Knowledge Depot
Basics of Networking
Adnan Ansari
Competitive Exam Series
Network
• Interconnection of two or more devices is
called as a network.
• The communication between two or more
interconnected devices is called networking.
• An internetwork is a connection of two or
more networks.
• Internetworking means communication
between different networks.
Types of Networks
• LAN
Local Area Networks are used to connect networking
devices that are in a very close geographic area such as a
floor of a building, a building itself or within a campus.
• MAN
Metropolitan Area Network are used to connect
networking devices that may span around the entire city.
• WAN
Wide Area Networks which connects two or more LANs
present at different geographical locations.
LAN
WAPDA
MAN
ISB1/2 1SB1/2
WAN
KNOWLEDGE
DEPOT 0345-5058828
KARACHI LAHORE
Basic requirements to form
a network
• NIC (Network interface card) also called as
LAN card
• Media
• Networking devices (Hub, Switch, Router, etc.)
• Protocols
• Logical Address (IP address)
NIC(Network Interface Card)
• NIC is the interface between the computer and the network
• It is also known as the LAN card or Ethernet card
• Ethernet cards have a unique 48 bit address called as MAC
(Media access control) address
– MAC address is also called as Physical address or hardware
address
– The 48 bit MAC address is represented as 12 Hexa-decimal digits
– Example: 0016. D 3 FC .603F
• Network cards are available in different speeds
– Ethernet (10 Mbps)
– Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps)
– Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps)
Media
• The purpose of the media is to transport bits
from one machine to another
MEDIA
Networking devices
• Repeater
• Hub
• Bridge
• Switch
• Router
Hub / Repeater
• It is not an Intelligent Device.
• It works with bits.
• Uses broadcast for communication.
• Bandwidth is shared.
• Half-duplex communication
Functions of HUB
Switch
• It is an Intelligent device.
• It maintains MAC address table (hardware
address).
• Each port of the switch has fixed bandwidth.
• Supports full duplex communication
• Functions of a Switch
– MAC Address Learning
– Forwarding
Functions of a Switch
Difference between Bridge
and Switch
Bridge Switch
• Bridges are software based • Switches are hardware
• Bridges have less number of based
ports • Switches have more ports
• Generally used for • Generally used for
connecting two different connecting single topology
topology (Segment) (Segment)
Router
• It is an Intelligent device
• It works with Logical Addressing (i.e. IP, IPX,
AppleTalk)
• It works with Fixed bandwidth
Topology
• Topology is a physical layout of the systems
connected in a network.
• Different types of topology are:
– Bus
– Ring
– Mesh
– Star
Bus Topology
• In bus topology all devices are connected to a single cable or
backbone.
• It supports half duplex communication.
• A break at any point along the backbone will result in total
network failure.
Ring Topology
• In ring topology each computer or device is connected to its
neighbor forming a loop.
• Failure of a single device or a break anywhere in the cable
causes the full network to stop communicating
Mesh Topology
• In mesh topology each device is directly connected to all
other devices
• The disadvantage is the number of NIC’s required on each
device and the complex cabling.
Star Topology
• The most commonly used topology
• It consist of one centralized device which can be either a
switch or a hub.
• The devices connect to the various ports on the centralized
devices
IP Address
• IP Address is a Logical Address
• It is a Network Layer address (Layer 3)
• Two Versions of IP:
– IP version 4 is a 32 bit address
– IP version 6 is a 128 bit address
OSI
• OSI was developed by the International
Organization for Standardization
• (ISO) and introduced in 1984.
• It is a layered architecture (consists of seven
layers).
• Each layer defines a set of functions which
takes part in data communication.
OSI Model Layers
Flow of Data through Layers
Comparison between OSI &
TCP/IP Model