Summary of Module 1 Semester 2

Summary
This page summarizes the topics discussed in this module.


The major difference between a WAN and a LAN is the geographical area that is covered. A LAN connects workstations, printers, servers, and other devices within a building or other small area. A WAN is used to connect multiple LANs, typically over a large geographical area. The primary characteristics of a WAN include the ability to connect devices separated by wide geographical areas, the use of service companies to make these connections, and the serial connections used to access bandwidth.

There are several organizations that define and manage the standards used for WAN design such as ITU-T, ISO, IETF, and EIA.

WANs operate at the physical layer and the data link layer, which are Layers 1 and 2 of the OSI reference model. The devices used in a WAN, such as routers, CSU/DSUs, modems, and communication servers, operate at the physical layer. At the data link layer, the protocols determine how frames are carried between systems. A router can act as a LAN or a WAN device because it operates at the network layer, which is Layer 3.

Routers are specialized computers that use the Cisco IOS software to run configuration files. The main internal components of a router are as follows:

• The CPU, which executes instructions in the operating system
• RAM or DRAM to store the routing tables
• NVRAM to provide storage for the startup configuration file
• Flash memory to hold the IOS
• ROM for the POST
• Interfaces to connect to a PC or modem

There are three basic external connections on a router:
• LAN interface
• WAN interface
• Management interface

Management is used for the initial setup of the router and for troubleshooting. Most routers provide a console port, which is an EIA-232 asynchronous serial port. Some routers include an auxiliary port. A rollover cable and an RJ-45 to DB-9 adapter are used to connect the router console port to a PC.

In a LAN environment, the router is a host that communicates with the LAN through a hub or a switch. It is connected using a straight-through cable. A WAN is a little more complicated. The DTE is connected from the CPE to the service provider through a DCE device, which is typically a modem or CSU/DSU. This device converts the data from the DTE to a form recognized by the service provider. WAN services include leased line, circuit-switched, or packet-switched. Four considerations are used to select the proper cable:

• The type of connection to the Cisco device
• The type of network system that will be connected, which is DTE or DCE
• The signaling standard
• The type of connector on the cable