COMMUNICATION AND NETWORKING CONCEPTS

(1) Network – An interconnected collection of individual computers for exchanging

information.

(2)Need for Networking :-

(a) Resource sharing–Sharing of data,programs and peripherals.
(b) Reliability–A file can be retrieved in case of crash since a file have many copies on 2 or 3
different machines in the network.
(c) cost factor-better performance.
(d) communication medium – Modifications done at one end can be immediately noticed at
another end of network.

(3)ARPANET – Advanced Research Project Agency Network.First network in 1969.Used to

connect computers at different universities and U.S.Defense.

(4)NSF – National Science Foundation.Developed in 1980s.High capacity network than

ARPANET.Allowed only the academic research on its network but not any kind of private
business.

(5)INTERNET–Inter Networking.Linking of 2 or more networks i.e.ARPANET,NSFnet and

some private network.World-wide network of computer networks.Super network.

(6)Backbone – A central interconnecting structure that connects one or more networks.

(7)Gateway- Device that connects dissimilar networks.It establishes an intelligent connection

between a local network and external network with completely different structures.It serves a s
an entrance to another network.

(8)Interspace-Client/server software program that allows multiple users to communicate online

with real-time audio,video and text chat in dynamic 3D environment.

(9)Protocol-It is a formal description of message formats and the rules that 2 or more machine
must follow to exchange those messages.

(10)TCP –Transmission Control Protocol.Responsible for dividing the message into packets
on the source computer and reassembling the received packets at the destination computer.
IP – Internet Protocol.Responsible for handling the address of the destination computer so that
each packet is routed to its proper destination.

(11)Node-Every computer that is connected to a network is called node.

(12)Server-A computer that facilitates the sharing of data,software and hardware resources on a
network.2 types of servers namely,
(i)Dedicated server – A computer that does the job of only a server is called dedicated
server.Also called file server.
(ii)Non-dedicated server – A computer which works as a workstation as well as a server.It is
slower than dedicated server and requires more memory.

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(13)NIU- Network Interface Unit.It is an interpreter that establishes communication between
server and workstation.NIU is also called NIC(Network Interface Card).

(14)TAP-Terminal Access Point.NIU is also called TAP.

(15)MAC Address- Medium Access Control Address.Unique physical address to each NIC
card assigned by NIC manufacturer.

(16)Switching techniques–Used for transmitting data across networks.3 types namely,

(i)Circuit switching - Complete physical connection between 2 computers is established.Data
are transmitted from the source to destination computer.

(ii)Message switching – The source computer sends data or message to the switching office first
which stores the data in its buffer.It then looks for a free link to another switching office and
then sends data to switching office.This process is continued until data reaches the destination.It
is known as Store and forward.Data is stored in disk.There is no limit on block size.

(iii)Packet switching – A fixed size of packet can be transmitted across the network.All the
packets are stored in main memory.Access time is reduced,thus this improves the performance
of the network.

(17)Data Channel – A medium used to carry information or data from one point to another.

(18)Baud – It is the unit of measurement for the information carrying capacity of a

communication channel.

(19)Bandwidth – The difference between the highest and lowest frequencies of a transmission
channel.(or)
Bandwidth is data speed in bits per second(bps).High bandwidth channels are called
broadband channels and low bandwidth channels are called narrowband channels.

(20)Data Transfer Rate – It refers to the speed at which data transfer is measured.
Bps -bits per second.
Bps -Bytes per second.
KBps -Kilo Bytes per second(Thousand bytes)
MBps -Mega Bytes per second(Million Bytes)
TBps -Tera Bytes per second(Trillion Bytes)

(21)Transmission Media – Connecting cables or connecting media between 2 or more

workstations.

(22)Twisted Pair – The most common transmission media is Twisted Pair.Common Application
–Telephone system.Used for transmitting either analog or digital signal.It consists of 2 identical
wires wrapped together in a double helix. Twisting of wires reduce Crosstalk.

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 Advantages Disadvantages
1.It is simple,easy to install & maintain. 1.It cannot be used for long distance
transmission.
2.It is cheap. 2. It cannot be used for broad band application.

(23) Coaxial cables –It consists of copper wire, as core surrounded by one or more foil or wire
shield separated by insulator.The core carries the signal and shield provides the ground.Widely
used for cable television networks around metropolitan cities.
Advantages Disadvantages
1.Good combination of high bandwidth(upto 1.Expensive than twisted pair cable.
400 MBPS) and excellent noise immnunity.
2.suitable for high speed communication. 2. Not compatible with twisted pair cables.

(24) Fibre optic cables – Fibre optic consists of 3 key components – 1.Light source
2.Transmission medium 3.Detector.Fibre optic consists of thin strands of glass or glass like
material which carries light from source end of the fibre to the detector at other end.It is
unidirectional data transmission system that accepts an electrical signal,converts it by light
pulses and then reconverts the output to an electric signal at the receiving end.The fibre optic
cable consists of 3 pieces-1.the core 2.cladding 3.protective coating.Core-the glass or plastic
through which light travels.Cladding-covering the core that reflects light back to the
core.Protective coating-protects the fibre cable from hostile environment.
Advantages Disadvantages
1.It is immune to noise such as electric and 1.It is costly.
magnetic interference
2.Data is transmitted at faster rate. 2.Installation and maintenance is very difficult.
3.It has high transmission capacity. 3.Connecting 2 fibre optic is difficult.
4.Used for broad band transmission. 4.Because of noise immunity,fibre optics are
virtually impossible to tap.

(25)Microwave Link – Microwave signals are used to transmit data without the use of cables for
long distance communication such as telephone communication,mobile phones,television.It
consists of transmitter,receiver and atmosphere.It uses just simple towers and antennas at each
end. Advantages Disadvantages
1.Cheaper than fibre optic cables. 1.Insecure communication and cost of design,
maintenance is high.
2.Very easy communication over difficult 2.Transmission gets affected due to weather
terrain and over oceans. effects like thunder,storm,rain.

(26)Radio link – Transmission making use of radio frequency.It can travel over long distances
and can penetrate buildings easily used for indoor and outdoor communication.It consists of
1.Transmitter and 2.Receiver.The transmitter encodes the message into sine wave and transmits
message along with radio wave.The receiver receives the radio wave and encodes the sine wave
to message.Both transmitter and receiver use antennas.
Advantages Disadvantages
1.It offers mobility. 1.Insecure communication.
2.It is cheaper.Very easy communication over 2.Affected with weather condition like
difficult terrain. thunder,storm,rain.

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(27)Satellite link – When radio wave frequency is higher than 3 GHz,it is called Microwave
Satellite Communication.It uses the synchronous satellite to relay the radio signal transmitted
from ground station.In this system,the earth station consists of satellite dish that functions as an
antenna and connecting equipment to transmit and receive data from satellite passing
overhead.The satellite accepts data/signals transmitted from earth station, amplify them and
retransmits them to another station.
Advantages Disadvantages
1.Area coverage is large. 1.Investment cost is high.
2.It is fast in communication. 2.Over crowding of available bandwidth due to
low antenna gain.

(28)Infrared – It is unguided media which uses infrared light for data transmission for short
range of communication.TV Remote Control,Stereos make use of infrared transmission.
Advantage Disadvantage
1.It is cheap. No Government license is needed 1.Do not pass through solid objects.
to operate infrared transmission.

(29)Modem – Modulator Demodulator – Device connected between the computer(digital) and

the telephone system(analog) to perform Modulation and Demodulation Processes.
Modulation – The process of converting digital signals to analog signals.
Demodulation - The process of converting analog signals to digital signals.
2 types of Modems namely,
(i)Internal modem – fixed within the computer.
(ii)External modem – connected externally to a computer.

(30)RJ45-Registered Jack-45.It is an 8 wire connector to connect computer to LAN.It is similar

to telephone converter.

(31)Ethernet card-It is a LAN architecture developed by Xerox Corporation in association with

DEC and Intel.It uses bus or star topology and support data transfer upto 10 Mbps.The
computers that are part of Ethernet have to install a special card called Ethernet card.

(32)HUB – It is a device used to connect several computers together. Hubs are multi-slot
concentrators into which a number of multi-port cards can be plugged to provide additional
access as the network grow in size.HUB causes network traffic.So HUB is not intelligent
because it broadcasts all information to all connected computers, including the one that sent it.
2 types namely,
Active HUB – Amplifies the signal from one connected device to another.
Passive HUB – Allows the signal from one device to another.

(33)Switch - It is a device used to segment networks into different sub networks called subnets
or LAN segments.It is a smart device.It can identify the intended destination and send the
information only to the target computer(s).It does not share the bandwidth among all its
connected computers.As a result,no unnecessary traffic generated.It can send and receive
information at the same time.But it is expensive than hubs.

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(34)Repeater – It is a network device that amplifies and restores signals for long distance
transmission(for distance more than 100 meters but practically more than 70 meters.) It is used in
long network lines. Repeaters are of 2 kinds namely,
(i)Amplifier- amplifies both signal and noise.
(ii)Signal Repeater – collects the inbound packet and then retransmits the packet as if it were
starting from the source station.

(35)Router – It is a network device that is used to separate different segments in a network to

improve performance and reliability.It can handle different protocols.Routers filter network
traffic based on IP addresses.The IP address tells the router which LAN segment the network
traffic(data packets) belongs to. Router uses logical address (address generated by CPU).For
example, a router can link Ethernet to a mainframe,

(36)Bridge – It is a network device that establishes an intelligent connection between the local
networks with same protocol but with different types of cables.Bridge uses physical address
(address associated with memory location).It examines the physical destination address of the
packet.

(37)Bus Topology –It consists of a single length of the transmission medium(coaxial cable) onto
which the various nodes are connected.It is a linear network.The transmission from any station
travels the length of the bus, in both directions, and can be received by all other stations.The
Bus has terminators at either end which absorb the signal, after removing it from the bus.
Advantages Disadvantages
1.Simple wiring and short cable length is 1.Fault diagnosis is difficult.
required.
2.Installation cost is cheap, easy to maintain. 2.Fault isolation is difficult.
3.Additional nodes can be connected easily. 3.Nodes must be intelligent.

(38)Star Topology – This topology consists of a central node to which all nodes are connected
by a single path.It is used in networks involving data processing or voice communication.It is
used in areas where intelligence in the network is concentrated at the central node.
Advantages Disadvantages
1.Easy to service and maintenance. 1.Long cable length is required.
2.Simple Access Protocol. 2.It is difficult to expand a new node.
3.Fault detection and isolation is easy. 3.The network depends on central node.

(39)Ring Topology – It is also called as circular topology.Each node is connected to 2 and only
neighbouring nodes.Data is accepted from one of the neighbouring nodes and is transmitted
onwards to another.Data travels in one direction.
Advantages Disadvantages
1.Short cable length compared to bus topology 1.Node failure causes network failure.
which increases network reliability.
2.It is easy to use optical fibre as medium of 2.It is difficult to diagnose fault.
transmission.

(40)Tree Topology – A variation of bus topology is the tree topology.The shape of the network is
that of an inverted tree,with the central root branching and sub-branching to the extremities of
the network.Data transmission is similar to bus topology.It is a hybrid topology of pure network

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topology and bus topology.It is suited for applications which have a hierarchial flow of data
and control.

(41)PAN – Personal Area Network – It is the interconnection of information technology

devices within the range of an individual person within a range of 10 m using wireless
technology such as wi-fi.It is used to transfer files like email,calendar appointments,digital
photos and music etc from portable devices such as tablet,phone to PC and vice versa.

(42)LAN – Local Area Network – The small computer network that are confined to a localized
area e.g.office,building,factory.The objective of LAN is resource sharing.LAN users share
data,information,printer,hard disk,modem etc.The computer which stores all the software and
controls the network is called as File server.Computers connected to the file server are called
Workstation.

(43)MAN - Metropolitan Area Network - It is the network which spreads over a city.
(eg) Cable TV Network.

(44)WAN – Wide Area Network – It is the network which is spread across countries.It is a
group of computers that are separated by large distances and connected together.The WAN
facilitate fast and efficient exchange of information at lesser cost and higher speed.The largest
WAN in existence is the Internet.
LAN WAN
1.Diameter of not more than a few kilometer. 1.Span entire countries.
2.A total data rate of at least several mbps. 2.Data rate less than 1 mbps.(megabits per
second).
3.Complete ownership by a single 3.Owned by multiple organization.
organization.
4.Very low error rates. 4.Comparatively higher error rates.

(45)FTP – File Transfer Protocol – It is a standard for the exchange of files across internet.
1.to promote sharing of files.
2.to shield a user from variation in file storage system among host.
3.to transfer data reliably and efficiently.
4.It is a potent and popular way to share information over the internet.

(46)PPP – Point to Point Protocol – It is the internet standard for transmission of IP packets
over serial lines.It is currently the best solution for dial-up internet connections including ISDN.

(47)Telnet –It is an internet utility that lets you log onto remote computer system. It is used to
connect thousands of catalogs at libraries around the world for doing research work.

(48)Wireless Communication – It is simply a data connection without the use of landlines.

(49)Mobile Computing – This means that the computing device is not continuously connected to
the base or central network.Mobile devices such as Laptop,cellphones may communicate with
base location without wireless communication.

(50)GSM – Global System For Mobile Communication – It is one of the leading digital
cellular system.GSM uses narrow band TDMA, which allows 8 simultaneous calls on the same

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radio frequency.GSM digitizes and compresses voice data, then send it down a channel with
other streams of user data in its own slot.GSM uses encryption to make phone calls more secure.

(51)SIM - Subscriber Identity Module – It is a tiny computer chip that gives cellular device,
its unique phone number.It has memory, a processor and ability to interact with user.

(52)TDMA – Time Division Multiple Access – It works by dividing a radio frequency into time
slots and then allocating slots to multiple calls.In this way, a single frequency can support
multiple,simultaneous data channels.

(53)CDMA – Code Division Multiple Access – It is a digital cellular technology that uses a
spectrum technique where data is sent in small pieces over a number of discrete frequencies.Each
user’s signal is spread over the entire bandwidth by unique spreading code.At the receiver end,
the same unique code is used to recover the signal.

(54)WLL – Wireless in Local Loop – It is a system that connects subscribers to the public
switched telephone network(PSTN) using radio signals as a substitute for other connected media.

(55)EDGE – Enhanced Data rates for Global Evolution – It is a radio-based high speed
mobile data standard.It allows data transmission speeds of 384 Kbps to be achieved when all 8
timeslots are used.It was formerly called GSM384.

(56)Wi-Fi – Wireless Fidelity.It lets you connect to the internet without a direct line from our
PC to ISP.

(57)Hotspot – A hotspot is a venue that offers Wi-Fi access.

(58)GPRS – General Packet Radio Service.It is a technology for radio transmission of small
packets of data especially between mobile devices and internet.

(59)1G – Considered to be the first analog cellular systems, which started early 1980s.1G
networks were conceived and designed purely for voice calls with almost no consideration of
data services.

(60)2G – First digital cellular systems launched early 1990s offering improved sound quality,
better security and higher total capacity.GSM was introduced.

(61)3G – (Third Generation) – This mobile communication technology is a broadband, packet-

based transmission of text,digitized voice,video and multimedia at data rates upto and possibly
higher than 2 megabits per second.This offers a consistent set of services to mobile computer and
phone users no matter where they are located in the world.

(62) 4G – Fourth Generation of Mobile Computing. Faster than 3G. Follows LTE technology.
A 4G system provides mobile ultra-broadband Internet access, for example to laptops with USB wireless
modems, to smartphones, and to other mobile devices. Conceivable applications include
amended mobile web access,IP telephony, gaming services, high-definition mobile TV, video
conferencing, 3D television, and cloud computing.

(63) 5G - The main advantages of the 5G are  greater speed in the transmissions than 4G
 lower latency and therefore,  greater capacity of remote execution

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 greater number of connected devices  possibility of implementing virtual networks
(network slicing), providing more adjusted connectivity to concrete needs.

(64)SMS – Short Message Service – It is the transmission of short text messages to and from a
mobile phone,fax machine and/or IP address.

(65)IRC – Internet Relay Chat – Most common chat protocol.It is a simple, text-based
conferencing protocol, involving a number of users spread across a number of interconnected
servers.

(66)Video Conferencing Protocol –

(i)VoIP – Voice Over Internet Protocol–It is a technology that enables voice communications
over the internet through the compression of voice into data packets that can be efficiently
transmitted over data networks and then converted back into voice at the other end.
Eg: Skype.

(ii) H.323 – Standard that specifies the components,protocols and procedures that provide
multimedia communication services – realtime audio,video and data communications over
packet-based networks.

(iii)SIP – Session Initiation Protocol – It is an IP telephony signaling protocol used to establish,

modify and terminate VoIP telephone calls.SIP works with both IPv4 and IPv6.

(67)Wi –Max – It is a wireless digital communication system.Wimax does not depend on cables
to connect each endpoint, the Internet connectivity to an end-user is provided through
microwave link between the tower and the user-endpoint,known as Wi-Max Subscriber
Unit.WiMax offers data transfer rates of upto 75 Mbits which is superior to conventional cable
modem and DSL connections.

(68)SMTP - Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is an Internet standard for electronic mail
(e-mail) transmission across Internet Protocol (IP) networks. While electronic mail servers and
other mail transfer agents use SMTP to send and receive mail messages, user-level client mail
applications typically only use SMTP for sending messages to a mail server for relaying.

(69)POP3 - Post Office Protocol Version3 - It is a simple protocol used for opening the remote
e-mail boxes. POP3 server stores messages for each user until the user connects to download and
read them using a POP3 client such as Microsoft Outlook 98, Microsoft Outlook Express, or
Microsoft Mail and News.

(70)VIRUS – Vital Information Resource Under Siege – It is a malicious program that

requires a host and is designed to make a system sick,just like a real virus.

(71)Trojan Horse – It is code hidden in a program such as a game or spreadsheet that looks safe
to run but has hidden side effects. It acts as a backdoor entry.

(72)Worms – It is a program designed to replicate. It uses a network to send copies of itself to

other nodes and it may do so without any user intervention. It doesn’t require a host.

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(73)Spams – It refers to electronic junk mail or junk newsgroup postings or unsolicited mail.

(74)Cookies – These are text file messages that a web server transmits to a web browser so that
the web server can keep track of the user’s activity on a specific website.

(75)Firewall – The system (Hardware/Software) designed to prevent unauthorized access to or

from a private network. Firewalls are frequently used to prevent unauthorized internet users from
accessing private networks connected to the internet, especially intranets.

(76)India IT Act – In India,Cyber laws are contained in Information Technology Act, 2000(IT
Act 2000) which was notified on 17 october 2000.This Act aims to provide the legal
infrastructure for ecommerce in India by governing the transactions through the internet and
other electronic medium.

(77)Cyber Law – It is a generic term, which refers to all the legal and regulatory aspects of
Internet and the world wide web.

(78)Cyber Crimes – It is understood as “an unlawful act where in the computer is either a tool or
a target or both”.

(i) Phishing scams

Phishing is a practice of a cybercriminal or hacker attempting to obtain sensitive or personal

information from a computer user. This process is usually accomplished through phishing
websites which are designed to mimic a legitimate website in hopes that the unsuspecting
computer user will enter several bits of personal information such as their banking passwords,
home address or even social security number. To avoid phishing scams, we recommend using a
phishing filter feature on your web browser so that it can actively scan websites that you visit to
check if they have been identified as a phishing website.

(ii) Identity Theft scams

Cybercrooks who may have gained access to your credit card or banking account information
may use that information to make purchases in your name. Identity theft has been a major issue
even before the conception of the Internet but as you may already know, the virtual world has
made it much easier for criminals to utilize and steal your identity. One of the easiest and lest
expensive things to do to protect your identity is to closely monitor your accounts. If you notice
suspicious activity, you should report it to the proper authorities immediately. Be proactive and
do not waste time in these situations. Identity theft scams are very prevalent online and may
come in the form of a spam email, website or even an online pop-up survey. Phishing is a major
contributor to identity theft also.

(iii) Online Harassment

Harassment online is usually related to your social lifestyle and if you choose to use a popular
social network such as Facebook or Twitter. Online harassment can consist of threats sent
through email, instant message or through a social network message/post. Usually, it is simple to
report these threats to the social network you're being harassed on. Harassment can also be found
to result in cyberbullying kids.

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(iv) Cyberstalking

Cyberstalkers will go to great lengths to try to monitor a victims online activity. This may
include infecting a person's computer with malware that is able to log computer activity.
Cyberstalkers are also known to continually harass their potential victims. Cyberstalking cases
should also be reported to authorities, just like online harassment cases. Cyberstalkers may
contact a victim's colleagues, friends and other online contacts in an effort to slander them or
extract personal information from them.

(v) Invasion of privacy

The invasion of privacy is basically the act of someone attempting to intrude on a person's
personal life. This includes hacking into a person's computer, reading their emails or monitoring
online activities.

(79)IPR Issues – The Intellectual Property(IP) is defined as a product of the intellect that has
commercial value ,including copyrighted property such as literary or artistic works, and
ideational property.

(80)Hackers – Hackers are more interested in gaining knowledge about computer systems and
possibly using this knowledge for playful pranks

(81)Crackers – Crackers are the malicious programmers who break into secure systems.

(82)WWW – World Wide Web – The www is based upon clients and servers. A www client is
called Web Browser or Browser.A www server is called a Web Server or Server.

(83)Web Browser – It is a www client that navigates through the world wide web and display
webpages.

(84)Web server – It is a www server that responds to the request made by web browser.

(85)HTML- HyperText Markup Language – It is a document layout and hyperlink

specification language i.e. a language used to design the layout of a document and to specify the
hyperlinks.In HTML, both the tag semantics and the tag set are fixed.

(86)XML – Extensible Markup Language – It provides a facility to define tags and the
structural relationships between them.XML specifies neither semantics nor a tag set.

(87)HTTP – HyperText Transfer Protocol – It is the set of rules for transferring hypertext
(i.e.,text,graphics,image,sound,video etc.) on WWW(world wide web).

(88)URL – Uniform Resource Locator – A URL specifies the distinct address for each resource
on the internet.
Eg:www.youtube.com or http://www.youtube.com

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(89)Domain Name – An internet address which is character based is called a Domain Name.
Eg.youtube.com

(90)Domain Name System – The characters based naming system by which servers are identified
is also known as Domain Name System.

(91)Web site – A location on a net server is called a web site.

(92)Web Page – A document that uses HTTP is called a web page.

(93)Web Hosting – It is a means of hosting web server application on a computer system through
which electronic content on the internet is readily available to any web browser client.

(94)UMTS – Universal Mobile Telecommunication System.

(95)GPS – Global Positioning System. It is a worldwide radio-navigation system formed from a

constellation of 24 satellites and their ground stations.

(96)How does GSM work? Cell phones use a cell phone service carriers i.e.GSM network by
searching for cell phone towers in the nearby area.

(97)Difference between WLL and Cellular mobile phones

WLL is based on CDMA.
Mobiles are based on GSM.

(98)ESMTP: Extended Simple Mail Transfer Protocol .It allows multimedia files to be delivered
as email.

(99) IMAP: Internet Message Access Protocol. It provides the user more capabilities for
retaining email on the server and for organizing it in folders on the server.

(100)Wireless LANS: Use high frequency radio signals infrared light beams or lasers to
communicate between the workstations and the file server or hubs.

PREPARED BY
MRS.K.SASIKALA
COMP.SCI.TEACHER
KPCVSSS

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