Computer Networking

A computer network is a collection of interconnected computers

and other devices which are able to communicate with each
other. In this context, the term interconnected means that there
exists a path through which data can be transmitted from one
computer/device to another.
A few of these advantages are:
Resource Sharing
Cost saving
Collaborative user interaction
Time saving
Increased storage
Wired Technologies
Co-axial Cable:
Coaxial cable conducts electrical signal using an inner conductor
(usually a flexible solid or stranded copper wire) surrounded by
an insulating layer and all enclosed by a shield layer, typically a
woven metallic braid; the cable is often protected by an outer
insulating jacket. Normally, the shield is kept at ground potential
and a voltage is applied to the center conductor to carry
electrical signals. The advantage of coaxial design is that the
electric and magnetic fields are confined to the dielectric with
little leakage outside the shield. On the converse, electric and
magnetic fields outside the cable are largely kept from causing
interference to signals inside the cable.

Ethernet Cable:
An Ethernet crossover cable is a type of Ethernet cable used to
connect computing devices together directly. Normal straight
through or patch cables were used to connect from a
host network interface controller (a computer or similar device)
to a network switch, hub or router. A cable with connections that
"cross over" was used to connect two devices of the same type:
two hosts or two switches to each other.

Optical Fiber:
An optical fiber (or optical fibre) is a flexible, transparent fiber
made of a pure glass (silica) not much thicker than a human
hair. It functions as awaveguide, or light pipe[1], to transmit
light between the two ends of the fiber.[2] The field of applied
science and engineering concerned with the design and
application of optical fibers is known as fiber optics. Optical
fibers are widely used in fiber-optic communications, which
permits transmission over longer distances and at
higher bandwidths (data rates) than other forms of
communication. Fibers are used instead of metal wires because
signals travel along them with less loss and are also immune
to electromagnetic interference. Fibers are also used
for illumination, and are wrapped in bundles so that they may be
used to carry images, thus allowing viewing in confined spaces.
Specially-designed fibers are used for a variety of other
applications, including sensorsand fiber lasers.
 Wireless Technologies

Bluetooth:
Bluetooth is a proprietary open wireless technology standard for
exchanging data over short distances (using short-wavelength
radio transmissions in the ISM band from 24002480 MHz) from
fixed and mobile devices, creating personal area
networks (PANs) with high levels of security.

Infrared:
Infrared (IR) light is electromagnetic radiation with
a wavelength longer than that of visible light, measured from
the nominal edge of visible red light at 0.74micrometres (m),
and extending conventionally to 300 m. These wavelengths
correspond to a frequency range of approximately 1 to 400 THz,
[1] and include most of the thermal radiation emitted by objects
near room temperature. Microscopically, IR light is typically
emitted or absorbed by molecules when they change
their rotational-vibrational movements.
Microwave:
Microwaves are radio waves with wavelengths ranging from as
long as one meter to as short as one millimeter, or equivalently,
with frequencies between 300 MHz (0.3 GHz) and 300 GHz.
[1] This broad definition includes both UHF and EHF (millimeter
waves), and various sources use different boundaries.[2] In all
cases, microwave includes the entire SHF band (3 to 30 GHz, or
10 to 1 cm) at minimum, with RF engineering often putting the
lower boundary at 1 GHz (30 cm), and the upper around
100 GHz (3 mm).

Radio Waves:
Radio waves are a type of electromagnetic
radiation with wavelengths in the electromagnetic
spectrum longer than infrared light. Radio waves
have frequencies from 300 GHz to as low as 3 kHz, and
corresponding wavelengths from 1 millimeter to 100 kilometer.
Like all other electromagnetic waves, they travel at the speed of
light. Naturally occurring radio waves are made by lightning, or
by astronomical objects. Artificially generated radio waves are
used for fixed and mobile radio
communication, broadcasting, radar and other navigation
systems, satellite communication, computer networks and
innumerable other applications. Different frequencies of radio
waves have different propagation characteristics in the Earth's
atmosphere; long waves may cover a part of the Earth very
consistently, shorter waves can reflect off the ionosphere and
travel around the world, and much shorter wavelengths bend or
reflect very little and travel on a line of sight.
Satellite:
A satellite link is a communications subsystem that involves
a link between a transmitting Earth station and a receiving Earth
station via a communications satellite.

Network Topologies
When we have to connect computers/devices in a network, there
may be certain conditions which have to be satisfied. Depending
upon these conditions, there may be different ways of
interconnecting the computers/devices. The way in which the
computers/devices are physically interconnected to form a
network is called a Topology.

Bus Topology
In bus topology all the nodes are connected to a main cable
called backbone. If any node has to send some information to
any other node, it sends the signal to the backbone. The signal
travels through the entire length of the backbone and is received
by the node for which it is intended. A small device called
terminator is attached at each end of the backbone. When the
signal reaches the end of backbone, it is absorbed by the
terminator and the backbone gets free to carry another signal.
This prevents the reflection of signal back on the cable and
hence eliminates the chances of signal interference.

Characteristics of Bus topology

It is easy to install.
It requires less cable length and hence it is cost effective.
Failure of a node does not affect the network.
 In case of cable (backbone) or terminator fault, the entire
network breaks down.
Fault diagnosis is difficult.
At a time only one node can transmit data
Star Topology
In star topology each node is directly connected to a hub/switch
(zoomed or blinking). If any node has to send some
information to any other node, it sends the signal to the
hub/switch This signal is then broadcast (in case of a hub) to all
the nodes but is accepted by the intended node(s). In the case
of a switch the signal is sent only to the intended node(s). Star
topology generally requires more cable than bus topology.

Characteristics of Star topology:

It is more efficient topology as compared to bus topology.

It is easy to install
It is easy to diagnose the fault in Star topology.
It is easy to expand depending on the specifications of
central hub/switch
Failure of hub/switch leads to failure of entire network
It requires more cable length as compared to bus topology
Tree Topology
Tree topology is a combination of bus and star topologies. It is
used to combine multiple star topology networks. All the stars
are connected together like a bus. This bus-star hybrid approach
supports future expandability of the network.
Characteristics of Tree topology:
It offers easy way of network expansion
Even if one network (star) fails, the other networks remain
connected and working.
Mac Address:
A Media Access Control address (MAC address) is a unique
identifier assigned to network interfaces for communications on
the physical network segment. MAC addresses are used for
numerous network technologies and most IEEE 802 network
technologies, including Ethernet. Logically, MAC addresses are
used in the Media Access Control protocol sub-layer of the OSI
reference model.
MAC addresses are most often assigned by the manufacturer of
a network interface card (NIC) and are stored in its hardware,
the card's read-only memory, or some other firmware
mechanism. If assigned by the manufacturer, a MAC address
usually encodes the manufacturer's registered identification
number and may be referred to as the burned-in address. It may
also be known as an Ethernet hardware address (EHA), hardware
address or physical address. A network node may have multiple
NICs and will then have one unique MAC address per NIC.
IP Address
An Internet Protocol address (IP address) is a numerical label
assigned to each device (e.g., computer, printer) participating in
a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for
communication. An IP address serves two principal functions:
host or network interface identification and location addressing.
Its role has been characterized as follows: "A name indicates
what we seek. An address indicates where it is. A route indicates
how to get there."

Domain Name:
A domain name is an identification string that defines a realm of
administrative autonomy, authority, or control on the Internet.
Domain names are formed by the rules and procedures of
the Domain Name System (DNS).
Domain names are used in various networking contexts and
application-specific naming and addressing purposes. In general,
a domain name represents an Internet Protocol (IP) resource,
such as a personal computer used to access the Internet, a
server computer hosting a web site, or the web site itself or any
other service communicated via the Internet.

Types of Networks
LAN
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that
interconnects computers in a limited area such as a home,
school, computer laboratory, or office building. The defining
characteristics of LANs, in contrast to wide area
networks (WANs), include their usually higher data-transfer
rates, smaller geographic area, and lack of a need for leased
telecommunication lines.
ARCNET, Token Ring and other technology standards have been
used in the past, but Ethernet over twisted pair cabling, and Wi-
Fi are the two most common technologies currently used to build
LANs.

MAN
A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a computer network that
usually spans a city or a large campus. A MAN usually
interconnects a number of local area networks (LANs) using a
high-capacity backbone technology, such as fiber-optical links,
and provides up-link services to wide area networks (or WAN)
and the Internet.

WAN
A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a telecommunication network
that covers a broad area (i.e., any network that links across
metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries). Business and
government entities utilize WANs to relay data among
employees, clients, buyers, and suppliers from various
geographical locations. In essence this mode of
telecommunication allows a business to effectively carry out its
daily function regardless of location.

PAN
A personal area network (PAN) is a computer network used
for communication among computerized devices,
including telephones and personal digital assistants. PANs can
be used for communication among the personal devices
themselves (intrapersonal communication), or for connecting to
a higher level network and the Internet (an uplink). A wireless
personal area network (WPAN) is a PAN carried over wireless
network technologies such as IrDA, Bluetooth,Wireless USB, Z-
Wave, ZigBee, or even Body Area Network. The reach of a WPAN
varies from a few centimeters to a few meters. A PAN may also
be carried over wired computer buses such as USB and FireWire.

Network Devices
HUB:
An Ethernet hub or hub is a device for connecting
multiple Ethernet devices together and making them act as a
single network segment. It has multiple input/output (I/O) ports,
in which a signal introduced at the input of any port appears at
the output of every port except the original incoming. A hub
works at the physical layer (layer 1) of the OSI model. The
device is a form of multiport repeater. Repeater hubs also
participate in collision detection, forwarding a jam signal to all
ports if it detects a collision.
Switch
A network switch or switching hub is a computer networking
device that connects network segments or network devices. The
term commonly refers to a multi-port network bridge that
processes and routes data at the data link layer (layer 2) of
the OSI model. Switches that additionally process data at
the network layer (layer 3) and above are often referred to
as layer-3 switches or multilayer switches.

Repeater:
A repeater is an electronic device that receives
a signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, or
onto the other side of an obstruction, so that the signal can
cover longer distances.
 Gateway:
A gateway is a network point that acts as an entrance to
another network. On the Internet, a node or stopping point node
or a host (end-point) node. Both the computers of Internet users
and the computers that serve pages to users are host nodes,
while the nodes that connect the networks in between are
gateways. For example, the computers that control traffic
between company networks or the computers used by internet
service providers (ISPs) to connect users to the internet are
gateway nodes.
Network Security

Denial of Services
A denial-of-service attack (DoS attack) or distributed denial-of-
service attack (DoS attack) is an attempt to make a computer or
network resource unavailable to its intended users. Although the
means to carry out, motives for, and targets of a DoS attack may
vary, it generally consists of the concerted efforts of a person, or
multiple people to prevent an Internet site or service from
functioning efficiently or at all, temporarily or indefinitely.
Intrusion Problem
Snooping, in a security context, is unauthorized access to
another person's or company's data. The practice is similar
to eavesdropping but is not necessarily limited to gaining access
to data during its transmission. Snooping can include casual
observance of an e-mail that appears on another's computer
screen or watching what someone else is typing. More
sophisticated snooping uses software programs to remotely
monitor activity on a computer.