Lesson video

Hello, my name is Mrs. Holborow, and welcome to computing.

I'm so pleased you've been able to join me for the lesson today.

In today's lesson, you'll be identifying the roles of common network hardware and explaining the role MAC addresses play in a network.

Welcome to today's lesson from the unit network fundamentals.

This lesson is called network hardware and MAC addresses.

And by the end of today's lesson, you'll be able to describe how network hardware and MAC addresses are used in local area networks.

Shall we make a start? We will be exploring these key words in today's lesson.

Let's take a look at them now.

Router.

Router: a device that manages the flow of data between computer networks.

Switch.

Switch: a device in a wired network that sends data only to the device that needs it.

Media access control or MAC address.

Media access control, MAC address: an address given to a network interface controller used to uniquely identify devices on a local area network.

Look out for these keywords throughout today's lesson.

Today's lesson is split into two parts.

We'll start by describing roles of common network hardware and then we'll move on to explain MAC addresses and its role in networks.

Let's make a start by describing the roles of common network hardware.

Specialist network hardware is required to allow computers to connect to one another.

Common hardware types are wireless access points, routers, switches, hubs, network interface cards or NICs, and bridges.

You may have noticed a wireless access point or WAP in locations that offer free wifi for you to use.

They are typically found in restaurants, shopping centres, or on public transport.

Wireless internet at home often includes a wireless access point.

The wireless access point is usually built into the router provided by your internet service provider.

Routers are responsible for moving data from one network to another.

A common use for a router is to connect the network to the internet, which is also a network.

To connect wirelessly to the internet, you need a wireless access point and a router.

However, these are often built into the same device.

Time to check your understanding.

I have a question for you.

Which of the following statements is true about wireless access points, WAPs, and routers for home internet? Is it A, routers are only used to connect devices using cables, not wirelessly.

B, for wireless internet access, a WAP and a router are needed and are often built into the same device.

Or C, a WAP's main job is to move data from one network to another.

Pause the video whilst you think about your answer.

Did you select B? Well done.

For wireless internet access, a WAP and a router are needed, but they're often built in to the same device.

A switch is required if there are multiple wired connections on a network.

The switch is responsible for connecting data to the correct wired device.

A switch is only required if there are wired devices on the network.

A wireless access point will connect data to the correct wireless device.

A hub can be used to connect multiple wired devices together.

A hub will take any incoming data and broadcast, which is basically copying and sending it, to all other devices connected to the hub.

Hubs were seen as a cheaper alternative to switches in the early days of network design.

There are potential security risks with a hub though, because the data is broadcast to all devices instead of the specific device that needs it.

Switches are much cheaper these days and are often used instead of hubs.

A network interface card, or NIC, enables a wired network connection between a computer and another network device.

You might have noticed a port on a laptop or a computer with this symbol.

Inside the computer will be the network interface card and you can connect to it by plugging a wire into this port.

A bridge is used to connect a LAN to LAN.

Large networks can suffer from lots of traffic as data moves through them.

A bridge helps to reduce traffic by segmenting the network.

Data will only pass through the bridge to the other segment or LAN if it's required by that part of the network.

Time to check your understanding.

I have another question for you.

What is the key difference in how a network switch handles incoming data compared to a hub? Is it A, a switch broadcasts all incoming data to every device while a hub sends it to a specific device.

B, a switch sends incoming data to the correct wired device and a hub broadcast data to all connected devices.

Or C, a switch is only used for wireless connections while a hub is used only for wired connections.

Pause the video here whilst you think about your answer.

Did you say B? Well done.

Remember, a switch sends incoming data to the specific device, whereas a hub broadcast data to all connected devices.

Okay, we are moving on to our first task of today's lesson, task A.

For part one, describe the roles of three common hardware components that help individual devices connect a network or the wider internet.

Think about the devices that we've seen so far in today's lesson.

For part two, explain the roles of network switches and bridges in managing data traffic, and describe how a switch is different from a hub.

Pause the video here whilst you complete the task.

How did you get on? Did you manage to describe some common network hardware components? Well done.

Let's have a look at some sample answers together.

So for part one, you were asked to describe the roles of three common hardware components that help individual devices connect to a network or the wide internet.

A network interface card or NIC is a component found inside devices like computers and laptops, allowing them to make a wired connection to a network.

A wireless access point or WAP enables wireless devices to connect to a network, often providing Wi-Fi in public places or homes.

A router is responsible for moving data from one network to another and is frequently used to connect a local network to the internet.

Did you use these three examples in your answer? Remember, if you've used any others that were covered in the first part of today's lesson, that's also fine.

For part two, you were asked to explain the roles of network switches and bridges in managing data traffic, and describe how a switch is different from a hub.

A network switch connects multiple wired devices within a network, directing incoming only to the specific device for efficient flow.

A bridge connects two separate local networks or LANs, reducing overall network traffic by segmenting the network and passing data only when required.

A switch differs from a hub because a hub broadcasts all incoming data to every connected device, which is less efficient and poses a security risk.

A switch, by contrast, directs data precisely to its destination.

Remember, if you'd like to pause the video here and add any extra detail to your answer, you can do that now.

Okay, so we've described the roles of some common network hardware.

Let's now move on to explain MAC addresses and its role in networks.

A media access control, or MAC address, is a 48 bit unique identifier assigned by the manufacturer.

A MAC address is formatted with six sets of two characters separated by colons or hyphens.

So for example, 3C:57:21:78:C3:E5.

Each network interface card or NIC has a MAC address.

A device with wired and wireless connections will have two MAC addresses, one for each network interface card.

So one for the wireless connection and one for the wired connection.

A device with Bluetooth will have a third MAC address for that adapter.

Okay, time to check your understanding.

I have a true or false statement for you.

A single device with both a wired ethernet connection and a Wi-Fi will have two different MAC addresses.

Is this statement true or false? Pause the video whilst you have a think.

That's right.

It's true.

Well done.

Since each network interface card or NIC has its own unique MAC address, a device with separate adapters for wired and wireless connections, or even Bluetooth, will have multiple MAC addresses.

A MAC address identifies a device on a local network.

It helps ensures data is sent to the correct device.

It manages how data is sent between devices on the same network.

And it acts a bit like a postal address for your device.

A MAC address can be used as a method to control which devices can connect to a network or not connect to the network.

Two main approaches are used.

An allow list, which is a safelist, so only listed MAC addresses can connect to the network.

A block list or denylist, listed MAC addresses are blocked from connecting to the network.

MAC addresses are hard coded, but they can be spoofed.

But what does spoofing mean? Spoofing means pretending to have a different MAC address.

Therefore, MAC address filtering is not a strong security solution on its own.

Time to check your understanding.

I have a question for you.

Why is MAC address filtering considered not a strong security solution on its own? Is it A, Mac addresses change every time a device connects to the network.

B, MAC addresses can easily be copied or faked, which is called spoofing.

Or C, Mac address filtering allows all devices to connect without checking.

Pause the video whilst you think carefully about your answer.

Did you select B? Well done.

Remember, MAC addresses can be easily copied or faked.

Okay, we're moving on to our second task of today's lesson, task B, and you've done a fantastic job so far, so well done.

For part one, describe what a MAC address is and what it's used for on a local network.

For part two, how is a MAC address used to filter devices on a network? Do you know the MAC address of your computer or laptop? Maybe you could see if you can investigate that as well.

Pause the video here whilst you complete the task.

How did you get on with the activity? I'm sure you've done a great job with these questions, so well done.

Let's have a look at some sample answers together.

So for part one, you were asked to describe what a MAC address is and what it's used for on a local network.

A MAC address is a unique address that identifies a specific device on a network.

It helps ensure that data is sent to the correct device on that network.

A MAC address is often compared to a postal address for your device.

So for example, when somebody sends you a letter, if they use your correct address, it ensures that the letter gets to your home location.

For part two, you were asked to explain how is a MAC address used to filter devices on a network.

A MAC address can be used to filter devices on a network by controlling which ones are allowed to connect or not.

So the allowed list or safelist: only devices with MAC addresses that are specifically listed are permitted to connect the network, or a block list, a denylist: devices with MAC addresses that are on this list are banned from connecting to the network.

Remember, if you need to pause your video here and add any detail to your answer, you can do that now.

Okay, we've come to the end of today's lesson, network hardware and MAC addresses.

You've done a great job today, so well done.

Let's summarise what we've learned in this lesson.

Network devices such as routers, switches, and wireless access points each have a specific role in sending and receiving data across a network.

A MAC address is a unique identifier for a device's network card.

It helps ensure data is sent to the correct destination on a local network.

I hope you've enjoyed today's lesson and I hope you'll join me again soon.

Bye.