DESCRIPTION
This course is the fifth course in TechOnLine's Data Networking Hardware Components curriculum. This course considers concentrators and data networking hubs. This course opens with a discussion of the evolution of concentrators. How concentrators perform in LAN environments, and the advantages they offer to these environments is also discussed. This course continues by discussing how the shortcomings of concentrators led to the development of wiring hubs. Hub types, from passive hubs through enterprise hubs are discussed, network applications where they are applied are described, and the components that make up data networking hubs and their functions are considered. This course also reviews router based collapsed backbones, and expands this discussion to include hub based collapsed backbones. This course goes on to consider hub capacity and configuration, where hub capacity is defined and a determination is made regarding the criteria for determining hub capacity. This course also discusses hub management and performance, where three methods of hub monitoring and management are considered. And, patch panels are discussed to see how these devices are used to manage hub wiring. This course concludes with a discussion of hub fault tolerance.

PREREQUISITES
Participants in this course are expected to have computer hardware and/or software experience. Data networking experience may be limited or narrowly focused. Although some of the target audience may have in-depth knowledge of some specialized area of networking, experience with data networking and networking hardware can be limited to basic knowledge of the standard structure and functions of data networking protocol stacks, common LAN and WAN technologies, and standard data network topologies. Participants should have a basic understanding of data networking media, standard cable plant structures and the function and operation of the passive data networking hardware components that operate in the physical layer. In addition, participants should have a basic understanding of operation and application of data link and network layer hardware devices, such as bridges, network interface cards, routers, and gateways. This prerequisite knowledge can be obtained through participation in TechOnLine's Data Networking Hardware 1: Basics, Data Networking Hardware 2: Passive Hardware, and Data Networking Hardware 3: Data Link, Data Networking Hardware 4: Upper Layer c courses.