sees on various ports. Once a frame arrives through a port, its source address is stored and the bridge assumes that MAC address is associated with that port. The first time that a previously unknown destination address is seen, the bridge will forward the frame to all ports other than the one on which the frame arrived.

Traditional bridges, though, support one network boundary, whereas switches usually offer four or more hardware ports. Switches are sometimes called "multi-port bridges" for this reason.

Working
In order to cut down on the collision rate, a single network can be subdivided into two or more LANs. For example, a single LAN can be subdivided into several departmental LANs. Most of the traffic in each departmental network stays within the department network, and so it needn't travel through all the workstations on all the LANs on the network. In this way, collisions are reduced. Bridges are used to link the networks. The only traffic that needs to travel across bridges is traffic bound for another network. Any traffic within the LAN need not travel across a bridge. Bridges consult a learning table that has the addresses of all the network nodes in it. If a bridge finds that a packet belongs on its own LAN, it keeps the packet inside the LAN. If it finds that the workstation is on another LAN, it forwards the packet. The bridge constantly updates the learning table as it monitors and routes traffic.

Bridge v/s Switch


Switches and Bridges are pretty similar, both operate at the Data Link layer (just above Physical) and both can filter data so that only the appropriate segment or host receives a transmission. Both filter packets based on the physical address of the sender/receiver although newer switches sometimes include the capabilities of a router and can forward data based on IP address (operating at the Network Layer) and are referred to as IP Switches. Often the desired results could be achieved using either a switch or a bridge but bridges are used to as an interface between two networks while minimizing overall traffic.
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Router
A router is a device that forwards data packets along networks through the best possible route. Router reads the IP header of the packet and using this information in its routing table or routing policy, it directs the packet to the next network on its journey. Routers perform the traffic directing functions on the Internet. A data packet is typically forwarded from one router to another through the networks that constitute the internetwork until it gets to its destination node.

Router
Purpose: Forward network data through the network Acting Layer : 3 Commercial Examples : Cisco XR 12000 Series Cisco 800 Series (for home use)

When data is sent between locations on one network or from one network to a second network the data is always seen and directed to the correct location by the router. The router accomplishes this by using headers and forwarding tables to determine the best path for forwarding the data packets, and they also use protocols such as ICMP to communicate with each other and configure the best route between any two hosts.

Working
A router has interfaces for different physical types of network connections, (such as copper cables, fiber optic, or wireless transmission). It also contains firmware for different networking protocol standards. Each network interface uses this specialized computer software to enable data packets to be forwarded from one protocol transmission system to another. The routers exchange information about destination addresses, using a dynamic routing protocol. Each router builds up a table listing the preferred routes between any two systems on the interconnected networks. Routers may also be used to connect two or more logical groups of computer devices known as subnets, each with a different sub-network address. The subnets addresses recorded in the router do not necessarily map directly to the physical interface connections.A router has two stages of operation called planes: 1. Control plane: A router records a routing table listing what route should be used to forward a data packet, and through which physical interface connection. It does this using internal pre-configured addresses, called static routes. 2. Forwarding plane: The router forwards data packets between incoming and outgoing interface connections. It routes it to the correct network type using information that the packet header contains. It uses data recorded in the routing table control plane. Routers can be : Access routers They are simple low cost office/home models. They do not need hierarchical routing of their own. Some of them are capable of running alternative free Linux-based firmwares.
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Eg. Cisco 800, Cisco1900 Series Distribution Distribution routers aggregate traffic from multiple access routers, either at the same site, or to collect the data streams from multiple sites to a major enterprise location. Distribution routers are often responsible for enforcing quality of service across a WAN, so they may have considerable memory installed, multiple WAN interface connections, and substantial onboard data processing routines. They may also provide connectivity to groups of file servers or other external networks. Eg. Cisco 7600 Series Core They are high bandwidth routers which provide a collapsed backbone interconnecting the distribution tier routers from multiple buildings of a campus, or large enterprise locations. Eg. Cisco Carrier Routing System which provides network flow upto 322 Tbps

Advanced Features :
Layer 2 VPN and Layer 3 VPN services Mobile aggregation Video service-delivery networks Some advanced models extend network as a platform for cloud computing Most of modern routers come with built-in Wi-Fi capabilities

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Gateway
Gateway is a device on a network that serves as an entrance to another network. In enterprises, the gateway is the computer that routes the traffic from a workstation to the outside network that is serving the Web pages. For regular home users, Gateway is present at their ISP. The gateway node also operates as a firewall and a proxy server. A firewall is a system created to prevent unauthorized admission into a private network. A proxy server is located right between a client application such as a web browser and the real server.

Gateway
Purpose: Provide access to a network Acting Layer : 4-7 Commercial Examples : Microsoft CE 5.0 provides very powerful features for Gateway Operation : A configured network node acts as the Gateway

Working

On an IP network, clients send IP packets with a destination outside a given subnet mask to a network gateway. A subnet mask defines the IP range of a private network. For example, if a private network has a base IP address of 192.168.0.0 and has a subnet mask of 255.255.255.0, then any data going to an IP address outside of 192.168.0.X will be sent to that network's gateway. While forwarding an IP packet to another network, the gateway might or might not perform Network Address Translation. A gateway is an essential feature of most routers, although other devices (such as any PC or server) can function as a gateway. A gateway may contain devices such as protocol translators, impedance matching devices, rate converters, fault isolators, or signal translators as necessary to provide system interoperability. It also requires the establishment of mutually acceptable administrative procedures between both networks.

Features and Functions


1. A gateway can be implemented in software, hardware and some time as a mixture of together. There are lots of equipments and techniques which are being processed such as voice and data communication. 2. The gateways are the best option to achieve the multimedia communications between dissimilar networks because every network has different protocol and characteristics. 3. Gateway controls the processing information across the network which contains information about to set up the actual end to end call. 4. A network gateway work like a firewall and filters packets. It also separates corporate network as intranet from a public network. 5. A gateway may also install on a stand alone device. A gateway performs as the interface between local and wide area protocols such as TCP/IP on the Internet.

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Default Gateway and Internet Access


Default gateway is the device that passes traffic from the local subnet to devices on other subnets. The default gateway often connects a local network to the Internet, although internal gateways for local networks also exist. Default gateways are important to make IP routing work efficiently. In most cases, the router that acts as the default gateway for TCP/IP hosts--either a dedicated router or a computer that connects two or more network segments--maintains knowledge of other networks in the larger network and how to reach them. TCP/IP hosts rely on default gateways for most of their communication needs with hosts on remote network segments. In this way, individual hosts are freed of the burden of having to maintain extensive and continuously updated knowledge about individual remote IP network segments. Only the router that acts as the default gateway needs to maintain this level of routing knowledge to reach other remote network segments in the larger internetwork.

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Brouter
A network device that combines the functions of a bridge and a router in one unit. It may support multiple protocols by routing routable packets and bridging non-routable packets. Or, it may support a variety of bridging requirements while providing routing.

Brouter
Purpose: Provide features of bridge and router Acting Layer : 2, 3 Commercial Examples : 2wire 2700HG-B Router (Legacy Device) * 2Wire is now merged with Pace

Working
Brouters operate at both the network layer for routable protocols and at the data link layer for nonroutable protocols. As networks continue to become more complex, a mix of routable and non-routable protocols has led to the need for the combined features of bridges and routers.

Brouters handle both routable and non-routable features by acting as routers for routable protocols and bridges for non-routable protocols. Bridged protocols might propagate throughout the network, but techniques such as filtering and learning might be used to reduce potential congestion. Brouters are used as connecting devices in the networking system, so it acts as a bridge in a network and as a router in an internetwork.

A Brouter transmits two types of traffic at the exact same time: bridged traffic and routed traffic. For bridged traffic, the Brouter handles the traffic the same way a bridge or switch would, forwarding data based on the physical address of the packet. This makes the bridged traffic fairly fast, but slower than if it were sent directly through a bridge because the Brouter has to determine whether the data packet should be bridged or routed.

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Multilayer Switch
A multilayer switch (MLS) is a computer networking device that switches on some other layers along with OSI layer 2. Multi-Layer Switching (MLS) has become a highly desired method of accelerating routing performance through the use of dedicated Application Specific Integrated Circuits (ASICs). Traditional routing is done through a central CPU and software. MLS offloads a significant portion of routing (packet rewrite) to hardware, and thus has also been termed switching. MLS and Layer 3 switching are equivalent terms.

Multilayer Switch
Purpose: Provide services for further layers Acting Layer : 2, 3 (IP MLS), 4-7 (Content Switch) Commercial Examples : CISCO Catalyst 6500/6000 provide support for MLS

Working

MultiLayer Switching (MLS) is Ethernet-based routing switch technology by Cisco that provides Layer 3 (L3) switching in conjunction with existing routers. The major difference between the packet switching operation of a router and that of a Layer 3 switch is the physical implementation. In general-purpose routers, packet switching takes place using software that runs on a microprocessor, whereas a Layer 3 switch performs this using dedicated application-specific integrated circuit (ASIC) hardware A Multilayer Switch (MLS) can prioritize packets by the 6 bits in IP DSCP (differentiated services CodePoint). Some switches can use up to OSI layer 7 packet information; these may be called layer 4-7 switches, content-switches, content services switches, web-switches or application-switches. Content switches are typically used for load balancing among groups of servers. Load balancing can be performed on HTTP, HTTPS, VPN, or any TCP/IP traffic using a specific port. Load balancing is explained later in this whitepaper.

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Network Interface Card


A network interface card/ controller, also called network adapter is a computer hardware component that connects a computer to a computer network. It implements the electronic circuitry required to communicate using a specific physical layer and data link layer standard such as Ethernet, Wi-Fi, or Token Ring. This provides a base for a full network protocol stack, allowing communication among small groups of computers on the same LAN and large-scale network communications through routable protocols, such as IP.

Network Interface Card


Purpose: Connects a computer/node to a network Acting Layer : 1 Commercial Examples : Realtek RTL8100 Family Broadcom 802.11g Adapter (Wireless)

Working
Early network interface controllers were commonly implemented on expansion cards that plugged into a computer bus.

The NIC may use one or more of four techniques to transfer data: Polling is where the CPU examines the status of the peripheral under program control. Programmed I/O is where the microprocessor alerts the designated peripheral by applying its address to the system's address bus. Interrupt-driven I/O is where the peripheral alerts the microprocessor that it is ready to transfer data. Direct memory access is where an intelligent peripheral assumes control of the system bus to access memory directly. This removes load from the CPU but requires a separate processor on the card. A wireless network interface controller (WNIC) is a network interface controller which connects to a radio-based computer network rather than a wire-based network such as Token Ring or Ethernet. A WNIC, just like other NICs, works on the Layer 1 and Layer 2 of the OSI Model. A WNIC is an essential component for wireless desktop computer. This card uses an antenna to communicate through microwaves.

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Modem
A modem (a modulator/demodulator) is a device that lets a computer connect to a network through phone lines or other standard media. It performs the task of modulation and demodulation of digital signals in the computer and analog signals in the phone line.

Modem
Purpose: Performs Modulation and Demodulation between analog and digital signals Acting Layer : 1 Commercial Examples : D-Link standard 56kbps D-Link DSL-2740BR

Working
Modems are commercially available as internal modems which are plugged in the motherboard and external modems, which can be connected externally through a serial connection.

A standard modem of today contains two functional parts: an analog section for generating the signals and operating the phone, and a digital section for setup and control. The modem can be in one of two modes, data mode in which data is sent to and from the computer over the phone lines, and command mode in which the modem listens to the data from the computer for commands, and carries them out. A typical session consists of powering up the modem (often inside the computer itself) which automatically assumes command mode, then sending it the command for dialing a number. After the connection is established to the remote modem, the modem automatically goes into data mode, and the user can send and receive data. When the user is finished, the escape sequence, "+++" followed by a pause of about a second, may be sent to the modem to return it to command mode, then a command (e.g. "ATH") to hang up the phone is sent. Note that on many modem controllers it is possible to issue commands to disable the escape sequence so that it is not possible for data being exchanged to trigger the mode change inadvertently.

Variants
ADSL modems, a more recent development, are not limited to the telephone's voiceband audio frequencies. DSL modems utilize a property that standard twisted-pair telephone cable can be used for short distances to carry much higher frequency signals than what the cable is actually rated to handle. This is also why DSL modems have a distance limitation. Cable modems use a range of frequencies originally intended to carry RF television channels, and can coexist on the same single cable alongside standard RF channel signals. Multiple cable modems attached to a single cable can use the same frequency band, using a low-level media access protocol to allow them to work together within the same channel. Typically, 'up' and 'down' signals are kept separate using frequency division multiple access.

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Firewall
A firewall, working closely with a router program, examines each network packet to determine whether to forward it toward its destination. A firewall also includes or works with a proxy server that makes network requests on behalf of workstation users. A firewall is often installed in a specially designated computer separate from the rest of the network so that no incoming request can get directly at private network resources.

Firewall
Purpose: Protect a node or a network by acting as an intermediate agent between the communicating entities.

There are a number of firewall screening methods. A simple one is to screen requests to make sure they come from acceptable (previously identified) domain name and Internet Protocol addresses. For mobile users, firewalls allow remote access in to the private network by the use of secure logon procedures and authentication certificates.

Types
Packet filters Network layer firewalls, also called packet filters, operate at a relatively low level of the TCP/IP protocol stack, not allowing packets to pass through the firewall unless they match the established rule set. The firewall administrator may define the rules; or default rules may apply. The term "packet filter" originated in the context of BSD operating systems. Modern firewalls can filter traffic based on many packet attributes like source IP address, source port, destination IP address or port, destination service like WWW or FTP. They can filter based on protocols, TTL values, netblock of originator, of the source, and many other attributes. Application-layer Firewalls Application-layer firewalls work on the application level of the TCP/IP stack, and may intercept all packets traveling to or from an application. On inspecting all packets for improper content, firewalls can restrict or prevent outright the spread of networked computer worms and trojans. The additional inspection criteria can add extra latency to the forwarding of packets to their destination. Proxies A proxy server may act as a firewall by responding to input packets in the manner of an application, while blocking other packets. A proxy server is a gateway from one network to another for a specific network application, in the sense that it functions as a proxy on behalf of the network user.
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Load Balancer
A load balancer is a device that acts as a reverse proxy and distributes network or application traffic Purpose: Forwards client requests to the server while across a number of servers. Load balancers are used to performing some additional increase capacity (concurrent users) and reliability of action applications. They improve the overall performance of applications by decreasing the burden on servers associated with managing and maintaining application and network sessions, as well as by performing application-specific tasks. It is used to distribute workload across multiple computers or a computer cluster, network links, central processing units, disk drives, or other resources, to achieve optimal resource utilization, maximize throughput, minimize response time, and avoid overload. Using multiple components with load balancing, instead of a single component, may increase reliability through redundancy. The load balancing service is usually provided by dedicated software or hardware, such as a multilayer switch or a Domain Name System server. Load Balancers offer following features : Asymmetric load: A ratio can be manually assigned to cause some backend servers to get a greater share of the workload than others. Priority activation: When the number of available servers drops below a certain number, or load gets too high, standby servers can be brought online Distributed Denial of Service (DDoS) attack protection: load balancers can provide features such as SYN cookies and delayed-binding (the back-end servers don't see the client until it finishes its TCP handshake) to mitigate SYN flood attacks and generally offload work from the servers to a more efficient platform. TCP buffering: the load balancer can buffer responses from the server and spoon-feed the data out to slow clients, allowing the web server to free a thread for other tasks faster than it would if it had to send the entire request to the client directly. Health checking: the balancer will poll servers for application layer health and remove failed servers from the pool. Priority queuing: also known as rate shaping, the ability to give different priority to different traffic. Firewall: direct connections to backend servers are prevented, for network security reasons Firewall is a set of rules that decide whether the traffic may pass through an interface or not.
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Proxy Server
A proxy server is a server that acts as an intermediary for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers. A client connects to the proxy server, requesting some service, such as a file, connection, web page, or other resource available from a different server. The proxy server evaluates the request as a way to simplify and control their complexity.

Proxy Server
Purpose: Forwards client requests to the server while performing some additional action

A proxy server receives a request for an Internet service (such as a Web page request) from a user. If it passes filtering requirements, the proxy server, assuming it is also a cache server , looks in its local cache of previously downloaded Web pages. If it finds the page, it returns it to the user without needing to forward the request to the Internet. If the page is not in the cache, the proxy server, acting as a client on behalf of the user, uses one of its own IP addresses to request the page from the server out on the Internet. When the page is returned, the proxy server relates it to the original request and forwards it on to the user. To the user, the proxy server is invisible; all Internet requests and returned responses appear to be directly with the addressed Internet server. (The proxy is not quite invisible; its IP address has to be specified as a configuration option to the browser or other protocol program.) The functions of proxy, firewall, and caching can be in separate server programs or combined in a single package. A proxy server may in the same machine with a firewall server or it may be on a separate server and forward requests through the firewall.

Protocol Converter
A Protocol Converter is a device used to convert standard or proprietary protocol of one device to the protocol suitable for the other device or tools to achieve the interoperability. Protocols are software installed on the routers which convert the data formats, data rate and protocols of one network into the protocols of the network in which data is navigating. There are varieties of protocols used in different fields like Power Generation, Transmission & Distribution, Oil & Gas, Automaton, Utilities, AMR, and Remote Monitoring applications. The major protocol translation messages involve conversion of data messages, events, commands and time synchronization.

Protocol Converter
Purpose: Translation between two different protocols Acting Layer : 1-7 (depends on the protocols) Commercial Examples : Aftec India APC Series Westermo MD-54 (out of production)

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