CHAPTER 1: INTRODUCTION TO NETWORKING

Definition of Data Communication When we communicate, we are sharing information. This sharing can be local or remote. Between individuals, local communication usually occurs face to face, while remote communication takes place over distance. The term telecommunication, which includes telephony, telegraphy, and television, means communication at a distance (tele is Greek for "far").

The word data refers to information presented in whatever form is agreed upon by the parties creating and using the data.

Data communication is the exchange of data between two devices via some form of transmission medium such as a wire or cable. For data communications to occur, the communicating devices must be part of a communication system made up of a combination of hardware (physical equipment) and software (programs). The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four fundamental characteristics: Delivery, Accuracy, Timeliness, and Jitter.

1. Delivery: The system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must be received

by the intended device or user and only by that device or user.

2. Accuracy: The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been altered in

transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.

3. Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data delivered late are

useless. In the case of video and audio, timely delivery means delivering data as they are

produced, in the same order that they are produced, and without significant delay. This kind of delivery is called real-time transmission.

4. Jitter: Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the uneven delay in the

delivery of audio or video packets. For example, let us assume that video packets are sent every 3 ms. If some of the packets arrive with 3ms delay and others with 4ms delay, an uneven quality in the video is the result.

Communication Components A data communications system has five components

1. Message: The message is the information (data) to be communicated. Popular forms of information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and video.

2. Sender: The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer, workstation, telephone handset, video camera, and so on.

3. Receiver: The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a computer, workstation, telephone handset, television, and so on.

4. Transmission medium: The transmission medium is the physical path by which a message travels from sender to receiver. Some examples of transmission media include twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, and radio waves.

5. Protocol: A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It represents an agreement between the communicating devices. Without a protocol, two devices may be connected but not communicating, just as a person speaking French cannot be understood by a person who speaks only Japanese.

A Communication Model Communication: The process of receiving and sending information b/n two devices through telephone line, cables and so on. The fundamental purpose of a communications system is the exchange of data between two parties. The following figure presents one particular example, which is the communication between a workstation and a server over a public telephone network. Another example is the exchange of voice signals between two telephones over the same network. The key elements of the model are: Source: this device generates the data to be transmitted; example, are telephones and personal computers. Transmitter: usually, the data generated by a source system are not transmitted directly in the form in which they were generated. Rather, a transmitter transforms and encodes the information in such a way as to produce electro-magnetic signals that can be transmitted across some sort of transmission system. For example, a modem takes a digital bit stream from an attached device such as a personal computer and transforms that bit stream into an analog signal that can be handled by the telephone network. Transmission system: this can be a single transmission line or a complex network connecting source and destination. Receiver: the receiver accepts the signal from the transmission system and converts it into a form that can be handled by the destination device. For example, a modem will accept an analog signal coming from a network or transmission line and convert it into a digital bit stream. Destination: takes the incoming data from the receiver.

Figure: communication model

Representation of Data

Data can be represented in different forms such as text, numbers, images, audio, and video.

Text: In data communications, text is represented as a bit pattern, a sequence of bits (Os or Is). Different sets of bit patterns have been designed to represent text symbols. Each set is called a code, and the process of representing symbols is called coding. Today, the prevalent coding system is called Unicode, which uses 32 bits to represent a symbol or character used in any language in the world. The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII) developed some decades ago in the United States, now constitutes the first 128 characters in Unicode and is also referred to as Basic Latin.

Numbers: Numbers are also represented by bit patterns. However, a code such as ASCII is not used to represent numbers; the number is directly converted to a binary number to simplify mathematical operations.

Images: Images are also represented by bit patterns. In its simplest form, an image is composed of a matrix of pixels (picture elements), where each pixel is a small dot. The size of the pixel depends on the resolution. For example, an image can be divided into 1000 pixels or 10,000 pixels. In the second case, there is a better representation of the image (better resolution), but more memory is needed to store the image. After an image is divided into pixels, each pixel is assigned a bit pattern. The size and the value of the pattern depend on the image. For an image made of only black and-white dots (e.g., a chessboard), an I-bit pattern is enough to represent a pixel.

Audio: Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music. Audio is by nature different from text, numbers, or images. It is continuous, not discrete.

Video: Video refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie. Video can either
be produced as a continuous entity (e.g., by a TV camera), or it can be a combination of images, each a discrete entity, arranged to convey the idea of motion

Data Flow

Communication between two devices can be simplex, half-duplex, or full-duplex.

Simplex: In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street.

Only one of the two devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive. Keyboards and traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices. The keyboard can only introduce input; the monitor can only accept output. The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to send data in one direction.

Half-Duplex: In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the
same time. When one device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa. The half-duplex

mode is like a one-lane road with traffic allowed in both directions. When cars are traveling in one direction, cars going the other way must wait. In a half-duplex transmission, the entire capacity of a channel is taken over by whichever of the two devices is transmitting at the time. Walkie-talkies and CB (citizens band) radios are both half-duplex systems. The half-duplex
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mode is used in cases where there is no need for communication in both directions at the same time; the entire capacity of the channel can be utilized for each direction.

Full-Duplex: In full-duplex (also called duplex), both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously. The full-duplex mode is like a street with traffic flowing in both directions at the same time. One common example of full-duplex communication is the telephone network. When two people are communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same time. The full-duplex mode is used when communication in both directions is required all the time. The capacity of the channel, however, must be divided between the two directions.

Transmission methods the way information is transmitted Circuit switching : a circuit established and the whole file will be transmitted once , the others should wait . Packet switching: the data is divided in to chunks called packets and send it individually Message switching : each switch stores the whole message and forwards it to the next switch.

Definition of Computer 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. Networking: a concept of sharing a resource, in the case of connected components

Computer Network'' mean a collection of autonomous computers interconnected by a single technology. Two computers are said to be interconnected if they are able to exchange information. The connection need not be via a copper wire; fiber optics, microwaves, infrared, and communication satellites can also be used.

Network Criteria A network must be able to meet a certain number of criteria. The most important of these are performance, reliability, and security.

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. We often need more throughput and less delay. However, these two criteria are often contradictory. If we try to send more data to the network, we may increase throughput but we increase the delay because of traffic congestion in the network. Reliability In addition to accuracy of delivery, network reliability is measured by the frequency of failure, the time it takes a link to recover from a failure, and the network's robustness in a catastrophe. 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.

ADVANTAGES OF NETWORK
Speed. Sharing and transferring files within Networks are very rapid. Thus saving time, while maintaining the integrity of the file. Cost. Individually licensed copies of many popular software programs can be costly. Networkable versions are available at considerable savings. Shared programs, on a network allows for easier upgrading of the program on one single file server, instead of upgrading individual workstations. Centralized Software Management. Software can be loaded on one computer (the file server) eliminating that need to spend time and energy installing updates and tracking files on independent computers throughout the building.
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 Resource Sharing. Resources such as, printers, fax machines and modems can be shared. . Flexible Access. Access their files from computers throughout the firm. Workgroup Computing. Workgroup software (such as Microsoft BackOffice) allows many users to work on a document or project concurrently.

DISADVANTAGES OF NETWORK

Server faults stop applications being available Network faults can cause loss of data. Network fault could lead to loss of resources User work dependent upon network System open to hackers Decisions tend to become centralized Could become inefficient Could degrade in performance Resources could be located too far from users Network management can become difficult

Network classification There is no generally accepted taxonomy into which all computer networks fit.

Networks vary in: type: Ethernet, Cable TV, telephone network, Internet, cellular size: from a few computers close together, to a world-wide network of networks containing millions of computers technology: broadcast, point-to-point technical issues: services offered, rules for inter-computer communications, how users are charged for network use

Why all these variations? Due to a combination of factors, including: different target applications different operating environments historical reasons lack of (sensible) standards difficult problems => no optimal" solutions

Broadly speaking, there are two types of transmission technology that are in widespread use. These are as follows: Broadcast links Point-to-point links Broadcast networks have a single communication channel that is shared by all the machines on the network. Short messages, called packets in certain contexts, sent by any machine are received by the others. An address field within the packet specifies the intended recipient. Upon receiving a packet, a machine checks the address field. If the packet is intended for some other machine, it is just ignored. Broadcast systems generally also allow the possibility of addressing a packet to all destinations by using a special code in the address field. When packet with this code is transmitted, it is received and processed by every machine on the network. This mode of operation is called broadcasting. Some broadcasting systems also support transmission to a subset of the machines, something known as multicasting. In contrast, point-to-point networks consist of many connections between individual pairs of machines. To go from the source to the destination, a packet on this type of network may have to first visit one or more intermediate machines. Often multiple routes, of different lengths, are possible, so finding good ones is important in point-to-point networks. As a general rule (although there are many exceptions), smaller, geographically localized networks tend to use broadcasting, whereas larger networks usually are point-to-point. Point-to-point transmission with one sender and one receiver is sometimes called unicasting.

An alternative criterion for classifying networks is their scale : LANs, MANs, and WANs.

LANs (Local Area Networks) Local area networks, generally called LANs, are privately-owned networks within a single building or campus of up to a few kilometers in size. They are widely used to connect personal computers and workstations in company offices and factories to share resources (e.g., printers) and exchange information. LANs are distinguished from other kinds of networks by three characteristics: (1) their size, (2) their transmission technology, and (3) their topology. LANs are restricted in size, which means that the worst-case transmission time is bounded and known in advance. Knowing this bound makes it possible to use certain kinds of designs that would not otherwise be possible. It also simplifies network management. LANs may use a transmission technology consisting of a cable to which all the machines are attached, like the telephone company party lines once used in rural areas. Traditional LANs run at speeds of 10 Mbps to 100 Mbps, have low delay (microseconds or nanoseconds), and make very few errors. Newer LANs operate at up to 10 Gbps. 1 Mbps is 1,000,000 bits/sec and 1 Gbps is 1,000,000,000 bits/sec. MANs (Metropolitan Area Networks)

A metropolitan area network, or MAN, covers a city. The best-known example of a MAN is the cable television network available in many cities. This system grew from earlier community antenna systems used in areas with poor over-the-air television reception. In these early systems, a large antenna was placed on top of a nearby hill and signal was then piped to the subscribers' houses. A metropolitan area network based on cable TV

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WANs (Wide Area Networks)

A wide area network, or WAN, spans a large geographical area, often a country or continent. It contains a collection of machines intended for running user (i.e., application) programs. We will follow traditional usage and call these machines hosts. The hosts are connected by a communication subnet, or just subnet for short. The hosts are owned by the customers (e.g., people's personal computers), whereas the communication subnet is typically owned and operated by a telephone company or Internet service provider. The job of the subnet is to carry messages from host to host, just as the telephone system carries words from speaker to listener. Separation of the pure communication aspects of the network (the subnet) from the application aspects (the hosts), greatly simplifies the complete network design.
According to technical issue we can classify networks as: 1. Peer-to-Peer networks 2. server-based networks The simplest form of a network is a peer-to-peer network. In peer-to-peer network computers communicate directly with other computers on a single segment of cable and share each others data and devices, such as printers or CD-ROM drives. By default, no computer in peer-to-peer network has more authority than another and every computer can use resources from every other computer. The primary advantage to using peer-to-peer networks is that they are simple to configure. For this reason, they are often used in environments where technical expertise is scare. Peer-to-peer networks are also less expensive to set up and maintain than other types of networks. This fact makes them suitable for environments where saving money is critical. However, peer-to-peer networks are also not very flexible. Once a peer-to-peer network is established, adding or changing significant elements of the network may be difficult. Peer-to-peer networks are also not very secure,- meaning that data and other resources shared by network users can be easily discovered and used by unauthorized people.

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Finally, traditional peer-to-peer networks are not practical for connecting more than a handful of computers, because they do not necessarily centralize resources. The more computers you add to a peerto-peer network, the more difficult it becomes to find and track resources. One way to establish a peer-to-peer network is by manipulating Windows 98, Windows 2000, or Windows XP file sharing controls. Peer-to-peer networks do not require a special network operating system such as Microsoft Windows 2003 server or Novell Netware. Instead, each user on this type of network can modify the properties of his/her desktop operating system to allow others to read and edit files on that particular computers hard disk. Because access depends on many different users, it typically isnt uniform and may not be secure. Local area networks (LANs) involving many computers are usually server-based. On a server-based network, special computers, known as servers, process data for and facilitate communication between the other computers on the network, which are known as clients. Clients usually take the form of desktop computers, known as workstations. A network that uses a server to enable clients to share data, data storage space, and devices, is known as a client/server network. The servers main job is to allow clients to share resources. To function as a server, a computer must be running a network operating system, such as Microsoft Windows 2003 server, Novell Netware, or UNIX. A network operating system (NOS) is special software designed to manage data and other resources on a server for a number of clients. NOS also provides the ability to manage network security, network users and groups, protocols, and networked applications. The term client/server architecture refers to a networking model in which clients (typically desktop PCs) use a central server to share applications, devices, and data. Every computer in a client/server network act as a client or a server, and some computers may act as both. Clients on a network can still run applications from and save data to their local hard disk; a server, on the other hand, offers the option of using shared applications and data. Typically, clients on a client/server network do not communicate directly with each other, but rather use the server as an intermediate step in communications. Usually, servers are more powerful computers than those found on a users desktop. They may even be equipped with special hardware management functions beyond that provided by the network operating system. Advantage of server-based networks relative to peer-to-peer networks: User login accounts and passwords for anyone on a server-based network can be assigned in one place. 12

Access to multiple shared resources (such as data files or printers) can be centrally granted, by a single user or groups of users.

Servers are optimized to handle heavy processing loads and dedicated to handling requests from clients.

Because of their efficient processing and larger disk storage, servers can connect more than a handful of computers on a network.

Categories of topology The term physical topology refers to the way in which a network is laid out physically. One or more devices connect to a link; two or more links form a topology. The topology of a network is the geometric representation of the relationship of all the links and linking devices (usually called nodes) to one another. There are four basic topologies possible: mesh, star, bus, and ring

Mesh In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every other device. The term dedicated means that the link carries traffic only between the two devices it connects. To find the number of physical links in a fully connected mesh network with n nodes, we first consider that each node must be connected to every other node. Node 1 must be connected to n - I nodes, node 2 must be connected to n 1 nodes, and finally node n must be connected to n - 1 nodes. We need n(n - 1) physical links.

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However, if each physical link allows communication in both directions (duplex mode), we can divide the number of links by 2. In other words, we can say that in a mesh topology, we need n(n -1) /2 duplex-mode links.

A fully connected mesh topology (five devices)

One practical example of a mesh topology is the connection of telephone regional offices in which each regional office needs to be connected to every other regional office.

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. Unlike a mesh topology, a star topology does not allow direct traffic between devices. 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
A star topology connecting four stations

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A star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology. In a star, each device needs only one link and one I/O port to connect it to any number of others. This factor also makes it easy to install and reconfigure. Far less cabling needs to be housed, and additions, moves, and deletions involve only one connection: between that device and the hub.

Other advantages include robustness. If one link fails, only that link is affected. All other links remain active. This factor also lends itself to easy fault identification and fault isolation. As long as the hub is working, it can be used to monitor link problems and bypass defective links. One big disadvantage of a star topology is the dependency of the whole topology on one single point, the hub. If the hub goes down, the whole system is dead. Although a star requires far less cable than a mesh, each node must be linked to a central hub. For this reason, often more cabling is required in a star than in some other topologies

The star topology is used in local-area networks (LANs), High-speed LANs often use a star topology with a central hub.

Bus Topology The preceding examples all describe point-to-point connections. A bus topology, on the other hand, is multipoint. 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
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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.

Advantages of a bus topology include ease of installation. Backbone cable can be laid along the most efficient path, then connected to the nodes by drop lines of various lengths. In this way, a bus uses less cabling than mesh or star topologies. In a star, for example, four network devices in the same room require four lengths of cable reaching all the way to the hub. In a bus, this
redundancy is eliminated. Only the backbone cable stretches through the entire facility. Each drop line has to reach only as far as the nearest point on the backbone.

Disadvantages include difficult reconnection and fault isolation. A bus is usually designed to be optimally efficient at installation. It can therefore be difficult to add new devices. Signal reflection at the taps can cause degradation in quality. This degradation can be controlled by limiting the number and spacing of devices connected to a given length of cable. Adding new devices may therefore require modification or replacement of the backbone.

Ring Topology

In a ring topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point connection with only the two devices on either side of it. A signal is passed along the ring in one direction, from device to device, until it reaches its destination. Each device in the ring incorporates a repeater. When a device receives a signal intended for another device, its repeater regenerates the bits and passes them along. A ring is relatively easy to install and reconfigure. Each device is linked to only its immediate neighbors (either physically or logically). To add or delete a device requires changing only two connections. The only constraints are media and traffic considerations (maximum ring length and number of devices). In addition, fault isolation is simplified.

Generally in a ring, a signal is circulating at all times. If one device does not receive a signal within a specified period, it can issue an alarm. The alarm alerts the network operator to the problem and its location.

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Hybrid Topology A network can be hybrid. For example, we can have a main star topology with each branch connecting several stations in a bus topology

1.4 Applications of Computer Networks The applications of computer networks are broadly classified into four. (a) Business Applications (b) Home Applications (c) Mobile Users (d) Social Issues (a) Business Applications: The issue here is resource sharing, and the goal is to make all programs, equipment, and especially data available to anyone on the network without regard to the physical location of the resource and the user. Probably even more important than sharing physical resources such as printers, scanners, and CD burners, is sharing information. Every large and medium-sized company and many small companies are vitally dependent on computerized

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information. Most companies have customer records, inventories, accounts receivable, financial statements, tax information, and much more online. One can imagine a company's information system as consisting of one or more databases and some number of employees who need to access them remotely. In this model, the data are stored on powerful computers called servers. Often these are centrally housed and maintained by a system administrator. In contrast, the employees have simpler machines, called clients, on their desks, with which they access remote data. (b) Home Applications Some of the more popular uses of the Internet for home users are as follows: 1. Access to remote information. 2. Person-to-person communication. 3. Interactive entertainment. 4. Electronic commerce. Access to remote information comes in many forms. It can be surfing the World Wide Web for information or just for fun. Information available includes the arts, business, cooking, government, health, history, hobbies, recreation, science, sports, travel, and many others The second broad category of network use is person-to-person communication, basically the 21st century's answer to the 19th century's telephone. E-mail is already used on a daily basis by millions of people all over the world and its use is growing rapidly. It already routinely contains audio and video as well as text and pictures.

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SOME EXAMPLES OF E-COMMERCE ARE TAG B2C B2B G2C FULL NAME BUSINESS TO-CONSUMER BUSINESS-TO-BUSINESS GOVERNMENT-TO-CONSUMER EXAMPLE Ordering books on-line Car manufacturer ordering tires from supplier Government electronically C2C P2P CONSUMER-TO-CONSUMER PEER-TO-PEER Auctioning second hand products online File Sharing distributing tax forms

(c) Mobile users Mobile computers, such as notebook computers and personal digital assistants (PDAs), are one of the fastest-growing segments of the computer industry. Many owners of these computers have desktop machines back at the office and want to be connected to their home base even when away from home or en route. Since having a wired connection is impossible in cars and airplanes, there is a lot of interest in wireless networks. (d) Social issues A popular feature of many networks are newsgroups or bulletin boards whereby people can exchange messages with like-minded individuals. As long as the subjects are restricted to technical topics or hobbies like gardening, not too many problems will arise.

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