Unit 4: Computer Networks & Cloud Computing Basics
1. Introduction to Computer Networks
A computer network is a collection of interconnected devices (computers, servers, printers, etc.)
that can communicate and share resources.
Nodes and Links: A device on a network is called a node. The physical or wireless
connections between them are called links.
Purpose: The primary goals of networking are resource sharing (like sharing a single
internet connection or a database), communication, and data transfer.
2. Types of Networks (By Geographical Scope)
Networks are categorized by the physical area they cover.
LAN (Local Area Network): Covers a small, restricted area like a home, school laboratory,
or a single office building. It is usually managed by a single organization.
MAN (Metropolitan Area Network): Spans a larger geographic area, such as a city or a
large university campus.
WAN (Wide Area Network): Covers a large geographical area, such as a country or the
entire globe. The Internet is the largest example of a WAN.
3. Network Topologies
Topology refers to the physical or logical layout of a network.
Star Topology: All nodes are connected to a central hub or switch. If one cable fails, only
that node goes down. If the central switch fails, the entire network goes down.
Bus Topology: All nodes share a single central communication cable (the backbone). It is
cheap but difficult to troubleshoot and scale.
Mesh Topology: Every node is connected to every other node. This provides excellent
redundancy (if one link fails, data finds another path) but is very expensive to wire.
4. The Internet and Core Protocols
To communicate successfully, computers must speak the same "language." These rules of
communication are called protocols.
IP (Internet Protocol): Responsible for addressing and routing data packets so they can
travel across networks and arrive at the correct destination. Every device on the internet
needs an IP address.
TCP (Transmission Control Protocol): Works with IP to ensure that data is delivered
reliably, ordered, and error-checked.
DNS (Domain Name System): Acts as the phonebook of the internet. It translates
human-readable domain names (like [Link]) into machine-readable IP addresses.
5. Introduction to Cloud Computing
Traditionally, companies had to buy and maintain their own physical servers (on-premise
infrastructure). Cloud computing shifted this paradigm by delivering computing services—
including servers, storage, databases, and software—over the internet.
Benefits: Cost savings (pay-as-you-go), global scale, high performance, and reliability.
Major Providers: Platforms like Microsoft Azure and Amazon Web Services (AWS)
provide the massive data centers that power most of the modern web.
6. Cloud Service Models
Cloud services generally fall into three broad categories:
IaaS (Infrastructure as a Service): Renting raw IT infrastructure—servers, virtual
machines, storage, and operating systems—from a cloud provider.
PaaS (Platform as a Service): Provides a framework and environment for developers to
build, test, and deploy applications without worrying about managing the underlying
operating system or hardware.
SaaS (Software as a Service): Delivering fully functional software applications over the
internet, typically on a subscription basis (e.g., Gmail, Google Workspace).
7. Modern Deployment: Virtualization & Containerization
As cloud computing evolved, so did the methods for running applications efficiently.
Virtual Machines (VMs): Software that emulates a physical computer. Multiple VMs can
run on a single physical server, but each VM requires its own heavy, complete operating
system.
Containerization: A more lightweight, modern approach. Containers package an
application's code together with all its dependencies so it runs reliably in any computing
environment. Tools like Docker are standard for creating these containers, while systems
like Kubernetes are used to orchestrate and manage thousands of them seamlessly in
production.