NETWORK COMPONENTS

FUNCTIONS
& FEATURES
COMPUTER NETWORK
• Are like snowflakes – no
two are the same
• All computer networks
include some combination
of the following: end
stations, applications, and
a network
 END STATIONS
• Sometimes being referred
to as end system, sits at the
edge of the network
• It can be a computer,
phone, laptop, printer, or
any device that is
connected to a computer
network.
 END STATIONS
• End system also connects
directly to the Internet,
creating an interface that
individual users can access,
meaning they facilitate
internet communications.
• End systems that are
connected to the Internet
are referred to as internet
hosts
 APPLICATIONS
A network application are
network software applications
that utilize the Internet or
other network hardware
infrastructure to perform
useful functions, for example
file transfers within a network.
They help us to transfer data
from one point to another
within the network.
 Pure network
applications
NETWORK
APPLICATIONS
Standalone
network
application
PURE NETWORK
APPLICATIONS
• Pure network applications do not
depend on the single computer
machine because those
applications help to make
connection over network and to
transfer data from one point to
other points.
• This requires internet connection.
WEB BROWSER GROUPWARE

E-MAIL DOMAIN NAME

SERVICE (DNS)

FILE TRASFER DYNAMIC HOST

PROTOCOL (FTP) CONFIGURATION
PROTOCOL (DHCP)

TERMICAL
EMULATION
 Web Browser
• The web browser is an example of
networked application which uses the
application layer protocols such as
HTTP, SMTP, and FTP to communicate
with servers and other applications.
• It is also a web application that allows
you to type a URL in the address box
and takes you to the destination page
using HTTP or HTTPS protocols.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

• The Uniform Resource Locator

(URL) is a string of letters and
symbols that is the unique
address of a Web page or file
on the Internet.
• A web page URL begins with
the protocol http, which
stands for HyperText Transfer
Protocol, the means of
communicating using links.
 Uniform Resource Locator (URL)

• The last part of the URL, often

the most complex, specifies the
exact location of the Web page
on the host computer.
• HyperText Transfer Protocol
Secure (HTTPS) , on the other
hand, is a protocol that secures
communication and data
transfers between a user’s web
browser and a website.
 E-mail

• The email application uses

SMTP (simple mail transfer
protocol) and POP3 (Post
office Protocol) to send and
receive messages to/from an
email server and email client.
 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol
(SMTP)

• Simple Mail Transfer Protocol

(SMTP), answering our
ubiquitous call to email, uses a
spooled, or queued, method of
mail delivery. Once a message
has been sent to a destination,
the message is spooled to a
device – usually a disk.
Post Office Protocol (POP)
• Post Office Protocol (POP)
gives us a storage facility for
incoming mail, and the latest
version is called POP3.
• Basically, how this protocol
works is when a client device
connects to POP3 server,
messages addressed to that
client are released for
downloading.

• SMTP is used to send mail; POP3

is used to received mail.
 File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

• FTP stands for File

Transfer Protocol, this
application facilitates the
transfer of files from one
computer to another, e.g.,
from a client to a server.
Downloading Uploading
This is the process of This is obtaining of files
obtaining files from a from a workstation to a
server to a workstation server (for instance when
or a client (for example you attach documents and
when you download upload them to a server, a
programs and music good example being when
from a server). you upload photos to
Facebook).
 Terminal Emulation (TELNET)

• This enables you to control the server

and communicate with other servers
on the network.
• The user feels like he/she is using the
server directly.
• TELNET enables PCs and
workstations to function as dumb
terminals in sessions with hosts on
inter-networks.
 Groupware
• These applications are used to
automate the administrative
functions of a modern office for
video conferencing and chatting.
• They facilitate the work of groups
for increased productivity; they
can be used to communicate, co-
operate, coordinate, solve
problems, compete, and negotiate.
 Video
Conferencing
This is the process of
conducting a conference
between two or more
participants at different sites by
using computer networks to
transmit audio and video data.
• Zoom, Google Meet,
Skype, Google Hangouts
Chatting
• This is the real-time
communication between
two users via computer.
• Once a chat has been
initiated, either user can
enter text by typing on the
keyboard and the entered
text will appear on the
other user’s monitor.
• The two must be online for
a chat to be initiated.
Domain Name Service (DNS)

• DNS resolves Fully Qualified

Domain Name (FQDN) or host
names to its IP address.
• DNS allows you to access websites
by typing their user-friendly names
instead of remembering their IP
address and typing it in a browser
to access that website.
 Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP)
• DHCP allows you to assign IP address to the
host computers on your network
dynamically. In the absence of DHCP, each
computer on a network needs to be
assigned a unique IP address manually.

DHCP Communication Process

• Discover
• Offer
• Request
• Acknowledge
 Dynamic Host Configuration
Protocol (DHCP)
List of the information a DHCP server can
provide:
• IP address
• Subnet Mask
• Domain Name
• Router
• DNS server address
• WINS server address
• The layer-2 broadcast is all Fs in hex
• The layer-3 broadcast is 255.255.255.255 and
0.0.0.0
STANDALONE NETWORK
APPLICATIONS
• Standalone Network
Applications are used in some
years ago, which are installed on
every client machine, and these
are independent platform, as
well as they can operate offline.
• VLC media player, Adobe
Photoshop, Notepad++,
Spreadsheets, MS Word, PPT,
and Excel.
COMPUTER
NETWORKS
 SERVERS
• Servers are computers
that hold shared files,
programs, and the
network operating
system.
• Servers provide access
to network resources to
all the users of the
network.
COMPUTER NETWORKS
 SERVERS
Examples:
• File servers
• Print servers
• Mail servers
• Communication servers
• Database servers
• Directory/security servers
• Fax servers
• Web servers
 CLIENTS
• Clients are computers that
access and use the network
and shared network resources.
• Client computers are basically
the customers (users) of the
network, as they request and
receive services from the
servers.

COMPUTER NETWORKS
TRANSMISSION MEDIA
• Transmission media are
the facilities used to
interconnect computers in
a network, such as twisted-
pair wire, coaxial cable,
and optical fiber cable.
• Transmission media are
sometimes called
channels, links, or lines.

COMPUTER NETWORKS
 SHARED DATA
• Shared data are data that
file servers provide to
clients, such as data files,
printer access programs,
and e-mail.

COMPUTER NETWORKS
SHARED PRINTERS AND
OTHER PERIPHERALS
• Shared printers and
peripherals are hardware
resources provided to the
users of the network by
servers.
• Resources provided include
data files, printers, software,
or any other items used by
clients on the network.

COMPUTER NETWORKS
 NETWORK INTERFACE
CARD
• Each computer in a network
has a special expansion card
called a network interface card
(NIC).
• The NIC prepares (formats) and
sends data, receives data, and
controls data flow between the
computer and the network.
 CHARACTERISTICS OF NIC
1. The NIC constructs, transmits, receives,
and processes data to and from a PC
and the connected network.
2. Each device connected to a network
must have a NIC installed.
3. An NIC is generally installed in a
computer as a daughterboard,
although some computer
manufacturers incorporate the NIC into
the motherboard during
manufacturing.
CHARACTERISTICS OF NIC
4. Each NIC has a unique six-byte media
access control (MAC) address, which is
typically permanently burned into the
NIC when it is manufactured.
5. The NIC must be compatible with the
network to operate properly.
6. NICs manufactured by different
vendors vary in speed, complexity,
manageability, and cost.
7. The NIC requires drivers to operate on
the network.
 MAC (Media Access Control)
• The MAC address is sometimes called
the physical, hardware, node, Ethernet,
or LAN address.
• MAC address is an identifier that every
network device uses to uniquely
identify itself on a network.
• The MAC address is made up of 6
bytes, hexadecimal number that is
burned into every NIC by its
manufacturer.
 MAC (Media Access Control)
• MAC address can contain any number and
it also contains alphabets from A - F.
• The MAC address is broken up into two
parts.
 MAC (Media Access Control)
• MAC address can contain any number and
it also contains alphabets from A - F.
• The MAC address is broken up into two
parts.

Windows: 00-04-5A-63-A1-66
Apple and Linux: 00:04:5A:63:A1:66
CISCO: 0004.5A63.A166
 LOS (Local Operating System)

• a local operating
system (LOS) allows
personal computers to
access files, print to a
local printer, and have
and use one or more
disk and CD drives that
are located on the
computer.

COMPUTER NETWORKS
 Examples of LOS:

1. MS-DOS : introduced in the early 1980s

and employs a command-line user
interface
2. MAC OS : had the first commercially
successful GUI and quickly gained a
reputation for user friendliness
3. Windows 95 : a key feature is Plug and
Play, a concept that lets the computer
configure itself when a new component
is added.

COMPUTER NETWORKS
 Examples of LOS:

4. Windows 98 : incorporates Internet

Explorer, a web browser, into the
operating system.
5. LINUX : a Unix-like operating system
available under the open-source
concept, which means that it is freely
available and not under control of any
one company.

COMPUTER NETWORKS
 NOS (Network Operating System)

• a program that runs on

computers and servers
that allows the computers
to communicate over a
network.
• NOS is designed to let
computers on a network
share resources such as
hard disks and printers.

COMPUTER NETWORKS
 NOS (Network Operating System)

COMPUTER NETWORKS
 Characteristics of NOS
1. A NOS allows users of a network to interface
with the network transparently.
2. A NOS commonly offers the following services:
file service, print service, mail service,
communications service, database service, and
directory and security services.
3. The NOS determines whether data are intended
for the user’s computer or whether the data
needs to be redirected out onto the network.
4. The NOS implements client software for the user,
which allows them to access servers on the
network.

COMPUTER NETWORKS
THANK
YOU