Network

fundamentals
IB Computer Science

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Dartford Grammar School
Computer Science Department
HL Topics 1-7, D1-4

1: System design 2: Computer 3: Networks 4: Computational

Organisation thinking

5: Abstract data 6: Resource 7: Control D: OOP

structures management

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 1: System design

HL & SL 3 Overview 2: Computer

Organisation

Network fundamentals
3.1.1 Identify different types of networks 3: Networks
3.1.2 Outline the importance of standards in the construction of networks
3.1.3 Describe how communication over networks is broken down into different layers
3.1.4 Identify the technologies required to provide a VPN 4: Computational
3.1.5 Evaluate the use of a VPN thinking
Data transmission
3.1.6 Define the terms: protocol, data packet
5: Abstract data
3.1.7 Explain why protocols are necessary structures
3.1.8 Explain why the speed of data transmission across a network can vary

3.1.9 Explain why compression of data is often necessary when transmitting across a network 6: Resource
3.1.10 Outline the characteristics of different transmission media management
3.1.11 Explain how data is transmitted by packet switching
Wireless networking
3.1.12 Outline the advantages and disadvantages of wireless networks 7: Control
3.1.13 Describe the hardware and software components of a wireless network
3.1.14 Describe the characteristics of wireless networks
3.1.15 Describe the different methods of network security
D: OOP
3.1.16 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each method of network security

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Topic 3.1.1
Identify different types of networks

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Types of Networks
• LAN
• WAN
• VLAN
• SAN
• WLAN
• Internet
• Extranet
• VPN
• PAN
• P2P

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Definition: Network
• A computer network is a group of computer systems and
other computing hardware devices that are linked together
through communication channels to facilitate
communication and resource-sharing among a range of
users.
• Networks are commonly categorized based on their
characteristics.

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 LAN = Local Area Network
• LAN stands for local area network. It covers, as the name
suggests, a local area.
• This usually includes a local office/building and they're
also pretty common in homes now, thanks to the spread
of Wi-Fi.
• Whether wired or wireless, nearly all modern LANs are
based on Ethernet, a set of protocols for exchanging data.
• There are two ways to implement Ethernet: twisted-pair
cables (UTP) or wireless (Wi-Fi radio waves).

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WAN = Wide Area Network
• The name is exactly what it sounds like: a network that
covers an area wider than a LAN.
• Beyond that, the definition is less clear. Distances can range
from a network connecting multiple buildings on a corporate
or college campus to satellite links connecting offices in
different countries.
• The most popular WAN is the internet.
• It's actually a collection of other networks, including other
LANs and WANs – hence, the name.
• WANs can be wired (using fibre-optic cable) or wireless
(using microwave or satellite transmission technology).

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LAN vs WAN

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Example of a WAN

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 VLAN = Virtual Local Area Network
• A virtual local area network (VLAN) is a logical group of
workstations, servers and network devices that appear to
be on the same LAN despite their geographical
distribution.
• A VLAN allows a network of computers and users to
communicate in a simulated environment as if they exist
in a single LAN.
• VLANs are implemented to achieve scalability, security
and ease of network management and can quickly adapt
to changes in network requirements and relocation of
workstations and server nodes.
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Examples of a VLAN

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VLAN vs LAN

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SAN = Storage Area Network
• A storage area network (SAN) is a secure high-speed data
transfer network that provides access to consolidated block-
level storage.
• An SAN makes a network of storage devices accessible to
multiple servers.
• SAN devices appear to servers as attached drives,
eliminating traditional network bottlenecks.
• SANs are sometimes also referred to (albeit redundantly) as
SAN storage, SAN network, network SAN, etc.

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 See 3.1.12
to 3.1.14

WLAN = Wireless Local Area Network

• A wireless local area network (WLAN) is a wireless
distribution method for two or more devices that use high-
frequency radio waves and often include an access point to
the Internet.
• A WLAN allows users to move around the coverage area,
often a home or small office, while maintaining a network
connection.
• A WLAN is sometimes called a Wi-Fi network, but can
include other transmission technologies.

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LAN vs WLAN

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Internet = network of networks
• The internet is a globally connected network system that uses the
TCP/IP protocols to transmit data via various types of media.
• The internet is a network of global exchanges – including private,
public, business, academic and government networks – connected
by wired, wireless and fibre-optic technologies.
• The terms internet and World Wide Web are often used
interchangeably, but they are not exactly the same thing; the
internet refers to the global communication system, including
hardware and infrastructure, while the web is one of the services
communicated over the internet.

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Extranet
• An extranet is a controlled private network allowing
customers, partners, vendors, suppliers and other
businesses to gain information, typically about a specific
company or educational institution, and do so without
granting access to the organization's entire network.
• An extranet is often a private part of a website.
• It is restricted to select users through user IDs, passwords
and other authentication mechanisms on a login page.

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Intranet vs Extranet

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 See 3.1.4
and 3.1.5

VPN = Virtual Private Network

• It uses the internet to allow people to log into a network
remotely and access its resources, but encrypts the connection
to thwart eavesdroppers.
• If your company sets you up with a VPN, you can access your
corporate intranet, file servers or email from home or a coffee
shop – just as if you were using it in your office.
• This makes VPN a popular way to support remote workers,
especially in fields where privacy is paramount, such as health
care.

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VPN

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PAN = Personal Area Network
• It's exactly what it sounds like: a network covering a very
small area, usually a small room.
• The best known wireless PAN network technology is
Bluetooth, and the most popular wired PAN is USB.
• You might not think of your wireless headset, your printer or
your smartphones as components in a network, but they are
definitely talking with each other.
• Many peripheral devices are actually computers in their own
right.
• Wi-Fi also serves as a PAN technology, since Wi-Fi is also used
over a small area (especially in cars).

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PAN example

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P2P = Peer-to-Peer
• Peer-to-peer is a network model in which
computers or hardware devices exchange files.
• Some experts describe it as an “equal client”
system where instead of accessing files from a
server, the “peer” computers just swap them
amongst each other.

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Types of Networks
• LAN
• WAN
• VLAN
• SAN
• WLAN
• Internet
• Extranet
Can you appreciate how globalisation
• VPN
has been accelerated by the technical
• PAN
advances linked to network
• P2P
development?
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 Network
fundamentals
IB Computer Science

Content developed by
Dartford Grammar School
Computer Science Department
HL Topics 1-7, D1-4

1: System design 2: Computer 3: Networks 4: Computational

Organisation thinking

5: Abstract data 6: Resource 7: Control D: OOP

structures management

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 1: System design

HL & SL 3 Overview 2: Computer

Organisation

Network fundamentals
3.1.1 Identify different types of networks 3: Networks
3.1.2 Outline the importance of standards in the construction of networks
3.1.3 Describe how communication over networks is broken down into different layers
3.1.4 Identify the technologies required to provide a VPN 4: Computational
3.1.5 Evaluate the use of a VPN thinking
Data transmission
3.1.6 Define the terms: protocol, data packet
5: Abstract data
3.1.7 Explain why protocols are necessary structures
3.1.8 Explain why the speed of data transmission across a network can vary

3.1.9 Explain why compression of data is often necessary when transmitting across a network 6: Resource
3.1.10 Outline the characteristics of different transmission media management
3.1.11 Explain how data is transmitted by packet switching
Wireless networking
3.1.12 Outline the advantages and disadvantages of wireless networks 7: Control
3.1.13 Describe the hardware and software components of a wireless network
3.1.14 Describe the characteristics of wireless networks
3.1.15 Describe the different methods of network security
D: OOP
3.1.16 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each method of network security

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Topic 3.1.2
Outline the importance of standards in
the construction of networks

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Standards are important!
• Standards play an important role in networking.
• Without standards, manufacturers of networking products
have no common ground on which to build their systems.
• Interconnecting products from various vendors would be
difficult, if not impossible.
• Without agreed standards, communication would be
difficult (if not impossible)

Content developed by Dartford Grammar School Computer Science Department

 Network
fundamentals
IB Computer Science

Content developed by
Dartford Grammar School
Computer Science Department
HL Topics 1-7, D1-4

1: System design 2: Computer 3: Networks 4: Computational

Organisation thinking

5: Abstract data 6: Resource 7: Control D: OOP

structures management

Content developed by Dartford Grammar School Computer Science Department

 1: System design

HL & SL 3 Overview 2: Computer

Organisation

Network fundamentals
3.1.1 Identify different types of networks 3: Networks
3.1.2 Outline the importance of standards in the construction of networks
3.1.3 Describe how communication over networks is broken down into different layers
3.1.4 Identify the technologies required to provide a VPN 4: Computational
3.1.5 Evaluate the use of a VPN thinking
Data transmission
3.1.6 Define the terms: protocol, data packet
5: Abstract data
3.1.7 Explain why protocols are necessary structures
3.1.8 Explain why the speed of data transmission across a network can vary

3.1.9 Explain why compression of data is often necessary when transmitting across a network 6: Resource
3.1.10 Outline the characteristics of different transmission media management
3.1.11 Explain how data is transmitted by packet switching
Wireless networking
3.1.12 Outline the advantages and disadvantages of wireless networks 7: Control
3.1.13 Describe the hardware and software components of a wireless network
3.1.14 Describe the characteristics of wireless networks
3.1.15 Describe the different methods of network security
D: OOP
3.1.16 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each method of network security

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Topic 3.1.3
Describe how communication over
networks is broken down into
different layers

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 Exam note!
This curriculum point requires you to have an
awareness of the seven-layer OSI-model, but an
understanding of the functioning of each layer
is not required.

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 Simplified TCP/IP Model

Application • Program that sends out

the data (HTML/SMTP)

• Data is broken into

Transmission packets (TCP)

• Packets are addressed

Network with destination and
sender’s address

• Packets are converted

Link into binary and sent

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 Network
fundamentals
IB Computer Science

Content developed by
Dartford Grammar School
Computer Science Department
HL Topics 1-7, D1-4

1: System design 2: Computer 3: Networks 4: Computational

Organisation thinking

5: Abstract data 6: Resource 7: Control D: OOP

structures management

Content developed by Dartford Grammar School Computer Science Department

 1: System design

HL & SL 3 Overview 2: Computer

Organisation

Network fundamentals
3.1.1 Identify different types of networks 3: Networks
3.1.2 Outline the importance of standards in the construction of networks
3.1.3 Describe how communication over networks is broken down into different layers
3.1.4 Identify the technologies required to provide a VPN 4: Computational
3.1.5 Evaluate the use of a VPN thinking
Data transmission
3.1.6 Define the terms: protocol, data packet
5: Abstract data
3.1.7 Explain why protocols are necessary structures
3.1.8 Explain why the speed of data transmission across a network can vary

3.1.9 Explain why compression of data is often necessary when transmitting across a network 6: Resource
3.1.10 Outline the characteristics of different transmission media management
3.1.11 Explain how data is transmitted by packet switching
Wireless networking
3.1.12 Outline the advantages and disadvantages of wireless networks 7: Control
3.1.13 Describe the hardware and software components of a wireless network
3.1.14 Describe the characteristics of wireless networks
3.1.15 Describe the different methods of network security
D: OOP
3.1.16 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each method of network security

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Topic 3.1.4
Identify the technologies required to
provide a VPN

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 See 3.1.1

VPN = Virtual Private Network

• It uses the internet to allow people to log into a network
remotely and access its resources, but encrypts the connection
to thwart eavesdroppers.
• If your company sets you up with a VPN, you can access your
corporate intranet, file servers or email from home or a coffee
shop – just as if you were using it in your office.
• This makes VPN a popular way to support remote workers,
especially in fields where privacy is paramount, such as health
care.

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VPN

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Two fundamental VPN technologies
• Encryption is the process of encoding data so that only a
computer with the right decoder will be able to read and use
it.
• Tunnelling involves establishing and maintaining a logical
network connection (that may contain intermediate hops).
On this connection, packets constructed in a specific VPN
protocol format are encapsulated within some other base or
carrier protocol, then transmitted between VPN client and
server, and finally de-encapsulated on the receiving side

In a VPN, the computers at each end of the tunnel encrypt the

data entering the tunnel and decrypt it at the other end.
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Tunnelling

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Video: How VPNs work

YouTube link: https://youtu.be/_wQTRMBAvzg

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Basic checklist for VPN
 A LAN that is connected to the internet.
 One computer outside of the LAN that is also
connected to the internet.
 VPN client and server running on the lone machine
and the original LAN
 Internet connection

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 Network
fundamentals
IB Computer Science

Content developed by
Dartford Grammar School
Computer Science Department
HL Topics 1-7, D1-4

1: System design 2: Computer 3: Networks 4: Computational

Organisation thinking

5: Abstract data 6: Resource 7: Control D: OOP

structures management

Content developed by Dartford Grammar School Computer Science Department

 1: System design

HL & SL 3 Overview 2: Computer

Organisation

Network fundamentals
3.1.1 Identify different types of networks 3: Networks
3.1.2 Outline the importance of standards in the construction of networks
3.1.3 Describe how communication over networks is broken down into different layers
3.1.4 Identify the technologies required to provide a VPN 4: Computational
3.1.5 Evaluate the use of a VPN thinking
Data transmission
3.1.6 Define the terms: protocol, data packet
5: Abstract data
3.1.7 Explain why protocols are necessary structures
3.1.8 Explain why the speed of data transmission across a network can vary

3.1.9 Explain why compression of data is often necessary when transmitting across a network 6: Resource
3.1.10 Outline the characteristics of different transmission media management
3.1.11 Explain how data is transmitted by packet switching
Wireless networking
3.1.12 Outline the advantages and disadvantages of wireless networks 7: Control
3.1.13 Describe the hardware and software components of a wireless network
3.1.14 Describe the characteristics of wireless networks
3.1.15 Describe the different methods of network security
D: OOP
3.1.16 Evaluate the advantages and disadvantages of each method of network security

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Topic 3.1.5
Evaluate the use of a VPN

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 See 3.1.1

VPN = Virtual Private Network

• It uses the internet to allow people to log into a network
remotely and access its resources, but encrypts the connection
to thwart eavesdroppers.
• If your company sets you up with a VPN, you can access your
corporate intranet, file servers or email from home or a coffee
shop – just as if you were using it in your office.
• This makes VPN a popular way to support remote workers,
especially in fields where privacy is paramount, such as health
care.

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VPN

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The rise of telecommuting
• Through a VPN, it is possible to connect to a LAN that is
protected from outside access through the internet.
• Therefore, it is possible for workers to connect to a
company's internal network from almost anywhere in the
world.
• This gave rise to home offices, as many office jobs do not
require consultation and hence can be completed from
home.
• This remote working is also called telecommuting.

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 Exam note!
This curriculum point requires you to evaluate the
different options.
That is exam speak for knowing/discussing
advantages, disadvantages and for comparing them
against one another to arrive at a conclusion.

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A perspective on telecommuting

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=R2whPdnCGrM

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