Lecture THREE

Computer Networks and Data Communication

Network Hardware and Software

 Outline
• Network Software
– History
– Overview
– Functions
– SDN Framework
– Types of Network Software
– Examples of Network Software
• Network Hardware
– Overview
– Terminology
– Network Devices
Network Software
 History of Network Software
• Although computer networks began to emerge in the
1970s, network-based software did not begin to
spread widely until personal computers became
common place in home and office settings in the late
1980s and early 1990s.
• However, the advent of the visual browser for the
Internet in the mid 1990s marked the true turning
point for network software because it effectively
changed the definition of network from a tool useful
mostly by businesses into a tool useful to home users
and consumers worldwide.
 Overview
• Network software encompasses a broad range of
software used for design, implementation, and
operation and monitoring of computer
networks.
• Traditional networks were hardware based with
software embedded.
• With the advent of Software Defined Networking
(SDN), software is separated from the hardware
thus making it more adaptable to the ever-
changing nature of the computer network.
 Network software and Networking
Software
• The terms "network software" and "networking
software" are often used interchangeably.
• However, networking software most often refers
to the software that enables networking.
– Novell and Microsoft, for example, are two widely
known developers of networking software.
• Network software, by contrast, is software that
operates once the network is already enabled.
 Functions of Network Software
• Helps to set up and install computer networks.
• Enables users to have access to network resources in
a seamless manner.
• Allows administrations to add or remove users from
the network.
• Helps to define locations of data storage and allows
users to access that data.
• Helps administrators and security system to protect
the network from data breaches, unauthorized
access and attacks on a network.
• Enables network virtualizations.
 SDN Framework
• The Software Defined Networking framework
has three layers.
 SDN Framework
• APPLICATION LAYER − SDN applications reside in the Application Layer.
• The applications convey their needs for resources and services to the
control layer through APIs.

• CONTROL LAYER − The Network Control Software, bundled into the

Network Operating System, lies in this layer.
• It provides an abstract view of the underlying network infrastructure. It
receives the requirements of the SDN applications and relays them to
the network components.

• INFRASTRUCTURE LAYER − Also called the Data Plane Layer, this layer
contains the actual network components.
• The network devices reside in this layer that shows their network
capabilities through the Control to data-Plane Interface.
 Types of Network Software
• Network operating system: NOS is a system that offers a
shared platform for all the connected computers that can
run a shared application. Net and Novell Netware are
popular examples of this networking software.

• Shared network: Here, applications are centrally saved

and each individual computer can access the applications
on their own. Oracle is an example of such network
software.

• Client server network programs: one component of such

applications are stored on client’s system and the other
one is stored on server. Both systems then communicate
with each other and utilizes their part of the component
accordingly. For example Microsoft exchange.
 Types of Network Software
• Network-based versions of desktop software exist
for numerous software types, with the greatest
number of varieties concentrated in areas such as
communications and security.
• Network software for communications includes
email, instant message, teleconferencing and video
conferencing applications.
• Network software for security includes antivirus,
spam filtering, firewall and data-access management
applications.
• Although they are less common, network software
versions of office productivity tools, such as
spreadsheets and word processors, are beginning to
proliferate.
 Considerations
• The centralized nature of network software
entails that if the network application fails, all
the users trying to connect to the application
will be unable to do so.

• The failure of a single network software

application can result in widespread
productivity decrease.
 Examples of Network Applications
• E-mail
• The Web
• Instant Messaging
• Remote login such as Telnet and SSH
• P2P file sharing
• File Transfer between two accounts on two computers
(FTP)
• Multi-user networked games
• Streaming stored video clips
• Internet Phone
• Real time video conferencing
Network Hardware
 Overview
• Network devices are the devices that interconnect
networks.
• Because these devices connect network entities,
they are known as connectivity devices.
• Internetworking devices are products used to
connect networks.
• As computer networks grow in size and
complexity, so do the internetworking devices
used to connect them
 Network Hardware Terminology
• Domain is a specific part of a network.
• Bandwidth is the amount of data that can be carried
across a network in a given time period.
• Unicast data is data meant for a specific device.
• Broadcast data is data meant for all devices; a special
broadcast address indicates this.
• Multicast data is data destined for a specific group of
devices; a special address indicates this.
• A bandwidth domain, known as a collision domain for
Ethernet LANs, includes all devices that share the same
bandwidth.
• A broadcast domain includes all devices that receive each
other’s’ broadcasts(and multicasts)
Purpose of having Network Hardware
• Allowance of a greater number of nodes to be
connected to the network.
• Extension of the distance over which a network
can extend.
• Localization of traffic on the network.
• Merging of existing networks.
• Isolation of network problems so that they can
be diagnosed more easily.
 Network Cable
• Network cables are the transmission media to
transfer data from one device to another. A
commonly used network cable is category 5
cable with RJ – 45 connector.
 Network Interface Card(NIC)
• The network interface card (NIC), as its name
suggests, is the expansion card you install in your
computer to connect, or interface, your computer to
the network. This device provides the physical,
electrical, and electronic connections to the network
media.
• A NIC is either an expansion card (the most popular
implementation) or built in to the motherboard of
the computer. NIC provides the physical interface
between computer and cabling. It prepares data,
sends data, and controls the flow of data.
• It can also receive and translate data into bytes for
the CPU to understand.
 NIC
• NIC is a component of the computer to
connect it to a network. Network cards are of
two types: Internal network cards and
external network cards.
 Repeater
• Repeaters, hubs and switches connect network devices
together so that they can function as a single segment.
• A repeater receives a signal and regenerates it before re-
transmitting so that it can travel longer distances.
• A repeater operates at the physical layer. Its job is to
regenerate the signal over the same network before the
signal becomes too weak or corrupted so as to extend the
length to which the signal can be transmitted over the
same network.
• An important point to be noted about repeaters is that
they do not amplify the signal. When the signal becomes
weak, they copy the signal bit by bit and regenerate it at
the original strength. It is a 2 port device
 Switch
• A switch receives data from a port, uses
packet switching to resolve the destination
device and then forwards the data to the
particular destination, rather than
broadcasting it as a hub
 Switch
• LAN switches are Layer 2 devices and have some intelligence, they send
data to a port only if the data needs to go there.
• A device connected to a switch port does not receive any of the
information addressed to devices on other ports. Therefore, the main
advantage of using a switch instead of a hub is that the traffic received
by a device is reduced because only frames addressed to a specific
device are forwarded to the port on which that device is connected.
• Switches read the source and destination MAC addresses in the frames
and therefore can keep track of who is where, and who is talking to
whom, and send data only where it needs to go.
• If the switch receives a frame whose destination address indicates that it
is a broadcast (information meant for everyone) or multicast
(information meant for a group), by default it sends the frame out all
ports (except for the one on which it was received).
• All devices connected to one switch port are in the same collision
domain, but devices connected to different ports are in different
collision domains. By default, all devices connected to a switch are in the
same broadcast domain.
 Hub
• A hub is a multiport repeater having several
input/output ports, so that input at any port is
available at every other port.
• A typical Ethernet LAN uses unshielded twisted-
pair (UTP) cables with RJ-45 connectors.
• Because these cables have only two ends, an
intermediary device is needed to connect more
than two computers.
• That device is a hub. Hubs are devices used to
link several computers together.
 Hub
• A hub works at Layer 1 and connects multiple devices
so that they are logically all on one LAN.
• NOTE: The physical connection point on a network
device—a hub, switch, or router—is called an interface
or a port.
• A hub has no intelligence—it sends all data received on
any port to all the other ports. So, devices connected
through a hub receive everything that the other
devices send, whether or not it was meant for them.
This process called broadcasting).
• All devices connected to a hub are in one collision
domain and one broadcast domain.
• Note: A hub just repeats all the data received on any
port to all the other ports; thus, hubs are also known
as repeaters.
Hub
 Types of Hubs
• Active Hub:- These are the hubs which have their own
power supply and can clean, boost, and relay the signal
along with the network. It serves both as a repeater as
well as wiring centre. These are used to extend the
maximum distance between nodes.
• Passive Hub :- These are the hubs which collect wiring
from nodes and power supply from active hub. These hubs
relay signals onto the network without cleaning and
boosting them and can’t be used to extend the distance
between nodes.
• Intelligent Hub :- It work like active hubs and include
remote management capabilities. They also provide
flexible data rates to network devices. It also enables an
administrator to monitor the traffic passing through the
hub and to configure each port in the hub.
 Routers
• A router is a connecting device that transfers data
packets between different computer networks.
• Typically, they are used to connect a PC or an
organization’s LAN to a broadband internet
connection. They contain RJ-45 ports so that
computers and other devices can connect with them
using network cables.
• A router is a device like a switch that routes data
packets based on their IP addresses. Router is mainly
a Network Layer device. Routers normally connect
LANs and WANs together and have a dynamically
updating routing table based on which they make
decisions on routing the data packets. Router divide
broadcast domains of hosts connected through it.
 Router
• A router goes one step further than a switch. It is a Layer 3
device that has much more intelligence than a hub or switch.
• By using logical Layer 3 addresses, routers allow devices on
different LANs to communicate with each other and with distant
devices, for example, those connected through the Internet or
through a WAN.
• The logical Layer 3 addresses is the TCP/IP’s IP addresses..
• The router reads the source and destination logical addresses in
the packets and therefore keeps track of who is where, and who
is talking to whom, and sends data only where it needs to go.
• All devices connected to one router port are in the same
collision domain, but devices connected to different ports are in
different collision domains.
• Routers block broadcasts (destined for all networks) and
multicasts by default; routers forward only unicast packets
(destined for a specific device) and packets of a special type
called directed broadcasts.
 Router
• Routers work at the OSI model network layer.
• The main functions of a router are first to determine
the best path that each packet should take to get to
its destination and second to send the packet on its
way.
• Sending the packet out the appropriate interface,
along the best path, is also called switching the
packet because the packet is encapsulated in a new
frame, with the appropriate framing information.
Routers are normally used to connect one LAN to
another.
• Typically, when a WAN is set up, there will be at least
two routers used.
Router
 Bridge
• A bridge connects two separate Ethernet
network segments. It forwards packets from the
source network to the destined network.
• A bridge operates at data link layer. A bridge is a
repeater, with add on the functionality of
filtering content by reading the MAC addresses
of source and destination. It is also used for
interconnecting two LANs working on the same
protocol. It has a single input and single output
port, thus making it a 2 port device.
 Bridge
• For example, with 200 people on one Ethernet
segment, the performance will be mediocre, because
of the design of Ethernet and the number of
workstations that are fighting to transmit. If you
divide the segment into two segments of 100
workstations each, the traffic will be much lower on
either side and performance will increase.
• The main disadvantage to bridges is that they can’t
connect dissimilar network types or perform
intelligent path selection. For that function, you
would need a router.
Bridge
 Types of Bridges
• Transparent Bridges:- These are the bridge in which the
stations are completely unaware of the bridge’s existence
i.e. whether or not a bridge is added or deleted from the
network, reconfiguration of the stations is unnecessary.
• These bridges make use of two processes i.e. bridge
forwarding and bridge learning.

• Source Routing Bridges:- In these bridges, routing

operation is performed by source station and the frame
specifies which route to follow.
• The host can discover frame by sending a special frame
called discovery frame, which spreads through the entire
network using all possible paths to destination.
 Gateways
• A gateway connects entirely different networks that work
upon different protocols. It is the entry and the exit point
of a network and controls access to other networks.
• A gateway, as the name suggests, is a passage to connect
two networks together that may work upon different
networking models. They basically work as the messenger
agents that take data from one system, interpret it, and
transfer it to another system. Gateways are also called
protocol converters and can operate at any network layer.
Gateways are generally more complex than switch or
router.
• A gateway is any hardware and software combination that
connects dissimilar network environments. • Gateways are
the most complex of network devices because they
perform translations at multiple layers of the OSI model.
 Gateway
• A gateway is any hardware and software
combination that connects dissimilar network
environments.
• Gateways are the most complex of network
devices because they perform translations at
multiple layers of the OSI model.
Basic Hardware Connection
 Assignment
• Question: A Modem is a Network hardware
device that allows computers to communicate
over a telephone line, In detail, Explain;
• 1. What it is.
• 2. How it works.
• 2. Its Types and their comparison
• 3. Its Performance Measures
• 4. Its Standards.
• Submit a print out in groups next lecture.
Questions