Endpoints and Media Types

What this chapter covers

Endpoints and Media Types is about the devices people use and the paths that connect them.

It starts with the cables and connectors that carry signals, then compares wired, Wi-Fi and cellular technologies. It then describes the endpoint devices on a network, and shows how to check a device's connection on common operating systems.

The chapter is practical. Many of the facts can be tested by looking at a real cable, a real port or a real settings screen.

How the topics fit together

The pages move from the physical medium, to the devices, to checking that they work.

The first page covers cables and connectors. The second page compares Wi-Fi, cellular and wired technologies, including what disturbs each one.

The third page describes the endpoint devices that attach to those media. The fourth and fifth pages show how to check connectivity, first on Windows, Linux and macOS, and then on Android and iOS with the wireless client settings.

How to use these pages

Each topic page has the same shape, so you can skim for what you need.

• What it is: the idea in plain words.
• How it works: the mechanism, with diagrams, tables and example commands.
• What to remember for the exam: the facts to memorise.
• Common mistakes: the classic traps.
• Check yourself: three questions to test your understanding.

If you can, try the commands on a real computer. Seeing your own address and the result of a ping makes them easy to remember.

Take your time with the media pages, because later chapters assume you know the names of the cables, ports and wireless bands. The infrastructure chapter shows where these cables plug in.