Computer Networking Connectivity

Connectivity between two computers

In this article we will discuss the different methods of connectivity between two computers.

USB cable

USB ports can power up certain devices and transfer the data at the same time. There are four cables inside the USB cable and two of them are used for power and two for data transfer. The USB standards use A and B connectors to avoid confusion and comparatively the connectivity between the computers through the USB cables doesn’t provide the fast speed. The speed also depends on the quality of the cable, operating system, protocols, network devices, CPU and other electronic components.

Ethernet Straight & Crossover Cables

The most commonly used method of the connectivity between the LAN computers is through the Ethernet cables. Ethernet is a local area network communication standard. The common types of the Ethernet cables are straight cables, cross over cable and roll over cable. Straight cable is used to connect a computer with the hub or switch, cross over cable is used to connect two computers directly without hub or switch or cross over cable is used to connect two hubs or switches with each other. Roll over cable is used to connect a computer with a Router’s console port.

Bluetooth Personal Area Network (PAN)

Bluetooth Personal Area Network is a technology that is used to create an Ethernet network with wireless links between mobile computers. In a Personal Area network up to eight computers, mobile devices such as mobile phones and PDA etc can be connected. A notebook with built in Bluetooth radio can be connected with a desktop computer, which is equipped with an external Bluetooth dongle.

Wireless (Wi-Fi) ad-hoc network

Wireless network communication is possible through the IEEE Wireless 802.11b/g also called Wi-Fi or wireless Ethernet. The computers that are equipped with wireless LAN cards can send and receive the communication signals to and from the access points. The core components that are used in the wireless LAN are wireless routers, wireless LAN card and access points etc. For configuration the desktop computer plug the wireless access point into your desktop computer and follow the instructions.

Fiber Optic Cable

A fiber optic cable is made up of strands of glass fibers, which allows the transmission of data at the speed of light. Fiber optic cables have large carrying capacity and provide speed in GB. The signals through the fiber optic cables are transmitted without needing to be refreshed. They have greater resistance to the electromagnetic signals, near by cables, motors, and noise. Fiber to the home FTTH is becoming a common standard because it provides very high speed internet connectivity up to 100 Mbps and higher to the home users.