What is active network equipment?

Any modern company (office of a construction company, a factory, an online store, etc.) uses computer networks for its activities . This is due to the fact that in the presence of two or more computers, it is thus easier to transfer the necessary data between devices. This, of course, implies the management of this system. This responsibility is assumed by the network equipment.

What is this equipment? It is a set of devices that are necessary for the functioning of an organized network. This includes routers, switches, hubs, patch panels and so on. In turn, these devices are divided into active network equipment and passive. Today I want to tell you a little about the first form.

So, active network equipment is a special electronic device that has certain "intellectual" properties. First of all, they include routers (marshrutizatory) with switches.

The switch is a device for networks, through which computers exchange data among themselves. They are used to connect domains of network collisions, as well as to prevent loss of transmitted information. This active network equipment can be either managed or unmanaged.

Unmanaged work on the principle, which is also called the address aging algorithm. This device has a disadvantage, which is expressed by the fact that by receiving an address packet that is not available in the corresponding table, the switch generates a broadcast request leading to a restart of the communication channel and, as a consequence, a drop in network performance. And such a network is absolutely defenseless during internal attacks.

As for managed switches, such active network equipment is used to increase the speed of sending information, as well as to improve network performance. Under their control, the network has high protection. Most of the work uses the second level of the network model of the AOS.

Routing switches work already on the third level of the AOS. This makes it possible to use them as a network core. In some situations, these devices can replace routers in some way.

Now let's talk about what a router is. It is an active network equipment that operates on the third level of the AOS. It is designed to provide access to the global network from the local and organizes a distributed network of the enterprise, which provides access for each employee to the necessary information. Also with it, you can install firewalls that will block external intrusions to the network.

Still there are such hardware screens used between networks. They are called firewalls. They are dedicated servers on which software (operating system, virtual private network, and also firewall) is installed. They also provide protection for the network and restrict access to the Internet resource with threats.