Diploma in

Cyber Security
Exploring the Fundamentals of Networking
 Look at the history of networking and some
common networking terms
Explore network data transmission
Examine various network topologies

Objectives
Introduction to
networking
History of computer
networking
• The earliest concept of computer
networking was proposed by
Leonard Kleinrock in 1961.
• First network to use packet
switching.
What is computer
networking?

Computer networking is a pool of

connected network devices
communicating with one another and
sharing data and resources.
Common
terminology
There are many terms in
networking. Some of them will be
used by network personnel on a
daily basis.
Internet

A global computer network

pool that provides resources
and information to web servers
and ISPs (Internet Service
Providers) using standardised
communication protocols
Worldwide web
(WWW)

A subset of the internet that was

invented by Tim Berners Lee in 1989
Packet
• Segments of data
• A packet generically contains
useful information that helps the
transmission from source to
destination in a network

(computer hope, 2020)

Internet Messaging
Program (IMP)

A web-based email system that

allows the upload of data to an
existing web server. It was first
used when data was transmitted
on ARPANET
Ethernet
A standardised technology for connecting
devices in a Local Area Network (LAN) or Wide
Area Network (WAN) with Ethernet cables to
aid communication between devices
Router
A device with the ability to
forward data packets from one
subnet to another
For example:
Data sent from [Link] to
[Link]
Switches

Network devices that transmit

data within the same subnet
For example:
Data sent from [Link] to
[Link]
 Domain Name
System (DNS)
A hierarchical naming system
that translates domain names
to IP addresses with the help
of the FQDN (Fully Qualified
Domain Name)
 DID YOU
KNOW?

When you enter a website like

[Link] on a URL, the DNS
translates [Link] to an IP
address in order to fetch the domain
name and retranslate it back to the
users as [Link].
Firewall

• The first line of defence in a

network that helps in
monitoring incoming and
outgoing network traffic with
set instruction
• Can decide to allow or block
specific traffic
Protocols

A set of rules and regulations used

by connected devices to
communicate over a network
Transmission
Control Protocol
(TCP)
• A reliable protocol
• A three-way handshake used
to verify connectivity before
data is sent
• Used in email, filesharing
and downloading

(Cisco , 2015)
 User Datagram
Protocol (UDP)
• A protocol used in networking
in an area where a higher
speed of transmission is
required, and data loss
tolerance is low
• Used in voice, calls, DNS look-
up and video streaming

(Adel Bigart, 2018)

Internet Protocol
(IP)
• Works as a unique identifier for a
network device
• Data (packet) is enclosed with the
sender IP and the recipient IP
addresses to make it easier to
locate the recipient address
Internet Control Messages
Protocol (ICMP)

One of the most commonly-used protocols for error

checking and communication reports between two
hosts
For example:
Ping [Link] responses: Destination
unreachable.
Network Time Protocol
(NTP)
Helps to keep track of time in a network
by working on a port 123.

For example:
In a scenario where John sends a mail
to Kate, the NTP tracks the time the
mail was sent and the time it took for
Kate to receive it
Point-to-Point Protocol
(PPP)
• Performs a convenient means for transporting multi-
protocol datagrams over point-to-point links
• Could also be used for trunking between switches or
routers
Netware Core
Protocol (NCP)
A file-sharing protocol between client
and a server. NCP generally enables
the communication between point-
to-point protocol
File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
• Aids the provision for uploading and
downloading files and data from a remote
host running on an FTP server
• Gives users the ability to view, edit, and
even delete the file on the server
Hypertext Transfer
Protocol (HTTP)

• Is one of the most commonly used

protocol
• Aids the use of text, images,
graphics, multimedia, and the
downloading of information(data)
from a client to a web server
• Runs on port 80 and uses HML
languages to serve the request from
a client to a web server
Hypertext Transfer
Protocol Secure
(HTTPS)
• An updated version of the HTTP
(Hypertext Transfer Protocol)
• Runs on port 433 rather than the
default port 80 and uses SSL(Secure
Sockets Layer) in the encryption of
data sent from the client (web
browser) to the webserver.
• Has now been modified to
TLS(Transport Layer Security)
Simple Mail
Transfer Protocol
(SMTP)
• Used when sending a mail
from one host to another in
the network
• Utilises TCP connectivity to
verify any error during
transmission and a default
port 25
For example:
John sending an email to Kate
Secure File Transfer
Protocol (SFTP)

• An updated version of the FTP where

there is more security to encrypt data
between client and server
communication
• When data is transmitted it is encrypted
Remote Desktop
Protocol (RDP)
• Used to create a remote session
between two hosts.

For example:
With the aid of RDP, John could
connect to Kate's computer
remotely and be able to view,
edit and even download content
from her computer which will be
displayed on his as a local
application.
Voice-over Internet
Protocol (VoIP)

The transmission of voice data in network

packets rather than via traditional cabling
Network hardware
operations
Commonly-used
networking hardware

• Network cables
• Switches
• Routers
• Hubs
• Repeaters
• Bridges
• Extenders
• Network interface cards
Network cables

Used in connecting devices together

For example:
A laptop connected with ethernet cables to switches.
Switch

A network device with the ability to send traffic on

the same local area network
For example:
Data sent from [Link] to [Link]
Router

A network device used in sending traffic

from one IP subnet to another
For example:
Data sent from [Link] to
[Link]
Hub

Has the same capability as switches with

only one collision domain.
 DID YOU
KNOW? Need pic to match
text pls

A hub uses half-duplex:

communication in a hub allows the
transmission of traffic in both
directions but not simultaneously

A switch uses full duplex:

communication in a switch allows
the transmission of traffic in both
directions simultaneously
Repeater

A network device used to regenerate or

replicate a signal.
 Bridge

A device used to interconnect two LANs operating

two different networking protocols

(jackleachipt, 2020)
Extender

A network device used to amplify a

network connection
 Network interface
card
Insert pic

A hardware component that allows a computer to

connect to a network

(jackleachipt, 2020)
Network data
transmission
Open Systems
Interconnection Model
(OSI Model)

A logical representation of the steps of a

networking system
• Physical resources
• Datalink
• Network
• Transport
• Session
• Presentation
• Application
Physical
resources layer
Cables, hub, repeaters, network adaptors
used to transmit bits (information) across
physical connections
Datalink layer

• Comprises two sub-layers: MAC

(media access control) and the
LLC (Logical link control)
• Provides a means for exchanging
data frames
• Main devices operating here are
switches
Network layer

• Receives frames from the datalink

and sends it to the intended
destination with help of IP
addresses.
• Routers
Transport layer

Error check sequence and manage

the delivery of the packet using
TCP/UDP
Session layer
Manages conversation between two
devices, such as a host and client
Presentation layer
Formats or translates data to
the application
Application layer

Where the user interacts with the

software
For example:
A user logging into Facebook
Data encapsulation
/De-encapsulation

When a packet is created, it goes through different

stages of alteration through the OSI model.
At each layer, data is either added or removed from the
header.
 Data encapsulation/De-encapsulation

Packet (PDU) Data encapsulation Data de-encapsulation

Benefits of the OSI Model
• Assists in protocol design
• Encourages competition
• Separates interfaces and
protocols, which gives it
adaptability
The Transmission Control
Protocol/Internet Protocol
(TCP/IP) Model

• A contracted version of the OSI model

• Consists of 4 layers:
o The network access layer
o The internet layer
o The transport layer
o The application layer
Network access layer

• The aggregate of the data link layer and

physical layer available in the OSI model
• Controls the hardware devices and media
that make up the network
Internet layer

• Used to send data (packets) from the network

to a destination
• Determines the best path through the
network
Transport layer
Supports the communication from
the source to the destination host
without defects
Application layer

Performs the representation of data to the

user which gives them a dialog control
The OSI Model vs
the TCP/IP Model

( Tuples , 2020)
Network
topologies
Introduction to
network topology

• Plays a vital role when it comes

to structuring your network
• Can be physical or logical
Physical
• Refers to tangible connections
such as wires, cables, devices, etc.
• Shows how network is structured
Logical
• The conceptual and strategic
structure of the network
• Shows how data(information) will
be transmitted
Types of
network topology

Creating a network topology can be seen as a

vital aspect of setting up a business; being able
to set up a flexible, secure, and maintainable
topology can be seen as a plus a business.
There are several types of network topology to
suit different business models.
Star topology

• Has a visual representation where

every node is directly connected
to a centralised hub or switch
• Connections are connected with
cabling such as coaxial, twisted or
a fibre-optic cable
• A centralised node manages the
transmission of data across the
topology
(SolarWinds Worldwide, 2020)
Advantages of star topology

• Easily managed
• In the case of a network attack, if one of the
connected devices goes offline, the other part of the
network is still functional
• Easily scalable
Disadvantages of star
topology

• If central hub goes down, entire network

goes offline
• Bandwidth and performance limited by the
centralised node configurations
 Bus topology

• Has a visual representation where

devices are connected along a
single cable, running from one to
the other on the network
• Common way of describing bus
topology is a line topology where
data is transmitted from one to
another on a line
(SolarWinds Worldwide, 2020)
Advantages of bus
topology

• Structure makes it very cost-effective in

design implementation
• Topology makes it easy for growth
expansion - if more devices are needed
to be added they are simply connected
to the line connected to the node
Disadvantages of
bus topology

• Very vulnerable - if the cable connected to

the node is faulty all devices will lose their
connection
• Topology mostly suitable for smaller
networks
Ring topology

• The node is all arranged in a circle

format
• Nodes are neighbours giving the
flow of data a circular direction

(SolarWinds Worldwide, 2020)

Advantages of
ring topology
• Greatly reduces the risk of collision on the
network - only one node can transmit
data at a time
• Good structure of flow of data, i.e. data
flow in a circular path until it gets to its
destination
• Is cost-effective and cheap to install and
manage
Disadvantages of
ring topology

• Very vulnerable to network failure

• Requires a lot of monitoring to be able to
detect network failure
• Not easily scalable
Dual-ring topology

• Very similar topology to the ring topology,

but in this case, data only travels in one
direction at a time
• Dual ring is seen as half-duplex because of
its nature

(SolarWinds Worldwide, 2020)

 Advantage of
dual-ring topology

Main advantage is redundancy - if the topology

is structured to be more efficient, traffic mainly
travels in both directions in the network.
 Disadvantage of
dual-ring Topology

Main drawback is the cost - being able to

implement the logical and physical structure of
this topology costs a lot of funds and resources.
 Tree topology

• Gets its name from the visual

representation of the network, where
the centralised node is directly
connected to a secondary node, and
devices in the network are connected to
the secondary node
• There is a form of trunking from the
centralised node to the secondary node
(SolarWinds Worldwide, 2020)
Advantages of
tree topology
• Good management efficiency
• Easily scalable
Disadvantages of
tree topology
• If centralised node goes offline,
entire branch loses its connectivity
• Not cheap to implement
Mesh topology
• Has a complex structure
• Gives a lot of redundancy in the
network because there is a point-
to-point connection from every
device in the network to the
centralised node

(SolarWinds Worldwide, 2020)

Advantage of
mesh topology

More stable and reliable due to its structure - in a

case of network failure on the link, there is
another link to the traffic to fall back on.
Disadvantages of
mesh topology

• Not very cost-effective

• Very complex to set up- have to link (cables)
interconnecting all devices in the network
 Hybrid topology

• An evolved form of a network

topology combing two or more types
of network topology
• Mostly found in large organisations
where companies structure the
topology to suit different departments
(SolarWinds Worldwide, 2020)
Advantage of hybrid
topology

Main benefit of implementing this topology is

flexibility - more than one of the types of
topology can be added to create the structure a
company or organisation wants.
Disadvantages of
hybrid topology

• The more types of topology added to the

network, the harder it becomes to manage
• Not cost-efficient
Factors affecting topology
selection

• Cost
• Time
• Management
• Redundancy