Introduction to Data Communication

Introduction

●​ Data communication refers to the exchange of data between devices over a

transmission medium.
●​ It involves sender, receiver, transmission channel, and protocols.
●​ Used in networking, telecommunications, and IoT systems.

Components of Data Communication

🔹
🔹 Sender – Device that transmits data (e.g., computer, mobile).​

🔹
🔹
Receiver – Device that receives data (e.g., server, printer).​
Transmission Medium – Wired (optical fiber, coaxial) or wireless (Wi-Fi, Bluetooth).​

🔹 Message – Data in the form of text, images, audio, or video.​

Protocol – Set of rules governing data exchange (e.g., TCP/IP, HTTP, FTP).

Types of Data Communication

1)​ Simplex:
○​ The Simplex transmission mode is used in computing networks when there is a
single or one-way flow of information from sender to receiver
○​ In this mode of transmission, communication occurs only in one direction,
○​ A basic example of a simplex transmission mode is communication between a
computer and a keyboard and The radio station is a simplex channel.

2)​ Half Duplex:

○​ The half-duplex mode of transmission is used in computer networks when there is a
way to flow information from sender to receiver but only one at a time.
 ○​ In this mode, the connected devices can transmit or receive the data but not
simultaneously.
○​ The half-duplex mode is used when communication in both directions is not required
at the same time.

●​ Examples; Walkie-talkie​

3)​ Full Duplex:

○​ ​It is the mode of transmission that is used in computing networks when there is
simultaneous information flow in both directions, from sender to receiver.
○​ In this mode of transmission, the channel capacity is shared between the two
devices.
○​ The Full Duplex mode features two simplex channels. One channel has traffic
flowing in one direction, while the other channel has traffic flowing in the other way.
○​ The full duplex mode is used when communication in both directions is required.
○​ Examples: A telephone network and In a messaging app.

REFERENCE MODEL
●​ Reference Model facilitates the ways of standardization which is acceptable
worldwide. As people using the computer network are situated over a huge
physical range and their network devices might consists heterogeneous
architecture. The need to provide connection among heterogeneous devices,
we require a standardized model i.e. a reference model, which would
 facilitate us way to communicate using these devices regardless their
architecture.
●​ There exists two reference models namely OSI model and TCP/IP reference
model, however, the OSI model is basically a hypothetical one but the
TCP/IP is absolutely practical model.

OSI Model
●​ OSI is acronym of Open System Interface. This model type was created by
the International organization of Standardization (ISO) and therefore also
called as ISO-OSI Model.
●​ The OSI model consists of seven layers as shown in the given diagram. Each
layer is responsible for a specific function, however each layer provide services
to the layer above.

Physical Layer
●​ The Physical layer is responsible for the given activities:
o​ Activating, maintaining and deactivating the physical connection.
o​ Defining voltages and data rates needed for transmission.
o​ Converting digital bits into electrical signal.
o​ Deciding whether the connection is simplex, half duplex or full duplex.

Data Link Layer

●​ The data link layer performs the given functions:
o​ Performs synchronization and error control for the information which
is to be transmitted over the physical link.
o​ Enables error detection, and adds error detection bits to the data
which are to be transmitted.
Network Layer
●​ Given are the functions of Network Layer:
o​ To route the signals through various channels to the other end.
o​ To act as the network controller by deciding which route data must
take.
o​ To divide the outgoing messages into packets and to assemble
incoming packets into messages for higher levels.

Transport Layer
●​ The Transport layer performs the given functions:
o​ It decides if the data transmission must take place on parallel paths
or single path.
o​ It performs multiplexing, splitting on the data.
o​ It breaks the data groups into smaller units so that they are handled
more efficiently by the network layer.
●​ The Transport Layer ensures sending of data from one end to other end.

Session Layer
●​ The Session layer performs the given functions:
o​ Manages the messages and synchronizes conversations between two
different applications.
o​ It controls logging on and off, user identification, billing and
session management.

Presentation Layer
●​ The Presentation layer performs the given functions:
o​ This layer makes it sure that the information is delivered in such a form
that the receiving system will understand and use it.

Application Layer
●​ The Application layer performs the given functions:
o​ It provides various facilities such as manipulation of information in
different ways, retransferring the files of information, distributing the
final results etc.
o​ The functions such as LOGIN or password checking are also performed
by the application layer.

TCP/IP Model
●​ TCP/IP model is practically implemented model, unlike OSI, and is used in
the Internet. TCP/IP refers to Transmission Control Protocol and Internet
Protocol.
●​ The TCP/IP model encapsulates the two layers (Physical and Data link layer)
into one layer i.e. Host-to-Network layer. The given diagram shows the various
layers of TCP/IP model:
Application Layer
●​ This layer is same as that of the OSI model and performs the given functions:
o​ It provides various facilities such as manipulation of information in
different ways, redistributing the files of information, distributing the
results etc.
o​ The functions such as LOGIN or password checking are also performed
by the application layer.
●​ Protocols used in this layer: TELNET, HTTP, NNTP, FTP, SMTP, DN are the
protocols employed in this layer.

Transport Layer
●​ It performs the same functions as that of transport layer present in OSI
model. Here are the key points regarding transport layer:
o​ It uses TCP and UDP protocol for end to end transmission.
o​ TCP is reliable and connection oriented protocol.
o​ TCP also handles flow control.
o​ The UDP is not reliable and a connection less protocol also does not
perform flow control.
●​ Protocols utilized in this layer: TCP/IP and UDP protocols are deployed in
this layer.

Internet Layer
●​ The responsibility of this layer is to permit the host to insert packets into
network and then make them travel independently to the destination.
However, the sequence of receiving the packet may vary from the sequence
they were sent.
●​ Protocols used: Internet Protocol (IP) is deployed in Internet layer.

Host-to-Network Layer
●​ This is at the lowest of the stack among layers in TCP/IP model. The host has
to communicate to network using some protocol, so that it may transmit IP
packets over it. This protocol differs from host to host and network to
network.
●​ Protocols used: ARPANET, SATNET, LAN, packet radio are the protocols
which are utilized in this layer.
INTERNET DOMAIN NAME SYSTEM
●​ When DNS was not discovered, used had to download a Host file consisting
host names and their relative IP address. But with the jump in the number
of hosts on the internet, the size of the host file also increased. This
created increased traffic on downloading this file. To fix this problem the DNS
system was developed.
●​ Domain Name System aids to resolve the host name to an address. It utilizes
a hierarchical naming scheme and distributed database of IP addresses
and associated names.

IP Address
●​ IP address is an exclusive logical address given to a device available on
the network. An IP address exhibits the given properties:
o​ IP address is the unique address assigned to each host present on
Internet.
o​ IP address is 32 bits (4 bytes) long.
o​ IP address consists of two components: network component and host
component.
o​ Each of the 4 bytes is represented by a number from 0 to 255,
separated with dots. For example [Link]
●​ IP address is 32-bit string while domain names are easy to remember
characters. For example, when we enter an email address we always enter a
symbolic string such as webmaster@[Link].

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

●​ Uniform Resource Locator (URL) means a web address which exclusively
identifies a document over the internet.
●​ This document may be a web page, image, audio, video or anything that is
available on the web.
●​ For example, [Link]/courses/[Link] is an URL to the
[Link] which is stored on testbook web server under courses directory.
●​ URL Types
●​ There are two types of URL as given below:
o​ Absolute URL
o​ Relative URL

Absolute URL
●​ Absolute URL is the entire address of a resource available on the web. This
completed address consists of protocol utilized, server name, path name
and file name.
●​ For example http:// [Link]/[Link]. where:
o​ http is the protocol.
o​ [Link] is the server name.
o​ [Link] is the file name.
●​ The protocol side defines the web browser how to execute the file. Just like
that we have some different protocols also that can be utilized to create URL
are:
o​ FTP
o​ https
o​ Gopher
o​ mailto
o​ news

Relative URL
●​ Relative URL is half of the address of a webpage. Different from an absolute
URL, the protocol and server part are neglected from relative URL.
●​ Relative URLs are useful for internal links i.e. to create links to file that are
component of same website as the Webpages on which user is creating the link.
●​ For example, to link an image on [Link]/courses/IBPS_PO, we can use
the relative URL which can take the form like /courses/IBPS_PO.jpg.
●​ Difference between Absolute and Relative URL
Absolute URL Relative URL
for linking web pages on different websites for linking web pages within the same website.
Difficult to manage. Easy to Manage
transforms when the server name or Stays same even if we change the server name or
directory name changes directory name.
Take time to access Comparatively faster to access.

Domain Name System Architecture

●​ The Domain name system comprises of Domain Names, Domain Name
Space, Name Server that have been described below:

Domain Names
●​ Domain Name is a symbolic string related with an IP address. There are
different domain names available; some of them are generic such as com, edu,
gov, net etc, while some country level domain names such as au, in, za, us
etc.
●​ The given table shows the Generic Top-Level Domain names:

Domain Name Meaning

Com Commercial business
Edu Education
Gov U.S. government agency
 Int International entity
Mil U.S. military
Net Networking organization
Org Non profit organization

●​ The given table shows the Country top-level domain names:

Domain Name Meaning

au Australia
in India
cl Chile
fr France
us United States
za South Africa
uk United Kingdom
jp Japan
es Spain
de Germany
ca Canada
ee Estonia
hk Hong Kong

Domain Name Space

●​ The domain name space means a hierarchy in the internet naming system.
This hierarchy has various levels (from 0 to 127), with a root node on the
top. The given diagram shows the domain name space hierarchy:
●​ Considering above diagram every sub tree reflects a domain. Every domain
can be segmented into sub domains and these can be further segmented and
so on.

Name Server
●​ Name server consists of DNS database. This database contains many names
and their corresponding IP addresses. As it is not possible for an individual
server to maintain entire DNS database, therefore, the information is shared
among many DNS servers.
●​ Hierarchy of server is the hierarchy of names.
●​ Whole name space is segmented into the zones

Zones
●​ Zone is aggregation of nodes (sub domains) under the main domain. The
server keeps a record of a database called zone file for every zone.

●​ If the domain is not further segmented into sub domains then domain and
zone reflects the same thing.
●​ The information related to the nodes in the sub domain is saved in the servers
at the lower levels. However, the initial server stores reference to these lower
levels of servers.

Types of Name Servers

●​ Given are the three varieties of Name Servers that handles the entire Domain
Name System:
o​ Root Server
o​ Primary Server
o​ Secondary Server

Root Server
●​ Root Server is the topmost level server which contains the complete DNS
tree. It does not maintain the information related to domains but delegates
the authority to the other server

Primary Servers
●​ Primary Server maintains a file about its zone. It has authority to develop,
maintain, and update the zone file.

Secondary Server
●​ Secondary Server shifts entire information about a zone from another server
which can be primary or secondary server. The secondary server does not have
permission to create or update a zone file.

DNS Working
●​ DNS transforms the domain name into IP address automatically. Given steps
will take user through the steps included in domain resolution process:
o​ When we type [Link] into the browser, it asks the local
DNS Server for its IP address.
●​ This is the local DNS at ISP side:
o​ When the local DNS fails to find the IP address of requested domain
name, it transfers the request to the root DNS server and again
enquires about IP address of it.
o​ The root DNS server replies with delegation that I do not know the IP
address of [Link] but know the IP address of DNS
Server.
o​ The local DNS server then asks the com DNS Server the same
question.
o​ The com DNS Server replies the same that it does not know the IP
address of [Link] but knows the address of [Link].
o​ Then the local DNS asks the [Link] DNS server the same
question.
o​ Then [Link] DNS server replies with IP address of
[Link].
 o​ Now, the local DNS sends the IP address of [Link] to
the computer that sends the request.

INTERNET CONNECTIVITY

Internet Service Providers (ISP)

●​ Internet Service Provider (ISP) is a network company offering access to
internet. They offer different services:
o​ Internet Access
o​ Domain name registration
o​ Dial-up access
o​ Leased line access

ISP Types
●​ ISPs can broadly be categorised into six segments as shown in the given
diagram:

Access providers
●​ They provide accessibility to web through telephone lines, cable wi-fi or
fiber optics.

Mailbox Provider
●​ Such providers offer mailbox hosting facilities.

Hosting ISPs
●​ Hosting ISPs provides e-mail, and other web hosting facilities such as
virtual machines, clouds etc.

Virtual ISPs
●​ Such ISPs offer internet accessibility through other ISP services.

Free ISPs
●​ Free ISPs do not seek money for internet services.
Connection Types
●​ There are multiple methods to connect to the internet. Given are some of these
connection types available:
1.​ Dial-up Connection
2.​ ISDN
3.​ DSL
4.​ Cable TV Internet connections
5.​ Satellite Internet connections
6.​ Wireless Internet Connections

Dial-up Connection
●​ Dial-up connection utilizes telephone line to let PC access the internet. It
requires a modem to establish dial-up connection. This modem acts as a
mediator between PC and the telephone line.
●​ There is also a communication program that aids the modem to process a
calling facility to specific number provided by an ISP.
●​ Dial-up connection uses following protocols:
1.​ Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP)
2.​ Point to Point Protocol (PPP)
●​ The given diagram shows the accessing internet using modem:

ISDN
●​ ISDN is a short form of Integrated Services Digital Network. It creates the
connection using the phone lines which transfers digital signals in place of
analog signals.
●​ There are two methods to deliver ISDN services:
1.​ Basic Rate Interface (BRI)
2.​ Primary Rate Interface (PRI)
●​ Key points:
1.​ The BRI ISDN contains three distinct modes on a single ISDN line: one
64kbps B (Bearer) channel and one 16kbps D (Delta or Data)
channels.
2.​ The PRI ISDN contains 23 B channels and one D channels with both have
working capacity of 64kbps uniquely making a total transmission
bandwidth of 1.54Mbps.
●​ The given diagram shows accessing internet using ISDN connection:
DSL
●​ DSL is a short form of Digital Subscriber Line. It is a kind of broadband
connection as it facilitates connection over commonly used telephone lines.
●​ Given are the few versions of DSL methods available today:
1.​ Asymmetric DSL (ADSL)
2.​ Symmetric DSL (SDSL)
3.​ High bit-rate DSL (HDSL)
4.​ Rate adaptive DSL (RDSL)
5.​ Very high bit-rate DSL (VDSL)
6.​ ISDN DSL (IDSL)
●​ All of the above technologies varies in their upload and download bandwidth,
bit transfer rate and level of service.
●​ The given diagram shows that how we can connect to internet through DSL
technology:

Cable TV Internet Connection

●​ Cable TV Internet facility is provided via Cable TV lines. It utilizes coaxial
cable which is capable of transmitting data at much higher speed compared to
common telephone line.
●​ Key Points:
1.​ A cable modem is useful to access this facility, provided by the cable
operator.
 2.​ The Cable modem consists of two connections: one for internet service
and another for Cable TV signals.
3.​ Since Cable TV internet connections comprises a fixed amount of
bandwidth with a group of customers, that is why, data transfer rate also
fluctuates on number of customers using the internet at the same
time.
●​ The given diagram shows that how internet is used using Cable TV
connection:

Satellite Internet Connection

●​ Satellite Internet connection facilitates high bandwidth connection to the
internet. There are two kinds of satellite internet connection: one-way
connection or two-way connection.
●​ In one way connection, it is possible to only download data but if we need to
upload, we need a dialup access from ISP over telephone line.
●​ In two way connection, it is possible to download as well as upload the data
using the satellite. It does not need any dialup connection.
●​ The given diagram explains how internet is accessed through satellite internet
connection:
Wireless Internet Connection
●​ Wireless Internet Connection utilizes of radio frequency bands to connect
to the internet and facilitates a very high speed. The wireless internet
connection can be achieved through either Wi-Fi or Bluetooth.
●​ Key Points:
1.​ Wi-Fi wireless technology is uses IEEE 802.11 standards which
permits the electronic device to connect to the internet.
2.​ Bluetooth wireless technology utilizes of short-wavelength radio
waves and helps to establish personal area network (PAN).
TYPES OF NETWORK TOPOLOGY
●​ The way to arrange or connection patterns of computers/nodes/devices used in the
network is known as network topology. There are basically five types of common network
topologies:
1.​ Bus topology
2.​ Star Topology
3.​ Ring topology
4.​ Mesh Topology
5.​ Tree Topology
6.​ Hybrid Topology

BUS Topology
●​ Bus topology is a type of network in which each computer and network device is joint to
single cable. When it consists exactly two endpoints, then it is called Linear Bus
topology.

Features of Bus Topology

1.​ It sends data only in one direction.
2.​ Every device is linked to a single cable.

Advantages of Bus Topology

1.​ Cost effective.
2.​ Cable requirement is minimal as compared to other topologies.
3.​ Useful in small networks.
4.​ Easy to understand.
5.​ Easy to expand by connecting two cables together.

Disadvantages of Bus Topology

1.​ Whole network fails if Cables fails then.
2.​ The performance of the network decreases in case network traffic is heavy or
nodes are more or the Cable has a limited length.
3.​ It is works slower as compared to the ring topology.

RING Topology
●​ It is named ring topology because it creates a ring as each computer is linked to
neighbouring computer, with the last one linked to the first, exactly two neighbours for
each computer.
Features of Ring Topology
1.​ Multiple number of repeaters are installed for Ring topology with high number of
nodes, because if one node wants to send some data to the last node in the ring
topology with more nodes like 100 nodes, then the data will have to travel through 99
nodes on order to reach the 100th node. Hence repeaters are used in the network to
prevent data loss.
2.​ The transmission is in one direction, but it is possible to implement bidirectional
transmission by having 2 connections between each Network Node, so called
Dual Ring Topology.
3.​ In case of Dual Ring Topology, two ring networks are created, and data flow is in
opposite direction in them. Also, if the ring in one direction fails, the second ring can
work as a backup, to keep the network working.
4.​ Data is transmitted in a sequential manner that is bit by bit. Data transmitted, has to
go through each node linked in the network, till the final node.

Advantages of Ring Topology

1.​ Transmitting network is not affected by huge traffic or by addition of more nodes,
as only the nodes having tokens are allowed to transmit data.
2.​ Low cost to install and expand

Disadvantages of Ring Topology

1.​ Troubleshooting is not simple in ring topology.
2.​ Addition or deletion of the computers interferes the other nodes and network
activity.
3.​ Crashing of one node effects the whole network.

STAR Topology
●​ In Star Topology all the nodes are linked to a common hub via a cable. This hub is the
central node and all others nodes are linked to the central node.
Features of Star Topology
1.​ Each node has its own unique connection to the hub.
2.​ Hub works as a repeater for data transmission.
3.​ Can be utilized with twisted pair, Optical Fibre or coaxial cable.

Advantages of Star Topology

1.​ Speedy performance with less number of nodes and low network traffic.
2.​ Hub can be easily upgraded without hassle.
3.​ Simpler to troubleshoot.
4.​ Simpler to setup and modify.
5.​ Only failed node is affected, rest of the nodes can work without any issues.

Disadvantages of Star Topology

1.​ Expansive to install.
2.​ Expensive in usage.
3.​ If the hub crashes then the entire network is stopped because all linked nodes
depend on the hub.
4.​ Efficiency is dependent on the hub that is it depends on its capacity

MESH Topology
●​ It is type of a point-to-point to link other nodes or devices. All the network nodes are linked
to each other. Mesh consists of n(n-1)/2 physical channels to link n number of devices.
●​ There are two types of methods to transmit data via the Mesh topology, they are :
1.​ Routing
2.​ Flooding

MESH Topology: Routing

●​ In routing, the linked computers have a routing logic, as per the network need. Like
routing logic to direct the data to transmit to the destination via shortest distance. Or,
routing logic which has info related to the broken links, and it neglects those node etc.
We can even use routing logic, to re-configure the crashed nodes.

MESH Topology: Flooding

●​ In flooding, the exact data is sent to all the network nodes, hence no routing logic is
needed. The network is robust, and data loss is very unlikely. But it results unwanted
load over the network.
Types of Mesh Topology
1.​ Partial Mesh Topology: In this type of topology few of the systems are linked in the
similar fashion as mesh topology but few nodes are only linked to two or three
devices.
2.​ Full Mesh Topology: Each and every nodes or devices are linked to each other.

Features of Mesh Topology

1.​ Fully linked.
2.​ Robust.
3.​ Not flexible.

Advantages of Mesh Topology

1.​ Each connection may carry its unique data load.
2.​ It is robust.
3.​ Fault can be diagnosed easily.
4.​ Facilitates security and privacy.

Disadvantages of Mesh Topology

1.​ Installation and configuration is not simple.
2.​ Cabling cost is more.
3.​ Bulk wiring is required.

TREE Topology
●​ It has a root node and all other nodes are linked to it creating a hierarchy. It is also
called hierarchical topology. It must have minimum three levels to the hierarchy.

Features of Tree Topology

1.​ Ideal if workstations are situated in groups.
 2.​ Useful in Wide Area Network.

Advantages of Tree Topology

1.​ Extension of bus and star topologies.
2.​ Expansion of nodes is possible and easy.
3.​ Easily managed and maintained.
4.​ Error detection is easily done.

Disadvantages of Tree Topology

1.​ Heavily cabled.
2.​ Costly.
3.​ If additional nodes are introduced, maintenance is difficult.
4.​ Central hub fails, network fails.

HYBRID Topology
●​ It is two different kinds of topologies which is a combination of two or more
topologies. For example if in an office in some department department ring topology is
used and in another department in same place, star topology is used, connecting these
topologies will form a Hybrid Topology (ring topology and star topology).

Features of Hybrid Topology

1.​ It is a encapsulation of two or topologies
2.​ Inherits the benefits and disadvantages of the topologies included

Advantages of Hybrid Topology

1.​ Reliable because Error detecting and trouble shooting is easy.
2.​ Effective.
3.​ Scalable as size can be increased easily.
4.​ Flexible.

Disadvantages of Hybrid Topology

1.​ Complex in design.
2.​ Costly.
NETWORK DEVICES

HUB

●​ Hub is considered as one of the basic icons of networking devices which is implemented
at physical layer and hence connect networking nodes physically together. Hubs are
fundamentally utilized in networks that use twisted pair cabling to connect nodes.
●​ They are created in a way to send the packets to the other appended devices without
editing any of the transmitted packets received. They works as pathways to direct
electrical signals to travel along. They transmit the information without caring of the fact
that if data packet is destined for the device linked or not.

Hub falls in two categories

●​ Active Hub: They are advanced than the passive hubs. They not only facilitate the
path for the data signals, but they also regenerate, concentrate and strengthen
the signals before transmitting them to their destinations. Active hubs are also called as
‘repeaters’.
●​ Passive Hub: They are similar to the point contact for the wires to build in the physical
network. They have no work of modifying the signals.

Ethernet Hubs
●​ It is a device linking various Ethernet devices together and makes them carry on the
functions as a single device. They are different in speed in terms of data transfer rate.
Ethernet utilizes so called Carrier Sense Multiple Access with Collision Detect
(CSMA/CD) to control Media access. Ethernet hub connects in half-duplex mode where the
possibility of data collision are inevitable at most of the times.

Switches
●​ Switches works as the connection points for an Ethernet network. Just like in hub,
devices in switches are linked to them through twisted pair cabling. But the variation
shows up in the manner both the devices, hub and a switch, takes the data. Hub works by
sending the data to all the ports on the device whereas a switch transfers it only to that
port which is linked to the destination device.
●​ A switch does so by having an in-built learning of the MAC address of the devices linked to it.
Since the sending of data signals are predefined in a switch, therefore the network
performance is consequently effective. Switches work in full-duplex mode where nodes can
send and receive data from the switch simultaneously unlike in half-duplex mode.
●​ The transmission bandwidth in switches is double as compared to the Ethernet hub
transferring around 20Mbps connection into 30Mbps and around 200Mbps connection to
become 300Mbps. Performance enhancements are observed in networking with the extensive
utilization of switches in the recent days.

●​ The given method will elucidate further how data transmission takes place via switches:
o​ Cut-through transmission: It allows the packets to be forwarded as soon as
they are received. The technique is prompt and quick but the facility of error
checking gets overlooked in these kind of packet data transmission.
o​ Store and forward: In this switching technique the entire packet are taken and
‘checked’ before being transmitted further. The errors are thus eliminated before
being propagated further. The drawback of this process is that error checking spends
relatively longer time consequently resulting it a bit slower in processing and
delivering.
o​ Fragment Free: In a fragment free switching environment, a greater part of the
packet is examined so that the switch can identify whether the packet has been
caught up in a collision. After the collision status is identified, the packet is
forwarded.

Bridges
●​ A bridge is a type of computer networking component that builds the connection with the
other bridge networks that are present on the same protocol. It is implemented at the Data
Link layer of the OSI Model and links the different networks together and creates
communication between them. It combines two local-area networks; two physical LANs
into bigger logical LAN or two segments of the already existing LAN that use the same
protocol.

●​ Apart from creating larger networks, bridges are also utilized to segment bigger
networks into smaller portions. The bridge performs this by placing itself between the
two portions of two physical networks and managing the flow of the data between
them.
●​ Bridges nominate to forward the data after inspecting into the MAC address of the devices
linked to every segment. The transferring of the data relies on the acknowledgement of
 the fact that the destination address stays on some other interface. It has the ability to
block the incoming flow of data also.
●​ Now a days, learning bridges have been developed that create a record of the MAC
addresses on the interface by tracking the traffic on the network. This can be taken as a
leap in the development area of manually recording of MAC addresses.

Types of Bridges
●​ There are basically three types in which bridges can be segmented:
o​ Transparent Bridge: As the name signifies, it appears to be transparent for the
other devices on the network. The other devices are ignorant of its existence. It
only restricts or permits the data according to the MAC address.
o​ Source Route Bridge: It received its name from the fact that the way which packet
takes via the network is implanted within the packet. It is mainly utilized in Token
ring networks.
o​ Translational Bridge: The process of conversion happens via Translational Bridge.
It transforms the data format of one networking to another. For example, conversion
of Token ring to Ethernet and vice versa.

Switches superseding Bridges

●​ Ethernet switches are gaining trend consecutively as compared to bridges. They are
progressing in terms of logical divisions and segments in the networking area. In fact
switches are being referred to as multi-port bridges because of their advanced functionality

Routers
●​ Routers are network layer components and are particularly categorised as Layer- 3
components of the OSI Model. They works on logical addressing information in the
Network header of a packet like IP Addresses.
●​ Router is utilized to implement bigger complex networks by complex traffic routing. It
has the authority to connect dissimilar LANs on the same protocol. It also has the
authority to restrict the flow of broadcasts. A router mainly comprises of a hardware
component or a system of the computer which has multiple network interface and
routing software.

Functionality
●​ When a router receives the data, it analyses the destination address by checking the
header of the packet. Once the address is analysed, it finds in its routing table to get
know how to connect to the destination and then transmits the packet to the higher hop
on the route. The hop might be the last destination or another router.
●​ Routing tables play a very crucial role in letting the router takes a decision. That is why
a routing table needs to be updated and complete. The two methods using which a router
can receive data are:
 o​ Static Routing: In static routing, the routing information is fed into the routing
tables manually. It does not only become a time-taking task but gets prone to
errors as well. The manual updating is also required in case of statically
configured routers when change in the topology of the network or in the format
takes place. Thus static routing is considered for smallest environments with least
number of one or two routers.
o​ Dynamic Routing: For larger environment dynamic routing proves to be the
practical solution. The process includes use of peculiar routing protocols to establish
communication. The purpose of these protocols is to facilitate the other routers to
transmit information about to other routers, so that the other routers can build their
own routing tables.

Brouters
●​ Brouters are the collaboration of bridge and routers. They take up the functionality of
the both networking components working as a bridge when forwarding data between
networks, and serving as a router when routing information to individual systems. Brouter
works as a filter that permits some data into the local network and redirects unknown
packets to the other network.

●​ These days Brouters are not used because their functionality is embedded into the
routers in order to work as bridge as well.

Gateways
●​ Gateway is a device which is implemented to combine multiple networks and transmits
packets from one packet to the other network. Working as the ‘gateway’ in middle of
different networking systems or computer programs, a gateway is a component which
forms a link between them.
●​ It facilitates the computer programs, either on the same device or on different device to
share information across the network via protocols. A router is also a kind of gateway,
because it interprets data from one network protocol to another.

●​ Other components such as bridge translates the data into different forms among two
networking systems. Then a software application transforms the data from one format
 into another. Gateway is a crucial tool to translate the data format, even though the data
itself remains unchanged. Gateway might be implemented in some other device to add its
functionality into another.

Network card
●​ Network cards are sometimes referred as Network Interface Cards (NICs). These are
hardware components that link a computer with the network. They are installed on the
mother board. They works for developing a physical connection of the network to the
computer. Computer data is transformed into electrical (analog) signals send to the
network via Network Interface Cards.

●​ They are also able to manage some important data-transformation function. These days’
network cards are software controlled unlike in older days when drivers were required to
configure them. In case if the NIC doesn’t packed with the software in box then the latest
drivers or the associated software can be downloaded from the internet also.

Network protocols
●​ Network protocols forms a language of instructions and translations for communication
between the network components. It is mandatory that a networked device should have
one or more protocol drivers. Generally, for two computers to interconnect on a network,
they must use identical protocols. In some cases, a computer is designed to use more than
one protocols. Network protocols such as HTTP, TCP/IP offer a provisions on which much
of the Internet stands.
●​ System requirement:
o​ The bus compatibility should be verified on installation of an NIC into the machine.
The commonly utilized bus system is Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
o​ Memory I/O addresses and IRQ are required.
o​ Requirement of drivers if not already installed.

Modems
●​ Modem is a device which transforms the computer-generated digital signals into
analog signals to enable their travelling through phone lines. The
‘modulator-demodulator’ or modem may work as a dial up for LAN or to connect to an
ISP.
●​ Modems can be both external, as in the device which connects to the USB or the serial
port of a computer machine, or proprietary components for handheld smart devices and
other devices, also as internal, in the form of add-on expansion cards for computer
systems and PCMCIA cards for laptop computers.
●​ Design of a modem differs for both the external and internal modem. In internal modems,
IRQ – Interrupt request is utilized to configure the modem in addition to I/O, which is a
memory address. Usually before the installation of built-in modem, integrated serial
interfaces are disabled, assigning them the COM2 resources at the same time.
●​ For external types of a modem, the modem assigns and uses the resources itself. This is
especially helpful for the USB port and laptop users as the non-complex and simpler
nature of the process renders it far much more useful for daily usage.
●​ At the time of setup, the second step to make sure the proper working of a modem is the
installation of drivers. The modem working efficiency and processing is decided by two
factors:
o​ Speed of UART –An acronym for Universal Asynchronous Receiver or Transmitter
chip (installed on the motherboard to which the modem connection is established)
o​ Speed of the modem itself
What is a network?
●​ A network is defined as a set of devices connected to each other using a physical
transmission medium. For Example, A computer network is a group of computers
connected with each other to communicate and share information and resources
like hardware, data, and software.
●​ Network, a group of computers and associated devices that are connected by
communication facilities.

Need for Networking

●​ Resource sharing - Through a network , data , s/ w and h/w resources can
be shared irrespective of the physical location of the resources and the user.
●​ Reliability – A file can have its copies on two or more computers of the network.
●​ Reduced Cost –Sharing resources reduces the cost
●​ Fast Communication – Information can be exchanged at a very fast speed.

Components of Networks

●​ Workstation or Nodes : Refers to a computer that are attached to a network

●​ Server:The master computer is called server. A server is a computer or system that
provides resources, data, services, or programs to other computers, known as
clients, over a network.
●​ An individual system can provide resources and use them from another system at
the same time. This means that a device could be both a server and a client at the
same time.
Different Types of Networks

●​ There are different categories in which various networks can be classified,

according to their size, capabilities and the geographical distance they cover. A
network is normally a group of multiple computer systems linked together in some
manner so that they can share information and data between them. Various kinds of
networks
facilitate different services, and have different requirements to work properly.
●​ Most of the network varieties are known as different types of ‘area’ networks – this
is mainly because of the history of networks, and dates back to the time when
computer networks were described by their literal scale. This is no longer the
situation due to new technology. Some of the most common types of network user
are likely to encounter are detailed here below:

Local Area Network (LAN)

●​ This is one of the original and very basic type of network, and also one of the
simplest. LAN networks group computers together over comparatively small
distances, such as within a single building or within a small group of
buildings.
Wide Area Network (WAN)

●​ This is another kind of the original categories of network, and slightly less typical
in nature. WAN networks encapsulates computers together over huge physical
distances, remotely connecting them over one huge network and allowing them to
communicate even when far apart. The Internet is actually WAN, and connects
computers all around the world together.

●​ LANs connect to WANs, such as the internet, using routers to transfer data and
information quickly and securely. WANs are generally too large to be controlled by
one administrator, and so generally have collective ownership, or in the case of the
internet, is publicly owned.

How do LANs and WANs connect?

●​ LANs, such as those within a private home, generally have a modem in their
residence which is linked to an Internet Service Provider. This provider provides an
IP address to the modem, which is an exclusive number that is given to all devices
capable of connecting to the internet, including any computers, phones or
consoles within the home as well.
●​ As all devices linked in LAN can interact with each other in absence of the internet,
if a device wants to communicate with another which is on another LAN, they are
able connect to the internet and transmit information through the WAN. This is
implemented through a router, which takes data from devices and routes it down the
fastest virtual path to its end node, passing through a number of gateways on the
way.
●​ Initially a central gateway, which separates the LAN from the WAN, and then others
which transmit the data from one to the next, until it is received at its final
destination – another device which is being communicated with. This all takes place
at a very high speed over modern broadband modems, thanks to efficient and
effective protocols and rules being developed to control and manage data.

Other Types of Network

●​ There are also other types of network user may encounter. Some of these are
distinct, but most are casually developed from LAN and WAN networks to have
slight variation and adapt to different user needs. These include:

Metropolitan Area Network

●​ This is a kind of a network which is bigger than a LAN but smaller than a WAN, and
incorporates properties of these both. It typically covers a town or city and is
controlled by a single person or company, such as a local council or a large
company.
Campus Area Network
●​ This is a network which is bigger as compared to a LAN, but smaller than an MAN.
This is very common in areas like a university, large school or small business. It is
basically spread over a number of buildings which are reasonably local to each
other. It can have an internal Ethernet along with the capability of connecting to the
internet.

Wireless Local Area Network

●​ This is a LAN which is implemented with the use of wireless network technology
such as Wi-Fi. This kind of network is becoming more popular these days as
wireless technology is further developed and is used commonly in the home and in
small businesses. In other words, devices do not need to be dependent on physical
cables and wires as much and can organise their spaces more effectively.
System Area Network
●​ System area network combines computers together on an especially high-speed
connection, in a configuration known as a cluster. It means computers which are
linked in a group so as to work as a single system, and can be implemented as a
result of very high speed computers and new low cost microprocessors. They are
generally used to enhance performance and for cost effectiveness.

Storage Area Network

●​ This network link servers directly to devices which store large amounts of data
without depending on a LAN or WAN network to do so. This can include another
type of connection known as
Fibre Channel, a structure
similar to Ethernet which
manages high-performance disk
storage for applications on a
variety of professional networks.
●​ Normally the two most common
network variety user will
encounter are LAN, WAN and
WLAN. This is not a complete
and comprehensive collection of all of the types of network, however most possess
similarities to the ones discussed above as a result of being developed directly
based on older versions such as LAN and WAN. Different networks are suitable
for different needs, and as such, make sure user know his/her way around the types
that user are most likely to use.