Computer Studies Notes

Introduction to Computer Networks

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Computer Networks
While one computer can be useful on its

own, several networked computers can be

much more useful. Computer networks
help users on the network to share the
resources and in communication.

A computer network is a set

of computers connected together for the

purpose of sharing resources.

A computer network consists of a collection of computers, printers and other equipment that is connected
together so that they can communicate with each other. Computers may connect to each other either by
wired or wireless media. The computers on a network may be linked through cables, telephone lines, radio

waves, satellites, or infrared light

beams.

The main uses of computer

network are:

 Communication
 Sharing Resources

 Sharing Software
 Data Sharing

Computer networks differ in

 The transmission media used

to carry their signals,

 the communications protocols to organize network traffic,

 the network's size,

 topology and
 organizational intent

A network can be as small as distance between your mobile phone and its Bluetooth headphone and as large
as the internet itself, covering the whole geographical world

Broadly speaking, there are two types of network configuration, peer-to-peer networks and client/server
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networks.
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Prepared by C Nyamazana
 Computer Studies Notes
Introduction to Computer Networks
computers.maranatha@gmail.com
Peer-to-peer networks are more commonly implemented where less than ten computers are involved and

where strict security is not necessary. All computers have the same status, hence the term 'peer', and they
communicate with each other on an equal footing. Files, such as word processing or spreadsheet documents,

can be shared across the network and all the computers on the network can share devices, such as printers
or scanners, which are connected to any one computer.

Client/server networks are more suitable for larger networks. A central computer, or 'server', acts as the

storage location for files and

applications shared on the network.

Types of computer networks

Depending upon the geographical
area covered by a network, it is
classified as

 Local Area Network (LAN)

 Metropolitan Area Network

(MAN)

 Wide Area Network (WAN)

 Personal Area Network (PAN)

Personal Area Network

A Personal Area Network (PAN) is smallest network which is very personal to a user. This may include

Bluetooth enabled devices or infra-red enabled devices. PAN has connectivity range up to 10 meters. PAN

may include wireless computer keyboard and mouse, Bluetooth enabled headphones, wireless printers and
TV remotes

Local Area Network

A LAN is a network that is used for communicating among computer devices, usually within an office building
or home.

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a large computer network that usually spans a city or a large campus.

Wide Area Network (WAN)

WAN covers a large geographic area such as country, continent or even whole of the world.
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Difference between LAN and WAN are as follows:

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 Computer Studies Notes
Introduction to Computer Networks
computers.maranatha@gmail.com
 LAN is restricted to limited geographical area of few kilometres. But WAN covers great distance and

operate nationwide or even worldwide.

 In LAN, the computer terminals and peripheral devices are connected with wires and coaxial cables. In

WAN there is no physical connection. Communication is done through telephone lines and satellite links.
 Cost of data transmission in LAN is less because the transmission medium is owned by a single

organisation. In case of WAN the cost of data transmission is very high because the transmission medium

used is hired either telephone lines or satellite links.

 The speed of data transmission is much higher in LAN than in WAN.

Wireless Networks
The term 'wireless network' refers to two or more
computers communicating using standard

network rules or protocols, but without the use

of cabling to connect the computers together.

Instead, the computers use wireless radio signals

to send information from one to the other. A

wireless local area network (WLAN) consists of

two key components: an access point (also called

a base station) and a wireless card. Information

can be transmitted between these two

components as long as they are fairly close together (up to 100 metres indoors or 350 metres outdoors).

Reasons for wireless networks

 Spaces where cabling is impossible e.g. historical buildings where renovation is prohibited for political

reasons

 People who move around a lot in their work environment e.g. network administrators, doctors, nurses

 People who travel a lot outside their work environment e.g. sales executives, directors, journalists, and
highway police patrol officers, etc.

 Temporary installations e.g. temporary departments, offices and branches set up for a specific purpose
that will be removed later

Network Protocol
Network Protocol is a set of rules that governs the communications between computers on a network.
Network protocols were created to allow computers to communicate in an organized manner without any
room for misinterpretation.
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 Computer Studies Notes
Introduction to Computer Networks
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Some of the more common ones are TCP, IP, UDP, POP, SMTP, HTTP, and FTP

Advantages of Networking
 It allows sharing of information over the network. Resources include data, application and peripherals.

E.g. Instead of buying printers for each member of the organization, one printer can be shared on the
network, print jobs can be properly handled in a queue according to set priorities.

 Centralized data management – Enables you to store data at a central location such as a server. This
helps to keep data reliable and up to date.

 It facilitates online communication (sending messages) e.g. email communication, and video conferencing
where virtual meetings can take place between users in different locations.

 It allows scheduling. Scheduling refers to the act of setting dates of events, activities and appointments
so that every member in the organization is made aware of upcoming events. E.g. Microsoft Shared

calendars.
 Sharing of expensive software and database files

 Sharing of expensive hardware resources such as printers

 Improved and faster communication

 It enables distribution of work and processing loads

 Improved security system monitored from a central point

Disadvantages of networks
 Initial setup cost is high for purchasing PCs, cables, hubs, servers, MODEM, telephone, network cards,

network software etc.

 Networks need technical expertise to setup and manage the network such as engineers, technicians and
systems administrators

 Viruses can spread easily on the network

 There is a risk of unauthorized access to sensitive data if no proper security measures and access levels
are put in place
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 Computer Studies Notes
Introduction to Computer Networks
computers.maranatha@gmail.com
The following are essential components
for computer networking.

1. Network hardware
2. Transmission media

3. Network software

The basic component of computer

network hardware is a computer.

Computers on a network can be divided
into two categories,

1. server and
2. clients

Server is the computer of higher power, and speed. It costs more. To this computer resources are attached.

And the clients access the resources which are attached to server. Networks on which all computers have
equal status are called peer-to-peer networks. In peer to peer computer networks there are no servers.

A server which is used for the

central storage of files is called

a file server. Using a file server,

users can access their work

from anywhere on the network.

They can also make these files

available to users on other

computers. File servers also

enable users to co-operate on

a task by centralising the results

of their work.

A computer attached to a printer which users can access is called a print server. Having a single printer rather
than a printer attached to each computer obviously saves capital.

An increasingly important type of server is an applications server. In the case of applications servers,
application packages are not installed on the workstations but on the applications server.

A communications server is a computer dedicated to connecting a network to the outside world. These are
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often called proxy servers.

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 Computer Studies Notes
Introduction to Computer Networks
computers.maranatha@gmail.com
Network Card
Each card has its own method of sending information (network protocol) through the cable. A network card
is called Interface card, network adapter, a NIC etc.

It is a circuit board or chip which allows the computer to communicate to other computers on a network.

Modem (MODulator / DEModulator)

A modem converts digital signals (computer signals) from the

computer into analogue signals for transmission and vice versa

for reception over a telephone line.

Switch
Computer networking device that connects devices together on a computer network,

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 Computer Studies Notes
Introduction to Computer Networks
computers.maranatha@gmail.com
Hubs
A hub is used to connect multiple computers and devices via a dedicated cable.

Router
These are used to connect
networks and to determine the

optimal path along which the

network traffic should be

forwarded.

A router has a lot more

capabilities than other network

devices, such as a hub or a

switch that are only able to

perform basic network

functions. For example, a hub is

often used to transfer data

between computers or network

devices, but does not analyse

or do anything with the data it

is transferring. By contrast,
routers can analyse the data
being sent over a network,
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change how it is packaged, and send it to another network

Prepared by C Nyamazana
 Computer Studies Notes
Introduction to Computer Networks
computers.maranatha@gmail.com
Bridge

Network topology
A network topology

is the arrangement
with which
computer systems

or network devices

are connected to
each other. The
topology of a

network is the

geometric representation of the relationship of all the links and linking devices to one another. There are four
basic topologies possible: mesh, star, bus, and ring

Bus network topology

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 Computer Studies Notes
Introduction to Computer Networks
computers.maranatha@gmail.com
Under this topology the workstations (aka

terminals or nodes) are connected to a single

cable that runs the entire length of the network.

Data travels through the cables (also called the

bus) directly from the sending workstation to the
receiving workstation.

Advantage of bus network topology

 It is simple to lay and maintain
 It is cheap to setup since it does not involve additional hardware like the hub

Disadvantages of the bus network topology

 The whole network goes down if the cable(bus) develops a fault

 Heavy network traffic can slow a bus considerably because any computer can transmit at any time. But
networks do not coordinate when information is sent. Computers interrupting each other can use a lot

of bandwidth.

 Each connection between two cables weakens the electrical signal.

 The bus configuration can be difficult to find and can cause the whole networks to stop functioning.

Star network topology

Under this topology, all workstations are

connected directly and individually to the

central hub. All messages pass through the

central hub.

Advantage of the star network

 Fault on one workstation does not

affect the whole network as in the ring

network topology
 It is easy to replace, install or remove hosts or other devices, the problem can be easily detected
 It has good performance

Disadvantage of star networks

 Fault on the hub makes the whole network go down
 It is expensive to install as it requires more cable, it costs more to cable a star network because all network
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cables must be pulled to one central point, requiring more cable length than other networking topologies.
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 Central node dependency, if central hub fails, the whole network fails to operate.

Prepared by C Nyamazana
 Computer Studies Notes
Introduction to Computer Networks
computers.maranatha@gmail.com
Ring network topology
Under this network topology, all terminals are

linked to form a circle or ring configuration as

shown in the diagram. Message from the
sending terminal is passed to the next terminal
until it gets to the receiving destination terminal.

Advantages
 Ring networks offer high performance

for a small number of workstations or for larger

networks where each station has a similar workload.

 Ring networks can span longer distances than other types of networks.
 Ring networks are easily extendable.

 Unlike Bus topology, there is no signal loss in Ring topology because the tokens are data packets that are
re-generated at each node.

Disadvantages
 Relatively expensive and difficult to install
 Failure of one computer on the network can affect the whole network.

 It is difficult to find fault in a ring network.

 Adding or removing computers can disrupt the network.

 It is much slower than an Ethernet network under normal load.

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