Data

Communications
DATA COMMUNICATIONS

Data communications - are the exchange of data between two devices via
some form of transmission medium such as wire
cable.
The effectiveness of a data communications system depends
on four fundamental characteristics:

1. Delivery

2. Accuracy

3. Timeliness

4. Jitter
Five Components of Data Comm.

1. Message
2. Sender
3. Receiver
4. Medium
5. Protocol
Data Representation
• Text

• ASCII

• Extended ASCII

• Unicode

• ISO

• Numbers

• Images

• Audio

• Video
Direction of Data Flow
Simplex

Half-Duplex
Direction of Data Flow (cont)

Full-Duplex
NETWORKS
A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes) connected
by communication links. A node can be a computer, printer, or any
other device capable of sending and/or receiving data generated by
other nodes on the network.

Distributed Processing
Most networks use distributed processing, in which a task is divided
among multiple computers. Instead of a single large machine being
responsible for all aspects of a process, separate computers (usually a
personal computer or workstation) handle a subset.
Network Criteria
A network must be able to meet a certain number of
criteria.
The most important of these are:

• Performance

• Reliability

• Security
Physical Structures
Type of Connection

• Point-to-point
Physical Structures (cont)

• Multipoint (also called multidrop)

Physical Structures (cont)
•Physical Topology
– refers to the way in which the network is laid out physically.

Categories of topology
Physical Structures (cont)
• Mesh

Fully connected mesh topology (for five devices)

Physical Structures (cont)
• Star

Star topology
Physical Structures (cont)
• Bus

Bus topology
Physical Structures (cont)
• Ring

Ring topology
Categories of Networks
• LAN
- A LAN is usually privately owned and links the devices in a single
office, building, or campus.
Categories of Networks (cont)
• LAN
Categories of Networks (cont)
• MAN
- A MAN is designed to extend over an entire city.
Categories of Networks (cont)
• WAN
-A WAN provides long-distance transmission of data, voice, image, and
video information over large geographic areas that may comprise a
country, a continent, or even the whole world.
THE INTERNET
Quick Facts

- A network is a group of connected communicating devices

- An internet is two or more networks that can communicate with each other.

- The most notable internet is called the Internet (upper case letter I)

- In mid 1960’s the Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) in the

Department of Defense (DoD) was interested in finding way to connect
computers so that the researchers they funded could share their findings,
thereby reducing cost and eliminating duplication of effort.

- In 1967, at an Association for Computing Machinery (ACM) meeting, ARPA

presented its ideas for ARPANET, a small network of connected computers.

- By 1969, ARPANET was a reality.

- Internet came into being in 1969

The Internet Today
Protocols and Standards
Protocols (Synonymous with rule.)
- A set of rules that governs data communications. A protocol
defines what is communicated, how it is communicated, and when it
is communicated.

Key elements:

• Syntax

• Semantics

• Timing
Standards
• De facto

- Standards that have not been approved by an organized

body but have been adopted as standards through
widespread use are de facto standards.
- De facto standards are often established originally by
manufacturers that seek to define the functionality of a new
product or technology.

• De jure

- Those that have been legislated through the cooperation of

standards creation committees, forums, and government
regulatory agencies.
Standards Organizations
• International Organization for Standardization (ISO)

• International Telecommunications Union –

Telecommunications Standards Sector (ITU-T).

• American National Standards Institute (ANSI)

• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)

• Electronic Industries Association (EIA)

NETWORK MODELS
LAYERED TASK
OSI MODEL
OSI MODEL

The interaction between layers in the OSI model

OSI MODEL

An exchange using the OSI model

OSI seven-layer protocol hierarchy
Layer 7: Application Layer
• Interfaces directly with application programs running on devices

• It provides services such as file access and transfer, peer-to-peer

communication among applications, and resource sharing

• Defines user-oriented applications

• Applications that are not network-aware have layer 7 components

written by software developers

• Layer 7 examples:

• Telnet
• DNS
• DHCP
• HTTP
Layer 6: Presentation Layer
Layer 6: Presentation Layer
• Converts code and reformats data

• Presents a “readable” format for the application

• Concerned with syntax and semantics and semantics of data

being transmitted

• Examples:

• JPEG, GIF, PICT, TIFF

• MIDI, WAV, WMA
• MPEG
Layer 5: Session Layer
Layer 5: Session Layer
• Coordinates interaction between end-to-end application processes

• Responsible for enforcing “rules of dialog”

• Simplex
• Half-duplex
• Full-duplex

Examples:

RPC – Programming technique

SQL – Database access

NFS – Network File System

Upper Layer Implementation

• Top three layer of the OSI model are software-based

• Software developers usually integrates Layer 7, 6,

and 5 components when coding applications

• Network-aware applications have built-in Layer 5, 6,

and 7 components
Layer 4: Transport Layer
Layer 4: Transport Layer
• Provides end-to-end data integrity and Quality of Service (QoS)

• Handles reliable delivery of messages

• Information flow control between applications

• Sliding window protocol
• Buffering with Source Quench message

• Examples of Layer 4 Protocols

• TCP (Transport Control Protocol)

• UDP (User Datagram Protocol)
• SPX (Sequenced Packet Exchange)
Layer 4: Transport Layer

Reliable process-to-process delivery of a message

Layer 3: Network Layer
Layer 3: Network Layer

• Routing
• Optimal path determination
• Routing table
• Data movement

• Routed (routable) protocols

• IP
• AppleTalk
• IPX
Layer 3: Network Layer (cont)

• Routing Protocols
• Run exclusively on routers
• Used to build/create routing tables
• Types
• Distance-vector
• RIP
• IRGP (Cisco proprietary)
• Link-state
• OSPF
• IS-IS
• Hybrid
• EIGRP (Cisco proprietary)
Layer 3: Network Layer (cont)

Source-to-destination delivery
Layer 2: Data Link Layer
Layer 2: Data Link Layer
• Framing
• Encapsulation
• Frame Formats

• Error Control
• Error detection (CRC, FCS)
• Error correction (Hamming distance)

• Flow Control
• ARQ
• Sliding window

• Layer 2 devices:
• Bridge (Software-based)
• Switch (ASIC-based)
Encapsulation
Layer 2: Data Link Layer (cont)
Examples of Layer 2 protocols:

• Frame Relay
• Efficient
• Cost-effective
• Reliable
• Used in WAN connections

• PPP (Point-to-Point Protocol)

• Dial-up connections

• HDLC (High-level Data Link Control)

• Proprietary implementation
IEEE Layer 2 Model
Logical Link Control (LLC)

• Frame formatting

• Provides another level of abstraction between Layer 3

and the underlying Physical layer

• Support for multiple upper layer protocols

• Original layer 2 supports only a single layer 3 protocol

• With LLC, you can have IP and IPX running

simultaneously using the same NIC
IEEE 802.3
• “Ethernet” is not IEEE 802.3
• Original “Ethernet” was developed by Digital, Intel and
Xerox (DIX)
• Original specification was later enhanced by IEEE and
became IEEE 802.3
• Different and incompatible frame formats

• Frame Formats
• 802.3
• 802.2
• SNAP
• Ethernet_II (used by most LANs today)
Media Access Control Sub-layer

• Provides hardware addressing

• Physical address “burned” into the device
• MAC address

• Defines how “medium” is shared

• Common methods
• Contention
• CSMA/CD (IEEE 802.3)
• Token Passing
• Token Bus (IEEE 802.4)
• Token Ring (IEEE 802.5)
• Polling
• 100VG-AnyLAN (IEEE 802.12)
MAC / Hardware Address

• Physical Address
• Globally unique
• 48 bits binary

• Expressed in 12 hex digits

• 00-04-76-72-97-81

• First 24 bits (manufacturer)

• last 24 bits (device)

Hop-to-hop delivery
Layer 1: Physical Layer
Layer 1: Physical Layer (cont)
• Defines type of medium, transmission method, and
transmission rates available for the network

• Cables

• Coax
• STP or UTP
• Fiber

• Most common:
• UTP Category 5 (Ethernet)
• Simple to construct
• Easy to install
Summary of duties