COMPUTER NETWORKS

A computer network is an interconnection among two or more computers or computing devices.

Need / Advantages / application of network

1) Resource Sharing: Resource Sharing means to make all programs, data and peripherals available to
anyone on the network irrespective of the physical location of the resources and the user.
2) Reliability: Reliability means to keep the copy of a file on two or more different machines, so if one
of them is unavailable (due to some hardware crash or any other) them its other copy can be used.
3) Cost Factor: Cost factor means it greatly reduces the cost since the resources can be shared.
4) Communication medium: The changes at one end can be noticed at another and hence it speeds up
the cooperation among them.

Disadvantages of networks
1) File security
2) If networks are badly managed
3) If files and software are held centrally if the server fails
4) Some networks can be complicated and cost also will increase to manage it.

Evolution of networking:
ARPANET(Advanced Research Projects Agency NETwork):
In the 1960s (1969) a research project was commissioned by Advanced Research Projects Agency
Network (ARPANET) in the U.S. Department of Defense to connect the academic and research
institutions located at different places for scientific collaborations.

NSF Net
* The National Science Foundation created a new, high capacity network called NSF net which was
more capable than ARPANET. NSF net allowed only the academic research on its network.

INTERNET (INTERconnection NETwork)

* The internet is a worldwide network of computer networks. It connects many smaller networks
together and allows all the computers to exchange information with each other.

Elementary Terminology of Networks

1) Nodes (Workstations): The computers that are attached to a network and are seeking to share the
resources of the network.

2) Server: A computer that facilitate the sharing of data, software and hardware resources on the
network.

→ Non-dedicated Server: On small networks, a workstation takes up server job as when situation arise,
most of the time it will work as the normal node. The small networks using such a server are known as
PEER-TO-PEER networks.
→ Dedicated Server: On bigger network installations, there is a computer reserved for servers job and
its only job is to help workstations access data, software and hardware resources. The networks using
such a server are known as MASTER-SLAVE networks.

3) NIU (Network Interface Unit)

NIU is an interpreter that helps to establish communication between the server and workstations. It is
also called Terminal Access Point (TAP) and Network Interface Card (NIC).

4) MAC Address: The physical address assigned by NIC manufacturer. (Media Access Control).It is a
unique 12 digit ( 6 digits for manufacturer code and 6 digits for serial no.) hexadecimal number assigned
to each NIC . MAC address of an NIC never changes. Eg) [Link]

5) IP Address: IP Address is a numerical identification and logical address that is assigned to devices
connected in a computer network. An IP Address is used to uniquely identify devices on the Internet

DATA COMMUNICATION TERMINOLOGIES

Data channel
A channel is the medium used to carry information or data from one point to another.
Bandwidth
The amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time is known as bandwidth.
For digital devices, the bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per second(bps) or bytes per second. For
analog devices, the bandwidth is expressed in cycles per second ie Hertz (Hz).
Kilohertz – thousand cycles per second
Megahertz – thousand KHz
Gigahertz – thousand MHz
Terahertz – thousand GHz
Data transfer rates
It represents the amount of data transferred per second by a communication channel.
Bits per second (bps) - It refers to the speed at which data transfer is measured.
* The rate of a thousand bits per second is known as kbps (kilo bits per second)
* A rate of thousand bytes per second is known as Kbps (Kilo bytes per second)
* A rate of a million bits per second is known as mbps (Mega bits per second)
* A rate of a million bytes per second is known as Mbps (Mega bytes per second)
Gbps- Giga bytes per second
Tbps-Tera bytes per second

Switching Techniques
Switching techniques are used for transmitting data across networks.
→ Circuit Switching:
In this, the complete physical connection between 2 computers is established and then data are transmitted
from the source computer to the destination computer. The telephone system is a common example of a
circuit switched n/w.

→ Packet Switching: It is a form of store and forward switching system in which messages are
subdivided into short packets are stored at the switching nodes and then transmitted onwards to their
destination. A packet switching system deletes the message from memory as soon as its correct receipt
at the next node is acknowledged.
What is data communication?

Data communication refers to the process of sending and receiving data from one device to another

device. The data can be in any form, like text, image, audio or video. This data can be shared using any

medium, like wires, optical fibres or wireless channels.

Components of Data Communication

• Sender & Receiver: The sender and receiver are both electronic devices. The sender can send data

through the network system, and the receiver receives data from the network. For example, laptops

and smartphones can send and receive the data through a network, also known as a node in a

network system.

• Node: Any device connected to a network and can send, receive or process data is known as a

node.

• Message: It is information which can be shared between the sender and receivers.

• Communication Media – It is a methods used to transport messages from the sender to the receiver

are referred to as communication medium. Communication Media can be send message throug

wired or wireless.

• Protocols – A protocol is a set of rules for exchanging data. Each step and process of

communication between two or more computers has a set of rules that apply to it. For networks to

transport data successfully, they must abide by certain guidelines.

TRANSMISSION MEDIA
The cables that connect 2 or more work stations are the communication channels or transmission media.
* Guided media include cables (Twisted pair cables , coaxial cable, optical fibre)
* Unguided media include waves through air, water or vacuum.(Radio wave, Microwave, Infrared,
Satellite)
GUIDED MEDIA
[Link] pair Cable

* most common form of wiring

* voice grade medium (VGM)
* consists of two identical wires wrapped together in a double helix
* the wires come in pairs
* the pairs of wires are twisted around each other.
Advantages
* simple, easy to install and maintain
* physically flexible
* low weight and easily connected
* very inexpensive
Disadvantages
* unsuitable for broadband applications
* incapable of carrying a signal over long distances without the use of repeaters.
* encounters high interference
* can support max upto 10Mbps

[Link] Cable

* a solid wire core surrounded by one or more foil or wire shields, each separated by some kind of
plastic insulator.
* The cable is finally surrounded in a water proof, flexible sheath
* It is widely used for television signals
Advantages
* The data transmission characteristics of coaxial cables are considerably better than those of twisted
pair cables.
* used as the basis for a shared cable network
* used for broadband transmission, several channels can be transmitted simultaneously.
* Offer higher bandwidth upto 400 Mbps

Disadvantages
* Expensive compared to twisted pair
* Coaxial cables are not compatible with twisted pair cables.

[Link] fibres:

* It consists of thin strands of glass or glass like material which are so constructed that they carry light
from a source at one end of the fibre to a detector at the other end.

→ Core: glass or plastic through which light travels

→ Cladding: covering of the core that reflects light back to the core
→ Sheath: protective coating, which protects the fiber cable from hostile environment.

Advantages
* immune to electric and magnetic interference
* highly suitable for harsh industrial environment
* Secure transmission and has a very high transmission capacity.
Disadvantages
* They are the most expensive of all the cables
* Connecting two optical fibres together is a difficult process
* Because of noise immunity, optical fibre is virtually impossible to tap.
* Installation problem, fibre optics are very fragile and need special care.

UNGUIDED MEDIA
[Link] wave –
The transmission making use of radio frequencies (3 KHz – 3 GHz) is termed as radio-wave transmission.
It is easy to generate, can travel long distances and can penetrate buildings easily. These waves are
omnidirectional, so transmitting and receiving antennas need not be aligned.
Any radio setup has 2 parts
* Transmitter: it takes some sort of message, encodes it onto a sine wave and transmit it with radio
waves
* Receiver: It receives the radio wave and decodes the message from the sine waves it receives.
Advantages
* Radio-wave transmission offers mobility.
* It offers ease of communication over difficult terrain.
* Cheaper than digging and laying cables
* Freedom from land acquisition
Disadvantages
* It is an insecure communication
* It is susceptible to weather effects like rains thunder, storm etc

[Link]

Frequency (300 MHz – 300 GHz). Microwave signals are used to transmit data without the use of cables.
It is a direct line of sight transmission. The waves travel in straight lines. It cannot penetrate any solid
object. It is used for wideband communications systems.
The microwave transmission consists of a transmitter, receiver and the atmosphere. The transmitting and
receiving antennas have to be aligned each other.
Advantages
* If offers ease of communication over difficult terrain.
* microwave have the ability to communicate over oceans
* Cheaper than digging and laying cables
* Freedom from land acquisition
* Ease of communication over difficult terrain
Disadvantages
* It is an insecure communication
* Bandwidth allocation is extremely limited in case of microwaves
* The cost of design, implementation and maintenance of microwave links in high
* It is susceptible to weather effects like rains thunder, storm etc
[Link] Frequency (300 GHz to 400THz). This type of
transmission uses infrared light to send data.
The infrared light transmits data through the air and
can propagate throughout a room but will not penetrate
[Link]) Remote control

4. Satellite:

•Used for very long distance wireless communication.

•Transmission from earth to a satelliteis uplink(frequency range 1.6 GHz and 30.0 GHz) and
transmission from satellite to earth is known as downlink(frequency range 1.5 GHz to 20.0 GHz)
• It covers large area of earth.
• Expensive
• Require legal permissions.
NETWORK DEVICES
[Link]

Internal modem External modem

It is a computer peripheral that allows you to connect & communicate with other computers via telephone
lines. A device which converts digital signal to analog
& vice versa. (modulator/demodulator)
Modulation is the process of sending data on a wave.
Modems come in 2 varieties:
i. Internal modems: modems that are fixed within the computer [Link] modems: modem that are
connected externally to a computer as other peripherals are connected.
[Link]-45 (Registered Jack-45)

It is an 8-wire connector which is commonly used to connect computers on LANs especially ethernets.
[Link]: it is a LAN architecture developed by Xerox corporation along with DEC and Intel. It uses
bus or star topology and supports data transfer rates of up to 10Mbps.

[Link] Card: Ethernet cards are either built in or external devices that allow you to physically connect
a Ethernet LAN cable to a network. The function is to allow your computer to receive a network address
(called an IP address) so the computer can successfully communicate on the network and perhaps even
access the Internet via the LAN.

[Link]

A hub is an electronic device that connects several nodes to form a network and redirects the received
information to all the connected nodes in broad cast mode.
6. SWITCH

A switch is an intelligent device that connects several nodes to form a network and redirects the received
information only to the intended nodes.
7. REPEATER

A repeater is an electronic device in a communication channel that increases the power of a signal
and retransmits it, allowing it to travel further. Since it amplifies the signal, it requires a source
of electric power.
8. GATEWAY
A gateway is a hardware device or software solution that acts as an entry and exit point for a network,
connecting it to other networks that use different protocols. It translates communication protocols to
allow data to flow between these distinct networks, unlike a router which primarily directs traffic
within the same network.

[Link]

A router is a network device that is used to separate different segments in a network to improve
performance and reliability. A router can handle different protocols and it works with IP address.

[Link] CARD

WiFi cards are small , easily portable cards that allow your desktop or laptop computer the capability to
connect to the internet through a wireless network .
TYPES OF NETWORKS

Networks vary in size, complexity and geographical spread. Classification on the basis of
geographical spread.

[Link] Area Networks (PAN)

It is the interconnection of information technology devices within the range of an individual person,
typically within a range of 10m.
Eg: connect 2 cell phones through Bluetooth.
2. Local Area Networks (LAN)
Area coverage is [Link] are computer networks confined to a localized area such as an office or
factory.

3. Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN)

Area coverage is 100 kms or so. These are computer networks spread over a city. Eg: A cable TV

4. Wide Area Networks (WAN)

A wide area network is a group of computers that are separated by large distances and tied together.
These are the networks spread over large distances, say across countries or continents.
Differentiate between LAN and WAN
LAN WAN
(i) Diameter of not more than a few kilometers Span entire countries

(ii) LANs have a high data transfer rate. WANs have a lower data transfer rate.

(iii) Complete ownership by a single organization Owned by multiple organization

(iv) Very low error rates Comparatively higher error rates

(v) High speed (1000 mbps) Less speed (150 mbps)

NETWORK TOPOLOGIES
The pattern of interconnection of nodes in a network is called the topology.

Factors to consider in making the choice of media.

[Link]: For a network to be cost effective, one would try to minimize installation cost. This may be
achieved by using well understood media and also to a lesser extent by minimizing the distances involved.
[Link]: The topology should allow for easy reconfiguration of the network.
This involves moving existing nodes & adding new ones.
[Link]: Fault detection and isolation.

What are the most popular topologies?

[Link] or linear topology.
All devices on network are connected to a single continuous cable called a bus. Transmission from any
station travels the length of the bus in both directions and can be received by all other stations. The bus
has terminators at either end which absorb the signal, removing it from the bus.

Advantages Disadvantages
* Short cable length Fault diagnosis is
difficult
* Simple wiring layout Fault isolation is difficult
* Resilient architecture Repeater configuration
* Easy to extend Nodes must be intelligent
[Link] topology
Each workstation is directly linked to a central node. Any communication between the stations must pass
through the central node.

Advantages Disadvantages
* Easy of service Long cable length
* One device per connection Difficult to expand
* Central control Central node dependency

* Problem diagnosis is easy

[Link] topology
The network is shaped as an inverted tree with the central root branching and sub-branching to the
extremities of the network.

Advantages Disadvantages
* Short cable length Node failure is network failure

* Easy to expand/extend More difficult to configure & wire than other

topologies
* Fault detection is easy Isolation fault detection is difficult
NETWORK PROTOCOLS
A network protocol is a set of rules for communication among networked devices. Protocol generally
includes rules of how and when a device can send or receive the data.

1. Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)

The TCP part is responsible for dividing the file/message into packets on the source computer. It is also
responsible for reassembling the received packets at the destination or recipient computer.
The IP is responsible for handling the address of destination computer.
2. Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
It is the set of rules or protocol that governs the transfer of hypertext between two or more computers.
Hypertext is the text that is specially coded using a standard system called Hypertext Markup Language
(HTML)

3. File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

It is the standard and simplest internet protocol to exchange files between computers on the internet. It is
part of the TCP/IP protocol suite.
Advantages of FTP are:
* It is very useful to transfer files from one network in an organization to another.
* It is an effective way to get a geographically dispersed group to co-operate on a project.
[Link] to Point Protocols (PPP)
PPP is the internet standard for transmission of IP packets over serial lines. The point to point protocol is
currently the best solution for dial up internet connections.

REMOTE LOGIN
Remote login means to connect the network at a remote station without any network. This remote login
takes place through Telnet.
5. Telnet
Telnet is a network application that is used to login to one computer on the internet from another.

ELECTRONIC MAIL PROTOCOLS

6. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)

It is the most popular protocol for transferring e-mail on the Internet.
7. POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3)
It is the most recent version of a standard protocol for receiving email.

8. Protocols for chat and video conferencing

VOIP protocol (Voice over internet protocol)

9. https: HTTPS stands for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. It is the protocol where encrypted HTTP
data is transferred over a secure connection. By using secure connection, the privacy and integrity of data
are maintained and authentication of websites is also validated.
Some examples of sites that use HTTPS include banking and investment websites, e-commerce websites
etc

WEB SERVICES
www – World Wide Web is a system of Internet servers that supports hypertext to access several
internet protocols on a single interface.

HTML- Hyper Text Markup Language is a document layout and hyperlink specification language for
developing web pages. HTML is made up of tags. XML-eXtensible Markup Language which allows to
create application specific structured documents by allowing creation of new tags. These structured
documents can be presented in human – understandable manner in different ways. it is a meta language
used to define other languages.
Difference between HTML and XML
HTML
1. HTML document formats and displays web pages data
2. HTML tags are predefined
3. HTML tags may not have closing tag
4. HTML tags are not case sensitive
XML
1. XML carry data along with their descriptions
2. XML tags are not predefined
3. XML tags must have a closing tag
4. XML tags are case sensitive.
Domain Name - A domain name is a away to identify and locate computers connected to the internet.
No two organizations can have the same domain name.

URL - Uniform Resource Locator, Each file on the internet has a unique address called URL
Eg)

Website - A web site is a collection of web pages belonging to a particular person or organization.

Web Browser - A web browser is a program that your computer runs to communicate with web servers
on the internet, which enables it to download and display the web pages that you request.
Eg) Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Internet explorer

Web Server- Web servers are computers that deliver (serves up) Web pages. Every Web server has an
IP address and possibly a domain name.

Web Hosting-Web hosting is the process of storing a web site on a web server and it is accessible on the
internet.

e-mail: email (or e-mail): is defined as the transmission of messages over communications networks.
Typically the messages are notes entered from keyboard and sent over internet using computer or mobile.

Chat : Chat may refer to any kind of communication over the Internet that offers a real-time transmission
of text messages from sender to receiver. Chat messages are generally short in order to enable other
participants to respond quickly.

Voip :- Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP), is a technology that allows you to make voice calls using a
broadband Internet connection instead of a regular (or analog) phone line. VoIP services convert your
voice into a digital signal that travels over the Internet. If you are calling a regular phone number, the
signal is converted to a regular telephone signal before it reaches the destination. VoIP can allow you to
make a call directly from a computer. Examples of Voip:-Whatsapp, Skype, Google Chat etc.