CHAPTER - 12

COMPUTER NETWORK
Introduction
The concept of Network is not new. In simple terms it means an interconnected set of some
objects. For decades we are familiar with the Radio, Television, railway, Highway, Bank and
other types of networks. In recent years, the network that is making significant impact in our
day-to-day life is the Computer network. By computer network we mean an interconnected set of
autonomous computers.

DATA COMMUNICATIONS
When we communicate, we are sharing information. This sharing can be local or remote.
Between individuals, local communication usually occurs face to face, while remote
communication takes place over distance. The term telecommunication, which includes
telephony, telegraphy, and television, means communication at a distance (tele is Greek for
"far").
Data communications are the exchange of data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable. The effectiveness of a data communications system
depends on four fundamental characteristics: delivery, accuracy, timeliness, and jitter.
Delivery. The system must deliver data to the correct destination.
Accuracy. The system must deliver the data accurately.
Timeliness. The system must deliver data in a timely manner.
Jitter. Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time.

COMPONENTS.
A data communications system has five components

Sender. The sender is the device that sends the data message.
Receiver. The receiver is the device that receives the message.
Transmission medium. The transmission medium is the physical path by which a message
travels from sender to receiver.
Protocol. A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications
 Transmission Modes in Computer Networks
Transmission mode means transferring of data between two devices. It is also called
communication mode. These modes direct the direction of flow of information. There are three
types of transmission mode. They are :

 Simplex Mode
 Half duplex Mode
 Full duplex Mode

Simplex
In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street. Only one of the
two devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive.
Keyboards and traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices. The keyboard can only
introduce input; the monitor can only accept output.

Half-Duplex
In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same time. When
one device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa
The half-duplex mode is like a one-lane road with traffic allowed in both directions. When cars
are traveling in one direction, cars going the other way must wait. In a half-duplex transmission,
the entire capacity of a channel is taken over by whichever of the two devices is transmitting at
the time. Walkie-talkies and CB (citizens band) radios are both half-duplex systems

Full-Duplex
In full-duplex mode (also called duplex), both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously.
One common example of full-duplex communication is the telephone network. When two people
are communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same time.

NETWORK TOPOLOGIES
Topology refers to the way in which the network of computers is connected. Each topology is
suited to specific tasks and has its own advantages and disadvantages. The choice of topology is
dependent upon type and number of equipment being used, planned applications and rate of data
transfer required, response time, and cost.
Topology can be defined as the geometrically interconnection pattern by which the stations
(nodes/computers) are connected using suitable transmission media
There are four basic topologies mesh, star, bus, and ring.

Mesh Topology
In this topology each node or station is connected to every other station.The key characteristics
of this topology are as follows:
Key Characteristic
 Fully Connected.
 Robust-Highly reliable
 Not Flexible
 Poor expandability
Two nodes are connected by dedicated point-point links between them. So the total number of
links to connect n nodes = n(n-1)/2. Media used for the connection (links) can be twisted pair,
co-axial cable or optical fiber.
Mesh topology is not flexible and has poor expandability as to add new node n links have to be
laid because that new node has to be connected to each of the existing nodes via dedicated link.
For the same reason the cost of cabling will be very high for a larger area. And due to these
reasons this topology is rarely used in practice.

Bus Topology
In Bus Topology, all stations attach through appropriate hardware interfacing known as a tap,
directly to a linear transmission medium, or bus. Full-duplex operation between the station and
the tap allows data to be transmitted onto the bus and received from the bus. A transmission
from any station propagates the length of the medium in both directions and can be received by
all other stations. At each end of the bus there is a terminator, which absorbs any signal,
preventing reflection of signal from the endpoints. If the terminator is not present, the endpoint
acts like a mirror and reflects the signal back causing interference and other problems
Key Characteristics of this topology are:
 Flexible
 Expandable
 Moderate Reliability
 Moderate performance

STAR Topology
In the star topology, each station is directly connected to a common central node as shown in
Fig. below. Typically, each station attaches to a central node, referred to as the star coupler, via
two point-to-point links, one for transmission and one for reception.
Key Features.
 High Speed
 Very Flexible
 Very Reliable
 High Maintainability

Ring topology
In Ring Topology all devices are connected to one another in the shape of a closed loop, so that
each device is connected directly to two other devices, one on either side of it, i.e., the ring
topology connects workstations in a closed loop. Each terminal is connected to two other
terminals (the next and the previous), with the last terminal being connected to the first. Data is
transmitted around the ring in one direction only; each station passing on the data to the next
station till it reaches its destination.

Questions:

1. List various component of computer network.

2. Define computer network.
3. What are various network topologies?
Network Protocols
A network protocol defines rules and conventions for communication between network
devices. Network protocols include mechanisms for devices to identify and make connections
with each other, as well as formatting rules that specify how data is packaged into sent and
received messages. Some protocols also support message acknowledgment and data compression
designed for reliable and/or high-performance network communication.

Modern protocols for computer networking all generally use packet switching techniques to send
and receive messages in the form of packets — messages subdivided into pieces that are
collected and reassembled at their destination. Hundreds of different computer network protocols
have been developed, each designed for specific purposes and environments.

Internet Protocols

The Internet Protocol (IP) family contains a set of related (and among the most widely used)
network protocols. Beside Internet Protocol itself, higher-level protocols like TCP, UDP, HTTP,
and FTP all integrate with IP to provide additional capabilities. Similarly, lower-level Internet
Protocols like ARP and ICMP also coexist with IP. In general, higher-level protocols in the IP
family interact more closely with applications like web browsers, while lower-level protocols
interact with network adapters and other computer hardware.

Wireless Network Protocols

Thanks to Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, and LTE, wireless networks have become commonplace. Network
protocols designed for use on wireless networks must support roaming mobile devices and deal
with issues such as variable data rates and network security.

Network Routing Protocols

Routing protocols are special-purpose protocols designed specifically for use by network routers
on the internet. A routing protocol can identify other routers, manage the pathways (called
routes) between sources and destinations of network messages, and make dynamic routing
decisions. Common routing protocols include EIGRP, OSPF, and BGP.

Network Architecture

Computer Network Architecture is defined as the physical and logical design of the software,
hardware, protocols, and media of the transmission of data. Simply we can say that how
computers are organized and how tasks are allocated to the computer.
The two types of network architectures are used:

 Peer-To-Peer network
 Client/Server network

Peer-To-Peer network

 Peer-To-Peer network is a network in which all the computers are linked together
with equal privilege and responsibilities for processing the data.
 Peer-To-Peer network is useful for small environments, usually up to 10 computers.
 Peer-To-Peer network has no dedicated server.
 Special permissions are assigned to each computer for sharing the resources, but this can
lead to a problem if the computer with the resource is down.
Advantages Of Peer-To-Peer Network:

1. It is less costly as it does not contain any dedicated server.

2. If one computer stops working but, other computers will not stop working.

3. It is easy to set up and maintain as each computer manages itself.

Disadvantages Of Peer-To-Peer Network:

1. In the case of Peer-To-Peer network, it does not contain the centralized system.
Therefore, it cannot back up the data as the data is different in different locations.

2. It has a security issue as the device is managed itself.

Client/Server Network

Client/Server network is a network model designed for the end users called clients, to access the
resources such as songs, video, etc. from a central computer known as Server.

The central controller is known as a server while all other computers in the network are called
clients.

A server performs all the major operations such as security and network management.

A server is responsible for managing all the resources such as files, directories, printer, etc.

All the clients communicate with each other through a server. For example, if client1 wants to
send some data to client 2, then it first sends the request to the server for the permission. The
server sends the response to the client 1 to initiate its communication with the client 2.
Advantages Of Client/Server network:

1. A Client/Server network contains the centralized system. Therefore we can back up

the data easily.

2. A Client/Server network has a dedicated server that improves the overall performance of
the whole system.

3. Security is better in Client/Server network as a single server administers the

shared resources.

4. It also increases the speed of the sharing resources.

Disadvantages Of Client/Server network:

1. Client/Server network is expensive as it requires the server with large memory.

2. A server has a Network Operating System(NOS) to provide the resources to the

clients, but the cost of NOS is very high.

3. It requires a dedicated network administrator to manage all the resources.