I n this chapter, we will dive into the basics of networking hardware and theircompanion protocols that specify how computers should communicate across a network. Think of a network as a house. There is the outer structure (the facilitywhere the network is located), spaces for occupants (workstations and servers),and the wiring, plumbing, and other odds and ends that allow the interior spacesto be usable. While most networks are made of various components such asworkstations, servers, printers, routers, switches, network adapters, and cabling,this chapter will focus primarily on the “plumbing” elements. These elementsinclude network-specific hardware such as routers, switches, network interfacecards, cables, and the like. This chapter will be slightly less task-oriented thanthe later chapters, but it is here that we will make sure you get the backgroundon networking you will need for those later chapters. In this chapter, we’ll…