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191 Introduction to Networking and Internet PLPN
Networking Terms and Concepts
Networking 1s the concept of sharing resources and services. A network of computers Is a
oroup of interconnccted systems sharing resources and interacting using a shared communication
hnk. The stared resource can be data, a printer, a motdem, an
or an
as a database or
system. The individual svstem
email system
gmodem, or a service such as
system must be connected through a path way called transmission
medium that is used to transmit the resource or service between the computers. AlI the systems on
the pathway must tollow a set of common communication rules for data to arrive at its intended
destination and for sending and receiving systems to understand each other. These rules are called
as protocols.
A human communication is like a network. We use languages to speak to each other. But in
human communication there is a no guarantee of understanding each other.
Following are three models for network computing.
Centralised computing s
f
i) Distributed computing
il) Collaborative or co-operative computing
tei.
n These three models are the basis for various types of computernetworks..atidic.j
Centralised Computing
Centralised computing model involves the following ECEo3r10Rt.3
1
i) All processing takes place in the central main frame computer. bbi, t a
i) Terminals are connected to the central computer and function only as input/ output devices.
Fig. 5.1 showscentralised compuuing
t Gt t 03 93i
00% Of compuing;n s 3: iog No computing
Maintrame
1 10Dumbterminal
No computing
No computing
A
Printer
5 Dumbterminal
Fig.5.1:CentralisedComputing
This computing was used in early days in large organisations. One of the drawbacks was that
mainframe used to require large size room.
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192 Introduction to Networking and PLPD
Distributed Computing
Distributed computing involves the following:
i) Multiple computers capable of processing independcntly.
computers on the network.
t1) Task completion by the local computer or other
computing emerged, Fio
With development of personal computers (PCs) the distributed .Fig
52
shows distributed computing
it h 70% of the processingsi
30% of the processing
Information flows
Fig.5.2:Distributed Computing-3707 finio
ow
Distributed processing was a major step forward. It provided smaller business with their
computational capabilities.
Collaborative Computing
Collaborative computing enables computers in a distributed computing environment to
share
processing power in addition to data, resources and services.
Collaborative computing involves thefollowing:
1) Multiple computers co-operating to perform a task.
. t950593
Software designed to take advantage of collaborative environment.
server
A person browsing on Internet is an example of collaborative computing. Microsoft
based products such as Exchange server or SQL server are examples of collaborative computing-
Networking Configurations
Networking generally fall into one of two broad network categories.
i Client/ Server networks
i) Peer to peer networks
Client Server Based Networking
A client / server network consist of a group of user oriented PCs, called clients, that
-
i higs
reauest to a server. The server function onthe network is to service these requests. Servers e
performance systems. It has faster CP more memory and more disk space.
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193 and Internet
PLPN
oll Netware, Windows NT Server are
Novell
cxamples of client /Server
common. server types are mail server, file server, bascd networks. Some
coe
time,the
Servers are dedicated and not able to
fax server, and application
do tasks that á client machinc
servers. Most of the
can do.
Peer to Peer Networking
A peer to
A
peer network consist of a group
of PCs that operate as equals. Each
The eers share resources but no PC is called
eer: dedicated server exists. Each PC
D can be client of a server
WindowsSfor workgroups, Windows 95, 98 and Windows NT
workstation are examples of peer to
networks.
peer
A Small organisation can have a peer to peer network.
Local Area Networks (LANs) i
A local area network ( LAN )is a group of computers
and network communication devices
nter
inter connected within ageographically limited area, such as building or campus. They are characterised
byfollowing:
They transfer data at high speeds. ) te8 A0: 3)*992,
iT1ST
) They exist in a limited graphical area
) Connectivity and resources, are managed by company running
LAN.
Wide Area Networks (WANs)
Wide area network (WAN) interconnects LANs. A WAN can,be located entirely withina
state or a country, arOund the world.
WANs characteristics are
1 They exists in unlimited geographical area.97nina
i ol aa
gu
tt
i) They usuallyinterconnectsmultipleLANs RO3 a
1) They transfer data at low speeds.
) Connectivity and resources, are managed by third-party carier such as telephone or cable
company.
g3 Shows WAN uiT 0SN :1:efeita 7 aki1
LAN
LAN
WAN
Links
LAN
Fig.5.3:WAN
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194 Introduction to Networking and PLPN
Networking Applications
Now let us discuss some of the network applicatIOns pt e
E-mail
group from a local work
work gron.
E-mail stands for electronic mail. It can service to any size groupt
efficiently all over world. E mail canbe
corporation to the world. You can transfer mail smoothly and
serviced from Internet.
groupW1se and Lotus Note
Some of Email package are Microsoft's Exchange Server, Novell's
Voice Mail
to incorporate telephona
Voice mail enables you to connect your computer to telephone and one
Voice mail messages with your PC. This is also called telephony, This
involyes moving voice mait
message from phone to LAN and distribute to different clients.
FTP
FTP is file transfer protocol. It is a protocol for sharing files between networkS. FTP
enables
user to log on to remote hosts. Logged on users can inspect directories, manipulate, execute commands
on hosts. FTP also has capability of transferring files between dissimilar hosts.
www
wwWis the world wide web. Itis a vast inter connected library of information, art and commerce
have
The web consist of several web pages. There is huge variety of web pages, for example, we
personal home pages, business home pages, directories ( list of web pages ) , search engines
and
artistic projects. Once the web page is published, it can be accessed by internet tools
called
webbrowsers.
E- Commerce
commerce. In E-commerceit is possible to do trading or
E-Commerce stands for electronic
buy an item just by sitting at home. You can order for an item on,.internet. The number of
dot com
can
companies are evolved. For example we can order for a book on, amazon. Com. In general, ve
say E-commerce is commerce over the Internet.
BBS User Group
BBS is Bulletin Board service group. It enables several network users to communicate ana
a
co-operate when solving problem through shared document management. Interactive conferencine
screen sharing, bulletin boards are examples of group ware applications.
.
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195
and Internet PLPN
QUESTIONS
What is networking
2
1
What is transmission medium ?
2
What is protocol ?
3
What do you mean by centralised computing ?
5.
What is distributed computing ?
are advantages ofcollaborative computing?
6What
1 What is client / server network ?
What do you mean by peer to peer networking ?
9 What is difference between LAN and WAN?
10. What is E - mail ?
11. Describe following terms:
)Voice mail
) wwwN
in) BBS
iv) E - commerce
Select the correct alternative and rewrite the following.
..
12.
is
a) When multiple computers are capable of processing then it
i) Centralised computing Distributed computing
im) None of these
b) wwW is ********
i) Web Wide World
World Wide Web
ii) Wide Web World iv) None of these
c) FTP is ... *
i) Font Transfer Protocol
File Transfer Protocol
iv) None of these
ii)File Transfer Program