Wired Network Connections
Wired connections offer high-bandwidth, secure, and reliable connections.
Ethernet
- Cables are made from copper
- High bandwidth for fast data transfer
- Secure: data interception is difficult
- Reliable: less prone to interference
- Lot of cabling can be messy
- Not suitable for portable devices
Fibre Optic Cables
- Cables are made of glass or clear plastic
- Data is transmitted as pulses of light which is shone down the cable
- Very high bandwidth, so lots of data can be transmitted
- Used for long distances, such as undersea cabling between continents
- Despite being made of glass, cables are flexible and strong
Wireless Connectivity
Wireless connections offer convenient data connections for portable devices.
Wi-Fi
- Devices are connected without wires
- Allows devices to be portable
- Range of up to around 100 metres
- Data can be easily intercepted, so extra security needs to be used
- Affected by electromagnetic interference and physical objects (such as walls)
Bluetooth
- Bluetooth is a short-range wireless connection
- It has limited bandwidth, so data transfer is slow
- Mostly used for connecting peripherals, such as a wireless mouse to our computer, or wireless headphones to our phone