Chapter 2

Introduction to Network
 DATA COMMUNICATIONS AND
NETWORKING
• "Wherever you see a successful business,
someone once made a courageous decision."
Peter Drucker
• Decision requires information
• Information processing and sharing of
information requires communication network
• Therefore, data communication and networking
are changing the way we do business.
 DATA COMMUNICATIONS
The term telecommunication means
communication at a distance. The word data
refers to information presented in whatever form
is agreed upon by the parties creating and using
the data. Data communications are the exchange
of data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable.
What is Data, What is information

Data are simply facts or figures — bits of

information, but not information itself. When
data are processed, interpreted, organized,
structured or presented so as to make them
meaningful or useful, they are called information.
Information provides context for data.
 Data Communication

Data Communications are the exchange of data

between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as wire or cable.
Concerns of Data Communication
1. Delivery:
System must deliver data to the correct
destination
2. Accuracy:
System must deliver data accurately.
3. Timeliness:
System must deliver data in a timely manner
4. Jitter:
System must deliver data to the correct
destination without any jitter. Jitter refer to
the variation in the packet arrival time.
Networks: key issues
◼ Network criteria
◼ Performance

◼ Throughput

◼ Delay

◼ Reliability
◼ Data transmitted are identical to data received.
◼ Measured by the frequency of failure

◼ The time it takes a link to recover from a failure

◼ Security
◼ Protecting data from unauthorized access
Networks: Performance Parameters
◼ The throughput or bandwidth of a channel is
the number of bits it can transfer per second

◼ The latency or delay of a channel is the time

that elapses between sending information and
the earliest possible reception of it
Components of data communication
1. Message
2. Sender
3. Receiver
4. Medium
5. Protocol
Data Representation

1. Text
2. Numbers
3. Images
4. Audio
5. Video
Data Flow

Communication between two devices can be

1. simplex,
2. half-duplex, or
3. full-duplex
Data Flow: Simplex
1. In Simplex the communication is
unidirectional, as on a one-way street. Only
one of the two devices on a link can
transmit; the other can only receive
2. Keyboards and traditional monitors are
examples of simplex devices.
Data flow: Half-duplex
1. In half-duplex mode, each station can both
transmit and receive, but not at the same time.
When one device is sending, the other can only
receive, and vice versa
2. Walkie-talkies and CB (citizens band) radios
are both half-duplex systems.
Data flow:- Full-duplex
• In full-duplex mode, both stations can
transmit and receive simultaneously
• Most common mode of data flow
• Telephone, mobile, satellite
communication.
 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.
Types of connections:
There are two possible types of connections:
point-to-point and multipoint.
Categories of topology
The term physical topology refers to the way in
which a network is laid out physically. There are
four basic topologies
Goals of topology

1. high throughput (bandwidth)

2. low latency
Bandwidth
1. Telecommunications: range of radio
frequencies: a range of radio frequencies used in
radio or telecommunications transmission and
reception
2. Computing: communications capacity: the
capacity of a communications channel, for
example, a connection to the Internet, often
measured in bits per second
3. a data transmission rate; the maximum
amount of information (bits/second) that can be
transmitted along a channel
Latency

1. A synonym for delay, is an expression of

how much time it takes
for transmission from one designated
point to another
A fully connected mesh topology
In a mesh topology, every device has a
dedicated point-to-point link to every other
device. The term dedicated means that the link
carries traffic only between the
two devices it connects. To find the number of
physical links in a fully connected mesh network
with n nodes, we first consider that each node
must be connected to every other node. Node 1
must be connected to n - I nodes, node 2 must
be connected to n – 1 nodes,
A fully connected mesh topology
Advantages of mesh topology
• The use of dedicated links guarantees that
each connection can carry its own data load,
• Second, a mesh topology is robust. If one link
becomes unusable, it does not incapacitate the
entire system.
• There is the advantage of privacy or security.
• Point-to-point links make fault identification
and fault isolation easy.
• Traffic can be routed to avoid links with
suspected problems.
A fully connected mesh topology

• Every device must be connected to every

other device, installation and reconnection
are difficult.
• Bulk of the wiring can be greater than the
available space
• The hardware required to connect each link
(I/O ports and cable) can be
prohibitively expensive.
A star topology
• In a star topology, each device has a dedicated
point-to-point link only to a central controller,
usually called a hub.
• Devices are not directly linked to one another.
• Unlike a mesh topology, a star topology does
not allow direct traffic between devices.
• The controller acts as an exchange: If one
device wants to send data to another, it sends
the data to the controller, which then relays
the data to the other connected device
A star topology

Hub
• Repeater
• Collision Detector
• Forwarding a jam signal
Advantages of star topology
• Less expensive than a mesh topology.
• Easy to install and reconfigure.
• It is robustness. If one link fails, only that link
is affected. All other links remain active.
Disadvantages of star topology

• If the hub goes down, the whole system is

dead
• Although a star requires far less cable
than a mesh, each node must be linked to
a central hub. For this reason, often more
cabling is required in a star than in some
other topologies (such as ring or bus)
A bus topology
A bus topology, on the other hand, is
multipoint. One long cable acts as a backbone
to link all the devices in a network
A bus topology
Nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop
lines and taps. A drop line is a connection
running between the device and the main
cable. A tap is a connector that either splices
into the main cable or punctures the
sheathing of a cable to create a contact with
the metallic core.
Limitation of nodes on bus topology

• As a signal travels along the backbone,

some of its energy is transformed into
heat. Therefore, it becomes weaker and
weaker as it travels farther and farther. For
this reason there is a limit on the number
of taps a bus can support and on the
distance between those taps.
• Limitation depends on transmission
medium technology
Bus Topology
Advantages of a bus topology include ease of
installation.
Disadvantages
• Difficult reconnection and fault isolation.
• Difficult to add new devices.
• Signal reflection at the taps can cause
degradation in quality. This degradation
can be controlled by limiting the number
and spacing of devices connected to a
given length of cable.
A ring topology
In a ring topology, each device has a dedicated point-
to-point connection A signal is passed along the ring in
one direction. Each device in the ring incorporates a
repeater. When a device receives a signal intended for
another device, its repeater regenerates the bits and
passes them along the ring.
Advantages of ring topology
• A ring is relatively easy to install and reconfigure.
• To add or delete a device requires changing only
two connections. The only constraints are media
and traffic considerations (maximum ring length
and number of devices).
• Fault isolation is simplified. Generally in a ring, a
signal is circulating at all times. If one device does
not receive a signal within a specified period, it can
issue an alarm. The alarm alerts the network
operator to the problem and its location.
Disadvantages of ring topology
• Because all stations are wired together, to add a
station you must shut down the network
temporarily.
• It is difficult to troubleshoot the ring.
• Data packets must pass through every computer
between the sender and recipient Therefore this
makes it slower.
• If any of the nodes fail then the ring is broken
and data cannot be transmitted successfully.
Hybrid topology: star + bus networks
A network can be hybrid. For example, we can have a
main star topology with each branch connecting
several stations in a bus topology
Advantages of hybrid topology
1) Reliable : Unlike other networks, fault detection
and troubleshooting is easy.
2) Scalable: Its easy to increase the size of network
by adding new components.
3) Flexible: Hybrid Network can be designed
according to the requirements of the
organization
4) Effective: Hybrid topology is the combination of
two or more topologies, so we can design it in
such a way that strengths of constituent
topologies are maximized.
Disadvantages of hybrid topology
1. One of the biggest drawback of hybrid topology
is its design. Its not easy to design this type of
architecture and its a tough job for designers.
2. The hubs used to connect two distinct networks,
are very expensive.
3. As hybrid architectures are usually larger in
scale, they require a lot of cables, cooling
systems, sophisticate network devices, etc.
THE INTERNET

The Internet has revolutionized many aspects of our

daily lives. It has affected the way we do business as
well as the way we spend our leisure time. The
Internet is a communication system that has brought
a wealth of information to our fingertips and
organized it for our use.
Internet
• It is the largest network in the world that connects
hundreds of thousands of individual networks all
over the world.
• The popular term for the Internet is the
“information highway”.
• Rather than moving through geographical space, it
moves your ideas and information through
cyberspace – the space of electronic movement of
ideas and information.
Internet
• No one owns it
• It has no formal management organization.
• As it was originally developed by the
Department of defense, this lack of
centralization made it less vulnerable to
wartime or terrorist attacks.
• To access the Internet, an existing network
need to pay a small registration fee and agree
to certain standards based on the TCP/IP
(Transmission Control Protocol/Internet
Protocol) .
Use of Internet

• Send e-mail messages.

• Send (upload) or receive (down load) files
between computers.
• Participate in discussion groups, such as
mailing lists and newsgroups.
• Surfing the web.
What is web
• The Web (World Wide Web) consists of
information organized into Web pages
containing text and graphic images.
• It contains hypertext links, or highlighted
keywords and images that lead to related
information.
• A collection of linked Web pages that has a
common theme or focus is called a Web site.
• The main page that all of the pages on a
particular Web site are organized around and
link back to is called the site’s home page.
Internet Service Provider (ISP)
• A commercial organization with permanent
connection to the Internet that sells
temporary connections to subscribers.
• Examples:
• Prodigy, America Online, Microsoft network,
AT&T Networks.
PROTOCOLS AND STANDARDS
• In this section, we define two widely used terms:
protocols and standards. First, we define protocol,
which is synonymous with rule. Then we discuss
standards, which are agreed-upon rules.

• A protocol is a well-defined set of rules that govern

data communications. A protocol defines what is
communicated, how it is communicated, and when
it is communicated.
The key elements of a protocol
The key elements of a protocol are syntax,
semantics, and timing
Syntax. The term syntax refers to the structure or
format of the data, meaning the order in which
they are presented. For example, a simple protocol
might expect the first 8 bits of data to be the
address of the sender, the second 8 bits to be the
address of the receiver, and the rest of the stream
to be the message itself
The key elements of a protocol
The key elements of a protocol are syntax,
semantics, and timing
Semantics. The word semantics refers to the
meaning of each section of bits.
How is a particular pattern to be interpreted, and
what action is to be taken based on that
interpretation? For example, does an address
identify the route to be taken or the final
destination of the message?
The key elements of a protocol
The key elements of a protocol are syntax,
semantics, and timing

Timing. The term timing refers to two

characteristics: when data should be sent and how
fast they can be sent.
Standards
Standards provide guidelines to manufacturers,
vendors, government agencies, and other service
providers to ensure the kind of interconnectivity
necessary in today's marketplace and in
international communications. Data
communication standards fall into two categories:
1) de facto (meaning "by fact" or "by
convention") and
2) de jure (meaning "by law" or "by regulation")
Standards
o 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 who seek
to define the functionality of a new product or
technology.
o De jure. Those standards that have been
legislated by an officially recognized body are de
jure standards
Standards Organizations
• International Organization for Standardization
(ISO).
• International Telecommunication Union-
Telecommunication Standards
Sector (ITU-T).
• American National Standards Institute (ANSI).
• Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers
(IEEE).
• Electronic Industries Association (EIA).