COMPUTER NETWORKING

2019

Computer Networking

HOW NETWORKS WORK

SHAIK ARIF

SHAIK ARIF’S OFFICIAL | Hyderabad

 BASICS OF COMPUTER NETWORKING

Basics of Computer Networking

Open system:
A system which is connected to the network and is ready for communication.

Closed system:
A system which is not connected to the network and can’t be communicated with.

Computer Network:
It is the interconnection of multiple devices, generally termed as Hosts connected using multiple
paths for the purpose of sending/receiving data or media.
There are also multiple devices or mediums which helps in the communication between two
different devices which are known as Network devices. Ex: Router, Switch, Hub, Bridge.

A network connects computers, mobile phones,

peripherals, and even IoT devices. Switches, routers,

and wireless access points are the essential

networking basics. Through them, devices connected

to your network can communicate with one another

and with other networks, like the Internet.

Switches, routers, and wireless access points.

Switches, routers, and wireless access points perform very different functions in a network.

Switches
Switches are the foundation of most business networks. A switch acts as a controller, connecting
computers, printers, and servers to a network in a building or a campus.

Switches allow devices on your network to communicate with each other, as well as with other
networks, creating a network of shared resources. Through information sharing and resource
allocation, switches save money and increase productivity.

There are two basic types of switches to choose from as part of your networking basics: managed
and unmanaged.

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 An unmanaged switch works out of the box but can't be configured. Home-networking
equipment typically offers unmanaged switches.

 A managed switch can be configured. You can monitor and adjust a managed switch locally or
remotely, giving you greater control over network traffic and access

Routers
Routers connect multiple networks together. They also connect computers on those networks to
the Internet. Routers enable all networked computers to share a single Internet connection, which
saves money.

A router acts a dispatcher. It analyses data being sent across a network, chooses the best route
for data to travel, and sends it on its way.

Routers connect your business to the world, protect information from security threats, and can
even decide which computers receive priority over others.

Beyond those basic networking functions, routers come with additional features to make
networking easier or more secure. Depending on your needs, for example, you can choose a
router with a firewall, a virtual private network (VPN), or an Internet Protocol (IP) communications
system.
Access points
An access point* allows devices to connect to the wireless network without cables. A wireless
network makes it easy to bring new devices online and provides flexible support to mobile
workers.

An access point acts like an amplifier for your network. While a router provides the bandwidth, an
access point extends that bandwidth so that the network can support many devices, and those
devices can access the network from farther away.

But an access point does more than simply extend Wi-Fi. It can also give useful data about the
devices on the network, provide proactive security, and serve many other practical purposes.

*Access points support different IEEE standards. Each standard is an amendment that was ratified
over time. The standards operate on varying frequencies, deliver different bandwidth, and support
different numbers of channels.

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The layout pattern using which devices are interconnected is called as network topology. Such as
Bus, Star, Mesh, Ring, Daisy chain.
OSI:
OSI stands for Open Systems Interconnection. It
is a reference model that specifies standards for
communications protocols and also the
functionalities of each layer.

Protocol:
A protocol is the set of rules or algorithms which
define the way how two entities can communicate
across the network and there exists different protocol defined at each layer of the OSI model. Few
of such protocols are TCP, IP, UDP, ARP, DHCP, FTP and so on.

UNIQUE IDENTIFIERS OF NETWORK

Host name:
Each device in the network is associated with a unique device name known as Hostname.
Type “hostname” in the command prompt and press ‘Enter’, this displays the hostname of your
machine.

IP Address (Internet Protocol address):

Also, known as the Logical Address, is the network address of the system across the network.
To identify each device in the world-wide-web, Internet Assigned Numbers Authority (IANA)
assigns IPV4 (Version 4) address as a unique identifier for each device on the Internet.
Length of the IP address is 32-bits. (Hence we have 232 IP addresses available.)
Type “ipconfig” in the command prompt and press ‘Enter’, this gives us the IP address of the
device.

MAC Address (Media Access Control address):

Also known as physical address, is the unique identifier of each host and is associated with the
NIC (Network Interface Card).
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MAC address is assigned to the NIC at the time of manufacturing.

Length of the MAC address is : 12-nibble/ 6 bytes/ 48 bits
Type “ipconfig/all” in the command prompt and press ‘Enter’, this gives us the MAC address.
Port:
Port can be referred as a logical channel through which data can be sent/received to an
application. Any host may have multiple applications running, and each of this application is
identified using the port number on which they are running.
Port number is a 16-bit integer, hence we have 216 ports available which are categorized as shown
below:

PORT TYPES RANGE

Well known Ports 0 – 1023

Registered Ports 1024 – 49151

Ephemeral Ports 49152 – 65535

Number of ports: 65,536

Range: 0 – 65535
Type “netstat -a” in the command prompt and press ‘Enter’, this lists all the ports being used.

Socket:
The unique combination of IP address and Port number together are termed as Socket.
Few more concepts
DNS Server:
DNS stands for Domain Name system.
DNS is basically a server which translates web addresses or URL (ex: www.google.com) into their
corresponding IP addresses. We don’t have to remember all the IP addresses of each and every
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website.
The command ‘nslookup’ gives you the IP address of the domain you are looking for. This also
provides the information of our DNS Server.

ARP:
ARP stands for Address Resolution Protocol.
It is used to convert the IP address to its corresponding Physical Address (i.e.MAC Address).
ARP is used by the Data Link Layer to identify the MAC address of the Receiver’s machine.

RARP:
RARP stands for Reverse Address Resolution Protocol.
As the name suggests, it provides the IP address of the device given a physical address as input.
But RARP has become obsolete since the time DHCP has come into the picture.

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