COMMUNICATION

NETWORKING
WHAT IS A NETWORK?
• A network consists of two or more computers that are linked in order to share
resources (such as printers and CDs), exchange files, or allow electronic
communications.
• The computers on a network may be linked through cables, telephone lines,
radio waves, satellites, or infrared light beams.
ADVANTAGES : COMPUTER NETWORKS
• Some of the advantages of computer networks are:
• Enable data Communication
 Fast
 Reliable
 High Performance
 Flexible
 Cost effective
 Easy to establish connection
 Sharing of Resources (files/printer/…)
DISADVANTAGES : COMPUTER NETWORKS

• Computer networks does possess a number of disadvantages.

• Some of the disadvantages are:
 Security is always a major concern.
 Less security means more prone to viruses and malware.
 Skilled Workers required
 Initial setup capital is high
NETWORK TECHNOLOGY

• Network technology defines the concepts on which any network is structured.

• This concept can be applied on any network on the basis of:
 Transmission.
 Scale
• Further, network technology on the basis of transmission can be done using :
 Point to point (Peer to Peer) and
 Multipoint (Client-Server)
NETWORK TECHNOLOGY CONT…

Fig 2.1 : Network Technology

NETWORK TECHNOLOGY : ON THE BASIS OF
TRANSMISSION
1. Point-to-Point/ Peer-to-peer/ (P2P) : When nodes(Sender & Receiver) are directly connected,
Data transmission is done through a guided medium for wired network and through
unguided medium for wireless medium.
• Peer-to-peer networking model does not have central server.

Guided media uses a physical path or conductor to transmit the signals

whereas, the unguided media broadcast the signal through the air. The
guided media is also called wired communication or bounded
transmission media and unguided media also called wireless
communication.
ON THE BASIS OF TRANSMISSION CONT…

2. Multi-Point /Client-Server/ : A number

of nodes are connected through a
common medium in a linear fashion. It
is like a one device to many device data
transmission mode (P2M).

Fig 2.2 : Client-Server / Multi-point

Thin Client- dependent on having access to a server to allow

constant access to file and allow applications to run uninterrupted.
Thick Client – a device or software that can work either online or
offline
NETWORK TECHNOLOGY : ON THE BASIS OF
SCALE
Network type on the base of scale.

Local Area Network Wide Area Network

Fig 2.3 : Network types based on scale

ON THE BASIS OF SCALE CONT…

1. LOCAL AREA NETWORK(LAN)

• Local area network, also known as IEEE 802 is a network that comprises of
devices such as laptops, computer & mobiles connected together within a
small range.
• The range is from 100m to 10KM.

Fig 2.4 : Local area network

ON THE BASIS OF SCALE CONT…

2. METROPOLITAN AREA NETWORK (MAN)

• A network in which
multipleLANs (Local Area
Networks) are combined
together through a networking
device called Bridge forms a
Metropolitan Area Network.
• usually stretch up to an area of
100 KM
Fig 2.5 : Metropolitan area network
ON THE BASIS OF SCALE CONT…

3. WIDE AREA NETWORK (WAN)

• A network in which multiple

LANs and/or MANs
(Metropolitan Area Networks)
are combined together through
a networking device
called Router forms a Wide
Area Network

Fig 2.6 : Wide area network

COMPARISON TABLE FOR LAN, MAN AND
WAN
Types of Network
Criteria's
LAN MAN WAN
Small and specific area Specific town, city or Larger area
geographically, such as office, region. It covers a larger geographically, such as a
Coverage home. area than a LAN but a continent, a state or a
smaller area than a country.
WAN.
High bandwidth. you can get Moderate bandwidth. Low bandwidth.  lower
Bandwidth higher speeds of data transfer with speeds of data transfer speeds of data transfer
10/100/1000 Mbps up to 100 Mbps. of 10-20 Mbps.
Individual or an organization. Publicly or privately. Distributed ownership
ownership 
model.
 WIRELESS LOCAL AREA NETWORK (WLAN)

• Similar to LAN’s but there are no wires or

cable connections. But instead it uses infrared
or radio signals to connect.
• Wireless Access Point (WAP): a device which
is similar to cellphone towers, but it transmit
shorter distance. Their coverage ranges from
as little as 50 feet as far as 1000 feet

Fig 2.7 : Wireless LAN - WAP

 PUBLIC AND PRIVATE NETWORKS

• A public network is a network to which anyone can connect. The best, and
perhaps only pure, example of such a network is the Internet.
• A private network is any network to which access is restricted. A corporate
network or a network in a school are examples of private networks.
NETWORKING DEVICES
• These devices are responsible smooth data transmission among different nodes
of same network and/or nodes of different network.

• There are five basic

devices which are
used for data
transmission.

Fig 2.8 : Some networking devices

 Networking Devices : Bridge
• Bridge is a device which is used for connecting similar or dissimilar Local
Area Networks(LANs).
• By connecting different LANs, it can expand the geographical are of a
network.
• A bridge consists of two ports and different LANs can be connected through
these ports.
• Bridges amplifies the signals and filter the data packets as required

Fig 2.9 : Bridge

 Networking Devices : Router
• A router is connected to two or more data lines from different IP networks.
• Router is a networking device that forwards data packets between computer
networks.

• When a data packet comes in on

one of the lines, the router reads
the network address information in
the packet header to determine the
ultimate destination.

Fig 2.9 : Routers that connect different networks

 Networking Devices : Gateway
• Gateway is another network device which is used for connecting networks
with different types of architectures. 
• For Example : Communication between a mobile device having 4G
connection and landline device having 2G connection can be done using
gateway

Fig 2.10 : Gateway Device

 Networking Devices : Hub
• A HUB is a multi-port repeater in which, signals received at a port and floods
out that signal to all other ports connected to the devices except the one that
originated the signal.

Fig 2.11 : Hub

 Networking Devices : Repeater
• In all communication channels, signals get week after they travel some
particular amount of distance.
• So it is necessary to boost up these week signals,
which is done with the help of repeaters.

Fig 2.12 : Repeater

 Networking Devices : Modem
• Modem is a combinatory network device consisting of Modulator and De-
modulator.
• It is a type of signal converter.
• Modem is responsible for converting analog to digital signals and/or digital to
analog signal. This process is called modulation.
• It allow transmission of analog data signals to digital data signals from landline
telephone cables to computers.
• The data packets are segmented into smaller packets and are transmitted through the
medium.
• Modem restructure those smaller data packets before receiver receives it.

Fig 2.13 : Modem analog to digital conversion

NETWORK TOPOLOGY
• Topology means structure. Hence, study of structural arrangement of
elements or devices of a network is called as network topology.
• It is also known as the layout of the network which depicts the geometric
representation of all the links and linking device of any network.
• There are six major network topologies that can be used for designing any
network depending upon the requirement.  
 Bus Topology
 Star Topology
 Mesh Topology
 Hybrid Topology
 Ring Topology
 Tree Topology
 Network Topology : Bus
• Bus topology is a network type in which every computer and network device is
connected to single cable. When it has exactly two endpoints, then it is
called Linear Bus topology.

Features of Bus Topology

 It transmits data only in one direction.
 Every device is connected to a single
cable

Fig 2.14 : Bus topology

Con’s & pro’s of bus topology

Advantages of Bus Topology

• It is cost effective.
• Cable required is least compared to other network topology.
• Used in small networks.
• It is easy to understand.
• Easy to expand joining two cables together.
Con’s & pro’s of bus topology

Disadvantages of Bus Topology

• Cables fails then whole network fails.
• If network traffic is heavy or nodes are more the
performance of the network decreases.
• Cable has a limited length.
• It is slower than the ring topology
 Network Topology : Star
• In this type of topology all the computers are connected to a single hub/switch
through a cable. This hub/switch is the central node and all others nodes are
connected to the central node.

Features of Bus Topology

 Every node has its own dedicated
connection to the hub.
 Can be used with any type of cable.
 Typically client-server type

Fig 2.15 : Star Topology

Con’s & pro’s of star topology

Advantages of Star Topology

• Data collision are greatly reduced.
• Hub/Switch can be upgraded easily.
• Easy to troubleshoot.
• Easy to setup and modify.
• Only that node is affected which has failed, rest of the nodes can work
smoothly.
Con’s & pro’s of star topology

Disadvantages of Star Topology

• Cost of installation is high.
• Expensive to use.
• If the hub fails then the whole network is stopped
because all the nodes depend on the hub.
• Performance is based on the hub that is it depends on
its capacity
 Network Topology : Mesh
• It is a point-to-point connection to other nodes or devices. All the network
nodes are connected to each other. .

Features of Bus Topology

 Fully connected.
 Robust.
 Each node is capable of sending messages to
and receiving messages from other nodes.
 The nodes act as relays, passing on a message
towards its final destination.

Fig 2.16 : Mesh topology

Network Topology : Mesh Cont…
• There are two techniques to transmit data over the Mesh topology, they are :
 Routing
 Flooding

Fig 2.17 : Mesh topology with flooding

Network Topology : Mesh Cont…
MESH Topology: Routing
 In routing, the nodes have a routing logic, as per the network
requirements. Like routing logic to direct the data to reach the
destination using the shortest distance. Or, routing logic which has
information about the broken links, and it avoids those node etc.

MESH Topology: Flooding

 In flooding, the same data is transmitted to all the network nodes,
hence no routing logic is required.
Con’s & pro’s of Mesh topology

Advantages of Mesh Topology

• Each connection can carry its own data load.
• It is robust.
• Fault is diagnosed easily.
• Provides security and privacy.
Con’s & pro’s of Mesh topology

Disadvantages of Mesh Topology

• Installation and configuration is difficult.
• Cabling cost is more/ Bulk wiring is required.
• Highly complex structure.
 Network Topology : Hybrid
• Hybrid topology is a custom topology. It is a combination of two or more
standard topology including Bus, Ring & Star topology and others.

Features of Bus Topology

 This kind of topology share
pro’s and con’s of the topology
that it used.
 Users can easily add networks
and hardware components
without causing any
disturbances.

Fig 2.18 : Hybrid Topology

 WIRED AND WARLESS NETWORKING
1. WIRED
• In the networking world, “Wired” as the name suggests refers to any physical
medium connected through wires and cables.
• The wires/cables can be copper wire or fiber optic.
• Wired connectivity is responsible for providing high security with high
Bandwidth provisioned for each user.
WIRED NETWORKING CONT…

TYPES OF CABLE
• Cables in computer networks acts as the transmission medium through
which data transmission takes place from one node to other.

• The cables in computer

networks are classified as
 Twisted pair cable,
 Co-axial cables and
 Optical cable (Fiber
Optics)

Fig 2.19 : Computer networking cables type

WIRED NETWORKING CONT…
TWISTED PAIR CABLE
• The most common cable type used in LANs.
• Twisted pair cabling is a type of wiring in which two conductors of a single
circuit are twisted together for the purposes of improving electromagnetic
compatibility.
• These cable can further be classified into two types based on their features and
usability.
1. Un-Shielded twisted pair(UTP)
2. Shielded Twisted Pair(STP)
Fig 2.20 : A: Un-Shielded twisted pair(UTP) B: Shielded Twisted Pair(STP)
WIRED NETWORKING CONT…
COAXIAL CABLE
• Coaxial cable is a type of transmission line, used to carry high-frequency
electrical signals with low losses.

• It is a type of copper cable specially built

with a metal shield and other components
engineered to block signal interference.
• The most commonly used in MAN and
by television companies.
Fig 2. 21 : A. Outer plastic sheath

B. Woven copper shield

C. Inner dielectric insulator

D. Copper core
WIRED NETWORKING CONT…
OPTICAL CABLE
• The world of telecommunications is rapidly moving from copper wire networks to
fiber optics.
• Optical fiber is a very thin strand of pure glass which acts as a waveguide for light
over long distances. It uses a principle known as total internal reflection.
• Fiber optic cable is actually composed of two layers of glass: The core, which carries
the actual light signal, and the cladding, which is a layer of glass surrounding the core.

Fig 2. 22 : Fiber optics cable Fig 2. 23 : Parts of fiber optics cable

 READING TOPICS
 ARPAnet
 File Server
 Spread spectrum technology
 Packet
 Data redundancy
 NIC (Network Interface Card)
 TOPICS FOR
TOMORROW
 Wireless networking (wi-fi and Bluetooth)
 Cloud computing
 Collisions
 Ethernet and the Internet
 PSTN and VOIP
 IP address and subnetting
 WIRED AND WARLESS NETWORKING
2. WIRELESS
• A wireless network allows devices to stay connected to the network but
roam untethered to any wires.
• Access points amplify Wi-Fi signals, so a device can be far from a router but
still be connected to the network.
WIRELESS NETWORKING CONT…

BLUETOOTH
• Bluetooth is a short-range wireless technology standard that is used for exchanging
data between fixed and mobile devices over short distances.
• It uses electromagnetic radiation as the carrier of data transmission.
• Bluetooth creates a secure wireless personal area network (WPAN) based on key
encryption.

Fig 2. 24 : Registered Bluetooth icon

WIRELESS NETWORKING CONT…

WI-FI
• Commonly used for local area networking of devices and Internet access, allowing
nearby digital devices to exchange data by radio waves.

Fig 2. 25 : Wi‑Fi is a trademark of the non-profit Wi-Fi Alliance

WIRELESS NETWORKING CONT…

MAGNETIC RADIATION
• Wireless connectivity uses electromagnetic radiation: such as radio waves,
microwaves or infrared.
• Electromagnetic radiation consists of electromagnetic waves, which are
synchronized oscillations of electric and magnetic fields.
• Electromagnetic radiation or electromagnetic waves are created due to periodic
change of electric or magnetic field.
• It includes radio waves, microwaves, infrared, (visible) light, ultraviolet, X-rays,
and gamma rays. All of these waves form part of the electromagnetic spectrum.
WIRELESS NETWORKING CONT…
MAGNETIC RADIATION
 CLOUD COMPUTING

• cloud computing is the delivery of computing services—including servers, storage,

databases, software, analytics, and intelligence—over the Internet (“the cloud”) to offer faster
innovation, flexible resources, and economies of scale.
• You typically pay only for cloud services you use, helping you lower your operating costs,
run your infrastructure more efficiently,
• There are 3 common systems,
1. Public Cloud
2. Private Cloud
3. Hybrid Cloud
Fig 2.7 : Wireless LAN - WAP
 CLOUD COMPUTING CONT…

• Public Cloud: Public clouds are owned and operated by a third-party cloud
service providers, which deliver their computing resources, like servers and
storage, over the Internet.
• Private Cloud: A private cloud refers to cloud computing resources used
exclusively by a single business or organization. A private cloud can be
physically located on the company’s on-site datacenter
• Hybrid Cloud: Hybrid clouds combine public and private clouds
 PSTN(PUBLIC SWITCHED TELEPHONE NETWORK) VS
VOIP(VOICE OVER IP)
• PSTN is a traditional circuit-switched
telephone network. Using underground
copper wires, in recent it has been
changed to fiber optics cable.
• VoIP is simply a phone system that uses
the internet to make and receive calls
instead of using traditional landlines.
 INTERNET PROTOCOL (IP)

• An IP address is a unique address that identifies a device on the internet or a

local network.
• IP is the set of rules governing the format of data sent via the internet or local
network.
• IPv4 & IPv6 are both IP addresses that are binary
numbers.
• IPv4 is a 32-bit binary number, and IPv6 is a 128-
bit binary number address. IPv4 addresses are
separated by periods, while IPv6 addresses are
separated by colons.
 SUB-NETTING
• Subnetting is the practice of dividing a network into two or more smaller
networks.
• It increases routing efficiency, enhances the security of the network.
 READING TOPICS
• Private and public IP addresses
• URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
• DNS (Domain Name Server)
• Collisions
--- End of chapter 2 ---