Why does the Wi-Fi work here?
You walk into a library and your phone joins the internet. Fifty other phones join too.
Some boxes with flashing lights are making that happen. In this lesson you learn what each box does, and the steps to connect a new device.
By the end of this lesson
Note
I can say what each box in a small home or school system does, and list the steps to connect a device.
Key words
| Word | What it means |
|---|---|
| Network | devices joined so they can share data |
| Router | a box that joins your network to the internet |
| Switch | a box that joins devices and sends data only where it is needed |
| Hub | an old box that sends data to every device |
| Node | any device on a network |
| Link | the cable or radio signal between two nodes |
| Driver | a small program that lets the computer use a device |
| Encryption | scrambling data so only the right people can read it |
The cells students fill in are left blank in this preview.
Starter
Have a go
Starter
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.
Three boxes and what they do
A router joins your home or school network to the internet. A wireless router also makes the Wi-Fi.
A switch has many ports. It learns which device is on which port. It sends data only to the right one.
A hub is simpler. It sends data to every port. It is slow and rare now.
Nodes and links
Every device on the network is a node. A phone, a printer and a laptop are all nodes.
The cable or Wi-Fi signal between two nodes is a link. In the picture, solid lines are cables. The dotted line is a Wi-Fi link.
Check
Have a go
Check
3 questionsYour answers are marked here and are not kept. A college account keeps every student’s marks.