What device is primarily used to amplify electrical signals in a network?

A repeater is primarily used to amplify electrical signals in a network. It functions by receiving a weak or distorted signal and regenerating it to extend its transmission distance. This is especially useful in scenarios where the distance between the transmitting and receiving devices is substantial, as signals can degrade over longer distances.

Repeaters operate at the physical layer of the OSI model, simply retransmitting the signal without inspecting the data contained within. This allows them to boost signals in various network setups, including wired and wireless environments. The use of repeaters helps maintain signal integrity and ensures reliable communication across larger spans in the network infrastructure.

Other devices like gateways, bridges, and routers have different roles; gateways typically manage traffic between different networks, bridges connect multiple networks and filter traffic at the data link layer, and routers direct data packets between networks based on their addresses. Each of these plays an important role in networking, but none are specifically designed for the amplification of electrical signals as a repeater is.