What is the hardware layer made of?

The hardware layer is fundamentally composed of the physical components of a computer. This includes all tangible elements that you can physically touch and see, such as the motherboard, CPU, RAM, hard drives, power supply units, and peripheral devices like keyboards and monitors. These components work together to perform the computer's functions and are essential for the system's operation.

Unlike software components, which provide the instructions and programs that run on the hardware, or virtual components, which are not physically real but rather simulated in a virtualized environment, the hardware layer is strictly about the physical parts that are involved in computing tasks. Network components are also a subset of hardware but specifically relate to the connecting elements like routers and switches, which fall under a broader category of the hardware layer. Therefore, identifying the hardware layer as the physical components of a computer accurately reflects its definition and role in computing systems.