Module 1

Introduction
Data Communication & Networks

Prof.(Dr.) A. Satheesh., Ph.D., PDF (NTPU, Taiwan)

Professor & Deputy Director

Amity School of Engineering and Technology
Amity University Maharashtra, Mumbai
Email: sabimannan@mum.amity.edu / satheesha23@gmail.com
 Outline

1. Networks
2. Network Criteria
3. Physical Structures

1.2
 Networks

1.3
 1-2 NETWORKS

A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes)

connected by communication links. A node can be a
computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending
and/or receiving data generated by other nodes on the
network. A link can be a cable, air, optical fiber, or any
medium which can transport a signal carrying
information.
Topics discussed in this section:
 Network Criteria
 Physical Structures
 Categories of Networks

1.4
 Network Criteria for an effective and efficient network

 Performance
 Depends on Network Elements
 Measured in terms of Delay and Throughput
 Reliability
 Failure rate of network components
 Measured in terms of availability/robustness
 Security
 Data protection against corruption/loss of data due to:
 Errors
 Malicious users

1.5
 Network Criteria

1. Performance
 Performance can be measured in many ways, including transit time and
response time.
 Transit time is the amount of time required for a message to travel from
one device to another
 Response time is the elapsed time between an inquiry and a response
 The performance of a network depends on a number of factors, including
the number of users, the type of transmission medium, the capabilities of
the connected hardware, and the efficiency of the software
 Performance is often evaluated by two networking metrics: throughput
and delay

1.6
 Network Criteria

 Performance
 throughput - the amount of data moved successfully from one place to
another in a given time period,
 delay - the time for which the processing of a particular packet takes
place. Types of delay: Transmission delay, Propagation delay,
Queuing delay and Processing delay

1.7
 Network Criteria

2. Reliability
 Network reliability is measured by the frequency of failure, the time it
takes a link to recover from a failure, and the network's rob.ustness
3. Security
 Network security issues include protecting data from unauthorized
access, protecting data from damage and development, and
implementing policies and procedures for recovery from breaches and
data losses.

1.8
 Physical Structures

 Type of Connection
 Point to Point - single transmitter and receiver
 Multipoint - multiple recipients of single transmission
 Physical Topology
 Connection of devices
 Type of transmission - unicast, mulitcast, broadcast

1.9
 Figure 1.3 Types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint

1.10
 Physical Topology

 The term physical topology refers to the way in which a

network is laid out physically.: two or more devices connect to
a link; two or more links form a topology.
 geometric representation of the relationship of all the links and
linking devices (usually called nodes) to one another

1.11
 Figure 1.4 Categories of topology

1.12
 Figure 1.5 A fully connected mesh topology (five devices)

1.13
 Mesh topology (five devices)

Examples
-connection of telephone regional offices
-Networks in military devices 

1.14
 Mesh topology (five devices)

Advantages of Mesh Topology

1. Scalable
2. Robust: If any single node gets fails in the system, the network
availability will not be affected and will be maintained. And, robust
features are included in this topology to overcome any situation.
Furthermore, this topology has no total shutdown
3. Lower Cost
4. Redundancy: This topology built a lot of redundancy to keep
maximum uptime and offers numerous paths to reach the destination.

1.15
 Mesh topology (five devices)

Disadvantages of Mesh Topology

1. Installation and configuration is difficult.
2. Cabling cost is more.
3. Bulk wiring is required.
4. Power Consumption

1.16
 Star topology

 In a star topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point

link only to a central controller, usually called a hub.
 The devices are not directly linked to one another
 The controller acts as an exchange: If one device wants to
send data to another, it sends the data to the controller, which
then relays the data to the other connected device

1.17
 Figure 1.6 A star topology connecting four stations

1.18
 Star topology

Advantages
 less expensive
 easy to install and reconfigure
 less cabling needs to be housed
 Robustness – If one link fails, only that link is affected

Disadvantages
 dependency of the whole topology on one single point, the
hub

1.19
 Bus topology connection

 One long cable acts as a backbone to link all the devices in a

network
 Nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop lines and taps. A
drop line is a connection running between the device and the
main cable.
 A tap is a connector that either splices into the main cable or
punctures the sheathing of a cable to create a contact with the
metallic core.
 As a signal travels along the backbone, some of its energy is
transformed into heat. Therefore, it becomes weaker and weaker
as it travels farther and farther. For this reason, there is a limit on
the number of taps a bus can support and on the distance
between those taps.

1.20
 Figure 1.7 A bus topology connecting three stations

1.21
 Figure 1.7 A bus topology connecting three stations

1.22
 Bus topology connection

Advantages
 easy to install
 less cabling
 It works very efficiently well when there is a small
network.
 cost-effective
Disadvantages
 not great for large networks
 Identification of problems becomes difficult if the whole
network goes down
 Troubleshooting individual device issues is very hard.
 If the main cable is damaged, the whole network fails or
splits into two
1.23
 Bus topology connection

Disadvantages
 Packet loss is high
 Very slow

1.24
 Ring topology

 A ring topology is a network configuration where device

connections create a circular data path. Each networked device is
connected to two others, like points on a circle. Together, devices
in a ring topology are referred to as a ring network

 In a ring network, packets of data

travel from one device to the next
until they reach their destination.
Most ring topologies allow
packets to travel only in one
direction, called a unidirectional
ring network

1.25
 Figure 1.8 A ring topology connecting six stations

1.26
 Ring topology

Advantages
 easy to install
 All data flows in one direction, reducing the chance of
packet collisions
 A network server is not needed to control network
connectivity between each workstation.
 Data can transfer between workstations at high speeds.
 Additional workstations can be added without impacting
performance of the network.

1.27
 Ring topology

Disadvantages
 The entire network will be impacted if one workstation
shuts down
 Slow data transfer
 Expensive - The hardware needed to connect each
workstation to the network is more expensive than
Ethernet cards and hubs/switches

1.28
 Hybrid topology: a star backbone with three bus networks

 A network can be hybrid. For example, we can have a main star

topology with each branch connecting several stations in a bus
topology

1.29