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UNIT 1: COMPUTER NETWORKING

What is Data Communication?
Data communication is the function of transporting data from one point to another. In
this case, the sender and receiver are normally machines, in particular, computer
devices (computers, terminals, peripheral devices like printers, plotters, disks etc.) and
the transmission medium may be telephone lines, microwave links, satellite links etc.
However, the messages that are transmitted are data not voice conversation. Hence, the
electronic system, which transfer data from one point to another are called data
communication system.
Components or Elements of Data Communication:
Communication is the process of transferring messages from one point to another or
transfer of information between two or more devices consisting of five essential
components a message, sender, transmission medium, receiver and protocol.
a. Message or data or information which has to be transmitted from one point to
another.
b. A sender (source) which creates the message to be transmitted.
c. A medium which carries the message.
d. A receiver (sink) which receives the message.
e. Communication protocol, which are set of rules and procedures for establishing and
controlling the transmission of data from one computer or terminal to another.

Sender Medium Receiver

(Source) (Sink)
Carries the message
Data Flow:-
Data flow is defined as the way how data can be transmitted between sender and
receiver. There are mainly three ways or types of data flow.
1. Simplex mode: - If transmission is simplex, communication can take place in only
one direction. Devices connected to such a circuit are send-only or receive-only
devices. A terminal can only send data but cannot receive it or if it receives it
cannot send it. That means there is no acknowledge received by the sender from
the receiver whether the message has to be received or not. Examples:- Radio and
T.V transmissions where the sender never receives a message from the receiver
whether the transmission reaches to the receiver or not.

Sender Receiver
(Source) Simplex (Sink)
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2. Half-Duplex mode:- A half-duplex method or system can transmit data in both

directions, but only in one direction at a time. Hence a half-duplex line can
alternately send and receive data. It requires two wires. This is the most common
type of transmission for voice communication because only one person is
supposed to speak at a time. That means there is an acknowledge received by the
sender from the receiver in response. Examples:- Walkie-talkie transmissions
where two way transmission takes place but one signal at a time.

Sender Receiver
(Source) Half-Duplex (Sink)

3. Full-Duplex mode:- A full-duplex method or system, the communication can take

place in both directions at the same time. It is the fastest directional mode of
communication. Use of full-duplex line improves efficiency, because this is two
way transmission of data in which a sender sends and receive the dat
simultaneously. It requires four wires. Examples: - Telephone or a mobile phone
where both participants in a call can send and receive audio or video
simultaneously.

Sender Receiver
(Source) (Sink)

Full-Duplex

What is a Computer Network?

A computer network is a set of devices connected through links. A node can be computer,
printer, or any other device capable of sending or receiving the data.

o Computer Network is a group of computers or nodes connected with each other through
wires, optical fibres or optical links so that various devices can interact with each other
through a network.
o The aim of the computer network is the sharing of resources among various devices.
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Components of Computer Network:

Major components of a computer network are:

1. NIC(National interface card)

NIC is a device that helps the computer to communicate with another device. The network
interface card contains the hardware addresses

2. Hub

Hub is a central device that splits the network connection into multiple devices. When computer
requests for information from a computer, it sends the request to the Hub. Hub distributes this
request to all the interconnected computers.

3. Switches

Switch is a networking device that groups all the devices over the network to transfer the data
to another device. A switch is better than Hub as it does not broadcast the message over the
network, i.e., it sends the message to the device for which it belongs to. Therefore, we can say
that switch sends the message directly from source to the destination.

4. Cables and connectors

Cable is a transmission media that transmits the communication signals. There are three types
of cables:

o Twisted pair cable:

o Coaxial cable:
o Fibre optic cable
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5. Router

Router is a device that connects the LAN to the internet. The router is mainly used to connect the
distinct networks or connect the internet to multiple computers.

6. Modem

Modem connects the computer to the internet over the existing telephone line.

Uses Of Computer Network

1. Resource sharing: Resource sharing is the sharing of resources such as programs,

printers, and data among the users on the network without the requirement of the
physical location of the resource and user.
2. Server-Client model: Computer networking is used in the server-client model. A server is
a central computer used to store the information and maintained by the system
administrator. Clients are the machines used to access the information stored in the
server remotely.
3. Communication medium: Computer network behaves as a communication medium
among the users.

4. E-commerce: Computer network is also important in businesses. We can do the business

over the internet. For example, [Link] is doing their business over the internet, i.e.,
they are doing their business over the internet.
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IDENTIFYING COMPUTERS OVER A NETWORK:

1) DNS: (Domain Name System):

DNS (Domain Name System): DNS is a system used to translate human-friendly domain names
(like [Link]) into machine-friendly IP addresses. Computers and devices
communicate using IP addresses, which are numerical values that uniquely identify each device
on a network. However, remembering IP addresses for every website or service is impractical
for humans. This is where DNS comes in. It acts as a directory service that associates domain
names with their corresponding IP addresses. When you enter a URL in a web browser, the DNS
server is queried to translate that domain name into the IP address of the server hosting the
website, allowing your device to connect to the correct server.

2) IP ADDRESS:
IP Address (Internet Protocol Address): An IP address is a numerical label assigned to each
device connected to a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication. IP
addresses serve as the destination and source addresses for data packets traveling across the
internet or a local network. There are two main types of IP addresses:
 IPv4 (Internet Protocol version 4): This is the most common type of IP address,
represented as four sets of numbers separated by dots (e.g., [Link]).
 IPv6 (Internet Protocol version 6): To address the shortage of IPv4 addresses, IPv6 was
introduced. IPv6 addresses are much longer and are represented in hexadecimal notation
(e.g., 2001:0db8:85a3:0000:0000:8a2e:0370:7334).

3). MAC ADDRESS:

MAC Address (Media Access Control Address): A MAC address is a unique identifier assigned to
a network interface card (NIC) of a device. It's a hardware-based address and is generally
assigned by the manufacturer. MAC addresses are used at the data link layer of the OSI model
and are primarily used within local networks to uniquely identify devices. Unlike IP addresses,
which can change based on network configuration, MAC addresses remain constant for a device
throughout its lifetime.
A MAC address is usually displayed as six pairs of hexadecimal numbers separated by colons or
hyphens (e.g., 00:1A:2B:3C:4D:5E)
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Computer Network Types

A computer network is a group of computers linked to each other that enables the computer to
communicate with another computer and share their resources, data, and applications.
A computer network can be categorized by their size. A computer network is mainly of four
types:

1. PAN(Personal Area Network)

2. LAN(Local Area Network)
3. MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
4. WAN(Wide Area Network)

1. PAN(Personal Area Network)

 Personal Area Network is a network arranged within an individual person, typically

within a range of 10 meters.
 Personal Area Network covers an area of 30 feet.

 Personal computer devices that are used to develop the personal area network are the
laptop, mobile phones, media player and play stations.
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Examples Of Personal Area Network:

 Body Area Network: Body Area Network is a network that moves with a person. For
example, a mobile network moves with a person. Suppose a person establishes a network
connection and then creates a connection with another device to share the information.
 Small Home Office: It is used to connect a variety of devices to the internet and to a
corporate network using a VPN

2. LAN(Local Area Network)

 Local Area Network is a group of computers connected to each other in a small area such
as building, office.
 LAN is used for connecting two or more personal computers through a communication
medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.
 It is less costly as it is built with inexpensive hardware such as hubs, network adapters,
and ethernet cables.
 The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in Local Area Network.

 Local Area Network provides higher security.

3. MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)

 A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger geographic area by

interconnecting a different LAN to form a larger network.
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 Government agencies use MAN to connect to the citizens and private industries.

 In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other through a telephone exchange line.

 The most widely used protocols in MAN are RS-232, Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN, OC-3, ADSL,
etc.
 It has a higher range than Local Area Network(LAN).

Uses Of Metropolitan Area Network:

 MAN is used in communication between the banks in a city.

 It can be used in an Airline Reservation.

 It can be used in a college within a city.

 It can also be used for communication in the military.

4. WAN(Wide Area Network)

 A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large geographical area such as
states or countries.
 A Wide Area Network is quite bigger network than the LAN.

 A Wide Area Network is not limited to a single location, but it spans over a large
geographical area through a telephone line, fibre optic cable or satellite links.
 The internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.

 A Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of Business, government, and education.
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Examples Of Wide Area Network:

 Mobile Broadband: A 4G network is widely used across a region or country.

 Last mile: A telecom company is used to provide the internet services to the customers in
hundreds of cities by connecting their home with fiber.
 Private network: A bank provides a private network that connects the 44 offices. This
network is made by using the telephone leased line provided by the telecom company. 

Advantages Of Wide Area Network:

Following are the advantages of the Wide Area Network:

 Geographical area: A Wide Area Network provides a large geographical area. Suppose if
the branch of our office is in a different city then we can connect with them through WAN.
The internet provides a leased line through which we can connect with another branch.
 Centralized data: In case of WAN network, data is centralized. Therefore, we do not need
to buy the emails, files or back up servers..
 High bandwidth: If we use the leased lines for our company then this gives the high
bandwidth. The high bandwidth increases the data transfer rate which in turn increases
the productivity of our company.
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NETWORK TOPOLOGIES:

What is Network Topology?

Topology defines the structure of the network of how all the components are interconnected to
each other. There are two types of topology: physical and logical topology.

Types of Network Topology

Physical topology is the geometric representation of all the nodes in a network. There are six
types of network topology which are Bus Topology, Ring Topology, Tree Topology, Star
Topology, Mesh Topology, and Hybrid Topology.

1. Bus Topology

 The bus topology is designed in such a way that all the stations are connected through
a single cable known as a backbone cable.
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 Each node is either connected to the backbone cable by drop cable or directly
connected to the backbone cable.
 When a node wants to send a message over the network, it puts a message over the
network. All the stations available in the network will receive the message whether it
has been addressed or not.
 The bus topology is mainly used in 802.3 (ethernet) and 802.4 standard networks.
 The configuration of a bus topology is quite simpler as compared to other topologies.
 The backbone cable is considered as a "single lane" through which the message is
broadcast to all the stations.
 The most common access method of the bus topologies is CSMA (Carrier Sense
Multiple Access).

Advantages of Bus topology:

 Low-cost cable: In bus topology, nodes are directly connected to the cable without passing
through a hub. Therefore, the initial cost of installation is low. 
 Moderate data speeds: Coaxial or twisted pair cables are mainly used in bus-based
networks that support upto 10 Mbps.
 Familiar technology: Bus topology is a familiar technology as the installation and
troubleshooting techniques are well known, and hardware components are easily
available.
 Limited failure: A failure in one node will not have any effect on other nodes.

Disadvantages of Bus topology:

 Extensive cabling: A bus topology is quite simpler, but still it requires a lot of cabling.
 Difficult troubleshooting: It requires specialized test equipment to determine the cable
faults. If any fault occurs in the cable, then it would disrupt the communication for all the
nodes.
 Signal interference: If two nodes send the messages simultaneously, then the signals of
both the nodes collide with each other.
 Reconfiguration difficult: Adding new devices to the network would slow down the
network.
 Attenuation: Attenuation is a loss of signal leads to communication issues. Repeaters are
used to regenerate the signal.
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2) Ring Topology

 Ring topology is like a bus topology, but with connected ends.

 The node that receives the message from the previous computer will retransmit to the
next node.
 The data flows in one direction, i.e., it is unidirectional.

 The data flows in a single loop continuously known as an endless loop.

 It has no terminated ends, i.e., each node is connected to other node and having no
termination point.
 The data in a ring topology flow in a clockwise direction.

 The most common access method of the ring topology is token passing.

 Token passing: It is a network access method in which token is passed from one node to
another node.
 Token: It is a frame that circulates around the network.

Working of Token passing

 A token moves around the network, and it is passed from computer to computer until it
reaches the destination.
 The sender modifies the token by putting the address along with the data.

 The data is passed from one device to another device until the destination address
matches. Once the token received by the destination device, then it sends the
acknowledgment to the sender.
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 In a ring topology, a token is used as a carrier.

Advantages of Ring topology:

 Network Management: Faulty devices can be removed from the network without
bringing the network down.
 Cost: Twisted pair cabling is inexpensive and easily available. Therefore, the installation
cost is very low.
 Reliable: It is a more reliable network because the communication system is not
dependent on the single host computer.

Disadvantages of Ring topology:

 Difficult troubleshooting: It requires specialized test equipment to determine the cable

faults. If any fault occurs in the cable, then it would disrupt the communication for all the
nodes.
 Failure: The breakdown in one station leads to the failure of the overall network.

 Reconfiguration difficult: Adding new devices to the network would slow down the
network.
 Delay: Communication delay is directly proportional to the number of nodes. Adding new
devices increases the communication delay.

3) Star Topology

 Star topology is an arrangement of the network in which every node is connected to the
central hub, switch or a central computer. 
 The central computer is known as a server, and the peripheral devices attached to the
server are known as clients.
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 Coaxial cable or RJ-45 cables are used to connect the computers.

 Hubs or Switches are mainly used as connection devices in a physical star topology.

 Star topology is the most popular topology in network implementation.

Advantages of Star topology

 Efficient troubleshooting: Troubleshooting is quite efficient in a star topology as

compared to bus topology. the stations are connected to the centralized network.
Therefore, the network administrator has to go to the single station to troubleshoot the
problem.
 Limited failure: As each station is connected to the central hub with its own cable,
therefore failure in one cable will not affect the entire network.
 Easily expandable: It is easily expandable as new stations can be added to the open ports
on the hub.
 Cost effective: Star topology networks are cost-effective as it uses inexpensive coaxial
cable.
 High data speeds: It supports a bandwidth of approx 100Mbps. Ethernet 100BaseT is one
of the most popular Star topology networks. 

Disadvantages of Star topology

 A Central point of failure: If the central hub or switch goes down, then all the connected
nodes will not be able to communicate with each other.
 Cable: Sometimes cable routing becomes difficult when a significant amount of routing is
required.


4) Tree topology

 Tree topology combines the characteristics of bus topology and star topology.
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 A tree topology is a type of structure in which all the computers are connected with each
other in hierarchical fashion.
 The top-most node in tree topology is known as a root node, and all other nodes are the
descendants of the root node.
 There is only one path exists between two nodes for the data transmission. Thus, it forms
a parent-child hierarchy.

Advantages of Tree topology

 Support for broadband transmission: Tree topology is mainly used to provide broadband
transmission, i.e., signals are sent over long distances without being attenuated.
 Easily expandable: We can add the new device to the existing network. Therefore, we can
say that tree topology is easily expandable.
 Limited failure: The breakdown in one station does not affect the entire network.

 Point-to-point wiring: It has point-to-point wiring for individual segments.

Disadvantages of Tree topology

o Difficult troubleshooting: If any fault occurs in the node, then it becomes difficult to
troubleshoot the problem.
o High cost: Devices required for broadband transmission are very costly.
o Failure: A tree topology mainly relies on main bus cable and failure in main bus cable will
damage the overall network.

6) Hybrid Topology

 The combination of various different topologies is known as Hybrid topology.

 A Hybrid topology is a connection between different links and nodes to transfer the data.
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 When two or more different topologies are combined together is termed as Hybrid
topology and if similar topologies are connected with each other will not result in Hybrid
topology. For example, if there exist a ring topology in one branch of ICICI bank and bus
topology in another branch of ICICI bank, connecting these two topologies will result in
Hybrid topology.

Advantages of Hybrid Topology

 Reliable: If a fault occurs in any part of the network will not affect the functioning of the
rest of the network.
 Scalable: Size of the network can be easily expanded by adding new devices without
affecting the functionality of the existing network.
 Flexible: This topology is very flexible as it can be designed according to the requirements
of the organization.
 Effective: Hybrid topology is very effective as it can be designed in such a way that the
strength of the network is maximized and weakness of the network is minimized.

Disadvantages of Hybrid topology

 Complex design: The major drawback of the Hybrid topology is the design of the Hybrid
network. It is very difficult to design the architecture of the Hybrid network.
 Costly Hub: The Hubs used in the Hybrid topology are very expensive as these hubs are
different from usual Hubs used in other topologies. 
 Costly infrastructure: The infrastructure cost is very high as a hybrid network requires a
lot of cabling, network devices, etc.

Guided Media

It is defined as the physical medium through which the signals are transmitted. It is also known
as Bounded media.

Types Of Guided media:

1. Twisted pair:

Twisted pair is a physical media made up of a pair of cables twisted with each other. A twisted
pair cable is cheap as compared to other transmission media. Installation of the twisted pair
cable is easy, and it is a lightweight cable. The frequency range for twisted pair cable is from 0
to 3.5KHz.

A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires arranged in a regular spiral pattern.
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The degree of reduction in noise interference is determined by the number of turns per foot.
Increasing the number of turns per foot decreases noise interference.

Types of Twisted pair:

a) Unshielded Twisted Pair:

An unshielded twisted pair is widely used in telecommunication. Following are the categories of
the unshielded twisted pair cable:

o Category 1: Category 1 is used for telephone lines that have low-speed data.
o Category 2: It can support upto 4Mbps.
o Category 3: It can support upto 16Mbps.
o Category 4: It can support upto 20Mbps. Therefore, it can be used for long-distance
communication.
o Category 5: It can support upto 200Mbps.

Advantages Of Unshielded Twisted Pair:

o It is cheap.
o Installation of the unshielded twisted pair is easy.
o It can be used for high-speed LAN.

Disadvantage:

o This cable can only be used for shorter distances because of attenuation.

b) Shielded Twisted Pair

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A shielded twisted pair is a cable that contains the mesh surrounding the wire that allows the
higher transmission rate.

Characteristics Of Shielded Twisted Pair:

o The cost of the shielded twisted pair cable is not very high and not very low.
o An installation of STP is easy.
o It has higher capacity as compared to unshielded twisted pair cable.
o It has a higher attenuation.
o It is shielded that provides the higher data transmission rate.

Disadvantages

o It is more expensive as compared to UTP and coaxial cable.

o It has a higher attenuation rate.

2) Coaxial Cable

o Coaxial cable is very commonly used transmission media, for example, TV wire is usually
a coaxial cable.
o The name of the cable is coaxial as it contains two conductors parallel to each other.
o It has a higher frequency as compared to Twisted pair cable.
o The inner conductor of the coaxial cable is made up of copper, and the outer conductor is
made up of copper mesh. The middle core is made up of non-conductive cover that
separates the inner conductor from the outer conductor.
o The middle core is responsible for the data transferring whereas the copper mesh
prevents from the EMI(Electromagnetic interference).

Coaxial cable is of two types:

1. Baseband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting a single signal at high

speed.
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2. Broadband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting multiple signals

simultaneously.

Advantages Of Coaxial cable:

o The data can be transmitted at high speed.

o It has better shielding as compared to twisted pair cable.
o It provides higher bandwidth.

Disadvantages Of Coaxial cable:

o It is more expensive as compared to twisted pair cable.

o If any fault occurs in the cable causes the failure in the entire network.

3) Fibre Optic

o Fibre optic cable is a cable that uses electrical signals for communication.
o Fibre optic is a cable that holds the optical fibres coated in plastic that are used to send
the data by pulses of light.
o The plastic coating protects the optical fibres from heat, cold, electromagnetic
interference from other types of wiring.
o Fibre optics provide faster data transmission than copper wires.

Diagrammatic representation of fibre optic cable:

Basic elements of Fibre optic cable:

o Core: The optical fibre consists of a narrow strand of glass or plastic known as a core. A
core is a light transmission area of the fibre. The more the area of the core, the more light
will be transmitted into the fibre.
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o Cladding: The concentric layer of glass is known as cladding. The main functionality of the
cladding is to provide the lower refractive index at the core interface as to cause the
reflection within the core so that the light waves are transmitted through the fibre.
o Jacket: The protective coating consisting of plastic is known as a jacket. The main purpose
of a jacket is to preserve the fibre strength, absorb shock and extra fibre protection.

Following are the advantages of fibre optic cable over copper:

o Greater Bandwidth: The fibre optic cable provides more bandwidth as compared copper.
Therefore, the fibre optic carries more data as compared to copper cable.
o Faster speed: Fibre optic cable carries the data in the form of light. This allows the fibre
optic cable to carry the signals at a higher speed.
o Longer distances: The fibre optic cable carries the data at a longer distance as compared
to copper cable.
o Better reliability: The fibre optic cable is more reliable than the copper cable as it is
immune to any temperature changes while it can cause obstruct in the connectivity of
copper cable.
o Thinner and Sturdier: Fibre optic cable is thinner and lighter in weight so it can withstand
more pull pressure than copper cable.

UnGuided Transmission

o An unguided transmission transmits the electromagnetic waves without using any

physical medium. Therefore it is also known as wireless transmission.
o In unguided media, air is the media through which the electromagnetic energy can flow
easily.

Unguided transmission is broadly classified into three categories:

1) Radio waves

o Radio waves are the electromagnetic waves that are transmitted in all the directions of
free space.
o Radio waves are omnidirectional, i.e., the signals are propagated in all the directions.
o The range in frequencies of radio waves is from 3Khz to 1 khz.
o In the case of radio waves, the sending and receiving antenna are not aligned, i.e., the wave
sent by the sending antenna can be received by any receiving antenna.
o An example of the radio wave is FM radio.
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Applications Of Radio waves:

o A Radio wave is useful for multicasting when there is one sender and many receivers.
o An FM radio, television, cordless phones are examples of a radio wave.

Advantages Of Radio transmission:

o Radio transmission is mainly used for wide area networks and mobile cellular phones.
o Radio waves cover a large area, and they can penetrate the walls.
o Radio transmission provides a higher transmission rate.

2).Microwaves

Microwaves are of two types:

o Terrestrial microwave
o Satellite microwave communication.
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Terrestrial Microwave Transmission

o Terrestrial Microwave transmission is a technology that transmits the focused beam of a

radio signal from one ground-based microwave transmission antenna to another.
o Microwaves are the electromagnetic waves having the frequency in the range from 1GHz
to 1000 GHz.
o Microwaves are unidirectional as the sending and receiving antenna is to be aligned, i.e.,
the waves sent by the sending antenna are narrowly focussed.
o In this case, antennas are mounted on the towers to send a beam to another antenna
which is km away.
o It works on the line of sight transmission, i.e., the antennas mounted on the towers are
the direct sight of each other.

Characteristics of Microwave:

o Frequency range: The frequency range of terrestrial microwave is from 4-6 GHz to 21-23
GHz.
o Bandwidth: It supports the bandwidth from 1 to 10 Mbps.
o Short distance: It is inexpensive for short distance.
o Long distance: It is expensive as it requires a higher tower for a longer distance.
o Attenuation: Attenuation means loss of signal. It is affected by environmental conditions
and antenna size.

Advantages Of Microwave:

o Microwave transmission is cheaper than using cables.

o It is free from land acquisition as it does not require any land for the installation of cables.
o Microwave transmission provides an easy communication in terrains as the installation
of cable in terrain is quite a difficult task.
o Communication over oceans can be achieved by using microwave transmission.

Disadvantages of Microwave transmission:

o Eavesdropping: An eavesdropping creates insecure communication. Any malicious user

can catch the signal in the air by using its own antenna.
o Susceptible to weather condition: A microwave transmission is susceptible to weather
condition. This means that any environmental change such as rain, wind can distort the
signal.
o Bandwidth limited: Allocation of bandwidth is limited in the case of microwave
transmission.
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Satellite Microwave Communication

o A satellite is a physical object that revolves around the earth at a known height.
o Satellite communication is more reliable nowadays as it offers more flexibility than cable
and fibre optic systems.
o We can communicate with any point on the globe by using satellite communication.

How Does Satellite work?

The satellite accepts the signal that is transmitted from the earth station, and it amplifies the
signal. The amplified signal is retransmitted to another earth station.

Advantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:

o The coverage area of a satellite microwave is more than the terrestrial microwave.
o The transmission cost of the satellite is independent of the distance from the centre of the
coverage area.
o Satellite communication is used in mobile and wireless communication applications.
o It is easy to install.
o It is used in a wide variety of applications such as weather forecasting, radio/TV signal
broadcasting, mobile communication, etc.

Disadvantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:

o Satellite designing and development requires more time and higher cost.
o The Satellite needs to be monitored and controlled on regular periods so that it remains
in orbit.
o The life of the satellite is about 12-15 years. Due to this reason, another launch of the
satellite has to be planned before it becomes non-functional.

3).Infrared

o An infrared transmission is a wireless technology used for communication over short

ranges.
o The frequency of the infrared in the range from 300 GHz to 400 THz.
o It is used for short-range communication such as data transfer between two cell phones,
TV remote operation, data transfer between a computer and cell phone resides in the
same closed area.
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Characteristics Of Infrared:

o It supports high bandwidth, and hence the data rate will be very high.
o Infrared waves cannot penetrate the walls. Therefore, the infrared communication in one
room cannot be interrupted by the nearby rooms.
o An infrared communication provides better security with minimum interference.
o Infrared communication is unreliable outside the building because the sun rays will
interfere with the infrared waves.

NETWORK DEVICES:

1).NIC

o NIC stands for network interface card.

o NIC is a hardware component used to connect a computer with another computer onto a
network
o It can support a transfer rate of 10,100 to 1000 Mb/s.
o The MAC address or physical address is encoded on the network card chip which is
assigned by the IEEE to identify a network card uniquely. The MAC address is stored in
the PROM (Programmable read-only memory).

2).Hub

A Hub is a hardware device that divides the network connection among multiple devices. When
computer requests for some information from a network, it first sends the request to the Hub
through cable. Hub will broadcast this request to the entire network. All the devices will check
whether the request belongs to them or not. If not, the request will be dropped.

The process used by the Hub consumes more bandwidth and limits the amount of
communication. Nowadays, the use of hub is obsolete, and it is replaced by more advanced
computer network components such as Switches, Routers.

3). Switch

A switch is a hardware device that connects multiple devices on a computer network. A Switch
contains more advanced features than Hub. The Switch contains the updated table that decides
where the data is transmitted or not. Switch delivers the message to the correct destination
based on the physical address present in the incoming message. A Switch does not broadcast the
message to the entire network like the Hub. It determines the device to whom the message is to
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be transmitted. Therefore, we can say that switch provides a direct connection between the
source and destination. It increases the speed of the network.

4).Router

o A router is a hardware device which is used to connect a LAN with an internet connection.
It is used to receive, analyze and forward the incoming packets to another network.
o A router works in a Layer 3 (Network layer) of the OSI Reference model.
o A router forwards the packet based on the information available in the routing table.
o It determines the best path from the available paths for the transmission of the packet.

Advantages Of Router:

o Security: The information which is transmitted to the network will traverse the entire
cable, but the only specified device which has been addressed can read the data.
o Reliability: If the server has stopped functioning, the network goes down, but no other
networks are affected that are served by the router.
o Performance: Router enhances the overall performance of the network. Suppose there
are 24 workstations in a network generates a same amount of traffic. This increases the
traffic load on the network. Router splits the single network into two networks of 12
workstations each, reduces the traffic load by half.
o Network range

5)Modem

o A modem is a hardware device that allows the computer to connect to the internet over
the existing telephone line.
o A modem is not integrated with the motherboard rather than it is installed on the PCI slot
found on the motherboard.
o It stands for Modulator/Demodulator. It converts the digital data into an analog signal
over the telephone lines.
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Based on the differences in speed and transmission rate, a modem can be classified in the
following categories:

o Standard PC modem or Dial-up modem

o Cellular Modem
o Cable modem

6).Repeater –
A repeater operates at the physical layer. Its job is to regenerate the signal over the same
network before the signal becomes too weak or corrupted to extend the length to which the
signal can be transmitted over the same network. An important point to be noted about
repeaters is that they not only amplify the signal but also regenerate it. When the signal
becomes weak, they copy it bit by bit and regenerate it at its star topology connectors
connecting following the original strength. It is a 2-port device.
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7).Bridge –
A bridge operates at the data link layer. A bridge is a repeater, with add on the functionality of
filtering content by reading the MAC addresses of the source and destination. It is also used for
interconnecting two LANs working on the same protocol. It has a single input and single output
port, thus making it a 2 port device.

8).Gateway –
A gateway, as the name suggests, is a passage to connect two networks that may work upon
different networking models. They work as messenger agents that take data from one system,
interpret it, and transfer it to another system. Gateways are also called protocol converters
and can operate at any network layer. Gateways are generally more complex than switches or
routers. A gateway is also called a protocol converter.
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LAN TECHNOLOGIES:

1. Ethernet: Ethernet is a wired networking technology that uses physical cables to connect
devices within a local area network (LAN). It's one of the oldest and most reliable
methods of connecting devices. Ethernet cables typically use twisted pair wiring and
connectors like RJ45 to transmit data signals. Ethernet is commonly used in home and
office setups, data centers, and various other environments where a stable and high-
speed connection is required.
Advantages of Ethernet:
 Reliable and stable connection.
 High data transfer speeds, ranging from 10 Mbps (older versions) to 10 Gbps (modern
versions).
 Low latency, which is beneficial for real-time applications like online gaming or video
conferencing.
Disadvantages of Ethernet:
 Requires physical cables, limiting mobility.
 Installation can be more complex due to cable routing and connection points.

2. Wi-Fi:
Wi-Fi, short for Wireless Fidelity, is a wireless networking technology that allows
devices to connect to a network without physical cables. It operates using radio waves to
transmit data between devices and access points (routers). Wi-Fi is commonly used in
homes, offices, public spaces, and other areas where mobility is essential.
Advantages of Wi-Fi:
 Wireless connectivity allows devices to connect without being physically tethered.
 Provides decent data transfer speeds, typically ranging from a few Mbps to several Gbps,
depending on the Wi-Fi standard (e.g., 802.11n, 802.11ac, 802.11ax).
 Offers convenience and mobility, making it suitable for laptops, smartphones, tablets,
and other portable devices.
Disadvantages of Wi-Fi:
 Signal strength can be affected by obstacles, walls, and distance from the router.
 Interference from other devices or networks operating on the same frequency can lead
to slower speeds and reduced reliability.
 Can have higher latency compared to wired Ethernet connections.
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3. Bluetooth:
Bluetooth is a wireless technology specifically designed for short-range
communication between devices. It's often used for connecting devices like
smartphones, headphones, speakers, keyboards, and more. Bluetooth
operates over short distances (typically within 10 meters) and is ideal for
scenarios where devices need to communicate and exchange data without
physical connections.
Advantages of Bluetooth:
 Very low power consumption, making it suitable for battery-powered devices.
 Simple pairing process for connecting devices.
 Designed for short-range communication and works well for connecting
peripherals to devices.
Disadvantages of Bluetooth:
 Lower data transfer speeds compared to Ethernet and Wi-Fi. Speeds
vary between versions, with Bluetooth 5.0 offering up to 2 Mbps.
 Limited range compared to Wi-Fi; devices need to be relatively close to each
other.
 Not suitable for high-bandwidth applications like streaming high-definition
video.