Motherboards

The most important part of any computer is the motherboard. As the name implies a motherboard is the
mother of all other components in a computer.

The motherboard brings all the core components together such as the Central Processing Unit (CPU),
Memory and Hard Disks. In short, the motherboard connects and allows all of the components in the
computer to work together.

There are two different types of Motherboard: AT style and ATX style.

AT Motherboards
The AT-style motherboards represent the classic approach to component placement. AT-motherboards
are available in two variations, the baby AT and the full AT. Both variations simply refer to the overall
dimensions of the board.

AT Boards are generally found in older systems, typically those that use the now aged Pentium Processor.
The Majority of AT motherboards had a single keyboard port soldered to the motherboard

The I/O ports (e.g. USB, COM and PS/2 ports) are separate from the motherboard and are placed on a
riser card or separate headers.

To identify an AT motherboard first check the power connectors. AT Motherboards use two sets of 6-pin
inline power connectors

Caution it is possible to plug these connectors in the wrong order and fuse the motherboard
ATX Motherboards
The ATX-style motherboards are a result of the industry’s push for standardization and are found in most
systems today. Most modern computers contain an ATX motherboard. ATX boards can use Advanced
Power Management.

Distinguished by having more than just one external connector ATX boards have Keyboard, Mouse,
Serial, Parallel and USB connectors.

ATX boards can also be distinguished by the monoblock power connectors. Also available in micro ATX
enabling the use of smaller cases.

Motherboard Components
There are two types of receivers for CPU’s

Zero insertion force or ZIF sockets. With a ZIF socket, before the CPU is inserted, a lever or slider on the
side of the socket is moved, pushing all the sprung contacts apart so that the CPU can be inserted with
very little force (generally the weight of the CPU itself is sufficient with no external downward force
required). The lever is then moved back, allowing the contacts to close and grip the pins of the CPU,
often with a fan attached for cooling.

Single Edged Contact (SEC) cartridge slot or Slot 1 seen on PII and PIIIs. Developed by Intel to add
Cache memory for the processor cheaply The processor is mounted on a Single Edge Connector Cartridge
(SECC), much like a PCI slot, but with a 242-lead edge-connector.

Bridges
There are two main bridges on a motherboard the Northbridge and the Southbridge. Bridges control
access to the processor from the peripherals.

The Northbridge, also known as the Memory Controller Hub (MCH), is traditionally one of the two chips in
the core logic chipset on a PC motherboard. The Northbridge typically controls communications between
the CPU, RAM, AGP or PCI Express, and the Southbridge.. A Northbridge will typically work with only one
or two classes of CPUs and generally only one type of RAM. There are a few chipsets that support two
types of RAM (generally these are available when there is a shift to a new standard).

The Southbridge, also known as the I/O Controller Hub (ICH), is a chip that implements the “slower”
capabilities of the motherboard in a Northbridge Southbridge chipset computer architecture. The
Southbridge can usually be distinguished from the Northbridge by not being directly connected to the
CPU. Rather, the Northbridge ties the Southbridge to the CPU. The functionality found on a contemporary
Southbridge includes:PCI bus, ISA bus, SMBus, DMA controller, Interrupt controller, IDE, (SATA or PATA)
controller ,LPC Bridge, Real Time Clock, Power management (APM and ACPI) and Nonvolatile BIOS
memory

BIOS Chips
The [[BIOS( Basic Input Output System)]] refers to the software code run by a computer when first
powered on. The primary function of BIOS is to prepare the machine so other software programs stored
on various media (such as hard drives, floppies, and CDs) can load, execute, and assume control of the
computer. This process is known as booting up.

The BIOS is stored as a ROM (Read-Only Memory) program and is retained when the machine is turned
off. Settings within the BIOS may be changed by the user and these changes are stored in the BIOS
memory this is maintained by a trickle of charge from the BIOS battery.

Memory
SIMMS- Single Inline Memory Modules. An older type of memory only seen on very old motherboards
came in 30 pin modules and 72 pin modules.

SDRAM chips are rated according to their maximum clock rate and their read cycle time. Common clock
ratings include 66MHz, 100MHz, and 133MHz. Common read cycle times include 50ns and 60ns.

DDR SDRAM or double-data-rate synchronous dynamic random access memory is a type of memory
integrated circuit used in computers. It achieves greater bandwidth than ordinary SDRAM by transferring
data on both the rising and falling edges of the clock signal (double pumped). This effectively nearly
doubles the transfer rate without increasing the frequency of the front side bus.

Stick/module specification
PC-1600: DDR-SDRAM memory module specified to operate at 100 MHz using DDR-200 chips, 1.600
GByte/s bandwidth
PC-2100: DDR-SDRAM memory module specified to operate at 133 MHz using DDR-266 chips, 2.133
GByte/s bandwidth
PC-2700: DDR-SDRAM memory module specified to operate at 166 MHz using DDR-333 chips, 2.667
GByte/s bandwidth
PC-3200: DDR-SDRAM memory module specified to operate at 200 MHz using DDR-400 chips, 3.200
GByte/s bandwidth

Drive Connectors
Integrated Device Electronic (IDE)

[Integrated Device Electronic (IDE)]] connectors connect the motherboard, via a ribbon cable to various
peripherals, the most common being hard drives and CD ROMs. On most boards there are 2
channels/connectors, each can have 2 devices attached giving a total of four IDE devices.

If one device is attached to a cable, it should be configured as the master. If two devices are attached to
the same cable then one must be the master device and one the slave. Master and slave are configured
by the use of jumpers. Jumpers are small, insulated sleeves with a contact inside used to complete a
circuit

Hard Disks
Hard disks are used to store data in a non-volatile form within the machine. I.e. the data remains intact
even if the power to the device is cut off. Data is stored as magnetic ones and zeros on a steel platen
and is read by pickup arms that scan the drive as the platens spin

Most major hard drive and motherboard vendors now support self-monitoring, analysis, and reporting
technology (S.M.A.R.T.), by which impending failures can be predicted, allowing the user to be alerted to
prevent data loss.The mostly sealed enclosure protects the drive internals from dust, condensation, and
other sources of contamination. The hard disk’s read-write heads fly on an air bearing which is a cushion
of air only nanometers above the disk surface. The disk surface and the drive’s internal environment
must therefore be kept immaculate to prevent damage from fingerprints, hair, dust, smoke particles, etc.,
given the submicroscopic gap between the heads and disk.

Floppy Disks
The floppy disc controller is generally situated near the IDE controllers and in fact looks like a small IDE
slot

The ribbon has a twist and the first floppy drive (A: drive) should be placed after the twist if the cable
has more than three connectors. If the cable is really old it may have a connector for a 5 1/4 Floppy
drive.

SCSI
SCSI stands for “Small Computer System Interface”, and is a standard interface and command set for
transferring data between devices on both internal and external computer buses. SCSI is most commonly
used for hard disks and tape storage devices, but also connects a wide range of other devices, including
scanners, printers, CD-ROM drives, CD recorders, and DVD drives. In fact, the entire SCSI standard
promotes device independence, which means that theoretically SCSI can be used with any type of
computer hardware.

On a parallel SCSI bus, a device (e.g. host adapter, disk drive) is identified by a “SCSI ID”, which is a
number in the range 0-7 on a narrow bus and in the range 0-15 on a wide bus.

SATA
Serial ATA (SATA) is a computer bus technology primarily designed for transfer of data to and from a
hard disk. It is the successor to the legacy AT Attachment standard (ATA). This older technology was
retroactively renamed Parallel ATA (PATA) to distinguish it from Serial ATA. Both SATA and PATA drives
are IDE (Integrated Drive Electronics) drives, although IDE is often misused to indicate PATA drives.

The two SATA interfaces, SATA/150, runs at 1.5 GHz resulting in an actual data transfer rate of 1.2
Gigabits per second (Gb/s), or 150 megabytes per second (MB/s). SATA II 3Gb/s resulting in an actual
data transfer rate of 2.4 Gb/s, or 300 MB/s.

Motherboard Slots
To add more functionality to a computer, cards such as network or video cards can be added. Sometimes
these functions are built into the motherboard. There are several types of expansion slots:

The PCI (Peripheral Component Interconnect) The PCI bus is common in modern PCs, where it has
displaced ISA as the standard expansion bus, but it also appears in many other computer types.
PCI 2 33.33 MHz clock with synchronous transfers peak transfer rate of 133 MB per second for 32-bit bus
PCI 2.2 allows for 66 MHz signalling (requires 3.3 volt signalling) (peak transfer rate of 503 MB/s) PCI 2.3
permitted use of 3.3 volt and universal keying, but did not support 5 volt keyed add in cards.
PCI 3.0 is the final official standard of the bus, completely removing 5 volt support.
ISA/EISA; Industry Standard Architecture and Extended Industry Standard Architecture An older type of
bus connector. Considered obsolete

PCI Express, PCIe, or PCI-E is an implementation of the PCI computer bus that uses existing PCI
programming concepts, but bases it on a completely different and much faster serial physical-layer
communications protocol. PCIe transfers data at 250 MB/s (238 MiB/s), per channel to a maximum of 16
channels, a total combined transfer rate of 4GB/s (3.7 GiB/s). Almost all of the high end graphics cards
being released today use PCI Express. NVIDIA uses the high-speed data transfer of PCIe for its newly
developed Scalable Link Interface (SLI) technology, which allows two graphics cards of the same chipset
and model number to be run at the same time, allowing increased performance.

The Accelerated Graphics Port (also called Advanced Graphics Port) is a high-speed point-to-point
channel for attaching a graphics card to a computer’s motherboard, primarily to assist in the acceleration
of 3D computer graphics. Some motherboards have been built with multiple independent AGP slots. AGP
is slowly being phased out in favour of PCI Express.

AGP 1x, using a 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz resulting in a maximum data rate of 266 megabytes
per second (MB/s), doubled from the 133 MB/s transfer rate of PCI bus 33 MHz / 32-bit; 3.3 V signaling.
AGP 2x, using a 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz double pumped to an effective 133 MHz resulting in
a maximum data rate of 533 MB/s; signaling voltages the same as AGP 1x;
AGP 4x, using a 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz quad pumped to an effective 266 MHz resulting in a
maximum data rate of 1066 MB/s (1 GB/s); 1.5 V signaling;
AGP 8x, using a 32-bit channel operating at 66 MHz, strobing eight times per clock, delivering an
effective 533 MHz resulting in a maximum data rate of 2133 MB/s (2 GB/s); 0.8 V signaling.

Peripheral Connections
There are a number of ports on the motherboard for the connection of additional devices:.

Serial ports connected the computer to devices such as terminals or modems. Mice, keyboards, and other
peripheral devices also connected in this way.

Parallel ports are most often used to communicate with peripheral devices. The most common kind of
parallel port is a printer port, such as a Centronics connector based port which transfers eight bits at a
time. Disk drives are also connected via special parallel ports, such as those used by the SCSI and ATA
technlogies. However, when people refer to a parallel port, they are usually referring to a printer port,
either on a printer or a PC.

A USB system has an asymmetric design, consisting of a host controller and multiple daisy-chained
devices. Additional USB hubs may be included in the chain, allowing branching into a tree structure,
subject to a limit of 5 levels of branching per controller. No more than 127 devices, including the bus
devices, may be connected to a single host controller. Modern computers often have several host
controllers, allowing a very large number of USB devices to be connected. USB cables do not need to be
terminated.

USB supports three data rates.

A Low Speed rate of 1.5 Mbit/s (183 KiB/s) that is mostly used for Human Interface Devices (HID) such
as keyboards, mice, and joysticks.
A Full Speed rate of 12 Mbit/s (1.5 MiB/s). Full Speed was the fastest rate before the USB 2.0
specification and many devices fall back to Full Speed. Full Speed devices divide the USB bandwidth
between them in a first-come first-served basis and it is not uncommon to run out of bandwidth with
several isochronous devices. All USB Hubs support Full Speed.
A Hi-Speed rate of 480 Mbit/s (57 MiB/s).

Partitions and Volumes

Hard Disks perform a very simple function – to store data and then reliably retrieve it on command.
However, before any information can be stored on a hard disk it must be both partitioned and formatted
with a file system. A hard disk can contain multiple partitions and file-systems. As you will learn later this
can be extremely useful.
A partition is a persistent division of a physical hard drive into logical segments. Each partition appears to
the user like a separate hard drive. Volume is the terminology used by post-Windows 2000 machines for
partition. Volumes are much more flexible in their configuration than the more rigid partitions.

Partitioning a hard drive makes each segment behave like a separate disk. This is ideal for dual-booting
different operating systems.

Basic Partitions
Primary Partitions
 There may be up to 4 Primary Partitions per physical disk.
 The Boot partition may only be located on a primary partition.

Extended Partitions
 Extended Partitions can use up any free space not used by the Primary Partitions.
 You may have up to 3 Primary partitions and one extended partition on any physical disk.
 Extended Partitions need to be further divided into Logical DOS drives.

Logical-DOS Partitions
 Logical Partitions are placed inside the extended partition.
 The number of Logical partitions you may have is only limited by the number of free drive letters.
 The boot partition cannot be placed on a logical partition.

Basic Partitions
The oldest Windows operating system is always installed first as the newer operating system normally
writes a new boot record.

A Logical Drive can contain an operating system but never the System partition.

Different Partitions may contain a File Systems not used by Windows, so if an additional operating system
is required it can also be installed on the non Windows partition.

Networking
Why use a Network?

Quite simply explained we use networks for communication between computers, sharing of data and
peripherals. In the business world we use networks for ease of administration and to cut costs.

Sharing data example imagine an office with 5 secretaries working on 5 different computers, one requires
a file from another computer in a non networked office this file would have to be written to a portable
media then loaded onto the computer. In a networked office the file could be accessed via the network
from a shared folder.

Sharing peripherals example the same office with 5 secretaries working on 5 different computers, in order
to print their work each computer would need to have a printer attached. In a networked office you could
have one shared printer, cutting costs.

What do you need?

A common language or protocol (TCP/IP IPX/SPX, APPLE TALK) is a convention or standard that
controls or enables the connection, communication, and data transfer between two computing endpoints.

A common language or protocol (TCP/IP IPX/SPX, APPLE TALK) is a convention or standard that
controls or enables the connection, communication, and data transfer between two computing endpoints.

Cabling BNC,Cat5, fibre optic

Hardware NIC(Network Interface Card), router, switch, hub, modem wireless access point.

Network Service (DNS, WINS, DHCP).

Network Hardware

Network Interface Card

A network card, network adapter, network interface card or NIC is a piece of computer hardware designed
to allow computers to communicate over a computer network. It has a MAC address. Every network card
has a unique 48-bit serial number called a MAC address, which is written to ROM carried on the card.
Every computer on a network must have a card with a unique MAC address. The IEEE is responsible for
assigning MAC addresses to the vendors of network interface cards. No two cards ever manufactured
should share the same address.

Hubs

An Ethernet hub or concentrator is a device for connecting multiple twisted pair or fibre optic Ethernet
devices together, making them act as a single segment. It works at the physical layer of the OSI model,
repeating the signal received at one port out each of the other ports (but not the original one). The device
is thus a form of multiport repeater. Ethernet hubs are also responsible for forwarding a jam signal to all
ports if it detects a collision. Hubs also often come with a BNC and/or AUI connector to allow connection
to legacy 10BASE2 or 10BASE5 network segments. The availability of low-priced Ethernet switches has
largely rendered hubs obsolete but they are still seen in older installations and more specialist
applications.

Switches

A network switch or switch for short is a networking device that performs transparent bridging (connection
of multiple network segments with forwarding based on MAC addresses) at full wire speed in hardware.
As a frame comes into a switch, the switch saves the originating MAC address and the originating
(hardware) port in the switch’s MAC address table. This table often uses content-addressable memory, so
it is sometimes called the “CAM table”. The switch then selectively transmits the frame from specific ports
based on the frame’s destination MAC address and previous entries in the MAC address table. If the
destination MAC address is unknown, for instance, a broadcast address or (for simpler switches) a
multicast address, the switch simply transmits the frame out of all of the connected interfaces except the
incoming port. If the destination MAC address is known, the frame is forwarded only to the corresponding
port in the MAC address table.

Hubs VS Switches
A hub, or repeater, is a fairly unsophisticated broadcast device. Any packet entering any port is broadcast
out on every port and thus hubs do not manage any of the traffic that comes through their ports. Since
every packet is constantly being sent out through every port, this results in packet collisions, which greatly
impedes the smooth flow of traffic. A switch isolates ports, meaning that every received packet is sent out
only to the port on which the target may be found (assuming the proper port can be found; if it is not, then
the switch will broadcast the packet to all ports except the port the request originated from). Since the
switch intelligently sends packets only where they need to go the performance of the network can be
greatly increased.

Routers

A router is a computer networking device that forwards data packets across a network toward their
destinations, through a process known as routing. A router acts as a junction between two or more
networks to transfer data packets among them. A router is different from a switch. A switch connects
devices to form a Local area network (LAN).

One easy illustration for the different functions of routers and switches is to think of switches as local
streets, and the router as the junctions with the street signs. Each house on the local street has an
address within a range on the street. In the same way, a switch connects various devices each with their
own IP address(es) on a LAN. Routers connect networks together the way that on-ramps or major
junctions connect streets to both main roads and motorways. The street signs at the junctions the (routing
table) show which way the packets need to flow.

Wireless

Wireless Access Point (WAP) A wireless access point (AP) connects a group of wireless stations to an
adjacent wired local area network (LAN). An access point is similar to an Ethernet hub, but instead of
relaying LAN data only to other LAN stations, an access point can relay wireless data to all other
compatible wireless devices as well as to a single (usually) connected LAN device, in most cases an
Ethernet hub or switch, allowing wireless devices to communicate with any other device on the LAN.

Wireless Routers A wireless router integrates a wireless access point with an Ethernet switch and an
Ethernet router. The integrated switch connects the integrated access point and the integrated Ethernet
router internally, and allows for external wired Ethernet LAN devices to be connected as well as a
(usually) single WAN device such as a cable modem or DSL modem. A wireless router advantageously
allows all three devices (mainly the access point and router) to be configured through one central
configuration utility, usually through an integrated web server. However one disadvantage is that one may
not decouple the access point so that it may be used elsewhere.

Cables

Cable Terminology
10BASE2 (also known as cheapernet or thinnet) is a variant of Ethernet that uses thin coaxial cable. The
10 comes from the maximum transmission speed of 10 Mbit/s (millions of bits per second). The BASE
stands for baseband signaling, and the 2 represents a rounded up shorthand for the maximum segment
length of 185 metres (607 feet).

10BASE5 (also known as thicknet) is the original “full spec” variant of Ethernet cable. The 10 refers to its
transmission speed of 10 Mbit/s. The BASE is short for baseband signalling as opposed to broadband,
and the 5 stands for the maximum segment length of 500 metres.

10BASE-T is an implementation of Ethernet which allows stations to be attached via twisted pair cable.
The name 10BASE-T is derived from several aspects of the physical medium. The 10 refers to the
transmission speed of 10 Mbit/s. The BASE is short for baseband.The T comes from twisted pair, which is
the type of cable that is used

100BASE-T is any of several Fast Ethernet 100 Mbit/s CSMA/CD standards for twisted pair cables,
including: 100BASE-TX (100 Mbit/s over two-pair Cat5 or better cable). The segment length for a
100BASE-T cable is limited to 100 metres

Coaxial

Coaxial cable is an electrical cable consisting of a round conducting wire, surrounded by an insulating
spacer, surrounded by a cylindrical conducting sheath, usually surrounded by a final insulating layer. It is
used as a high-frequency transmission line to carry a high-frequency or broadband signal.

BNC connectors were commonly used on 10base2 thin Ethernet networks, both on cable
interconnections and network cards, though these have largely been replaced by newer Ethernet devices
whose wiring does not use coaxial cable.

CAT 5

Category 5 cable, commonly known as Cat 5, is an unshielded twisted pair cable type designed for high
signal integrity. Category 5 has been superseded by the Category 5e specification. This type of cable is
often used in structured cabling for computer networks such as Gigabit Ethernet, although they are also
used to carry many other signals such as basic voice services, token ring.

Category 5 cable included four twisted pairs in a single cable jacket. It was most commonly used for 100
Mbit/s networks, such as 100BASE-TX Ethernet
Cat5 cable uses an RJ-45 (Registered Jack-45) connector at each end of the cable with a fixed wiring
scheme. The ends are then crimped on to the cable

Wiring Scheme

Patch or straight through cables have Wiring scheme 1 at both ends of the cable and are used to connect
computers to network wall sockets or hubs.

Crossover cables have Wiring scheme 1 at one end of the cable and Wiring scheme 2 at the other. These
cables are used to connect network hardware together e.g. PC to PC, hub to hub.

Protocols

A protocol (TCP/IP IPX/SPX, APPLE TALK) is a convention or standard that controls or enables the
connection, communication, and data transfer between two computing endpoints. Sending and receiving
systems need to use the same protocol unless a gateway service sits between networks and translates
from one to the other.

Most protocols specify one or more of the following properties:

Detection of the underlying physical connection (wired or wireless), or the existence of the other endpoint
or node

Handshaking

Negotiation of various connection characteristics

How to start and end a message

How to format a message

What to do with corrupted or improperly formatted messages (error correction)

How to detect unexpected loss of the connection, and what to do next

Termination of the session or connectio

NetBIOS

NetBIOS is an acronym for Network Basic Input/Output System. The NetBIOS API allows applications on
separate computers to communicate over a local area network. NetBIOS must be enabled for Windows
File and Print Sharing to work.
NetBIOS provides three distinct services:

Name service for name registration and resolution

Session service for connection-oriented communication

Datagram distribution service for connectionless communication.

Name service In order to start Sessions or distribute Datagrams, an application must register its NetBIOS
name using the Name service. NetBIOS names are 16 bytes in length

Session service Session mode lets two computers establish a connection for a “conversation,” allows
larger messages to be handled, and provides error detection and recovery. In NBT, the session service
runs on TCP port 139.

Datagram distribution service Datagram mode is “connectionless”. Since each message is sent
independently, they must be smaller; the application becomes responsible for error detection and
recovery. In NBT, the datagram service runs on UDP port 138.

IPX/SPX (NWLINK)

Internetwork Packet Exchange (IPX) is the OSI-model Network layer protocol in the IPX/SPX protocol
stack. The IPX/SPX protocol stack is supported by Novell’s NetWare network operating system. Because
of Netware’s popularity through the late 1980s into the mid 1990s, IPX became a popular internetworking
protocol. Novell derived IPX from Xerox Network Services’ IDP protocol. IPX usage is in general decline
as the boom of the Internet has made TCP/IP nearly universal. Computers and networks can run multiple
network protocols, so almost all IPX sites will be running TCP/IP as well to allow for Internet connectivity.
It is also now possible to run Novell products without IPX, as they have supported both IPX and TCP/IP
since NetWare reached version 5.

Sequenced Packet Exchange (SPX) is a transport layer protocol (layer 4 of the OSI Model) used in Novell
Netware networks. The SPX layer sits on top of the IPX layer (layer 3 – the network layer) and provides
connection-oriented services between two nodes on the network. SPX is used primarily by client/server
applications.

NWLink is a IPX/SPX-compatible protocol developed by Microsoft and used in its Windows NT product
line.NWLink is Microsoft’s version of Novell’s IPX/SPX Protocol. The Microsoft version of NWLink
includes the same level of functionality as the Novell Protocol. NWLink includes a tool for resolving
NetBIOS names.NWLink packages data to be compatible with client/server services on NetWare
Networks. However, NWLink does not provide access to NetWare File and Print Services. To access the
File and Print Services the Client Service for NetWare needs to be installed.
AppleTalk

AppleTalk is a suite of protocols developed by Apple Computer for computer networking. It was included
in the original Macintosh (1984) and is now used less by Apple in favour of TCP/IP networking.

AppleTalk contains two protocols aimed at making the system completely self-configuring. The AppleTalk
address resolution protocol (AARP) allowed AppleTalk hosts to automatically generate their own network
addresses, and the Name Binding Protocol (NBP) was essentially a dynamic DNS system which mapped
network addresses to user-readable names.

For interoperability Microsoft maintains the file services for Macintosh and the print services for Macintosh

TCP/IP

The Internet protocol suite is the set of communications protocols that implement the protocol stack on
which the Internet and most commercial networks run. It is sometimes called the TCP/IP protocol suite,
after the two most important protocols in it: the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and the Internet
Protocol (IP), which were also the first two defined.The Internet protocol suite like many protocol suites
can be viewed as a set of layers, each layer solves a set of problems involving the transmission of data,
and provides a well-defined service to the upper layer protocols based on using services from some lower
layers. Upper layers are logically closer to the user and deal with more abstract data, relying on lower
layer protocols to translate data into forms that can eventually be physically transmitted.The OSI model
describes a fixed, seven layer stack for networking protocols. Comparisons between the OSI model and
TCP/IP can give further insight into the significance of the components of the IP suite, but can also cause
confusion, as TCP/IP consists of only 4 layers.

The four layers in the DoD model, from bottom to top, are:

The Network Access Layer is responsible for delivering data over the particular hardware media in use.
Different protocols are selected from this layer, depending on the type of physical network.

The Internet Layer is responsible for delivering data across a series of different physical networks that
interconnect a source and destination machine. Routing protocols are most closely associated with this
layer, as is the IP Protocol, the Internet’s fundamental protocol.

The Host-to-Host Layer handles connection rendezvous, flow control, retransmission of lost data, and
other generic data flow management. The mutually exclusive TCP and UDP protocols are this layer’s
most important members.

The Process Layer contains protocols that implement user-level functions, such as mail delivery, file
transfer and remote login.

Network Services
DNS (Domain Naming System)

The Domain Name System (DNS) stores and associates many types of information with domain names,
but most importantly, it translates domain names (computer hostnames) to IP addresses. It also lists mail
exchange servers accepting e-mail for each domain. In providing a worldwide keyword-based redirection
service, DNS is an essential component of contemporary Internet use.

The DNS pre-eminently makes it possible to attach easy-to-remember domain names (such as “es-
net.co.uk”) to hard-to-remember IP addresses (such as 270.146.131.206). People take advantage of this
when they recite URLs and e-mail addresses.

WINS (Windows Internet Naming Service)

Windows Internet Naming Service (WINS) is Microsoft’s implementation of NetBIOS Name Server
(NBNS) on Windows, a name server and service for NetBIOS computer names. Effectively, it is to
NetBIOS names what DNS is to domain names – a central mapping of host names to network addresses.
However, the mappings have always been dynamically updated (e.g. at workstation boot) so that when a
client needs to contact another computer on the network it can get its up-to-date DHCP allocated
address. Networks normally have more than one WINS server and each WINS server should be in push
pull replication; the favoured replication model is the hub and spoke, thus the WINS design is not central
but distributed. Each WINS server holds a full copy of every other related WINS system’s records. There
is no hierarchy in WINS (unlike DNS), but like DNS its database can be queried for the address to contact
rather than broadcasting a request for which address to contact. The system therefore reduces broadcast
traffic on the network, however replication traffic can add to WAN / LAN traffic.

DHCP (Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)

The Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP) automates the assignment of IP addresses, subnet
masks, default routers, and other IP parameters. The assignment usually occurs when the DHCP
configured machine boots up or regains connectivity to the network. The DHCP client sends out a query
requesting a response from a DHCP server on the locally attached network. The DHCP server then
replies to the client with its assigned IP address, subnet mask, DNS server and default gateway
information.The assignment of the IP address usually expires after a predetermined period of time, at
which point the DHCP client and server renegotiate a new IP address from the server’s predefined pool of
addresses. Configuring firewall rules to accommodate access from machines who receive their IP
addresses via DHCP is therefore more difficult because the remote IP address will vary from time to time.
Administrators must usually allow access to the entire remote DHCP subnet for a particular TCP/UDP
port. Most home routers and firewalls are configured in the factory to be DHCP servers for a home
network. ISPs (Internet Service Providers) generally use DHCP to assign clients individual IP
addresses.DHCP is a broadcast-based protocol. As with other types of broadcast traffic, it does not cross
a router.

APIPA (Automatic Private IP Addressing)

If computers are unable to pick an address up from a DHCP server they use Automatic Private IP
Addressing (APIPA). This means the computer will assign itself a random address between 169.254.0.1 –
169.254.254.254/16, allowing it to communicate with other clients who are also using APIPA.

Automatic Private IP Addressing (APIPA), this allows unknowledgeable users to connect computers,
networked printers, and other items together and expect them to work. Without Zeroconf or something
similar, a knowledgeable user must either set up special servers, like DHCP and DNS, or set up each
computer by hand.

Networks

A Local Area Network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small local area, like a home, office, or
small group of buildings such as a home, office, or college. Current LANs are most likely to be based on
switched Ethernet or Wi-Fi technology running at 10, 100 or 1,000 Mbit/s.The defining characteristics of
LANs in contrast to WANs (wide area networks) are: their much higher data rates; smaller geographic
range; and that they do not require leased telecommunication lines.

A Personal Area Network (PAN) is a computer network used for communication among computer devices
(including telephones and personal digital assistants) close to one person. The reach of a PAN is typically
a few metres and may use Bluetooth, wireless or USB for connection.

A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a computer network covering a wide geographical area, involving a vast
array of computers. This is different from personal area networks (PANs), metropolitan area networks
(MANs) or local area networks (LANs) that are usually limited to a room, building or campus. The most
well-known example of a WAN is the Internet. WANs are used to connect local area networks (LANs)
together, so that users and computers in one location can communicate with users and computers in
other locations.

Introduction To Windows

Operating Systems
The most important piece of software on any computer is the operating system. The operating system gives
the framework upon which all other services and applications run. The majority of home users use a Windows
based machine. Most of today’s applications and games are designed to run solely on Microsoft systems.

Introduction to Microsoft Windows

The oldest of all Microsoft’s operating systems is MS-DOS (Microsoft Disk Operating System). MS-DOS is a text-
based operating system. Users have to type commands rather than use the more friendly graphical user
interfaces (GUI’s) available today. Despite its very basic appearance, MS-DOS is a very powerful operating
system. There are many advanced applications and games available for MS-DOS. A version of MS-DOS
underpins Windows. Many advanced administration tasks in Windows can only be performed using MS-DOS.

The history of Microsoft Windows dates back to 1985, when Microsoft released Microsoft Windows Version
1.01. Microsoft’s aim was to provide a friendly user-interface known as a GUI (graphical user interface) which
allowed for easier navigation of the system features. Windows 1.01 never really caught on. (The amazing
thing about Windows 1.01 is that it fitted on a single floppy disk!). In 1987 Microsoft revamped the operating
system and released Windows 2.03. The GUI was very slightly improved but still looked too similar to
Windows 1.01. The operating system again failed to capture a wide audience.

Microsoft made an enormous impression with Windows 3.0 and 3.1. Graphics and functionality were drastically
improved. The Windows 3.x family provided multimedia capabilities as well as vastly improved graphics and
application support.

Building on the success of Windows 3.x, Microsoft released Microsoft Windows For Workgroups 3.11. This gave
Windows the ability to function on a network. It is not uncommon to find companies still using Windows 3.11.

In 1993 Microsoft divided the operating system into two categories; Business and home user. Windows NT
(New Technology) was a lot more reliable than Windows 3.x. Windows NT provided advanced network
features. On the business front, Windows NT continued to develop with the release of version 3.51. Different
versions were provided which offered different functionality. Server provided the higher network functions and
Workstation was mainly for the client machines.

In 1995 Windows went through a major revamp and Microsoft Windows 95 was released. This provided greatly
improved multimedia and a much more polished user interface. The now familiar desktop and Start Menu
appeared. Internet and networking support was built in Although Windows 95 was a home user operating
system, it proved to be very popular in schools and businesses.

After the success of Windows 95, Microsoft improved the GUI interface of Windows NT and released Windows
NT 4.0. NT4 could be tailored to the size of the business, NT4 Server for small to medium sized businesses and
Enterprise Server for larger networks. Microsoft continued to improve the Windows format. Although Microsoft
Windows 98 was very similar to Windows 95, it offered a much tidier display and enhanced multimedia
support.
Breaking with its own naming conventions, Microsoft released Windows 2000 (initially called NT 5.0) for the
business market. It appeared in 4 models: Professional -which replaced Workstation, Server, Advanced Server
and Datacenter Server catered for differing business requirements.

Although Windows 2000 had a greatly improved user interface, the best of the enhancements appeared on the
server side. Active Directory was introduced which allowed much greater control of security and organisation.
Improvements to the overall operating system allowed for easier configuration and installation.

One big advantage of Windows 2000 was that operating system settings could be modified easily without the
need to restart the machine. Windows 2000 proved to be a very stable operating system that offered enhanced
security and ease of administration.

The last incarnation of the Windows 9x family was Windows Millennium Edition (ME). There were many
different versions of Windows floating around at this stage that Microsoft decided the next release of Windows
would consolidate both the business and home versions. Although Windows ME was visually similar to
Windows 2000. Windows ME was based on the Windows 9x line. Windows 9x/ME systems are not as secure
and stable as Windows NT and 2000 systems.

Because of the stability of Windows NT/2000, Microsoft decided to end the development of the Windows 9x
line, and merge both the consumer and business products. Microsoft Windows XP comes as the Home Edition
and Professional, each is based on Windows 2000. Windows 2000 Server has been upgraded to Windows
2003. This appears in four variants: Web Server, Standard Server, Enterprise Server and Datacenter Server,
each fulfilling a different business role. Windows XP has a very polished look, but the overall functionality is
very similar to Windows 2000.

Other Operating Systems

The Windows family is the most widely used Operating System. There are other operating systems in the
computing world, and some are a lot older than Microsoft Windows. Luckily most operating systems can
interoperate with each other. Many of today’s larger networks contain a variety of operating systems.

UNIX
A big advantage of UNIX is that it can be run on nearly every computer hardware platform including Apple
Macintosh machines. The UNIX operating system is one of the oldest and most powerful operating systems. It
was developed by Bell Laboratories. There are many variants of UNIX available.

Novell NetWare
Novell NetWare is an advanced network operating system. It has an advanced directory service structure
similar to Microsoft’s Active Directory. Fortunately both directory services are interoperable as both directories
use the x500 directory service standard.

Linux/FreeBSD
Two of the most popular variations of UNIX come in the form of Linux and FreeBSD. A big advantage of both
Linux and FreeBSD is that they are both open-source, that is, any user can contribute to the development of
the OS. Versions of both operating systems are completely free.
Linux and FreeBSD can easily take the role of a server or client machine. However, they are considered to be
more difficult to master as both utilize the command line rather than a user friendly GUI. There are several
different distributions of Linux, but for each the underlying operating system remains the same.

Apple Macintosh machines offer high performance sound and graphics editing and are therefore extremely
popular in the design industry. Apple have developed their own operating system, the newest version of which
is the Mac OS X, which is based on UNIX.

Mac OS X is a very user friendly operating system and is increasingly popular for home PCs.

Managing Files And Folders

These are some typical file icons. They help the user to identify the file type. There are innumerable file types,
some of the common ones are represented here:

1. .bmp – a bitmap image

2. .doc – a Word document
3. .wav – a sound file
4. .ppt – animated slides
5. .txt – plain text
6. .xls – a spreadsheet
7. .dbf – a database file
8. A shortcut (note the arrow)
9. .exe – an application (a program)
Windows allows you to view information about files in different ways. the icon view – the default used by
Windows XP.

To change the icon view, click on View on the menu bar. Select the required view from the available list.

By default if a file type is a known one, such as a Microsoft Word Document, Windows won’t display its file
extension. To view all file extensions click on Tools on the menu bar.

Various options can be configured. e.g. Display compressed files and folders with alternate colours. To display
all file extensions, untick the Hide file extensions for known file types box.

Folders
Each of these is a folder. They may contain files or other folders (called subfolders) or both. There may be
many “nestings” of folders within folders.

some stage need to change a file’s extension.

Files and folders are located on the computer by using a file path. The “James” folder is located inside a folder
called “Home”, which is located inside a folder called “es-net”, which is located on the “C:” drive. The file path
will be “C:\es-net\Home\James”.
Moving and Copying
To move a file or folder, either right click on its icon OR left click on the Edit option on the toolbar. Choose cut
to move or copy to copy!

At this point the item has been placed onto a clipboard – an area of memory accessible from nearly any
application in Windows. Right click (or open Edit in the toolbar) in an open destination folder and choose
“Paste” (or use drag and drop) .

When an attempt is made to move an item between volumes, it is effectively copied, and the original remains.

Creating Files and Folders

This is mercifully easy. Simply right-click on some empty space in any suitable folder or the desktop and
choose to create a new object from the choices offered.

Be careful not to alter the file extension, as this can render the file unreadable. File extensions are usually
hidden for this reason.

Disk Defragmenter

When files are created on the hard disk they are placed one after another. If a file is reopened and worked on,
the new part has to be placed in the next available free space, so the file becomes fragmented. This
fragmentation causes the operating system to eventually slow down as it has to reassemble the bits of a file
before it can be opened, Defragmenter can reassemble these pieces and improve access time.

1. To access defragmenter open “My Computer” and right click on the drive to be defragmented
2. Select “properties”
3. Then select “Tools”
4. Then select “Defragment Now”
5. Click “analyze” button. This will analyze the amount of fragmentation.
6. A report indicating if defragmenter needs to be run will be displayed
7. Defragmenter can still be run, although the report says it is not required
8. When complete a report can be viewed by selecting “View Report”
9. After viewing the report the utility can be closed. As part of a regular routine, defragmenter should be run
on all drives once a fortnight.