Chapter -8
Introduction to Networking
Computer Network is a link between two or more computers that are connected for the purpose of
sharing information and resources. Internet is an example of global network.
Each computer in a network is called a Node.
Components of Network
1. Sender: A computer that sends information to other computer is called sender.
2. Receiver: A computer that receives information from sender computer is called receiver computer.
3. Transmission Medium: It is a communication channel through which information is transferred from
one computer to other computer.
4. Message: A message is the information or data which needs to be transferred.
5. Protocol: It is a set of rules used for communication.
Advantages of Network:
1. Resource sharing Computer network allows to share all the hardware and software resources among
the users.
2. Reduced Cost: Resource sharing in the computer network cuts the cost.
3. Increased Storage Capacity. The users can store the data on remote servers, so get more space.
4. Easy to take backup: We can set server to take regular backup of data automatically.
5. Reduced Data Inconsistency: Multiple mismatching copies of a file are stored at different computers
leads to data inconsistency. This can be reduced by computer networking.
6. Increased Security: In Computer Network, the users enter their Ids and passwords for authentication
to access data and files.
Types of Network
LAN (Local Area Network)
It is a network system that interconnects a large number of computers and other peripheral devices
within a radius if 1 KM. It can be used to connect computers in two buildings.
MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
It is a network system that interconnects a large number of computers and other peripheral devices
within a radius if 10 to 100 KM. It can be used to connect computers in several buildings in a city.
WAN (Wide Area Network)
WAN covers a wide geographical area. It links computers from different metropolitans and countries.
For e.g. Internet.
PAN (Personal Area Network)
It is a privately owned network. It is used to connect computers within range of 20 to 30 feet. It can be
wired or wireless.
CAN (Campus Area Network)(Corporate Area Network)(Controller Area Network)
It is called Cluster Area Network. It connects two or more LANs. in small geographical area. For e.g.
College Campus.
Networking Devices
Modem
A modem is a device which is used to transmit data over a network. It converts digital signals to analog
signals and vice versa. It is of two types Internal and External. Internal modem is installed on the PCI slot
in the CPU cabinet on the motherboard. External Modem is connected externally to a computer.
Hub
A hub is a networking device that allows us to connect multiple computers to a single network. Hub
takes the data from one of the ports and broadcasts the data to all other ports connected to the
network. This process is called Broadcasting.
Switch
A switch is a networking device that allows us to connect multiple computers to a single network. Switch
takes the data from one of the ports and passes the data to the particular port only.
Repeater
A repeater is used to regenerate a signal. It receive signals, cleans them and retransmits them.
Router
A Router is a device that connects two different types of networks with each other, for. E.g. LAN with
Wan or two LANs. It provide best suitable route to deliver the message.
Gateway
A gateway allows flow of data between two different networks, which may be with different protocols.
It acts as an entrance to another network. It works as the messenger that takes data from one system,
interprets it, and transfers it to another system.
Bridge
Bridge is used to interconnect two LAN’s working on the same protocol and provide communication
between them.
Network Terminology:
1. Internet: It is a global network of millions of computers and computer networks all over the world.
4. Intranet: A computer network which can be used within an organization.
5. URL: It stands for Uniform Resource Locator. It identifies the location of the website or web pages on
the internet.
6. ISP: It stands for Internet Service Provider. It is a company that provides internet access on monthly
payment basis. For e.g. Airtel, Idea, BSNL etc.
7. IP Address: An Internet Protocol address is unique address assigned to the computer connected to a
network. There are two kinds of IP addresses IPv4 and IPv6. IPv4 is made of 32 bits divided into 4 groups
and each group is separated by dot(.). It can also be used to access the web page. For. E.g. [Link].
8. DNS: It stands for Domain Name System. DNS is a service that translates the domain name into IP
addresses. The domain name consists of two parts. One is the name of the domain and the other is the
web extension. For. e.g. [Link]. Various domain name extensions are .com, .net, .org, .gov, .in,
etc.
9. Web Page: A web page is a document of information that can be accessed and viewed through web
browser. It contains information in the form of text, images, pictures sound, audio, video etc.
10. Web Site: A website is a collection of one or more web pages. It is a location on the web server
where an individual or any organization uploads its information on the web.
11. Web Portal: It is a specifically designed website to provide single point of access for various
information or services.
12. Hypertext: The text that is linked to some other web page is called Hypertext.
13. Hyperlink: It is the link which is connected to URL of some other web page. It is often underlined
and blue in colour.
14. Bandwidth: The capacity of a transmission medium to transmit the maximum amount of data from
one computer to another in a given amount of time. It is measured in bits per second, bytes per second,
kilobytes per second, Megabytes per second. Various kind of bandwidth is network bandwidth, data
bandwidth or digital bandwidth.
Protocol
Protocol is a set of rules that governs the communication between the computers on the network.
Different types of protocols:
1. HTTP – (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol), It defines how the web pages transfer information between
computers (client and server) over internet
2. HTTPS – (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure), It is a secure version of HTTP.
3. FTP – (File Transfer Protocol), It allows file uploading and downloading from other computers over
internet.
4. TCP/IP – (Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol),It is a network protocol that defines how
the information or messages are routed from one end of a network to the other. Here TCP breaks the
data into data packets at the sender’s side and for assembling these packets at the correct destination.
And IP provides a sequence number to each packet to arrange them in correct order.
5. POP3 – (Post Office Protocol version 3), It allows an e-mail client to retrieve email messages from an
e-mail server.
6. IMAP – (Internet Message Access Protocol), It is an email protocol that stores email messages on a
mail server and allows the user to view, access and manipulate the messages on the mail server from
their computer.
7. SMTP – (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol), It is an email protocol for sending email messages across the
Internet.
Full Forms:
1. HTTP – Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
2. HTTPS – Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure
3. FTP – File Transfer Protocol
4. TCP/IP – Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol
5. POP3 – Post Office Protocol version 3
6. IMAP – Internet Message Access Protocol
7. SMTP – Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
8. Wi-Fi - Wireless Fidelity
9. URL – Uniform Resource Locator
10. ISP – Internet Service Provider
11. IP – Internet Protocol
12. DNS – Domain Name System
13. bps – bits per second
14. Bps – Bytes per second
15. Kbps – Kilo bytes per second
16. Mbps – Mega bytes per second
17. NIC – Network Interface Card
18. Modem – Modulator Demodulator
19. LAN – Local Area Network
20. MAN – Metropolitan Area Network
21. WAN – Wide Area Network
22. PAN – Personal Area Network
23. CAN – Campus Area Network/ Corporate Area Network/ Controller Area Network
Cloud Computing
Cloud computing is computing on the internet. It is the process of manipulating , configuring , and
accessing online applications. It offers an online data storage facility. For. E.g. Google Drive, Microsoft
One Drive, Dropbox, Apple iCloud Drive.
Characteristics of cloud computing.
1. On Demand Self Service: Resources can be used on demand and often bought on subscription basis.
2. Broad Network Access: It can be accessed on the internet anytime and anywhere in the world.
3. Resource Pooling: The resources like virtual server space, network connections etc. are pooled by
multiple users simultaneously from any location.
4. Rapid elasticity: It allows scale up or scale down the resources according to their needs.
5. Measured Service: It allows pay for what you use.
Advantages:
1. Cost Saving: Cloud computing is based on pay per use model which reduces costs.
2. Reliability: Cloud computing is much reliable when it comes to data management, back ups and
recovery from failures.
3. Storage Capacity: It provides a large and secure storage space tom store massive information.
4. Accessibility: Cloud services can be accessed easily from all internet enabled devices.
Uploading: The process of storing or transferring data or files from your computer to a cloud storage is
called uploading.
Downloading: The process of copying files from server to a system is called downloading.
Google drive was launched on 24th April 2012. It allows the users to store and share files on google
server. It offers 15 GB of free storage space through Google One.
Side Boxes:
TCP/IP was developed in 1970s by two DARPA scientists Robert Elliot Kahn and Vinton Gray Cerf. It was
adopted as the standard protocol for ARPANET in 1983.
TCP/IP which is called Internet Protocol Suit, designed by Internet Engineering Task Force(IEFT).
HTTPs is secure version of HTTP protocol. Here all the communications are encrypted.
FTP was originally designed by Abhay Bhushan and published in 1971.
Fill in the blanks:
1. Transmission medium
2. PAN
3. Hyperlink
4. IPv4
5. Protocol
True/False
1. True
2. True
3. False
4. True
5. False
MCQs
1. Blue
2. Repeater
3. Modem
4. WAN
5. TCP/IP
Application Based
1. Google Drive.
2. WAN
3. CAN
Ans.1 Computer Network is a link between two or more computers that are connected for the purpose
of sharing information and resources. Internet is an example of global network.
Ans2. 1. Resource sharing Computer network allows to share all the hardware and software resources
among the users.
2. Reduced Cost: Resource sharing in the computer network cuts the cost.
3. Increased Storage Capacity. The users can store the data on remote servers, so get more space.
4. Easy to take backup: We can set server to take regular backup of data automatically.
5. Reduced Data Inconsistency: Multiple mismatching copies of a file are stored at different computers
leads to data inconsistency. This can be reduced by computer networking.
6. Increased Security: In Computer Network, the users enter their Ids and passwords for authentication
to access data and files.
Ans3. It stands for Domain Name System. DNS is a service that translates the domain name into IP
addresses. The domain name consists of two parts. One is the name of the domain and the other is the
web extension. For. e.g. [Link].
Ans4. A gateway allows flow of data between two different networks, which may be with different
protocols. It acts as an entrance to another network. It works as the messenger that takes data from one
system, interprets it, and transfers it to another system.
Ans5. Cloud computing is computing on the internet. It is the process of manipulating , configuring , and
accessing online applications. It offers an online data storage facility. For. E.g. Google Drive, Microsoft
One Drive, Dropbox, Apple iCloud Drive.
Advantages:
1. Cost Saving: Cloud computing is based on pay per use model which reduces costs.
2. Reliability: Cloud computing is much reliable when it comes to data management, back ups and
recovery from failures.
3. Storage Capacity: It provides a large and secure storage space tom store massive information.
4. Accessibility: Cloud services can be accessed easily from all internet enabled devices.
Ans6. Modem
A modem is a device which is used to transmit data over a network. It converts digital signals to analog
signals and vice versa. It is of two types Internal and External. Internal modem is installed on the PCI slot
in the CPU cabinet on the motherboard. External Modem is connected externally to a computer.
Hub
A hub is a networking device that allows us to connect multiple computers to a single network. Hub
takes the data from one of the ports and broadcasts the data to all other ports connected to the
network. This process is called Broadcasting.