Networking
INDEX
[Link]
Contents Remark
Introduction to Computer
1. Network
Ip Address
2.
Transmission Media
3.
Subnetting
4.
OSI Model
5.
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Computer Network
Computer Network: A computer network is a system of interconnected
devices, such as computers, servers, smartphones, and printers, that
communicate to exchange data. They communicate using wired or wireless
connections and can range from small home networks to the global Internet.
● Resource Sharing: Allows sharing of hardware like printers, scanners,
and storage devices, reducing cost.
● Data Sharing: Enables users to share files, applications, and databases
easily.
● Communication: Supports email, video conferencing, instant messaging,
and web access.
● Data Management: Helps in storing, securing, and backing up data
efficiently.
● Remote Access: Allows users to access systems and cloud services from
anywhere.
First Computer Network
ARPANET stands for Advanced Research Projects Agency NET. ARPANET
was the first network that consisted of distributed control. It was the first to
implement TCP/IP protocols. It was basically the beginning of the Internet with
the use of these technologies. It was designed with a basic idea in mind that was
to communicate with scientific users among an institute or university.
History of ARPANET
ARPANET was introduced in the year 1969 by the Advanced Research
Projects Agency (ARPA) of the US Department of Defense. It was established
using a bunch of PCs at various colleges and sharing of information and
messages was done. It was for playing as long separation diversions and
individuals were asked to share their perspectives. In the year 1980, ARPANET
was handed over to a different military network, Defense Data Network.
Types of Computer Networks
1. Personal Area Network (PAN)
A PAN is a short-range network that connects personal devices like
smartphones, tablets, and computers. It typically covers less than 10 meters
(about 33 feet) and usually uses wireless technologies such as Bluetooth. PAN
is smaller than other networks like LAN or WAN and is mainly used for data
sharing between a few devices.
Advantages:
● Allows for easy communication between personal devices in close
proximity.
● Uses wireless technology, which eliminates the need for wires and cables.
● PANs are designed to be energy efficient, which means that devices can
communicate with each other without draining their batteries quickly.
Disadvantages:
● Limited coverage area.
● PANs have limited bandwidth, so they are not suitable for large-scale or
high-speed data transfer.
● May experience interference from other wireless devices.
2. Local Area Network (LAN)
A LAN connects computers and devices within a small area like a home, office,
school, or hospital. It usually uses switches, routers, and private IP addresses.
LANs are high-speed, inexpensive to set up, and easy to maintain.
● Coverage: Up to 2 km (limited area).
● Speed: Earlier 4–16 Mbps; now 100–1000 Mbps.
● Medium: Mostly wired (Ethernet cables, twisted-pair, coaxial), though
wireless can also be used.
● Example: Students playing a multiplayer game in the same room without
internet.
Advantages:
● Provides fast data transfer rates and high-speed communication.
● Easy to set up and manage.
● Can be used to share peripheral devices such as printers and scanners.
Disadvantages:
● Limited geographical coverage.
● Limited scalability and may require significant infrastructure upgrades to
accommodate growth.
● May experience congestion and network performance issues with
increased usage.
3. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
A MAN spans 5–50 km, covering more area than a LAN but less than a WAN.
It connects computers across a city or between nearby cities. MANs provide
high-speed connectivity (in Mbps), can act as ISPs, and are useful for
organizations needing fast communication. However, they are costly, complex
to design, and harder to maintain.
Advantages:
● Provides high-speed connectivity over a larger geographical area than
LAN.
● Can be used as an ISP for multiple customers.
● Offers higher data transfer rates than WAN in some cases.
Disadvantages:
● Can be expensive to set up and maintain.
● May experience congestion and network performance issues with
increased usage.
● May have limited fault tolerance and security compared to LANs.
4. Wide Area Network (WAN)
A WAN covers large geographical areas (above 50 km), often connecting
multiple LANs through telephone lines, radio waves, or satellites. It can be
private (for organizations) or public (like the internet). WANs offer high-speed
communication but are costly to set up and maintain.
Advantages:
● Covers large geographical areas and can connect remote locations.
● Provides connectivity to the internet.
● Offers remote access to resources and applications.
Disadvantages:
● Can be expensive to set up and maintain.
● Offers slower data transfer rates than LAN or MAN.
● May have lower fault tolerance and security compared to LANs
Network Connecting Devices
HUB: Hub is a Networking Devices which is used to transmit the signal from
where the signal was received. HUB has no Traffic Management. HUB is not a
intelligent devices, so it cannot send the message to all ports. Hence, it is
comparatively inexpensive.
SWITCH: Switch is a network device which is used to enable the connect
establishment and connection and termination on the basis of need. It is Type of
Full Duplex Transformation. Switch is a intelligent Devices that Send messages
to selected destination ,So it is expensive.
ROUTER: Router is a Networking Devices that forward data Packets Between
Different Computer Networks. It connects multiple packets of Networks or Sub-
networks managing Traffic by Directing packets to their Intended IP address.
Router Allows Multiple Devices to share an Internet connection efficiently.
MORDEM: Mordem is short for Modulator-demodulator, It is a computer
networking hardware devices that facilitate data transmission over
communication media (such as telephone line, cable networks or fibre optics)
GATEWAYS: Gateway is a network node or devices that serves as the entry
and exit point for data, connecting two network that operate using different
transmission protocols. It acts as protocol converter or translator, allowing
desperate systems to communicate by converting data formats and ensuring
seamless information exchange across heterogeneous environment.
REPEATER: A repeater is a network device that regenerates weakened or
corrupted signals to restore them to their original form before retransmission. It
operates at the physical layer (Layer 7) of the OSI model. Unlike an amplifier,
which increases both signal and noise, a repeater reconstructs the original clean
signal and forwards it, ensuring reliable data delivery over longer distances.
IP Address (Internet Protocol)
An IP (Internet Protocol) address is a unique number assigned to every device
connected to a network, functioning like a digital mailing address that allows
data to be sent and received online. It is essential for identifying devices and
routing information across the internet. IP addresses are assigned by your
Internet Service Provider (ISP) and can change depending on your network or
locations.
Types of Ip Address
1. IPv4 (Internet Protocol Version 4)
● It consists of 32 bits, divided into four octets separated by dots.
● Example:[Link]
● It provides around 4.3 billion unique addresses.
● Address Classes are as follows
● Class A: 0 to 126 (large network)
● Class B: 128 to 191 (medium-size network)
● Class C: 192 to 223 (small network)
● Class D: 224 to 239( multicast groups)
● Class E: 240 to 255(experimental )
Advantages of IPv4
● IPv4 security permits encryption to keep up privacy and security.
● IPV4 network allocation is significant and presently has quite 85000
practical routers.
● It becomes easy to attach multiple devices across an outsized network
while not NAT.
● This is a model of communication so provides quality service also as
economical knowledge transfer.
● IPV4 addresses are redefined and permit flawless encoding.
2. IPv6(Internet Protocol Version 6)
● It consists of 128 bits, divided into eight groups of four hexadecimal
digits separated by colons.
● Example: 2001:0db8:86a3:0000:0000:9999:2w56:1467
● It provides a vastly larger address space (approximately 340 trillion
address).
Advantages
● Faster Speeds: IPv6 supports multicast rather than broadcast in
[Link] feature allows bandwidth-intensive packet flows (like
multimedia streams) to be sent to multiple destinations all at once.
● Stronger Security: IPSecurity, which provides confidentiality, and data
integrity, is embedded into IPv6.
● Routing efficiency
● Reliability
● Most importantly it's the final solution for growing nodes in Global-
network.
● The device allocates addresses on its own.
● Internet protocol security is used to support security.
● Enable simple aggregation of prefixes allocated to IP networks; this saves
bandwidth by enabling the simultaneous transmission of large data
packages.
Transmission Media
Transmission media refers to the physical or wireless communication channel
used to carry data signals from one device to another within a computer
network. It forms the fundamental pathway through which information is
transmitted, ensuring connectivity between networked devices.
The selection of a transmission medium depends on factors such as:
● Transmission distance
● Data transfer speed (bandwidth)
● Susceptibility to interference and noise
● Cost and installation requirements
Based on the nature of the transmission path, transmission media are broadly
classified into two main types:
● Guided Media
● Unguided Media
Guided Media
Guided Media also known as wired or bounded transmission media, refers to
transmission media in which data signals are transmitted through a physical
path using cables. The signal is confined and guided along a fixed route,
providing controlled communication between network devices.
Types of Network Cables
1. Twisted Pair Cable:
● Unshielded Twisted Pair(UTP):
● Most Common type of network cable, used primarily for Ethernet
networks
● It consists of pairs of wires twisted together to reduce
electromagnetic interference(EMI)
● The Categories are as Follows:
● Cat 3: Suitable for voice communication and low speed data
(up to 10 Mbps)
● Cat 5: Supports speeds up to 100 Mbps
● Cat 5e: Enhanced to crosstalk and supports speed up to 1
Gbps.
● Shielded Twisted Pair(STP):
● Similar to UTP but with an additional shielding to protect against
EMI.
● Used in environments with high interference or for industrial
applications.
2. Coaxial Cables:
● It consists of a central conductor, insulating layer, metallic shield amd
outer insulating layer
● Less susceptible to EMI and capable of longer distance compared to
twisted pair cable.
● Older Ethernet Networks (10BASE2, 10BASE5) used coaxial cables but
are largely obsolete now.
3. Fibre Optics Cable:
● Use light to transmit data, offering higher speeds and longer distances
than copper cables.
● Consists of a core, cladding, buffer coating and outer jackets
● Types are as follows:
● Single-Mode Fibre (SMF)
● Uses a single light path
● Ideal for long distance communication ( up to 100 km) with
higher bandwidth.
● Multi-Mode Fibre(MMF)
● Uses Multiple light paths.
●Suitable for shorter distances (up to 2km) with lower
bandwidth compared to SMF.
● Immune to electromagnetic interference and offers higher security.
UnGuided Media
Unguided media, also known as wireless or Unbounded transmission media ,
uses electromagnetic waves to transmit data without any physical medium.
Signals propagate through free space such as air or vacuum. The main types of
unguided media are radio waves, microwaves, and infrared waves.
Features:
● Signals propagate through air or free space
● Less secure due to broadcast nature
● Suitable for long-distance communication
1. Radio Waves:
Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic wave that can easily be generated
and can propagate through buildings and other obstacles. They do not require
line-of-sight between transmitting and receiving antennas, making them highly
suitable for broadcast communication and wireless data transmission.
Frequency Range:
3 kHz – 300 GHz
Applications:
AM and FM radio broadcasting, television transmission, cordless phones, and
wireless communication.
Types of Radio Waves:
● Shortwave: AM radio broadcasting
● VHF (Very High Frequency): FM radio and television
● UHF (Ultra High Frequency): Television and mobile communication
Components:
● Transmitter: Generates and modulates the signal
● Receiver: Receives and demodulates the signal
2. Microwaves:
Micro waves are a form of unguided transmission media that use line-of-sight
communication, where the transmitting and receiving antennas must be properly
aligned. The transmission range depends on the height of the antennas.
Microwaves operate in the frequency range of 1 GHz to 300 GHz and are
widely used in mobile communication, satellite links, and television
distribution.
Advantages:
● Cost-effective compared to laying physical cables
● No need for land acquisition
● Suitable for communication over difficult terrains and oceans
● Supports high data transmission rates
Disadvantages:
● Less secure without proper encryption
● Susceptible to weather conditions such as rain and fog
● Affected by obstacles due to line-of-sight requirement
● High cost of antenna design, installation, and maintenance
3. Infrared:
Infrared waves are used for short-range wireless communication and operate in
the frequency range of 300 GHz to 400 THz. They cannot penetrate solid
obstacles, which limits their range but helps minimize interference between
nearby systems. Infrared waves are commonly used in TV remote controls,
wireless keyboards, mice, and printers.
Subnetting
Subnetting is the process of dividing a larger network into smaller, more
manageable sub-networks (subnets). This helps improve network performance,
security and management. Subnetting involves manipulating the IP address and
subnet mask.
1. Subnet Mask:
● A 32 bit number used to differentiate the network portion of an IP
address from the host portion
● Example :[Link]
● In Binary:11111111:11111111:11111111:11111111
2. CIDR Notation (Classless Inter-Domain Routing):
● Represents the IP address and subnet mask using a slash(/) followed by
the number of bits in the network prefix.
● Example:[Link]/24 (where /24 indicates the first 24 bits are the
network part)
3. Subnet Calculation:
● To create subnets, you borrow bits from the host portion of he IP address
and use them as part of the network portion.
● The number of subnets and hosts per subnet depends on the number of
bits borrowed.
OSI Model
The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model is a conceptual framework
created by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in 1984 that
standardizes the functions of a telecommunication or computing system into
seven abstract layers. The Open Systems Interconnection (OSI) model is a
conceptual framework created by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO) that standardizes the functions of a telecommunication or
computing system into seven abstract layers. It helps network professionals
troubleshoot issues and understand how data travels across a network.
The 7 Layers of the OSI Model
Layer 1: The Application Layer
The Application Layer sits at the top of the OSI stack and serves as the direct
interface between the software user and the network. It produces the data that
will be sent and displays the information received from other layers.
● User Interface: Acts as a "window" for network-based applications (like
web browsers or email clients) to access network services.
● Core Protocols: Utilizes high-level protocols such as HTTP/S (Web),
SMTP (Email), FTP (File Transfer), and DNS (Domain Name
Resolution).
● Network Virtual Terminal (NVT): Enables users to log into and
interact with remote hosts as if they were physically present at the
terminal.
● File Transfer, Access, and Management (FTAM): Provides the
framework for users to retrieve, manage, and manipulate files stored on
remote computers.
● Directory Services: Offers distributed database access to manage global
information regarding various network objects and services.
Layer 2: The Presentation Layer
Often called the Translation Layer, the Presentation Layer ensures that data is
formatted, secured, and compressed so that the receiving application can
correctly interpret it.
● Translation: It extracts data from the Application Layer and converts it
into a standardized format for network transmission, bridging differences
in data representation between different systems.
● Standards & Formats: Handles the encoding of media using standards
such as JPEG, MPEG, and GIF.
● Encryption/Decryption: Provides security by converting "plain text"
into "ciphertext" (encryption) and back again (decryption) using key
values. This process is typically handled by protocols like TLS/SSL.
● Compression: Reduces the total number of bits required for
transmission, which increases network efficiency and speed.
Layer 3: The Session Layer
The Session Layer acts as the "dialogue manager," governing the opening,
closing, and security of communication channels between two devices.
● Session Lifecycle: Manages the establishment, maintenance, and
termination of connections between applications.
● Authentication & Security: Ensures that the communicating parties are
verified and the connection is secure.
● Synchronization: Inserts checkpoints into the data stream. This allows a
transfer to resume from the last saved point if a failure occurs, rather than
restarting from the beginning.
● Dialog Control: Directs whether communication is half-duplex
(alternating) or full-duplex (simultaneous).
● Practical Example: In a web-based messenger, the Session Layer
maintains the active link between your browser and the server, ensuring
your specific chat remains open and synchronized while handling
background encryption and data conversion.
Layer 4: The Transport Layer
The Transport Layer ensures the end-to-end delivery of entire messages. It acts
as a liaison, providing services to the Application layer while utilizing the
infrastructure of the Network layer to ensure data reaches the correct application
on the destination host.
● Data Unit: Data is broken down into Segments.
● Service Point Addressing: Uses Port Numbers (e.g., Port 80 for web
traffic) to ensure data is delivered to the specific process or application
intended, not just the device.
● Segmentation & Reassembly: Splits large messages into smaller
segments for transmission and reassembles them in the correct order at
the destination.
● Protocols: Common protocols include TCP (reliable), UDP (fast).
● Connection-Oriented (TCP): Requires a "handshake" to establish a
connection; ensures reliability via error checking and acknowledgements.
● Connectionless (UDP): Sends data immediately without a formal
connection; faster but offers no guarantee of delivery.
Layer 5: The Network Layer
The Network Layer manages data transmission between hosts across different
networks by handling logical addressing and path finding.
● Data Unit: Data segments are encapsulated into Packets.
● Logical Addressing: Assigns unique IP addresses (sender and receiver)
to the packet header to identify devices globally.
● Routing: Determines the most efficient physical path from the source to
the destination across interconnected networks.
● Hardware: Primarily implemented via Routers and Switches.
● Inter-networking: Facilitates communication between disparate
networks by directing traffic to the correct destination.
Layer 6: The Data Link Layer (DLL)
The Data Link Layer serves as the bridge between the physical hardware and
the logical network, ensuring reliable node-to-node delivery of data. Its primary
goal is to ensure that data transfer is error-free across the physical medium.
1. Data Packaging (Framing): At this layer, data packets received from the
Network layer are divided into manageable units called Frames. This is done by
adding specific "start" and "stop" bits so the receiver can recognize where one
unit of data ends and the next begins.
2. Addressing and Hardware: The DLL uses MAC addresses (Physical
Addressing) to identify hosts. It encapsulates the sender’s and receiver’s MAC
addresses into the frame header. Common devices operating here are Switches
and Bridges.
3. Sublayers:
● Logical Link Control (LLC): Manages flow and error control while acting
as an interface for upper-layer protocols.
● Media Access Control (MAC): Determines how devices physically access
the transmission medium and handles hardware addressing.
4. Error Control: It detects and retransmits damaged or lost frames to maintain
data integrity.
5. Flow Control: It synchronizes the data rate between a fast sender and a
slower receiver to prevent data "bottlenecks" or loss.
6. Access Control: When multiple devices share the same communication
channel, the MAC sublayer dictates which device has the right to transmit at
any given time to avoid collisions.
Layer 7: The Physical Layer
The Physical Layer is the foundation of the OSI model, acting as the bridge for
actual physical connections between devices. Its primary mission is the
transmission of raw, unstructured bitstreams over a physical medium from one
node to the next.
● Core Responsibility: It manages the hardware-level transmission of
individual bits. When receiving data, it translates incoming physical
signals back into digital 0s and 1s to be processed by the Data Link layer.
● Essential Hardware: Common devices operating at this level include
Hubs, Repeaters, Modems, and Cables.
● Bit Synchronization: It ensures the sender and receiver are "in sync" by
providing a clock signal that controls the timing of bit transmission.
● Bit Rate Control: It dictates the transmission speed, defined as the
number of bits sent per second.
● Physical Topologies: It defines the structural layout of the network, such
as Bus, Star, or Mesh configurations.
● Transmission Mode: It determines the direction of data flow, utilizing
modes like Simplex (one-way), Half-Duplex (two-way, one at a time), or
Full-Duplex (simultaneous two-way).