COMPUTER COMMUNICATION

COURSE CODE: EC 407

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 SYLLABUS
Module I
Introduction to computer communication:
Transmission modes- serial and parallel
transmission, asynchronous, synchronous,
simplex, half duplex, full duplex communication.
Switching: circuit switching and packet switching
Networks: Network criteria, physical structures,
network models, categories of networks,
Interconnection of Networks: Internetwork
Network models: Layered tasks, OSI model,
Layers in OSI model, TCP/IP protocol suite.

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TEXT/REFERENCE BOOKS

Data Communication and Networking, Behrouz A

Forouzan,Tata McGraw Hill

Cryptography & Network Security, Behrouz A Forouzan,Tata

McGraw Hill
Larry L. Peterson, Bruce S. Davie, “Computer networks”, 4th edition,
Elsevier

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 What is Data Communications?

Exchange of data between two devices via some forms of

transmission medium(Guided and unguided media) is Data
Communications.

For data communications to occur, the communicating

devices must be part of a communication system made of a
combination of hardware and software.
.
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Components of Data Communication:
1.Sender 2.Receiver 3.Message 4.Tramsmission Medium
5. Protocol

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1. Message - It is the information to be communicated. Popular
forms of information include text, pictures, audio, video etc.
2. Sender - It is the device which sends the data messages. It
can be a computer, workstation, telephone handset etc.
3. Receiver - It is the device which receives the data messages.
It can be a computer, workstation, telephone handset etc.
4. Transmission Medium - It is the physical path by which a
message travels from sender to receiver. Some examples include
twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, radio waves etc.
5. Protocol - It is a set of rules that governs the data
communications. It represents an agreement between the
communicating devices. Without a protocol, two devices may
be connected but not communicating.

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Transmission Modes

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 Serial Transmission

• In Serial Transmission, the bits of a byte are serially

transmitted one after other.
• The shift register is used for serial transmission.
• The byte to be transmitted is the first stored in a shift
register.
• Then these bits are shifted from MSB to LSB bit by bit in
synchronization with the clock. Bits are shifted right by one
by one position per clock cycle.
• As an advantage only one wire is used in serial
transmission between the transmitter and the receiver.
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Serial Transmission

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Advantages of serial transmission

• Only one wire is required

• Reduction in cost due to less number of

conductor wires
• It is the most used method for long distance
data transfers.

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 Disadvantages of serial
transmission
• Since there is only one line of transmission therefore
the speed of transmission is quite slow.

• If we have to increase the speed of data transfer

then it is necessary to increase the clock frequency.
But there is a limit of clock frequency.

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Some examples of serial Communication
Devices
• RS-232
• RS-422
• RS-423
• RS-485
• Ethernet

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Parallel Transmission

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Bits in a group are sent simultaneously, each using a
separate link
n wires are used to send n bits at one time

Advantage: speed
Disadvantage: cost; limited to short distances

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Types of serial transmission?

Serial transmission has two categories:

1.Synchronous data transmission
2.Asynchronous data transmission

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Asynchronous Data Transmission
Transfer of data with start and stop bits and a variable time
interval between data units

Timing is unimportant
Start bit alerts receiver that new group of data is arriving Stop bit
alerts receiver that byte is finished

Synchronization achieved through start/stop bits with each byte

received.

Slower, ideal for low-speed communication when gaps may occur

during transmission
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Cheap and effective
Asynchronous Transmission

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 Asynchronous Transmission

In asynchronous transmission, we send 1 start bit (0) at

the beginning and 1 or more stop bits (1s) at the end of
each byte. There may be a gap between each byte.

Asynchronous here means “asynchronous at the byte

level,” but the bits are still synchronized; their durations
are the same.

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 Advantages of Asynchronous transmission
Asynchronous transmission has many advantages
these are:
•It is a flexible data transmission method.
•Synchronization between the transmitter and receiver
is not necessary.
•It is possible to transmit signals from the sources
having different bit rates.
•The transmission can commence as soon as the data
byte to be transmitted becomes available.
•This mode of transmission is easy to implement.
•It is an effective scheme.

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Disadvantages of Asynchronous
Transmission
• Additional bits called start and stop bits are
required to be used.

• The timing error may take place because it is

difficult to determine synchronicity.

• It has slower transmission rate.

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 Synchronous Transmission

 Requires constant timing relationship

 Bit stream is combined into longer frames, possibly containing

multiple bytes
 Any gaps between bursts are filled in with a special sequence of

0s and 1s indicating idle

 Advantage: speed, no gaps or extra bits

 Byte synchronization accomplished by data link layer

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Synchronous Transmission

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Advantages of Synchronous
transmission
• The main advantage is speed. The speed of
transmission is much higher than that
asynchronous transmission.
• This is due to the absence of gaps between the
data units and absence of start stop bits.
• Timing errors are reduced due to synchronization.

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Disadvantages of Synchronous
Transmission
• The timing is very important. The accuracy of the
received data is dependent entirely on the ability of
the receiver to count the received bits accurately.

• The transmitter and receiver have to operate at the

same clock frequency. This requires proper
synchronization which makes the system
complicated.
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Transmission Modes in Communication Networks

-Communication between two devices can be

1.Simplex

2.Half-duplex

3.Full – duplex ( or duplex )

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1.Simplex

- Communication is unidirectional ( like one-way street).

- Only one device on a link can transmit and the other can
only receive.
Example :- keyboards and monitors.
keyboards can only introduce input .
monitors can only accept output of keyboard.
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 2.Half – Duplex

- Each workstation can both transmit and receive, but not at the
same time.
- When one device is sending , the other can only receive and vice
versa.
- Entire capacity of the channel is taken by one device at a time.
Example :- Walkie-talkies

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 3.Full – Duplex (or Duplex)

- Both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously.

- It is like two-way street with traffic flowing in both directions at
the same time.
- Signals going in either direction share the capacity of the link.

Example :- Telephone network

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SWITCHING TECHNIQUES
 Switching

Simple
switching
network

 Switching is process of the routing of data from one node to

another.
 A switched network consists of a series of interlinked nodes called
switches.
 A switch is a device that creates temporary connections between
two or more systems.
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Switching Techniques

Cell-
switching

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Circuit Switching
 Circuit switching was designed in 1878 in order to send
telephone calls.
 In circuit switching there is a dedicated communication path
between two stations
 There are three phases in circuit switching:
 Circuit Establishment

 Data Transfer

 Circuit Disconnect

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Circuit Switching
Circuit Switching
Circuit Switching
Circuit Switching
 Circuit Switching
Advantages
 Circuit is dedicated to the call – no interference, no
sharing
 Guaranteed the full bandwidth for the duration of the
call
 Guaranteed quality of service
 Circuit Switching
Disadvantages
 Inefficient –if no data is being sent, the dedicated line
still remains open.
 It takes a relatively long time to set up the circuit.

 During a disaster, the network may become unstable

or unavailable.
 It was primarily developed for voice traffic rather
than data traffic.
Packet Switching

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 Basic Operation
 Data are transmitted in short packets
 Typically at the order of 1000 bytes
 Longer messages are split into series of packets
 Each packet contains a portion of user data plus some control
information.
 Control information contains
 Destination address
 Store and forward
 On each switching node, packets are received, stored briefly
(buffered) and passed on to the next node.
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 Packet Switching Technique

 A station breaks long message into packets.

 Packets are sent out to the network sequentially, one at a time
 There are two methods of packet switching
1. Datagram approach
2. Virtual circuit (VC) approach 42
 Datagram Approach
 Each packet is treated independently, with no reference to packets
that have gone before.
 Each node chooses the next node on a packet’s path.
 Packets can take any possible route.
 Packets may arrive at the receiver out of order.
 Packets may go missing.
 It is up to the receiver to re-order packets and recover from
missing packets.
 Example: Internet 43
Virtual Circuit Approach

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Virtual
Circuit Approach
A route between stations
is set up prior to data
transfer.
All the data packets then
follow the same route.
Packets need to be
stored-and-forwarded.

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 Virtual Circuit Approach
 In virtual circuit, a preplanned route is established before any
packets are sent, then all packets follow the same route.
 Each packet contains a virtual circuit identifier instead of
destination address, and each node on the pre-established route
knows where to forward such packets.
 The node need not make a routing decision for each packet.
 Example: - Frame Relay, ATM

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 Advantages of Packet Switching
1. High line efficiency.

2. High data rate conversion.

3. Single node-to-node link can be shared by many packets.

4. Packets are queued up and transmitted as fast as possible.

5. Each station connects to the local node at its own speed.

6. In circuit-switching, a connection could be blocked if there

lacks free resources.

7. Priorities can be used

 NETWORKS
- A network is set of devices (or nodes) connected by communication
link.
- A node can be a computer or any other device capable of sending
and receiving data generated by other nodes on the network.
- Most of the network use distributed processing , in which a task is
divided among multiple computers.
Network Criteria:-
- The most important network criteria are

1.Performance

2.Reliability

3.Security
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1.Performance :-
- Performance of a network can be measured in 2 ways
1.Transit time 2.Response time
- Transit time is the amount of time required for a message to travel
from one device to another.
- Response time is the time taken by a device to respond to an input
signal.
- The performance of a network also depends on
1.no.of users
2.type of transmission medium.
3.efficiency of software and hardware.
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2.Reliability :-
- Network reliability measured by the frequency of failure ( time
taken by the link to recover from failure).

3.Security :-
- Network security include protecting data from unauthorized
access.

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PHYSICAL STRUCTURES OF NETWORKS

Type of connection:-
- There are two possible type of connections

1.Point –to-point connection

2.Multipoint connection

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1.Point –to-point connection

- Provides a dedicated link between two devices.

- The entire capacity of link is reserved for transmission
between those two devices.

- Use an actual length of wire or cable to connect two ends.

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2.Multipoint / multidrop connection

- Multipoint connection is one which more than two devices

share a single link.
- In multipoint environment,the capacity of the channel is
shared.
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 NETWORK TOPOLOGY
- Network topology is the geometric representation of the relation
of all the links and linking devices( nodes) to one another.
- It describes the configuration of the network.

Fig(i) Categories of topology

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 1.Mesh Topology

Structure:-
- Mesh topology uses separate cable to connect each device to every
other device on the network, providing a straight communication path
as shown in the figure.
Working:-
- For sending messages, check the cable connected into two devices. A
message is send directly from sender to receiver because each one
has individual and separate connection.
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Advantages:-
 Easy to troubleshoot.
 Robust. (capable of performing without failure under a wide range of conditions)
 Eliminating traffic problems.
 Privacy and highly secure.

Disadvantages:-
 Difficult to install and maintain.
 Expensive.
 Wiring can be greater than the available space.

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 2.Star Topology

Structure:-
- Each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a central
controller, called HUB. The devices are not directly linked to one
another. It does not allow direct traffic between devices.
Working:-
- The controller acts as an exchange. If one wants to send the data
to another, it sends the data to HUB, which then relays the data to
other connected device.
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Advantages:-
 Less expensive than mesh topology.
 Robust.
 Easily expended and modified.
 Easy to troubleshoot.
 Multiple cable types supported by hub.

Disadvantages:-
 If hub fails then entire network will fail
 Require more cables
 May require a device to rebroadcast signals across the
network. 58
 3.Bus Topology

Structure:-
- It is multipoint connection. One long cable called Backbone is
used to connect all the devices in a network.
- Nodes are connected to the cable by drop line and taps.

Working:-
- The computers that send data also attach address of the destination
computer with the data. All computers connected to the bus
receive the data but only that computer accept it whose address
matches the address attached with data. 59
Advantages:-
Easy to install and configure
Inexpensive
Easily extended 
Less cabling than mesh and star.

Disadvantages:-
Performance decreases.
Weak signal.
Difficult troubleshooting.

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 4.Ring Topology

Structure:-
- All the nodes in a ring network are connected in a closed circle of
cable.
- Each device has a dedicated point-to-point connection only with
the two devices on either side of it.
Working:-
- A signal passed along the ring in one direction from device to
device, until it reaches its destination. Each device acts as a
repeater.
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Advantages:-
Easy to install and configure
It performs well under a heavy load. 

Disadvantages:-
Failure of one computer can effect the whole network.
Difficult to troubleshoot.
Change mode with adding or removing a device effect the
entire network.

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CATEGORIES OF NETWORK

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1.Local Area Network(LAN)

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- A LAN is usually privately owned and links the devices in a
single office ,building or campus.
- LAN size is limited to few kilometers.
- LAN are designed to share resources between PCs or
workstations. The resources to be shared can include software,
hardware or data.
- One of the computers may be given a large capacity disk drive
and may become a server to the other clients.
- The most common LAN topologies are bus, ring and star.
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2.Metropolitan Area Network(MAN)

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- A MAN is designed to extend over an entire city.
- It may be single network such as CATV or it may be means of
connecting number of LANs into a larger network.
- A MAN is fully owned and operated by private company or it
may be a service provided by the public company such as local
telephone company.
- Example :- a popular MAN service called Switched Multi-
megabit Data Services(SMDS) provided by many telephone
companies.

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3.Wide Area Network (WAN)

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- A WAN provides long distance transmission of data,voice,image
and video over large geographic areas that may include a
contry,continent or even whole world.
- WAN may utilize public,leased,or private communication
equipment.
- A WAN that is fully owned and used by a single company is
known as an enterprise network

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4.Wireless Network

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 It is the fastest growing segment of computer. They are
becoming very important in our daily life because wind
connections are not possible in cars or aeroplane. We can
access Internet at any place avoiding wire related troubles..
These can be used also when the telephone systems gets
destroyed due to some calamity/disaster. Wireless network are
really important now-a-days.

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5.Inter Network

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 When we connect two or more networks then they are
called internetwork or internet. We can join two or
more individual networks to form an internetwork
through devices like routers gateways or bridges.

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 Layered Architecture
- Layered architecture is a specific
way of organizing many functions
performed by a computer network.
- Layering simplifies the architecture
of a complex system.

Advantages
- Increases flexibility
- Increases maintainability
- Increases scalability. 
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Need For Layering ?

 To transport of data across the network from one end to the

other
 Routing/forwarding of packets across multiple hops.
 To transfer of a frame from one interface to another.
 Allows complex problems to small manageable units.
 Allows easy implementation of a particular layer without
affecting other layers.

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 Fig(i) Layered architecture
Examples
• Web browsing and e-mail.
• OSI reference model (Seven layers)
• TCP/IP architecture 76
 ISO - OSI
REFERENCE MODEL
 REFERENCE MODELS

Two network architectures are

1.OSI (Open System Interconnection) reference model.

2.TCP/IP architecture.

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 ISO - OSI REFERENCE MODEL

 Developed by the International Standards Organization (ISO).

 OSI reference model is a framework for connecting computers
on a network.
 Contained 7 different layers that interact with each other.
 The main principles applied to the OSI layered architecture are
 Each performs a set of well-defined functions.

 Implementation of a layer should not affect adjacent

layers.
 Inter-layer communication should be minimized
OSI Reference Model: 7 Layers

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 Layer 1 - Physical Layer
The physical layer coordinates the functions required to
carry a bit stream over a physical medium.
It deals with the mechanical and electrical specifications
of the interface and transmission medium.
-Physical characteristics of interfaces and medium
-Representation of bits
-Data rate
-Synchronization of bits
-Physical topology
-Transmission mode
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 Layer 2 - Data Link Layer
 This layer provides reliable transmission of a packet by
using the services of the physical layer.
 The following are the main functions of the data link layer:
 Framing

 Physical addressing

 Flow control

 Error control

 Access control

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 Layer 3 - Network Layer
 The network layer is responsible for source to
destination delivery of packet across multiple network.

-Logical addressing
-Routing

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 Layer 4 - Transport Layer
 This layer used for process-to-process delivery of
messages.
 Purpose of this layer is to provide a reliable mechanism
for the exchange of data between two processes in
different computers. (Process is an application program running on a host)
 The following are the main functions of the transport
layer:
 Fragmentation and Re-assembly

 Connection Control

 Flow control

 Error control

 Port addressing
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 Layer 5 - Session Layer
 The session layer defines how to start ,control and end
conversations ( called sessions) between applications.
 The following are the main functions of the session layer:
 To establish and maintain sessions
 Synchronization (Checkpoints)

 Dialogue Control

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 Layer 6 - Presentation Layer
 Presentation layer defines the format in which the data is to be
exchanged between the two communicating devices.

 Also handles data compression and data encryption

(cryptography).
 The following are the main functions of the presentation layer:
 data encryption
 data compression
 data conversion
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 Layer 7 - Application Layer
 This layer is the highest layer in the OSI model and it is
closest to user.
 It does not provide services to any other OSI layers but it
provides network services to user’s applications.
 The following are the main functions of the application
layer:
 User applications

 Network services to application processes

 General network access

Examples:- HTTP, FTP, SMTP

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Overview Of The Layers

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TCP/IP ARCHITECTURE
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet
Protocol) Architecture
 Developed by US Defense Advanced Research Project Agency
(DARPA) .
 The TCP/IP protocol suite is the protocol architecture of the
Internet.
 It is also known as internet model.

 This model consists of 5 layers : physical layer, data link layer,

network layer , transport layer and application layer.
TCP/IP Protocol Suite : 5 Layers

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 The process on each machine that communicate at a given layer
is called peer - to - peer processes.
 Layer 1 - Physical Layer

 This layer is the lowest layer in the TCP/IP model.

 To transmit a bit stream over a medium.
 The following are the main functions of the physical layer:
 Representation of bits

 Synchronization of bits

 Defines the transmission data rate

 Defines the physical characteristics of interfaces and media.

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 Layer 2 - Data Link Layer

 This layer divides the stream of bits from network layer into
manageable data units.
 The following are the main functions of the data link layer:
 Flow control

 Error control

 Access control

 Physical addressing

 Framing
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 Layer 3 - Network Layer

 Responsible for delivery of packets from source to destination.

 The following are the main functions of the network layer:
 Routing

 Internetworking

 Logical addressing 96
 Layer 4 - Transport Layer

 This layer used for process-to-process delivery of messages.

 Responsible for delivery of message from one process to another .
 The following are the main functions of the transport layer:
 Error Control

 Flow Control

 Connection control

 Port addressing

 Segmentation and reassembly 97

 Layer 5 - Application Layer

 This layer is the highest layer in the TCP/IP model.

 Enables the user (human or software) to access the network.
 The following are the main functions of the application layer:
 Mail services

 Accessing World Wide Web

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