From NICs to switches, modern networks are comprised of many devices. As it’s important for IT pros to know a router from a gateway, I put together a quick pop quiz on basic network devices.
Note: Unfortunately, our poll tool, which I use to create each pop quiz, doesn’t let me indicate a correct answer after each question. To keep from giving away the answers before everyone has a chance to test his/her knowledge, and ruining all the fun, I’ve published the answers on the second page of this blog post. I encourage everyone to answer all the questions before looking at the second page or using your favorite search engine to find the answers.
Which of the following devices is a PC component that connects the computer to the network?
Which of the following devices modulates digital signals into analog signals that can be sent over traditional telephone lines?
Which of the following devices takes data sent from one network device and forwards it to all devices on the network regardless of the intended recipient?
Which of the following devices takes data sent from one network device and forwards it to the destination node based on MAC address?
Although they've fallen out of favor, which of the following devices is used to connect different network segments and manage the traffic between them?
Which of the following devices direct network traffic based not by MAC addresses but by software-configured network addresses?
Which of the following network devices/systems translates data from one format to another?
Which of the following terms is used to describe a hardware- or software-based device that protects networks from outside threats?
Which of the following devices assigns IP address to devices connected to a network that uses TCP/IP?
Which of the following devices translates hostnames into IP addresses?
Answers are on the next page.
