Physical Network

Components
Objectives:

•Describe the physical components of

a network
•Describe LAN topologies and
architectures
•Describe the advantages and
disadvantages of topologies.
Network Devices
Hub
• Extend the range of a signal by receiving
then regenerating it and sending it out
all other ports.
• Allow a lot of collisions on the network
segment and are often not a good
solution.
• Also called concentrators because they
serve as a central connection point for a
LAN.
 Network Devices
Bridges and Switches
• A packet, along with its MAC address
information, is called a frame.
• LANs are often divided into sections called
segments bounded by bridges.
• A bridge has the intelligence to determine
if an incoming frame is to be sent to a
different segment, or dropped. A bridge
has two ports.
• A switch (multiport bridge) has several
ports and refers to a
• table of MAC addresses to determine
which port to use to forward the frame.
 Network Devices
Routers
• Devices that connect entire networks to
each other. They use IP addresses to
forward packets to other networks.
• A router can be a computer with special
network software installed or can be a
device built by network equipment
manufacturers.
• Routers contain tables of IP addresses
along with optimal routes to other
networks.
 Network Devices
Wireless Access Points
• Provide network access to wireless
devices such as laptops and PDAs.
• Use radio waves to communicate with
radios in computers, PDAs, and other
wireless access points.
• Have limited range of coverage.
 Network Devices
Multipurpose Devices
• Perform more than one function.
• More convenient to purchase and
configure just one device.
• Combines the functions of a switch, a
router and a wireless access point into
one device.
• The Linksys 300N is an example of a
multipurpose device.
 Twisted-Pair Cabling
• A pair of twisted wires forms a circuit that
transmits data.
• The twisted wires provide protection against
crosstalk (electrical noise) because of the
cancellation effect.
• Pairs of copper wires are encased in color-
coded plastic insulation and twisted together.
• An outer jacket of poly-vinyl chloride (PVC)
protects the bundles of twisted pairs.
• There are two types of this cable:
• Unshielded twisted-pair (UTP)
• (Cat 3, Cat 5, 5e and Cat 6)
• Shielded twisted-pair (STP)
 Coaxial Cable
• A copper-cored network cable surrounded by a
heavy shielding
Types of coaxial cable:
• Thicknet or 10Base5 - Coax cable that was used in
networks and operated at 10 megabits per second
with a maximum length of 500 m
• Thinnet or 10Base2 - Coax cable that was used in
networks and operated at 10 megabits per second
with a maximum length of 185 m
• RG-59 - Most commonly used for cable television in
the US
• RG-6 - Higher quality cable than RG-59 with more
bandwidth and less susceptibility to interference
 Fiber-Optic Cable
• A glass or plastic strand that transmits
information using light and is made up of one
or more optical fibers enclosed together in a
sheath or jacket.
• Not affected by electromagnetic or radio
frequency interference.
• Signals are clearer, can go farther, and have
greater bandwidth than with copper cable.
• Usually more expensive than copper cabling
and the connectors are more costly and harder
to assemble.
• Two types of glass fiber-optic cable:
• Multimode and Single-mode
Network Topologies
 What is Network
• A network is simply a group of
two or more Personal
Computers linked together.
Many types of networks exist,
but the most common types of
networks are Local-Area
Networks (LANs), and Wide-
Area Networks (WANs).
• In a LAN, computers are
connected together within a
"local" area (for example, an
office or home). In a WAN,
computers are further apart
and are connected via
telephone/communication
lines, radio waves or other
means of connection.
 How are Networks Categorized?
•Networks are usually
classified using three
properties:
1. Topology
2. Protocol
3. Architecture.
 What is Topology?
•Specifies the geometric arrangement of the network.
 What is Protocol?

•Protocol specifies a
common set of rules and
signals the computers on
the network use to
communicate.
 Architecture
• Network architecture, is the logical
and structural layout of the network
consisting of transmission
equipment, software and
communication protocols and
infrastructure (wired or wireless)
transmission of data and
connectivity between components.
• One of the two major types of
network architecture: Peer-to-peer
or client/server.
 What is Peer-to-Peer?
• Often referred to simply as peer-to-
peer, or abbreviated P2P, a type of
network in which each workstation
has equivalent capabilities and
responsibilities.
• In a Peer-to-Peer networking
configuration, there is no server,
and computers simply connect with
each other in a workgroup to share
files, printers and Internet access.
 What is Client/server
• A Client / server network architecture
in which each computer process on the
network. In a client/server network
there is usually an Network Domain
Controller, to which all of the
computers log on.
• This server can provide various
services, including centrally routed
Internet Access, mail (including e-
mail), file sharing and printer access,
as well as ensuring security across the
network.
 Network topology
•Is the layout pattern of interconnections of the various
elements links of a computer or biological network.
 There are two types of topologies
PHYSICAL TOPOLOGY
• A network refers to the layout of cables,
computers and other peripherals.
• Try to imagine, in a room with a small
network, you can see network cables
coming out of every computer that is
part of the network, then those cables
plug into a hub or switch.
• What you're looking at is the physical
topology of that network
 There are two types of topologies
LOGICAL TOPOLOGY
• Is the method used to pass the information
between the computers. In other words,
looking at that same room, if you were to try
to see how the network works with all the
computers talking (think of the computers
generating traffic and packets of data going
everywhere on the network) you would be
looking at the logical part of the network.
• The way the computers will be talking to each
other and the direction of the traffic is
controlled by the various protocols (like
Ethernet).
PACKET
• Is one unit of binary data
capable of being routed
through a computer
network.
• If it's all still confusing, consider
this: The physical topology
describes the layout of the
network, just like a map shows
the layout of various roads, and
the logical topology describes
how the data is sent across the
network or how the cars are able
to travel (the direction and
speed) at every road on the map.
 Two Types of Logical Topologies
THE BROADCAST TOPOLOGY
• There is no order that the hosts
must follow to use the network –
it is first come, first served for
transmitting data on the network.
 Two Types of Logical Topologies
THE TOKEN PASSING
• Controls network access by
passing an electronic token
sequentially to each host. When
a host receives the token, it can
send data on the network. If the
host has no data to send, it
passes the token to the next
host and the process repeats
itself.
 Types of physical topologies:
THE PHYSICAL BUS TOPOLOGY
• Is a network setup where each of the computers
and network devices are connected to a single
cable.
• With the Bus topology, all workstations are
connected directly to the main backbone that
carries the data. Traffic generated by any
computer will travel across the backbone and be
received by all workstations.
• This works well in a small network of 2-5
computers, but as the number of computers
increases so will the network traffic and this can
greatly decrease the performance and available
bandwidth of your network
• A node or node address is a name or
number that identifies a specific
computer or terminal in a group of
interconnected computers on a
network.
• As you can see in the above example,
all computers are attached to a
continuous cable which connects
them in a straight line. The arrows
clearly indicate that the packet
generated by Node 1 is transmitted to
all computers on the network,
regardless the destination of this
packet.
• If the bus (the long yellow cable)
is damaged anywhere in its
path, then it will most certainly
cause the network to stop
working or, at the very least,
cause big communication
problems between the
workstations.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
THE PHYSICAL BUS TOPOLOGY
Advantages:
• Requires less cabling compared to mesh, star and
tree topologies.
• Easier to install than other topologies.
Disadvantages:
• It's Difficult to add new devices.
• Difficult reconfiguration and fault isolation.
• A fault in Backbone stops all transmission, even
between devices on the same side of the
problem because of noise generated by faulty point.
• Limited cable length and number of nodes that can
be connected
THE PHYSICAL STAR OR HUB
TOPOLOGY
• Is one of the most common
network topologies found in
most offices and home
networks.
• It has become very popular in
contrast to the bus type (which
we just spoke about), because
of the cost and the ease of
troubleshooting.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
THE PHYSICAL STAR OR HUB TOPOLOGY
Advantages:
• Star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology as
there are no dedicated links between nodes and each device
needs only one link and one I/O ports to connect it to any
number of nodes.
• Easy to install and make configurations.
• Robust as failure of one link does not affect the entire
system. The remaining system will be active.
Disadvantages:
• More cabling is required in a star than in other topologies
(except mesh topology which requires max links).
• Entire network collapse if central controller fails
THE PHYSICAL RING
TOPOLOGY
• Computers are connected on a
single circle of cable. Unlike the
bus topology, there are no
terminated ends.
• The signals travel around the
loop in one direction and pass
through each computer, which
acts as a repeater to boost the
signal and send it to the next
computer.
• A Token Ring network is a local
area network (LAN) in which all
computers are connected in a
ring or star topology and a bit-
or token-passing scheme is
used in order to prevent the
collision of data between two
computers that want to send
messages at the same time.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
THE PHYSICAL RING TOPOLOGY
Advantages:
• Relatively easy to install and reconfigure.
• Easy to add new node as only two
connections need to be
changed.
Disadvantages:
• A fault in the ring can disable the entire
network. This weakness can be resolved
by using a dual ring.
• Token may get lost , or many token are
generated.
THE MESH TOPOLOGY
• Each computer is connected to
every other computer by a
separate cable.
• This configuration provides
redundant paths through the
network, so if one computer
blows up, you don't lose the
network.
• With the hybrid topology, two or
more topologies are combined
to form a complete network. For
example, a hybrid topology
could be the combination of a
star and bus topology. These
are also the most common in
use.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
THE MESH TOPOLOGY
Advantages:
• No traffic problem as there are dedicated links.
• Robust as failure of one link does not affect the entire
system.
• Better Security as data travels along a dedicated line.
• Points to point links make fault identification easy.
Disadvantages:
• The hardware is expansive as there is dedicated link for any
two nodes and each device should have (n-1)I/O ports.
• There is mesh of wiring which can be difficult to manage.
• Installation is complex as each node is connected to every
node .
THE STAR-BUS TOPOLOGY
• A several star topology
networks are linked to a bus
connection. In this topology, if a
computer fails, it will not affect
the rest of the network.
• However, if the central
component, or hub, that
attaches all computers in a
star, fails, then you have big
problems since no computer
will be able to communicate.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
THE STAR-BUS TOPOLOGY
Advantages
• Flexible, and easy-to-use cable or media type .
• Easy to troubleshoot by removing computers from
the hub or adding "smart" hubs to diagnose
problem .
• Simple to add more computers to network .
• Fast processing capability--up to 1000Mbps
(1Gbps)
Disadvantage
• Expensive because of additional cable and the
purchase of a hub .
THE STAR-RING TOPOLOGY
• the computers are connected to a
central component as in a star
network. These components,
however, are wired to form a ring
network.
• Like the star-bus topology, if a
single computer fails, it will not
affect the rest of the network. By
using token passing, each
computer in a star-ring topology
has an equal chance of
communicating.
 ADVANTAGES AND DISADVANTAGES
THE STAR-RING TOPOLOGY
Advantages
• Hybrid network combines the benefits of different
types of topologies
• Can be modified as per requirement
• It is extremely flexible.
• It is very reliable.
• It is easily scalable
• Disadvantage
• It is expensive
• The design of a hybrid network is complex.
• Hardware changes are required in order to connect
topology to another topology..
 LAN ARCHITECTURE
•Is the overall structure of a
computer or
communication system
and determines the
capabilities and
limitations of the system.
•There are three most
common LAN
architectures:
 ETHERNET
•Based on the IEEE 802.3
standard, which specifies
that a network use the
•Carrier Sense Multiple
Access with the Collision
Detection (CSMA/CD)
access control method.
 Token Ring
•Based on the token-
passing access control
method.
•The Token Ring topology is
referred to as a star-wired
ring because the outer
appearance of the network
design is a star.
 Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI)
• A type of Token Ring network
that runs on fiber-optic
cable. It combines the high-
speed performance and the
token-passing advantage.
• Normally, traffic flows only
on the primary ring and uses
a secondary ring is a
backup