Many manufacturers of desktop workstation motherboards include network adapters as part of the motherboard. They are also manufactured for connection to devices that transmit and receive visible light, infrared light, and radio microwaves. The hardware used to make connections between network adapters and different transmission media depends on the type of medium used. An RJ-45 connector links the adapter to the transmission media Repeaters Repeaters are used to increase the distance over which a network signal can be propagated. As a signal travels through a transmission medium, it encounters resistance and gradually becomes weak and distorted.
All signals attenuate, and at some point they become too weak and distorted to be received reliably.
Repeaters are used to overcome this problem. A simple, dedicated repeater is a device that receives the network signal and retransmits it at the original transmission strength. Repeaters are placed between transmitting and receiving devices on the transmission medium at a point at which the signal is still strong enough to be retransmitted. In today's networks, dedicated repeaters are seldom used. They therefore will repeat all signals, including those that should not be repeated, which increases network traffic.