Table of Contents
Objective
After you have completed this chapter you should:
Understand the purpose, architecture and composition of a LAN
Know the Ethernet standards and how to select an appropriate one for a particular LAN
Understand the purpose of a switch
Understand the purpose of VLAN and where it should be deployed
Know the cable options for wiring a LAN and how to select and appropriate one for a particular LAN
Understand wireless LANs and where they can be deployed
Understand the purpose, architecture and composition of a WAN
Know the available WAN connection options for connecting a LAN to a WAN and how to select an appropriate one in a particular scenario
Understand the purpose of a router and know what a level 3 switch is
Networking technology encompasses a wide range of standards and technologies. In this chapter we review the most important concepts and technologies for building reliable control system networks.
We focus on levels 1 and 2 of the OSI model i.e. the physical and data link layers as the foundation of the TCP/IP networking layers discussed in chapter Chapter 5, TCP/IP protocol.