I'm trying to learn more about networks lately (I've begun reading a textbook on networks in my free time :rolleyes:) and as a mental exercise, I came up with the following question, and I wanted some help confirming my hunch. Consider a typical machine that would be used for gaming, music, homework, etc, acting as a network node, in which the machine takes in network information through its wireless card and sends it to a router through a cable. The machine would have to run some OS obviously, and would most likely be running a program in the background to monitor and regulate the amount of traffic going through the machine.
The idea is that the *machine* itself is acting as the wired input to the router, rather than a modem or something else, so that the router can broadcast the signal to *other* machines :eek:
The question: What component of the network/input-machine would act as the major bottleneck for this network? My first guess would be the network card, or the router, itself. If the machine were free to use the processor specifically for regulating and monitoring the traffic going through the machine, I assume that it could process information faster than it came in, and using a wired cable, send it out equally fast (or at least as fast as the information comes in). Either way, the major bottleneck would *seem* to be the speed at which the in-machine could gather information wirelessly or which the router could broadcast wirelessly :cool:
Additional details: We can assume a Unix operating system (:cool:), wireless-N card and router, and at least 3GB memory/1GHz processor speed
Any thoughts?
The idea is that the *machine* itself is acting as the wired input to the router, rather than a modem or something else, so that the router can broadcast the signal to *other* machines :eek:
The question: What component of the network/input-machine would act as the major bottleneck for this network? My first guess would be the network card, or the router, itself. If the machine were free to use the processor specifically for regulating and monitoring the traffic going through the machine, I assume that it could process information faster than it came in, and using a wired cable, send it out equally fast (or at least as fast as the information comes in). Either way, the major bottleneck would *seem* to be the speed at which the in-machine could gather information wirelessly or which the router could broadcast wirelessly :cool:
Additional details: We can assume a Unix operating system (:cool:), wireless-N card and router, and at least 3GB memory/1GHz processor speed
Any thoughts?