UNIT-4

4.1 Understand the Overview of Networking:

A computer network is a system in which multiple computers are connected to each other to share information and
resources. A network can be defined as a group of computers and other devices connected in some ways so as to be
able to exchange data.
 Each of the devices on the network can be thought of as a node; each node has a unique address.
 Addresses are numeric quantities that are easy for computers to work with, but not for humans to remember.
Example: 204.160.241.98
 Some networks also provide names that humans can more easily remember than numbers.
Example: www.javasoft.com, corresponding to the above numeric address.

Characteristics of a Computer Network:

 Share resources from one computer to another.

 Create files and store them in one computer, access those files from the other computer(s) connected over the
network.
 Connect a printer, scanner, or a fax machine to one computer within the network and let other computers of the
network use the machines available over the network.

4.2 State the Need for Networking:

Networks satisfy a broad range of purposes and meet various requirements. Some of the common objectives of
computer communication networks are:
1. To provide sharing of geographically distant resources such as information, database etc. Resource sharing is
perhaps the most common objective for providing networks within the constraints of cost and reliability of
transmission links.
2. To provide communication among users. Network users geographically far apart from each other can converse
in an interactive session or send messages to each other.
3. To increase the reliability of processing capacity through backup and redundancy.
4. To provide centralized management and allocation of resources.
5. To provide distribution processing in which a task is divided among multiple computers. Instead of a single large
machine being responsible for all aspects of a process each separate computer handles a subtask.
6. Faster problem solving: multiple computers working on parts of a problem concurrently often can solve the
problem faster than a single machine working alone.

4.3 Classification of Networks –PAN, LAN, MAN, WAN

Another important criterion for classifying networks is their scale (physical size). As shown in Figure there are:

 Personal Area Network (PAN)

 Local Area Network (LAN)
 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
 Wide Area Networks (WAN)

Personal Area Network (PAN):

 The interconnection of devices within the range of an individual person, typically within a range of 10 meters. For example, a
wireless network connecting a computer with its keyboard, mouse or printer is a PAN.Another example of PAN is a Bluetooth.
Typically, this kind of network could also be interconnected without wires to the Internet or other networks.

Local Area Network (LAN):-

Privately-owned networks covering a small geographic area, like a home, office, building or group of buildings (e.g. campus ).
They are widely used to connect computers in company offices and factories to share resources (e.g., printers) and exchange
information. Data transmits at a very fast rate as the number of computers linked are limited. By definition, the connections mus t
be high speed and relatively inexpensive hardware .
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) :-
MAN or Metropolitan area Network covers a larger area than that of a LAN and smaller area as compared to WAN. It connects
two or more computers that are apart but resides in the same or different cities. It covers a large geographical area and may
serve as an ISP (Internet Service Provider). MAN is designed for customers who need a high-speed connectivity. Speeds of
MAN ranges in terms of Mbps. It’s hard to design and maintain a Metropolitan Area Network.The fault tolerance of a MAN is les s
and also there is more congestion in the network. Devices used for transmission of data through MAN are: Modem and
Wire/Cable. Examples of a MAN are the part of the telephone company network that can provide a high-speed DSL line to the
customer.

Wide Area Network (WAN) –

WAN or Wide Area Network is a computer network that extends over a large geographical area, although it might be confined
within the bounds of a state or country. A WAN could be a connection of LAN connecting to other LAN’s via telephone lines and
radio waves and may be limited to an enterprise (a corporation or an organization) or accessible to the public. The technology is
high speed and relatively expensive. A Communication medium used for WAN is PSTN or Satellite Link. Due to long distance
transmission, the noise and error tend to be more in WAN. WAN’s data rate is slow about a 10th LAN’s speed, since it involves
increased distance and increased number of servers and terminals etc. Speeds of WAN ranges from few kilobits per second
(Kbps) to megabits per second (Mbps). Example of a Switched WAN is the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network and
Point-to-Point .

4.4 List the Hardware and Software Components

A LAN is a combination of hardware and software.

The Hardware:

The hardware consists of stations, transmission media, and connecting devices.

Stations:

Stations are actual devices that connect to the network. These can be computers, printers, etc.

Transmission Media:

The transmission media is the stuff through which signals travel. It can be guided as in the case of a wire, or unguided as
in the case of air (wireless).

Connecting Devices:

Besides the wires and stations, there are also connecting devices. There are two ‘types’:

1. Transceivers and all the other that’s used to connect a station to the medium.

2. Bridges, repeaters, etc., used to connect segments of a LAN.

According to the protocols involved, networks interconnection is achieved using one or several of the following devices:

→Bridge: a computer or device that links two similar LANs based on the same protocol. → Router: a communication
computer that connects different types of networks using different protocols.
→ B-router or Bridge/Router: a single device that combines both the functions of bridge and router.

→ Gateway: a network device that connects two different systems, using direct and systematic translation between
protocols.

The Software:

There are two primary categories of software, the Operating System, and Application Programs.

Network Operating System:

There needs to be some software at the operating system level that manages the network connection. Most modern
operating systems are capable of using the network.

Application Programs:

The primary purpose of having a LAN is to allow several application programs to talk to each other.

4.5 Various Network Communication Standards

Computers on a network may use different software, hardware and protocols. For the two computers to communicate with
each other, they need to follow certain communication standards. Two such standards are:

o OSI reference model

o TCP/IP reference model

4.5.1 OSI Reference Model:

1. The Physical layer provide/the electrical and mechanical 1nterf ace to the network, medium (the cable). This
layer gives the data-link layer (layer 2) its ability to transport a stream of serial data bits between two
communicating systems; it conveys the bits that move along the cable. It is responsible for making sure that the
raw bits get from one place to another, no matter what shape they are in.

2.The Data-Link layer handles the physical transfer, ‘framing (the assembly of data into a single unit or block),
and flow control and error-control functions over a single transmission link,it is responsible for getting the data
packaged for the Physical layer. The data link layer provides the network layer (layer 3) reliable information-
transfer capabilities. The data-link layer is often subdivided into two parts-Logical Link Control (LLC) and Medium
Access Control (MAC)-depending on the implementation
 3. The Network layer provides for the transfer of data in the form of packets across the communication
networks. It establishes, maintains, and, terminates logical and physical connections across multiple
interconnected networks. A key aspect of this transfer is the routing of packets from the source to the destination
machine typically traversing number of transmission links and network nodes where routing is carried out Routing
is the process by which a path is selected out of many available paths to the destination so that data packet
reaches the destination fast, efficiently, reliably as required. This function makes the network most complex layer in
the reference model. Also network layer is responsible for. Translating logical addresses, or names, into physical
(or data-link) addresses it provides flow- control functions across the computer-network interface.

4. The Transport layer ensures data is successfully sent and received between two end nodes. If data is sent
incorrectly, this layer has the responsibility to ask for retransmission of the data. Also it ensures data are passed
onto the upper layers in the same order in which they were sent. Specifically, it provides a reliable, network-
independent message-interchange service to the top three Application-oriented layers. This layer acts as an
interface between the bottom and top three layer By providing the session layer (layer 5) with a reliable message
transfer service, it hides the detailed operation of the underlying network from the session layer

5. The Session layer decides when to turn communication on and off between two computers. It provides the
mechanisms that control the data-exchange process and coordinates the interaction between them.lt sets up and
clears communication channels between two communicating components. Unlike the network layer (layer 3), it
deals with the programs running in each machine to establish conversations between them. Some of the most
commonly encountered protocol stacks, including TCP/IP, don’t implement a session layer.

6. The Presentation layer performs code conversion and data reformatting (syntax translation). It is the translator
of the network, making sure the data is in the correct form for the receiving application Of course, both the sending
and receiving applications must be able to use data subscribing to one of the available abstract data syntax forms.
Most commonly, applications handle these sorts of data translations themselves rather than’ handing them off to a
Presentation layer.

7. The Application layer provides the interface between the software running in a computer and the network.
It provides functions to the user’s software, including file transfer access and management (FTAM) and electronic
mail service

4.5.2 TCP/IP Reference Model:

TCP/IP Reference Model is a four-layered suite of communication protocols. It was developed by the DoD
(Department of Defence) in the 1960s. It is named after the two main protocols that are used in the model,
namely, TCP and IP. TCP stands for Transmission Control Protocol and IP stands for Internet Protocol.

The four layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite are –

Network Layer –

o A network layer is the lowest layer of the TCP/IP model.

o A network layer is the combination of the Physical layer and Data Link layer defined in the OSI reference model.
o It defines how the data should be sent physically through the network.
 o This layer is mainly responsible for the transmission of the data between two devices on the same network.

Internet Layer –

o An internet layer is the second layer of the TCP/IP model.

o An internet layer is also known as the network layer.
o The main responsibility of the internet layer is to send the packets from any network, and they arrive at the destination irrespective of
the route they take.

Transport Layer –

o It is responsible for error-free end-to-end delivery of data. The protocols defined here are Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and User
Datagram Protocol (UDP).
o The transport layer is responsible for the reliability, flow control, and correction of data which is being sent over the network.

Application Layer –

o An application layer is the topmost layer in the TCP/IP model.

o It is responsible for handling high-level protocols, issues of representation.
o This layer allows the user to interact with the application.
o When one application layer protocol wants to communicate with another application layer, it forwards its data to the transport layer.
o This layer includes all high-level protocols like Telnet, DNS, HTTP, FTP, SMTP, etc.

4.6 Know about LAN Cables and Connectors, wireless network adapter
When two computers communicate, the source computer sends data to the destination computer. The data is converted into
signals at the physical layer. The physical layer is also responsible for sending the signals over a connectivity medium.

LAN Cables :
The most commonly used connectivity medium to connect computers or devices is a cable, a wire capable of transmitting signals
from one device to another, following factors must be considered.

Bandwidth

Distance

Bandwidth is defined as the amount of data that can be transmitted by a cable for fixed period of time.

The bandwidth offered by a connectivity medium is limited by the distance over which the medium needs to transmit the signal.
When the distance between the devices is greater, the bandwidth decreases because the signal needs to travel over a greater
distance.

Connector:
Connectors act as an interface between NIC of the computer and the cable that transmit the signal. As a result the type of
connector depends on the cable type used to connect computers or devices in the network.

Wireless Network Adapter:

A wireless network adapter allows a computing device to join a wireless LAN. Wireless network adapters contain a built -in radio
transmitter and receiver. Each adapter supports one or more of the 802.11a,802.11b or 802.11g Wi-Fi standards. Wireless
network adapters also exist in several different form factors.

4.7 Know about Coaxial Cables, Twisted-Pair Cables, Optical Fiber Cables, and
Connectors:
The transmisstion media is the physical path between the transmitter and receiver. Transmission media can be classified as
guided and unguided. In both cases, communication is in the form electromagnetic waves. With guided media, the waves are
guided along a solid medium, such as copper twisted pair, copper coaxial cable and optical fiber. The atmosphere is an example
of unguided media that provide a means of transmitting electromagnetic signals but do not guide them, this form of transmissi on
is usually referred to as wireless transmission.

Guided media
 o Twisted pair cable
o Coaxial cable
o Optic fiber cable

Unguided media

o Radio frequency
o Terrestrial microwave
o Satellite communication
o Cellular telephony

As listed above, number of transmission media are available, selection of the media depends on the following factors

o Transmission rate
o Distances
o Cost and ease of installation
o Resistance to environmental conditions.

Twisted pair:
Twisted pair is least expensive and most widely used. A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires arranged in a regular
spiral pattern. A wire pair acts as a single communication link. Twisting of copper wire is to reduce cross talk.

Twisted pair comes in two varities:

o Unshielded twisted pair(UTP)

o Shielded twisted pair(STP)

 UTP:

UTP is a set of twisted pairs of cable with in a plastic case. UTP is ordinary telephone wire. This is the cheapest transmission
media. It is commonly used for LAN, its easy to work and install. UTP is subject to external electromagnetic interface. Categ ory 3
and category 5 UTP are commonly used in computer networks. The differences between cat3 and cat5 cable is the number of
twists in the cable per unit distance.

 Shielded Twisted Pair (STP):

STP offers a protective sheathing around the copper wire. STP provides better performance at lower data rates. They are not
commonly used in networks. Installation is easy. Special connectors are required for installation. Cost slight higher than UT P.
STP will still suffer from outside interference but not as much as UTP.

Applications of Twisted Pair:

 Twisted pair cable used for both analog and digital signals.
 Twisted pair used in telephone network.
 In LAN, twisted pair wires mainly use for low cost, low performance applications

Coaxial cables:
It is made up of two conductors that share the common axis. It consists of a hallow outer cylindrical conductor that surrounds a
single inner wire conductor. Coaxial cable is used to transmit both analog and digital signals. Data transfer rate of coaxial cable is
n between twisted pair and optic fiber cable. It is relatively inexpensive. Installation is relatively simple. Following figure shows a
coaxial cable. Coaxial cables, commonly called coax, are copper cables with metal shielding designed to provide immunity
against noise and greater bandwidth. Coax can transmit signals over larger distances at a higher speed as compared to twisted
pair cables.

Structure of Coaxial Cables

Coax has a central core of stiff copper conductor for transmitting signals. This is covered by an insulating material. The insulator
is encased by a closely woven braided metal outer conductor that acts as a shield against noise. The outer conductor is again
enclosed by a plastic insulating cover. The structure is shown in the following figure:
 Applications of coaxial cable:

1. In analog telephone networks: A single coaxial network can carry about 10,000 voice signals.

2. In digital telephone networks: A coax has a data rate of 600 Mbps.

3. In cable TV networks

4. In traditional Ethernet LANs

5. In MANs

Optic Fiber Cable:

In optic fiber technology, light are used to transmit signals instead of electronics.

Structure of a Fiber – Optic Cable

A cross section of a fiber optic cable reveals three parts −

 Core − It is the innermost portion of an optical fiber through which light propagates. It is cylindrical in shape and it
made up of a flexible glass of high refractive index. The diameter of the core of a single mode fiber is 8 – 10 μm while
multimode fibers are 50 μm in diameter. It is also called the optical waveguide since it is the main channel through
which light signals are transmitted.

 Cladding − The core is surrounded by a glass cladding. The glass of cladding has a lower refractive index than the
core. This enables total internal reflection of light waves in the core, and eventually propagation of light waves within the
core.

 Outer Coating or Jacket − The outer jacket is a thin plastic sheath or coating that is opaque to light. It prevents light
rays from outside to enter the optical fiber. Fibers are typically bundles together, where each bundle is covered by a
protective outer sheath that prevents the fibers from physical damage.

Applications of Fiber Optics:

 Long haul trunks – backbone network, telephone network.

 Metropolitan trunks - without repeaters.
 Rural exchange trunks – link town and villages.
 Local loops – direct from central exchange to subscriber.
 Local area network -100 Mbps ring networks.
 Comparison of performance characteristics of guided media:

Coaxial Twisted pair Optic fiber

It uses electric signal for Uses electric signal for Focuses optical form over a
transmission. transmission glass fiber.
Less affect by EMI (Electro Affected by EMI Not affected by EMI
Magnetic Interference)
Bandwidth is moderately Bandwidth is low Bandwidth is very high
high
Supports moderately high Supports low data rates Data rate is very high
data rates
Moderately costly Cheapest costly
Repeater spacing is 1-10 Repeater spacing 2-10 km Repeater spacing 10-100
km km

Comparison of advantages and disadvantages of guided media:

Media Advantages Disadvantages

Twisted pair  Inexpensive  Sensitive to noise
cable  Easy installation & use  Short distances
 Easy to add notes  Limited bandwidth
 No security signal can be
easily tapped.

Coaxial cable  High bandwidth  Physical dimensions

 Long distance  No security signal can be
 Noise immunity easily tapped

Optic fiber cable  Very high bandwidth  Special equipment is

 Noise immunity needed for installation
 Long distance  Adding a node is difficult
 High security  Very expensive
 Small size

CONNECTORS:

As discussed earlier, connections act as an interference between NIC of the computer and the cable that
transmits the signal.

Coaxial cable connector:

To connect a coaxial cable to an NIC, the following connectors are required.

 BNC connector
 T connector
 Terminator
 BNC barrel connector

 The BNC Connector: The BNC cable connector is either soldered or crimped to the end of a cable.

 The BNC connector: This joins the network interface card in the computer to the network cable.

 The BNC Barrel Connector: This is used to join two lengths of cable to make one longer lenth.

 The BNC terminator: This closes each end of the bus cable to absorb stray signals. Without BNC terminators, a
bus network will not function.
Twisted Pair Connectors:

UTP and STP use different connectors to connect with the NIC. A STP cable connects to an NIC with an RJ 45 connector,
where as STP cable uses a DB-9 connector.

Optical Fiber Connector:

All fiber-optic connectors use ferrules to hold the ends of the fiber and keep them properly aligned.

The ST connector uses a half-twist bayonet type of lock, ehile SMA and FC use threaded connections.

The SC uses a push-pull connector similar to common audio and video plugs and sockets.

The MIC is the standard FDDI connector.

The fiber jack connector attaches two fibers in a snap lock connector similar in size and ease of use as an RJ -45 connector.

MT-RJ is a popular connector for two fibers in a very small form factor.

4.8 Explain LAN Devices

Computer network consists of different devices such as router, hub, switch and others. Without these network devices
data cannot be transmitted from one computer to another in a LAN or WAN network. The two important devices of a
big network are routers and switches.

4.8.1 Repeaters

A repeater is a network device that is used to retransmit the weaker signals in a network. A repeater receives the
signals on the electromagnetic or optical transmission mediums. Repeater removes the unwanted noise from the
incoming signals. A series of the repeaters is used to amplify the signals in the big network. The can also relay the
messages between sub networks that use different protocols. Repeaters work at physical layer.

4.8.2 Hubs :

A hub is a networking device, which is used to connect the two segments of a wired network. In star topology, every
computer is directly connected with the hub. In case of any fault in the hub, the data communication in the network
computers stops. In an Ethernet (bus)-based networked a hub is a central device that is used to connect all the
computers with each other.

A hub has multiple ports such as 4, 6, 8, 16 and 24 etc. when data packets are reached at hub. They are broadcasted
to all the computers unlike a switch and only the destined computer receives the data. When you want to connect more
than two computers with each other a hub or switch is required in a local area network. Hubs operate at the physical
layer.

4.8.3 Switch:

A network switch performs the same functionality in a network as a hub expect a different that switch does not
broadcast the data packets o all the computers in a network like a hub. A network switch has multiple ports like 4, 8,
16 and 24 etc. All the computers in a wired network are directly connected with the switch through Ethernet cable.
Switches limit the traffic to and from each port and all the devices connected to the switch has maximum available
bandwidth. Switch doesn’t provide the built-in firewall capabilities like the routers. In the telecommunication and packet
switched infrastructure switches play an important role. They transmit the data towards its destination based on the IP
address. Switches work at data link layer.

4.8.4 Network Interface Card:

A network interface card is used to connect a computer to an Ethernet network. The card(shown in the figure below)
provides an interface to the media. This may be either using an external transceiver mounted on the network interface
card PCB. The card usually also contains the protocol firmware and Ethernet Controller needed to support the Medium
Access Control (MAC) data link protocol used by Ethernet.

There is also a page showing examples of various types of networking equipment, include NICs for Ethernet.

4.8.5 Routers:

A router is a network communication device that is used to connect two or more logically and physically different
networks. A router can be used to connect a LAN to LAN, LAN to WAN and LAN to internet. A router acts as a post office
where sorting and distribution of the posts (packets in case of routers) is done. A router works on the basis of an IP
address. Every router has built-in Operating System known as IOS. A router works on the network layer of the OS
model and it routes the data towards the optimal path. Router uses the header information of the packets and
forwarding table to define the best shortest possible path of the data.

4.8.6 Modem:

A modem is communication device that performs two different functions such as modulation i.e., it converts the digital
data into analog and analog into digital. The faster types of the modems are used by the internet such as DSL modem
and optical modems.

Internal modem:

A modem that resides on an expansion board that plugs into a computer.

External modem:

An external modem is a box that attaches to a computer’s COM port via cables.

ADSL modem:

ADSL stands for Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line. It is a technology that allows copper telephone pairs to be used to
provide a broadband connection. It provides ‘always-on’ Internet connection that is automatically established once the
PC and ADSL modem are switched on.

Always-on means that the ADL broadband sets up a permanent connection to the internet that lets you access the
internet as soon as you switch on the computer and the modem.

4.9 Overview of Network Topologies:

In communication networks, a topology is a usually schematic description of the arrangement of a network, including
its nodes and connecting lines. There are two ways of defining network geometry: the physical topology and the logical
(or signal) topology.

The physical topology of a network is the actual geometric layout of workstations.

Logical (or signal) topology refers to the nature of the paths the signals follow from node to node. In many instances,
the logical topology is the same as the physical topology. But this is not always the case. For example, some networks
are physically laid out in a star configuration, but they operate logically as bus or ring networks.

Consideration when Choosing a Topology:

• Money: A liner bus network may be the least expensive way to install a network.

• Length of Cable Needed: The linear bus network uses shorter lengths of cable.

• Future Growth: With a star topology, adding another concentrator easily does expanding a network.
• Cable Type: The most common cable is unshielded twisted pair, which is most often used with star topologies.

4.10 Understand the basic Topologies such as Bus, Ring and Star, Complex
topologies like Mesh and Hybrid Topologies.

Geometric representation of how the computers are connected to each other is known as topology. There are six types
of topology – Mesh, Star, Bus, Ring, Tree and Hybrid.

Types of Topology
There are six types of topology in computer networks:

Bus Topology:
In bus topology there is a main cable and all the devices are connected to this main cable through drop lines. There is a dev ice
called tap that connects the drop line to the main cable. Since all the data is transmitted over the main cable, there is a limit of
drop lines and the distance a main cable can have.

Advantages of bus topology

1. Easy installation, each cable needs to be connected with backbone cable.

2. Less cables required than Mesh and star topology

Disadvantages of bus topology

1. Difficultly in fault detection.

2. Not scalable as there is a limit of how many nodes you can connect with backbone cable.

Mesh Topology
In mesh topology each device is connected to every other device on the network through a dedicated point-to-point link. When
we say dedicated it means that the link only carries data for the two connected devices only. Lets say we have n devices in t he
network then each device must be connected with (n-1) devices of the network. Number of links in a mesh topology of n devices
would be n(n-1)/2.

Advantages of Mesh topology

1. No data traffic issues as there is a dedicated link between two devices which means the link is only available for those two
devices.

2.Mesh topology is secure because there is a point to point link thus unauthorized access is not possible.
3. Fault detection is easy.

Disadvantages of Mesh topology

1. Amount of wires required to connected each system is tedious and headache.
2. Since each device needs to be connected with other devices, number of I/O ports required must be huge.

Star Topology
In star topology each device in the network is connected to a central device called hub. Unlike Mesh topology, star topology
doesn’t allow direct communication between devices, a device must have to communicate through hub. If one device wants to
send data to other device, it has to first send the data to hub and then the hub transmit that dat a to the designated device.

Advantages of Star topology

1. Less expensive because each device only need one I/O port and needs to be connected with hub with one link.
2. Easier to install

Disadvantages of Star topology

1. If hub goes down everything goes down, none of the devices can work without hub.
2. Hub requires more resources and regular maintenance because it is the central system of star topology.

Ring Topology
In ring topology each device is connected with the two devices on either side of it. There are two dedicated point to point links a
device has with the devices on the either side of it. This structure forms a ring thus it is known as ring topology. If a dev ice wants
to send data to another device then it sends the data in one direction, each device in ring topology has a repeater, if the received
data is intended for other device then repeater forwards this data until the intended device receives it.

Advantages of Ring Topology

1. Easy to install.
2. Managing is easier as to add or remove a device from the topology only two links are required to be changed.

Disadvantages of Ring Topology

1. A link failure can fail the entire network as the signal will not travel forward due to failure.
2. Data traffic issues, since all the data is circulating in a ring.

Hybrid topology
A combination of two or more topology is known as hybrid topology. For example a combination of star and mesh topology is
known as hybrid topology.
Advantages of Hybrid topology

1. We can choose the topology based on the requirement for example, scalability is our concern then we can use star topology
instead of bus technology.
2. Scalable as we can further connect other computer networks with the existing networks with different topologies.

Disadvantages of Hybrid topology

1. Fault detection is difficult.

2. Installation is difficult.

Tree:
A tree network topology is the one in which there is a main functioning root node that is then connected to other servers via point
to point topology in the levels of hierarchy. In other words this topology is connected as a branching network of terminals. Each
level of terminals has a specific amount of nodes that it can connect. The topology works in hierarchy fashion.

4.11 Know about Gateways.

The gateways are used to connect two networks that do not communicate with the same network protocol, so it is necessary to
translate these protocols between both networks. These are predecessors of router nowadays and are technology-wise more expensive
and highly functional. They in general consist of software which resides in a host computer, such as mid-range or mainframe. For
example, a gateway can use as a connection point between an IBM AS400 microcomputer and a LAN-based PC.

The gateways operate in the upper layers of the OSI model, the transport, session, presentation, and application layers (layers 4, 5, 6,
and 7). They are usually made up of a computer that runs the appropriate input software capable of converting the data between the
two different computing environments.

Characteristics of Gateways
1. Gateways provide full protocol conversion from one proprietary LAN technology to another, i.e. Ethernet to token ring or
FDDI or any other standard or protocol rather than encapsulation
2. It uses higher layers of the OSI model, perhaps through layer 7, the application layer. IBM SNA, DECnet, Internet TCP/IP and
other protocols can be converted from network-to-network

3. Unlike bridges and routers, gateways operate slowly because of protocol conversion. Consequently, they may create
bottlenecks of congestion during periods of peak usage.