The size of I-90
could increase to ten lanes, and I??™d still have to slow down when nearing Chicago. Networks
are a lot like the stretch of I-90 with which I??™ve become so familiar, as you can see
in Figure 10-12.
Figure 10-12. Networks, bandwidth, and latency are easily understood if you think of them
as highways, lanes, and tollbooths and construction.
CHAPTER 10 n HARDWARE CONSIDERATIONS 261
The following aspects of networking are well illustrated by the highway analogy:
??? Networks have a speed limit: Essentially, networks function at the speed of light,
because they??™re simply passing electrons over a wire or fiber-optic cable. Similarly,
I-90 has a general speed limit of 65 mph. It??™s not the Autobahn, but the interstate
still offers a decent speed limit.
??? Network transmissions need to stop periodically: Routers, firewalls, and switches
need to interrogate network packets being sent, briefly stopping them before forwarding
them on. Similarly, I have to stop at tollbooths on the interstate (it seems
like every five miles).
??? Poor-quality cabling or malfunctioning devices can cause network packets to be
resent: Similarly, road construction slows down my approach to the airport.
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