Repeater:
Repeater is a network device used to regenerate or replicate a signal. Repeaters are used in transmission systems to regenerate analog or digital signals distorted by transmission loss. Analog repeaters frequently can only amplify the signal while digital repeaters can reconstruct a signal to near its original quality.
Figure: Repeator
How it works:
Two LAN cable segment in an Ethernet LAN that both use baseband transmission could be connected with a repeater. Different types of physical transmission medium can be connected using a properly designed repeater as long as they handle similar type of signal. Ethernet repeaters are available that allows all the various types of baseband Ethernet transmission medium, including 10baseT, Coaxial cable, 10base2 and twisted pair cablesegment to be interconnected in the same LAN.
Advantages of a repeater:
- Simple to connect
- Cost effective
- Ability to strengthen signal
Disadvantages of a repeater:
- Repeaters provide no method for isolating traffic generated on one cable segment from traffic generated by the other cable segment
- When network uses a repeater to connect cable segment A to segment B whether or not there is a station in segment B that is the destination of the signal.