Unit 3 Learning Outcome 4: Types of common network hardware

LO 4 : types of common network hardware

Common categories of network hardware include:

·        Routers

·        Switches

·        Network Interface Cards

        

Routers            

A router is a network device with interfaces in multiple networks whose task is to copy packets from one network to another.

Routers operate at Layer 3 of the OSI Model, the Network Layer.

A router will utilize one or more routing protocols to create a routing table.

The router will then use the information in its routing table to make intelligent decisions about what packets to copy to which interface.

This process is known as routing.

Routers are available with many interface types, such as Ethernet and DSL. Wireless routers support wireless interfaces, such as 802.11 (Wi-Fi).

Not all routers clearly fall into the category of network hardware. Routing software makes it possible to build a fully functional router out of a normal computer.

Switches

A switch is a network device with multiple ports in one network whose task is to copy frames from one port to another.

Switches operate at Layer 2 of the OSI Model, the Data-Link Layer.

A switch stores the MAC Address of every device which is connected to it.

The switch will then evaluate every frame that passes through it. The switch will examine the destination MAC Address in each frame.

Based upon the destination MAC Address, the switch will then decide which port to copy the frame to.

If the switch does not recognize the MAC Address, it will not know which port to copy the frame to. When that happens, the switch will broadcast the frame to all of its ports.

Before switches became available, devices called hubs were used. Hubs were less intelligent netword devices that always copied all frames to all ports. By only copying frames to the destination ports, switches utilize network bandwidth much more effectively than hubs did.

Another piece of network hardware related to the switch is the Bridge. A Bridge is effectively a two-port switch. Because few users need a two-port switch, they are no longer manufactured.

Network Interface Cards

A network interface card is an expansion card which installs into a computer and enables that computer to physically connect to a local area network.

The most common form of network interface card in current use is the Ethernet card. Other types of network interface cards include wireless network interface cards and Token Ring network interface cards.

Other terms for network interface card include network adapter, network card and NIC.

Network interface cards are becoming rare, as most motherboards now include built-in network interfaces.

Look on https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=Ofjsh_E4HFY to learn more. 

Unit 3 Learning Outcome 3: Distinguish between types of network

LO 3: Distinguish between types of networks

There are different categories of network including local-area network (LAN), metropolitan-area network (MAN) and wide-area network (WAN). A LAN is a network that connects computers and devices in a limited geographical area such as a single floor in a building or within a single building. LAN covers a short distance only. MAN is designed to extend over an entire city. MAN maybe a single network, or connecting a number of LANs into a larger network. It can be owned by a private company or public company, such as a local telephone company. WAN provides long distance transmission of data, voice, video, image, over large geographical areas such as country, continent or the whole world. WANS is usually in combination of public, leased or provide communication devices. WAN which wholly owned by a single company is often referred to as an enterprise network. 

Unit 3 Learning Outcome 2: Identify the importance of communication network in daily life

LO 2:  Identify the importance of communications networks in daily life

Network changing the way we learn. The internet can enhance learning and makes it easier in several ways such as distribution of learning contents, availability of various resources and enable learning to be done from any location. Nowadays, entertainment is getting much more fun. We can chat and instant messaging, online interest groups, web blogging, online games, video and audio streaming. The use of network can enhance communication between employees in an organization and also with external clients. Most companies have an intranet which allows communication between employees and also between branches. However, some companies also have an extra net. A network (or network resources) provides suppliers, vendors, customers, limited access to corporate data. The example of common data to be shared is order status, inventory, part lists. 

Unit 3 Learning Outcome 1: Define what is computer network and its component

LO 1: Define what is computer network and its components

A computer network is a group of computer system and other computing hardware devices that are linked together through communication channels to facilitate communication and resource-sharing among a wide range of users. Network is a collection of computers and devices connected together via communication devices and transmission media. Usually, the connections between computers in a network are made using physical wires or cables. However, some connections are wireless, using radio waves or infrared signals. There are two types of transmission media which is guided (wired) and unguided (wireless). Guided (wired) is a tangible media such as twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable and fibre-optics. Unguided (wireless) is an intangible media such as transmit through the air. Twisted-pair cable is one or more twisted wires bundled together which made of copper. Coaxial cable consists of single copper wire surrounded by three layers of insulating and metal materials. Typically used for cable TV. Fibre-optics is strands of glass or plastic used to transmit light. It is very high capacity, low noise, small size and less suitable to natural disturbances. 

Unit 3 Activity 2: Types of Network Hardware

ACTIVITY 2

TYPES OF NETWORK HARDWARE

There are many types of network hardware available. The network hardware that i have learned in the lecture videos are router, switch and network. 

The function of routers are to connect multiple computers or others router together and transmit data to its correct destination on a network. Besides, Routers perform the traffic directing function on the internet . A data packet is typically forwarded from one router to another through the networks that constitute the internetwork until it reaches its destination node . 

The function of switch are to connect device together on a computer network to receive, process and forward data to the destination device.A netword switch is a multiportt network bridge that uses hardware addresses to process and forward data at the data link layer.

The function of network are to enable a computer or device that does not have build-in networking capability to access a network. The network  controller implements the electronic circuitry to required to communicate using a specific physical layer and data link layer standard such as Ethernet,Fibre Channel, WI-FI  or Token Ring.

Unit 3 Activity 1: Difference between LAN & WAN

Unit 2 Learning Outcome 4: Explain recent development of hardware and software technology

LO 4: Explain the recent development of hardware and software technologies

Microprocessor is a battle of developing newest technologies in computer hardware. A microprocessor, sometimes called a logic chip, is a computer processor on a microchip. The microprocessor contains all, or most of, the central processing unit (CPU) functions and is the “engine” that goes into motion when we turn our computers on.  Microprocessors also control the logic of almost all digital devices, from clock radios to fuel-injection systems for automobiles. Microprocessors contain both combinational logic and sequential digital logic. Microprocessors operate on numbers and symbols represented in the binary numeral system

Docker is a tool designed to make it easier to create, deploy, and run applications by using containers. Containers allow a developer to package up an application with all of the parts it needs, such as libraries and other dependencies, and ship it all out as one package. The developer can rest assured that the application will run on any other Linux machine regardless of any customized settings that machine might have that could differ from the machine used for writing and testing the code. Docker is a bit like a virtual machine. But unlike a virtual machine, rather than creating a whole virtual operating system, Docker allows applications to use the same Linux kernel as the system that they're running on and only requires applications is shipped with things not already running on the host computer. This gives a significant performance boost and reduces the size of the application. And importantly, Docker is open source. This means that anyone can contribute to Docker and extend it to meet their own needs if they need additional features that aren't available out of the box.

Unit 2 Learning Outcome 3: Explain concept of IPO cycle

LO 3: Explain the concept of Input-Process-Output (IPO) Cycle

Input-Process-Output (IPO) model is a widely used approach in systems analysis and software engineering for describing the structure of the information processing program or other process. Input is anything we wish to embed in a system for some type of use. A variety of sources are used to input such as keyboard, scanner, microphone and mouse. Processing takes place in the internal parts of the computer. It is the act of taking inputted data and converting it to something usable. What we typically see on the screen in today’s computer world is the result of our input being processed by some program so we can have usable output such as an English paper, an edited photograph and video. An output device is any peripheral that receives data from a computer, usually for display, projection, or physical. Sometimes our output is short-term, such as printing a photo, and sometimes what we work on needs to be kept around for a while. Storage is the term used to indicate we will be saving data for a period of time. There are several mediums on which we can keep output and processed data such as a hard disk, a USB drive and a CD. 

Unit 2 Learning Outcome 2: Function Of Fundamental Computer Hardware Component

LO 2: Identify the functions of each fundamental computer hardware component

The fundamental computer hardware component includes motherboard, memory, storage, connectivity and peripherals. Motherboard is the basis of our computers. It is the first component installed in the system unit, and it holds all of the circuitry that ties the functions of the computer components together. The motherboard and circuitry need to have power. There is a power box included with the system unit, and a cord coming out of the back of our computers for that. A central processing unit handles all instructions it receives from hardware and software running on the computer. A storage device is any hardware capable of holding information either temporarily or permanently. Hard drive stores software that put in there like Firefox, WordPad or a music player. It also stores the data files those programs have created and used. A wireless local area network (WLAN) is a wireless computer network that links two or more devices using a wireless distribution method within a limited area such as a home, school, computer laboratory, or office building. A keyboard is the set of typewriter-like keys that enables us to enter data into a computer or other devices. Computer keyboards are similar to electric-typewriters but contain additional typing keys. A computer mouse is an input device that is most often used with a personal computer. Moving a mouse along a flat surface can move the on-screen cursor to different items on the screen. Items can be moved or selected by pressing the mouse buttons that we called clicking. 

Unit 2 Learning Outcome 1: Distinguish between Hardware and Software

LO 1: Distinguish between hardware and software

Hardware is best described as any physical component of a computer system which is tangible. This includes the computer case, keyboard, printer, monitor and mouse. In a computer, hardware is what makes a computer work. For example, the computer monitor you are using to read the text and the mouse you are using to navigate the web page is computer hardware.

Software is programs and operating information used by a computer which is non-tangible. The example of software is Firefox, Google Chrome, Internet Explorer and Windows Media Player. Software can be installed and allow a person to interact with the hardware. An operating system, like Windows or Mac OS, is software. It provides a graphical interface for people to use the computer and other software on the computer. We create documents and pictures using software.

Unit 2 Activity 3: Which operating system do you use?

UNIT 2 Activity 3: Which operating system do you use?

1.     

     Windows OS

It is easy to use. Everyone knows how to use it. It’s also helping abolish piracy. Windows 10 detects and removes pirated software from our computers. It has made great security improvements to their operating system. It has the software programs, utilities and a lot of games for free.

2.     IOS

IOS technology allows us to interact and manipulate our screen in a variety of ways. This makes it much more user friendly because we can alter the screen size by simply placing two fingers in the centre of the screen and dragging them away from each other. Double tapping the screen returns the page to its normal size, or if we wish to zoom out, simply reverses the zoom in motion. There are plenty of other touch screen motions, such as sliding our finger to the left or the right to scroll through photos, as well as dragging and dropping items to customize your apps.

3.     Android

Android is multitasking. It can run many applications; it means that we can browse while listened to the song. Android can install a modified ROM. We sometimes find an unofficial ROM that is the version that was not in accordance with the specification release our cell phones, the last way is modification. Android is different than the IOS, if the IOS is limited to the iPhone from Apple, then Android is available on mobile phones from various manufacturers, from Sony Ericsson, Motorola, HTC and Samsung.

Unit 2 Activity 2: Managing Files in Computer

Activity 2

Share how you normally manage your files in your computer. Compare with the feedbacks from others too.

Normally I will open one place for all documents. That means I will place all documents under a single "root"folder For a single user in a Windows environment the default location is the My Documents folder. Having a single location for all documents makes it easier to find things and to run backups and archives. Next, I will also create folders in a logical hierarchy. I normally use plain language to name my folders so that I won’t look at the list of folders in the future and wondering what abbreviation that I invented means. Besides, I will also be specific and give the files a logical, specific names and include dates in file names if possible. The goal when naming files is to be able to tell what the file is about without having to open it and look. If we are sharing files via email or portable devices you may want to have the file name include more specific information, since the folder information will not be included with the shared file.

            

Instead, many people do the same way by managing their files by creating a folder then stored the files inside the folder and last giving a name for a folder.

Unit 2 Activity 1: Snap and Label the Computer parts

Unit 1 Learning Outcome 3: Explain Digital Data Representation used in Computer

EXPLAIN DIGITAL DATA REPRESENTATION USED IN COMPUTER

Digital data, in information theory and information systems, are discrete, discontinuous representations of information or works, as contrasted with continuous, or analog signals which behave in a continuous manner, or represent information using a continuous function. The word digital comes from the same source as the words digit and digitus (the Latin word for finger), as fingers are often used for discrete counting. The term is most commonly used in computing and electronics, especially where real-world information is converted to binary numeric form as in digital audio and digital photography.

How to convert hexadecimal to binary :

For example:

We want to convert hexadecimal number 65B2 to binary. For this we will replace each hexadecimal digit to binary values using the above table:

Hexadecimal number:  6    5    B    2

Binary values:      (0110) (0101) (1011) (0010)

So (65B2)16 = (0110010110110010)2

Unit 1 Learning Outcome 2: Describe the Usage of Computer and ICT in Everyday Life

Describe the usage of computers and ICT in everyday life.

ICT :

1.      Banking

2.      Education

3.      Business

4.      Industry

Education

-        Help to manage books ( eg: library automation system)

-        E-learning

Student and lecturer can communicate to each other if there is something problem or have to make discussion no matter how far the distance to each other.

-        To find useful information ( eg : Internet )

We have an internet to get more information abour our learning.

Banking

-        Online banking ( eg : maybank2u)

Online services such as transfer money and pay bill online.

-        To withdraw or check money ( eg : ATM machine )

Industry

-        Automobile manufacturing industry using robotic ( eg : factory )

-        Aerospace research using super computers

Business

-        E-commerce

Buying or selling something from the Internet

-        Advertising ( eg: billboard , magazine )

Unit 1 Learning Outcome 1: History and Evolution of Computer and ICT

History & Evolution of Computers & ICT

First Generation Computers and ICT

First generation computers bore little resemblance to computers of today, either in appearance or performance. The first generation of computers took place from 1940 to 1956 and was extremely large in size. The inner workings of the computers at that time were unsophisticated. These early machines required magnetic drums for memory and vacuum tubes that worked as switches and amplifiers. It was the vacuum tubes that were mainly responsible for the large size of the machines and the massive amounts of heat that they released. These computers produced so much heat that they regularly overheated despite large cooling units. First generation computers also used a very basic programming language that is referred to as machine language.

Second Generation Computers and ICT

The second generation (from 1956 to 1963) of computers managed to do away with vacuum tubes in lieu of transistors. This allowed them to use less electricity and generate less heat. Second generation computers were also significantly faster than their predecessors. Another significant change was in the size of the computers, which were smaller. Transistor computers also developed core memory which they used alongside magnetic storage.

Third Generation Computers and ICT

From 1964 to 1971 computers went through a significant change in terms of speed, courtesy of integrated circuits. Integrated circuits, or semiconductor chips, were large numbers of miniature transistors packed on silicon chips. This not only increased the speed of computers but also made them smaller, more powerful, and less expensive. In addition, instead of the punch cards and the printouts of previous systems, keyboards and monitors were now allowing people to interact with computing machines.

Fourth Generation Computers and ICT

The changes with the greatest impact occurred in the years from 1971 to 2010. During this time technology developed to a point where manufacturers could place millions of transistors on a single circuit chip. This was called monolithic integrated circuit technology. It also heralded the invention of the Intel 4004 chip which was the first microprocessor to become commercially available in 1971. This invention led to the dawn of the personal computer industry. By the mid-70s, personal computers such as the Altair 8800 became available to the public in the form of kits and required assembly. By the late 70s and early 80s assembled personal computers for home use, such as the Commodore Pet, Apple II and the first IBM computer, were making their way onto the market. Personal computers and their ability to create networks eventually would lead to the Internet in the early 1990s. The fourth generation of computers also saw the creation of even smaller computers including laptops and hand-held devices. Graphical user interface, or GUI, was also invented during this time. Computer memory and storage also went through major improvements, with an increase in storage capacity and speed.

The Fifth Generation of Computers and ICT

In the future, computer users can expect even faster and more advanced computer technology. Computers continue to develop into advanced forms of technology. Fifth generation computing has yet to be truly defined, as there are numerous paths that technology is taking toward the future of computer development. For instance, research is ongoing in the fields of nanotechnology, artificial intelligence, as well as quantum computation.

Unit 1 Activity 2: The future of ICT

In our opinion, the vision of  ICT would be like can be performed through many ways. Future ICT project will catch up with the speed at which new problems and opportunities are arising in our changing world as consequences of globalization, technological, demographic and environment change and make a contribution to strengthening our socities adoptiveness, resilience and sustainability .

Future ICT project will be done by developing new scientific approaches and combining these with the best established method in areas like multi-scale computer modelling, social supercomputing, large-scale data mining and participating platforms.

ICT in the future will promote on interdisciplinary integration of natural, social and engineering sciences with novel paradigm of information technology. This will produce synergy effects required to address many of our future challenges. After the age of physical, biological and technological innovates, future ICT will lead our world into the next era - a wave of information - driven social and socio-inspired innovation . Meanwhile, the future ICT project can also benefit citizens and society. This can be done by promoting collective awareness of the impact of our decision and action, by mitigating global problem and systemic risks, and by creating new possibilities to participate in social, economic and politicial affairs. In particular, future ICT will create the basis of new spin-offs, business opportunities and jobs .

Unit 1 Activity 1 : ICT- Now and Then

Then:
1. Expensive
2. Not many design
3. Slow system

Now:
1. Affordable
2. Various design available
3. Very good and fast system