https://youtu.be/k0GVnwFNxWs

When we connect computers, phones, and other devices together, we need a way for those devices to communicate. But how does information actually travel from one device to another?

That’s where network media comes in.

Network media is the physical or wireless method used to transfer data between devices. At a basic level, there are three primary ways we can send information: electrical signals through a conductor, radio signals through the air, or light through a fiber.

The Three Ways We Can Send Data

Imagine that we have two computers that need to communicate with each other. Somehow, we need to get information from one computer to the other.

There are three basic options.

Copper Cable

The first option is to use a cable, typically a copper cable.

Copper is a conductor, which means we can move electrons through it. We can use changes in the electrical signal to represent the 1s and 0s that computers use to communicate.

For example, we can think of a signal being turned off as a 0 and turned on as a 1.

The actual technology used by networking equipment is much more sophisticated than simply turning electricity on and off, but this gives us a basic way to understand how information can travel through a copper cable.

Radio Signals

The second option is to use radio signals.

Instead of physically connecting the two devices with a cable, we can send information through the air using radio waves. Those waves can be manipulated to represent the 1s and 0s that make up our digital information.

This is one of the fundamental ideas behind wireless networking.

Your devices can communicate without a physical cable because information is being transmitted through the air.

Light

The third option is to use light.

We can send information by transmitting photons from one device to another. A simple example would be using a flashlight to communicate.

If we turned the light on and off in a specific pattern, we could create a code. Morse code is a simple example: short flashes represent dots, while longer flashes represent dashes.

Computers can use the same basic concept, except they can transmit signals far faster and use those signals to represent digital data.

This is the basic idea behind fiber-optic communication, where light travels through a fiber to carry information between devices.

How Do These Methods Represent Data?

Computers communicate using 1s and 0s, so network media needs some way to represent that digital information.

With a copper connection, electrical signals can represent the data.

With wireless networking, radio waves can be manipulated to represent the data.

With fiber optics, light is used to carry the data.

The underlying technology is different, but the goal is the same: move information from one device to another.

Why Does Network Media Matter?

Each type of network media has its own advantages and disadvantages.

Copper, radio, and fiber all provide different ways to move data, and the appropriate choice depends on the networking situation.

For now, the important thing to understand is that computers don’t simply send information from one device to another magically. There needs to be some form of media that carries the signal.

That media could carry electrons, radio signals, or photons.

Once you understand that basic concept, you have a foundation for understanding how devices actually communicate across a network.

Build Your Networking Skills

Understanding how data physically moves between devices is an important part of learning computer networking.

If you’re building your IT or cybersecurity career, having a strong networking foundation can make many of the concepts you’ll encounter later much easier to understand.

That’s why I created a free networking starter experience to help you build those foundational networking skills and gain confidence with the concepts you’ll use throughout your IT career.

If you’re ready to strengthen your networking skills, check out the free class linked below.