Chapter 1: Introduction to Computer Networks

Table of Contents
Chapter 1: Introduction to Computer Networks........................................................................................1
Introduction...........................................................................................................................................1
Features of a Computer Network......................................................................................................2
Computer Network Architecture...........................................................................................................2
P2P (Peer to Peer).............................................................................................................................2
Client/Server Architecture................................................................................................................3
Basic Components of a Computer Network..........................................................................................3
TYPES OF NETWORKS.....................................................................................................................4
Personal Area Network.....................................................................................................................4
Local Area Networks........................................................................................................................5
Metropolitan Area Networks............................................................................................................6
Wide Area Networks.........................................................................................................................7
Internet , Intranet and extranet perspective...........................................................................................8
Intranet.............................................................................................................................................8
Internet.............................................................................................................................................8
Extranet.............................................................................................................................................8
Network topology..................................................................................................................................8
A topology is a way of “laying out” the network. Topologies can be either physical or logical......8
Meshed Topology.............................................................................................................................9
Star Topology..................................................................................................................................10
Bus Topology..................................................................................................................................11
Ring Topology................................................................................................................................11
Hybrid topology..............................................................................................................................12
Campus Network.................................................................................................................................12
Three-tier model.............................................................................................................................14
Two-tier model................................................................................................................................15
REFERENCES....................................................................................................................................16

Introduction
A computer network is a group of devices connected with each other through a transmission medium
such as wires, cables etc. These devices can be computers, printers, scanners, Fax machines etc.
The purpose of having computer network is to send and receive data stored in other devices over the
network. These devices are often referred as nodes.

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Features of a Computer Network
A computer network has following features:
• Performance: Performance of a computer network is measured in terms of response time. The
response time of sending and receiving data from one node (computer in a computer network
are often referred as node) to another should be minimal.
• Data Sharing: One of the reason why we use a computer network is to share the data between
different systems connected with each other through a transmission media.
• Backup: A computer network must have a central server that keeps the backup of all the data
that is to be shared over a network so that in case of a failure it should be able to recover the
data faster.
• Software and hardware compatibility: A computer network must not limit all the computers
in a computer network to use same software and hardware, instead it should allow the better
compatibility between the different software and hardware configuration.
• Reliability: There should not be any failure in the network or if it occurs the recovery from a
failure should be fast.
• Security: A computer network should be secure so that the data transmitting over a network
should be safe from unauthorised access. Also, the sent data should be received as it is at the
receiving node, which means there should not be any loss of data during transmission.
• Scalability: A computer network should be scalable which means it should always allow to add
new computers (or nodes) to the already existing computer network. For example, a company
runs 100 computers over a computer network for their 100 employees, lets say they hire another
100 employees and want to add new 100 computers to the already existing LAN then in that
case the local area computer network should allow this.

Computer Network Architecture

A Computer Architecture is a design in which all computers in a computer network are organized. A
architecture defines how the computers should get connected to get the maximum advantages of a
computer network such as better response time, security, scalability etc.
The two most popular computer architectures:
1. P2P (Peer to Peer)
2. Client-Server architecture.

P2P (Peer to Peer)

In peer to peer architecture all the computers in a computer network are connected with every computer
in the network. Every computer in the network use the same resources as other computers. There is no

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central computer that acts as a server rather all computers acts as a server for the data that is stored in
them.
Advantages of a Peer to Peer Architecture
1. Less costly as there is no central server that has to take the backup.
2. In case of a computer failure all other computers in the network are not affected and they will
continue to work as same as before the failure.
3. Installation of peer to peer architecture is quite easy as each computer manages itself.
Disadvantages of a Peer to Peer Architecture
1. Each computer has to take the backup rather than a central computer and the security measures are to
be taken by all the computers separately.
2. Scalability is a issue in a peer to Peer Architecture as connecting each computer to every computer is
a headache on a very large network.

Client/Server Architecture
In Client Server architecture a central computer acts as a hub and serves all the requests from client
computers. All the shared data is stored in the server computer which is shared with the client computer
when a request is made by the client computer.
All the communication takes place through the server computer, for example if a client computer wants
to share the data with other client computer then it has to send the data to server first and then the
server will send the data to other client.
Advantages of Client Server Architecture
1. Data backup is easy and cost effective as there is no need to manage the backup on each computer.
2. Performance is better as the response time is greatly improves because the server is more powerful
computer than the other computers in the network.
3. Security is better as unauthorised access are denied by server computer and all the data goes through
the server.
4. Scalability is not an issue in this Architecture as large number of computers can be connected with
server.
Disadvantages of Client Server Architecture
1. In case of server failure entire network is down.
2. Server maintenance cost is high as the server is the main component in this Architecture
3. Cost is high as the server needs more resources to handle that many client requests and to be
able to hold large amount of data.

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Basic Components of a Computer Network

Server: Servers are computers that runs operating system and hold data that can be shared over a
computer network.
Client: A client is a computer that is connected to other computers in the network and can receive data
sent by other computers.
Transmission Media: All computers in a computer network are connected with each other through a
transmission media such as wires, optical fibre cables, coaxial cables etc.
Network Interface card: Each system or computer in a computer network must have a card called
network interface card (NIC). The main purpose of NIC is to format the data, send the data and receive
the data at the receiving node.
Hub: Hub acts as a device that connects all the computer in a network to each other. Any request that
comes from a client computer first received by Hub and then hub transmit this request over a network
so that the correct server receives and respond to it.
Switch: Switch is similar to hub however instead of broadcasting a incoming data request it uses the
physical device address in the incoming request to transfer the request to correct server computer.
Router: Router joins multiple computer networks to each other. For example lets say a company runs
100 computers over a local area network(LAN) and another company runs another LAN of 150
computers. These both LANs can be connected with each other through a internet connection which is
provided by the router.
LAN cable: A wire that is used to connect more than one computers or other devices such as printers
and scanner to each other.

TYPES OF NETWORKS
Personal Area Network
• A personal area network is a computer network for interconnecting electronic devices within an
individual person's workspace. A PAN provides data transmission among devices such as
computers, smartphones, tablets and personal digital assistants.
• PANs can also be built with other technologies that communicate over short ranges, such as
RFID on smartcards and library book

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Local Area Networks
• A local area network (LAN) is a collection of devices connected together in one physical
location, such as a building, office, or home.
• A LAN can be small or large, ranging from a home network with one user to an enterprise
network with thousands of users and devices in an office or school.
• A LAN is a privately owned network that operates within and nearby a single building like a
home, office or factory.
• When LANs are used by companies, they are called enterprise networks.
• Wireless LANs are very popular these days, especially in homes, older office buildings,
cafeterias, and other places where it is too much trouble to install cables.

Metropolitan Area Networks

• A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a computer network that connects computers within a
metropolitan area, which could be a single large city, multiple cities and towns, or any given
large area with multiple buildings.

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 • A MAN is larger than a local area network (LAN) but smaller than a wide area network (WAN).
MANs do not have to be in urban areas; the term "metropolitan" implies the size of the network,
not the demographics of the area that it serves.

Wide Area Networks

• Wide area network (WAN) is a type of network that provides transmission of voice, data,
images, and videos over the large geographical area.
• WAN is made with the combinations of LAN and MAN.
• The transmission of data is carried out with the help of hubs, switches, fiber optics, modem, and
routers.

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Internet , Intranet and Extranet Perspective

Intranet
Intranet is defined as private network of computers within an organization with its own server and
firewall. Moreover we can define Intranet as:
• Intranet is system in which multiple PCs are networked to be connected to each other. PCs in
intranet are not available to the world outside of the intranet.
• Usually each company or organization has their own Intranet network and members/employees
of that company can access the computers in their intranet.
• Every computer in internet is identified by a unique IP address.
• Each computer in Intranet is also identified by a IP Address, which is unique among the
computers in that Intranet.

Extranet
Extranet refers to network within an organization, using internet to connect to the outsiders in
controlled manner. It helps to connect businesses with their customers and suppliers and therefore
allows working in a collaborative manner.

Internet
Internet is defined as an Information super Highway, to access information over the web. However, It
can be defined in many ways as follows:
• Internet is a world-wide global system of interconnected computer networks.
• Internet uses the standard Internet Protocol (TCP/IP).
• Every computer in internet is identified by a unique IP address.
• IP Address is a unique set of numbers (such as 110.22.33.114) which identifies a computer
location.
• A special computer DNS (Domain Name Server) is used to give name to the IP Address so that
user can locate a computer by a name.

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 • Internet is accessible to every user all over the world

Network topology

A topology is a way of “laying out” the network. Topologies can be either physical or logical.
1. Physical topologies describe how the cables are run.
2. Logical topologies describe how the network messages travel

Types of Network Topologies

1. Meshed Topology
2. Star Topology
3. Bus Topology
4. Ring Topology
5. Hybrid Topology

Meshed 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

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connected devices only. Lets say we have n devices in the 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 reliable and robust as failure of one link doesn’t affect other links and the
communication between other devices on the network.
3. Mesh topology is secure because there is a point to point link thus unauthorized access is not
possible.
4. 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.
3. Scalability issues because a device cannot be connected with large number of devices with a
dedicated point to point link.

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 data to the designated device.

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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
3. Less amount of cables required because each device needs to be connected with the hub only.
4. Robust, if one link fails, other links will work just fine.
5. Easy fault detection because the link can be easily identified.
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.

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 device 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.

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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 device 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

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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.
3. Design is complex so maintenance is high thus expensive.

Campus Network

• A campus network is generally the portion of the enterprise network infrastructure that provides
access to network communication services and resources to end users and devices that are
spread over a single geographic location.
• It may be a single building or a group of buildings spread over an extended geographic area.
• Normally, the enterprise that owns the campus network usually owns the physical wires
deployed in the campus.

A typical hierarchical enterprise campus network design includes the following three layers:
1) Core layer:
Provides optimal transport between sites and high-performance routing.
• Due the criticality of the core layer, the design principles of the core should provide an
appropriate level of resilience that offers the ability to recover quickly and smoothly after any
network failure event with the core block.
• (high end routers and switches with redundant links.)
2) Distribution layer:
Provides policy-based connectivity and boundary control between the access and core layers.

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Switches connected in this layer are known as the distribution switches. Unlike access switches,
distribution switches do not provide any service to end devices. Distribution switches connect the
access switches
The main functions of the distribution layer switches are the following.
• Providing connectivity between the access layer switches
• Aggregating LAN and WAN links and traffic
• If a separate core layer exists, providing upstream services for the access layer switches
• Controlling and filtering traffic by implementing ACLs
• Controlling broadcast through VLANs
• Providing redundancy and load balancing
• Providing routing services between different VLANs and routing domains
• Acting as a demarcation point between different LANs and broadcast domains

3) Access layer:
Provides workgroup/user access to the network. 
The two primary and common hierarchical design architectures of enterprise campus networks are the
three-tier and two-tier layers models.
The main functions of this layer are the following.
• Connecting various types of end devices to the LAN network.
• Providing layer-2 switching and implementing various layer-2 switching services such as virtual
access control, QoS and ARP.
• Preventing unauthorized devices from connecting to the LAN by enforcing various security
policies such as port security, DHCP snooping, and static MAC address configuration.
Switches connected in this layer are known as access switches.
End-devices connect to the LAN network through the access switches. In other words, an access switch
forwards traffic between connected devices and the rest of the LAN.

Three-tier model
This design model, illustrated in Figure 3-1 , is typically used in large enterprise campus networks,
which are constructed of multiple functional distribution layer blocks.

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Two-tier model
This design model, illustrated in Figure 3-2 , is more suitable for small to medium-size campus
networks (ideally not more than three functional disruption blocks to be interconnected), where the
core and distribution functions can be combined into one layer, also known as collapsed core-
distribution architecture .

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 Campus Network

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REFERENCES

1. Fraihat, A. (2020). Computer Networking Layers Based on the OSI Model.

2. Computer Networks. https://beginnersbook.com/2019/03/computer-network-architecture:
Accessed December 2021
3. TCP/IP. https://www.techtarget.com/searchnetworking/definition/TCP-IP, Accessed: December
2021
4. LAN. https://www.cisco.com/c/en/us/products/switches/what-is-a-lan-local-area-
network.html#~what-it-is. Accessed January 2022

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