COMPUTER NETWORKS

The merging of computers and communications has had a profound influence on the way
computer systems are organised.

DEFINITION: Collection of autonomous computers interconnected by a single

technology.

They can be connected by copper wire, fibre optics, microwave, infra red and communication
satellite.

USES OF COMPUTER NETWORKS:

Resource sharing:

Eg: Group of office workers sharing the same printer, client server communication.

Provide powerful communication medium among employees:

Eg: Email, video conferencing

NETWORK HARDWARE:
CLASSIFICATION OF COMPUTER NETWORKS:

Based on transmission technology:

Two types of transmission technology:

1) Broadcast links: Single communication channel shared by all the machines on the network.

2) Point to point links: Many connections between individual pairs of machines.

Based on scale:

1) Personal area network

2) Local area network

3) Metropolitan area network

4) Wide area network

5) Internet

TYPES OF TOPOLOGIES FOR LAN:

1) Bus
 2) Ring

Types of Wireless networks:

1) System interconnection

2) Wireless LAN

3) Wireless WAN

Types of Home network:

1) Computers eg: PC,PDA

2) Entertainment eg: TV, DVD

3) Telecomm eg: telephone, cell phone

4) Appliances eg: microwave, fridge

5) Telemetry eg: utilitymeter, bulglar alarm

NETWORK SOFTWARE
PROTOCOL HIERARCHIES:
Design issues for layers:

1) Addressing

2) Error control

3) Flow control

4) Multiplexing

5) Routing

Types of services:

1) Connection oriented

*reliable message stream (eg: Sequence of pages)

*reliable byte stream (eg: Remote login)

*unreliable connection (eg: Digitized voice)

 2) Connection less

*unreliable datagram (eg: Electronic junk mail)

*acknowledged datagram (eg: Registered mail)

* Request-reply (eg: Database query)

SERVICE PRIMITIVES:

REFERENCE MODELS:
OSI reference model:

TCP/IP REFERENCE MODEL:

 A critique of the OSI model:

1) Bad technology

2) Bad implementation

3) Bad politics

4) Bad timing

A critique of the TCP/IP model:

1) Service, interface, and protocol not distinguished

2) Not a general model

3) Host-to-network “layer” not really a layer

4) No mention of physical and data link layers

5) Minor protocols deeply entrenched, hard to replace.

Hybrid model:
Internet:
Usage: email, news, remote login, file transfer.

Architecture:

ATM REFERENCE MODEL:

ETHERNET:

A system for connecting a number of computer systems to form a local area network, with
protocols to control the passing of information and to avoid simultaneous transmission by
two or more systems.

Wireless LANs:

NETWORK STANDARDIZATION:
 • Main sectors

• Radiocommunications

• Telecommunications Standardization

• Development

• Classes of Members

• National governments

• Sector members

• Associate members

• Regulatory agencies

PHYSICAL LAYER
Guided transmission media:

• Magnetic Media

• Twisted Pair

• Coaxial Cable

• Fiber Optics

Wireless transmission:

• The Electromagnetic Spectrum

• Radio Transmission

• Microwave Transmission

• Infrared and Millimeter Waves

• Lightwave Transmission

Electromagnetic spectrum:
Communication satellites:

• Geostationary Satellites

• Medium-Earth Orbit Satellites

• Low-Earth Orbit Satellites

• Satellites versus Fiber

PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE SYSTEM:

Types:

(a) Fully-interconnected network.

(b) Centralized switch.

(c) Two-level hierarchy.

Structure of telephone system:

Major components of telephone system:

 • Local loops

 Analog twisted pairs going to houses and businesses

• Trunks

 Digital fiber optics connecting the switching offices

• Switching offices

 Where calls are moved from one trunk to another

MODEMS:

QPSK QAM-16
QAM-64

V.32 for 9600bps

V.32 for 14,400bps

Types of multiplexing:

1) Frequency division

2) Time division

3) Wavelength

Types of switching:

1) Circuit
 2) Packet

3) Message

The mobile telephone system:

• First-Generation Mobile Phones:

Analog Voice

• Second-Generation Mobile Phones:

Digital Voice

• Third-Generation Mobile Phones:

Digital Voice and Data

Advanced mobile phone system:

(a) Frequencies are not reused in adjacent cells.

(b) To add more users, smaller cells can be used.

Channel categories:

The 832 channels are divided into four categories:

• Control (base to mobile) to manage the system

• Paging (base to mobile) to alert users to calls for them

• Access (bidirectional) for call setup and channel assignment

• Data (bidirectional) for voice, fax, or data

Basic services an IMT-2000 network should provide

• High-quality voice transmission

• Messaging (replace e-mail, fax, SMS, chat, etc.)

• Multimedia (music, videos, films, TV, etc.)

• Internet access (web surfing, w/multimedia.)

 DATA LINK LAYER
Design issues:

• Services Provided to the Network Layer

• Framing

• Error Control

• Flow Control

Functions of the Data link layer:

• Provide service interface to the network layer

• Dealing with transmission errors

• Regulating data flow

• Slow receivers not swamped by fast senders

Services provided to the Network layer:

(a) Virtual communication.

(b) Actual communication.

Bit stuffing

(a) The original data.

(b) The data as they appear on the line.

(c) The data as they are stored in receiver’s memory after destuffing
ERROR CORRECTING CODE: (EG: HAMMING CODE)

ERROR DETECTING CODE: (EG: POLYNOMIAL CHECKSUM)

Elementary data link protocol:

• An Unrestricted Simplex Protocol

• A Simplex Stop-and-Wait Protocol

• A Simplex Protocol for a Noisy Channel

Sliding window protocol:

• A One-Bit Sliding Window Protocol

• A Protocol Using Go Back N

• A Protocol Using Selective Repeat