Computer Network(15IT303J)

A computer network is a system in which multiple computers are connected to each other to share
information and resources.

Characteristics of a Computer Network

 Share resources from one computer to another.

 Create files and store them in one computer, access those files from the other computer(s)
connected over the network.
 Connect a printer, scanner, or a fax machine to one computer within the network and let other
computers of the network use the machines available over the network.

Following is the list of hardware's required to set up a computer network.

 Network Cables
 Distributors
 Routers
 Internal Network Cards
 External Network Cards

Network Cables

Network cables are used to connect computers. The most commonly used cable is Category 5 cable
RJ-45.
Distributors

A computer can be connected to another one via a serial port but if we need to connect many
computers to produce a network, this serial connection will not work.

The solution is to use a central body to which other computers, printers, scanners, etc. can be
connected and then this body will manage or distribute network traffic.

Network Devices:

HUB

Hub is one of the basic icons of networking devices which works at physical layer and hence connect
networking devices physically together. Hubs are fundamentally used in networks that use twisted
pair cabling to connect devices. They are designed to transmit the packets to the other appended
devices without altering any of the transmitted packets received. They act as pathways to direct
electrical signals to travel along. They transmit the information regardless of the fact if data packet is
destined for the device connected or not.

Hub falls in two categories:

Active Hub: They are smarter than the passive hubs. They not only provide the path for the data
signals infact they regenerate, concentrate and strengthen the signals before sending them to their
destinations. Active hubs are also termed as ‘repeaters’.

Passive Hub: They are more like point contact for the wires to built in the physical network. They
have nothing to do with modifying the signals.

Ethernet Hubs

It is a device connecting multiple Ethernet devices together and makes them perform the functions as
a single unit. They vary in speed in terms of data transfer rate. Ether utilizes Carrier Sense Multiple
Access with Collision Detect (CSMA/CD) to control Media access. Ethernet hub communicates in
half-duplex mode where the chances of data collision are inevitable at most of the times.
Switches

Switches are the linkage points of an Ethernet network. Just as in hub, devices in switches are
connected to them through twisted pair cabling. But the difference shows up in the manner both the
devices; hub and a switch treat the data they receive. Hub works by sending the data to all the ports
on the device whereas a switch transfers it only to that port which is connected to the destination
device. A switch does so by having an in-built learning of the MAC address of the devices connected
to it. Since the transmission of data signals are well defined in a switch hence the network
performance is consequently enhanced. Switches operate in full-duplex mode where devices can
send and receive data from the switch at the simultaneously unlike in half-duplex mode. The
transmission speed in switches is double than in Ethernet hub transferring a 20Mbps connection into
30Mbps and a 200Mbps connection to become 300Mbps. Performance improvements are observed
in networking with the extensive usage of switches in the modern days.

The following method will elucidate further how data transmission takes place via switches:

 Cut-through transmission: It allows the packets to be forwarded as soon as they are

received. The method is prompt and quick but the possibility of error checking gets overlooked
in such kind of packet data transmission.
 Store and forward: In this switching environment the entire packet are received and ‘checked’
before being forwarded ahead. The errors are thus eliminated before being propagated further.
The downside of this process is that error checking takes relatively longer time consequently
making it a bit slower in processing and delivering.
 Fragment Free: In a fragment free switching environment, a greater part of the packet is
examined so that the switch can determine whether the packet has been caught up in a
collision. After the collision status is determined, the packet is forwarded.

Bridges

A bridge is a computer networking device that builds the connection with the other bridge networks
which use the same protocol. It works at the Data Link layer of the OSI Model and connects the
different networks together and develops communication between them. It connects two local-area
networks; two physical LANs into larger logical LAN or two segments of the same LAN that use the
same protocol.
Apart from building up larger networks, bridges are also used to segment larger networks into smaller
portions. The bridge does so by placing itself between the two portions of two physical networks and
controlling the flow of the data between them. Bridges nominate to forward the data after inspecting
into the MAC address of the devices connected to every segment. The forwarding of the data is
dependent on the acknowledgement of the fact that the destination address resides on some other
interface. It has the capacity to block the incoming flow of data as well. Today Learning bridges
have been introduced that build a list of the MAC addresses on the interface by observing the traffic
on the network. This is a leap in the development field of manually recording of MAC addresses.

Types of Bridges:

There are mainly three types in which bridges can be characterized:

 Transparent Bridge: As the name signifies, it appears to be transparent for the other devices
on the network. The other devices are ignorant of its existence. It only blocks or forwards the
data as per the MAC address.
 Source Route Bridge: It derives its name from the fact that the path which packet takes
through the network is implanted within the packet. It is mainly used in Token ring networks.
 Translational Bridge: The process of conversion takes place via Translational Bridge. It
converts the data format of one networking to another. For instance Token ring to Ethernet
and vice versa.

Switches superseding Bridges:

Ethernet switches are seen to be gaining trend as compared to bridges. They are succeeding on the
account of provision of logical divisions and segments in the networking field. Infact switches are
being referred to as multi-port bridges because of their advanced functionality

Routers

Routers are network layer devices and are particularly identified as Layer- 3 devices of the OSI
Model. They process logical addressing information in the Network header of a packet such as IP
Addresses. Router is used to create larger complex networks by complex traffic routing. It has the
ability to connect dissimilar LANs on the same protocol. It also has the ability to limit the flow of
broadcasts. A router primarily comprises of a hardware device or a system of the computer which has
more than one network interface and routing software.
Functionality:

When a router receives the data, it determines the destination address by reading the header of the
packet. Once the address is determined, it searches in its routing table to get know how to reach the
destination and then forwards the packet to the higher hop on the route. The hop could be the final
destination or another router.

Routing tables play a very pivotal role in letting the router makes a decision. Thus a routing table is
ought to be updated and complete. The two ways through which a router can receive information are:

 Static Routing: In static routing, the routing information is fed into the routing tables manually.
It does not only become a time-taking task but gets prone to errors as well. The manual
updating is also required in case of statically configured routers when change in the topology
of the network or in the layout takes place. Thus static routing is feasible for tinniest
environments with minimum of one or two routers.

 Dynamic Routing: For larger environment dynamic routing proves to be the practical solution.
The process involves use of peculiar routing protocols to hold communication. The purpose of
these protocols is to enable the other routers to transfer information about to other routers, so
that the other routers can build their own routing tables.

Brouters

Brouters are the combination of both the bridge and routers. They take up the functionality of the both
networking devices serving as a bridge when forwarding data between networks, and serving as a
router when routing data to individual systems. Brouter functions as a filter that allows some data into
the local network and redirects unknown data to the other network.

Brouters are rare and their functionality is embedded into the routers functioned to act as bridge as
well.

Gateways

Gateway is a device which is used to connect multiple networks and passes packets from one packet
to the other network. Acting as the ‘gateway’ between different networking systems or computer
programs, a gateway is a device which forms a link between them. It allows the computer programs,
either on the same computer or on different computers to share information across the network
through protocols. A router is also a gateway, since it interprets data from one network protocol to
another.

Others such as bridge converts the data into different forms between two networking systems. Then
a software application converts the data from one format into another. Gateway is a viable tool to
translate the data format, although the data itself remains unchanged. Gateway might be installed in
some other device to add its functionality into another.

Network card

Network cards also known as Network Interface Cards (NICs) are hardware devices that connect a
computer with the network. They are installed on the mother board. They are responsible for
developing a physical connection between the network and the computer. Computer data is
translated into electrical signals send to the network via Network Interface Cards.

They can also manage some important data-conversion function. These days network cards are
software configured unlike in olden days when drivers were needed to configure them. Even if the
NIC doesn’t come up with the software then the latest drivers or the associated software can be
downloaded from the internet as well.

Network protocols

Network protocols define a language of instructions and conventions for communication between the
network devices. It is essential that a networked computer must have one or more protocol drivers.
Usually, for two computers to interconnect on a network, they must use identical protocols. At times,
a computer is designed to use multiple protocols. Network protocols like HTTP, TCP/IP offer a basis
on which much of the Internet stands.

System requirement:

 The bus compatibility should be verified on installing an NIC into the system. The commonly
used bus system is Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI)
 Memory I/O addresses and IRQ are needed.
 Need of drivers if not already installed.
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network)

ISDN are used to send over graphic or audio data files. It is a WAN technology that can be used in
place of a dial up link. The accessibility of ISDN depends upon the provision of the service by the
service provider, the quality of the line set up to your area. It surely provides higher speed than a
modem and has the capability to pick up the line and drop it considerably at a faster rate.

ISDN can create numerous communication routes on a single line. Nowadays, even faster and
cheaper technologies that ISDN have found their way in the realm of technology.

Modems

Modem is a device which converts the computer-generated digital signals of a computer into analog
signals to enable their travelling via phone lines. The ‘modulator-demodulator’ or modem can be used
as a dial up for LAN or to connect to an ISP. Modems can be both external, as in the device which
connects to the USB or the serial port of a computer, or proprietary devices for handheld gadgets and
other devices, as well as internal; in the form of add-in expansion cards for computers and PCMCIA
cards for laptops.

Configuration of a modem differs for both the external and internal modem. For internal modems, IRQ
– Interrupt request is used to configure the modem along with I/O, which is a memory address.
Typically before the installation of built-in modem, integrated serial interfaces are disabled,
simultaneously assigning them the COM2 resources.

For external connection of a modem, the modem assigns and uses the resources itself. This is
especially useful for the USB port and laptop users as the non-complex and simpler nature of the
process renders it far much more beneficial for daily usage.

Upon installation, the second step to ensure the proper working of a modem is the installation of
drivers. The modem working speed and processing is dependent on two factors:

 Speed of UART – Universal Asynchronous Receiver or Transmitter chip (installed in the

computer to which the modem connection is made)
  Speed of the modem itself

Network Card

Network card is a necessary component of a computer without which a computer cannot be

connected over a network. It is also known as the network adapter or Network Interface Card (NIC).
Most branded computers have network card pre-installed. Network cards are of two types: Internal
and External Network Cards.

Internal Network Cards

Motherboard has a slot for internal network card where it is to be inserted. Internal network cards are
of two types in which the first type uses Peripheral Component Interconnect (PCI) connection, while
the second type uses Industry Standard Architecture (ISA). Network cables are required to provide
network access.

External Network Cards

External network cards are of two types: Wireless and USB based. Wireless network card needs to
be inserted into the motherboard, however no network cable is required to connect to the network.

Universal Serial Bus (USB)

USB card is easy to use and connects via USB port. Computers automatically detect USB card and
can install the drivers required to support the USB network card automatically.
Computer - Applications
the application of computers in various fields.

Business

A computer has high speed of calculation, diligence, accuracy, reliability, or versatility which has
made it an integrated part in all business organizations.

Computer is used in business organizations for −

 Payroll calculations
 Budgeting
 Sales analysis
 Financial forecasting
 Managing employee database
 Maintenance of stocks, etc.

Banking

Today, banking is almost totally dependent on computers.

Banks provide the following facilities −

  Online accounting facility, which includes checking current balance, making deposits and
overdrafts, checking interest charges, shares, and trustee records.
 ATM machines which are completely automated are making it even easier for customers to
deal with banks.

Insurance

Insurance companies are keeping all records up-to-date with the help of computers. Insurance
companies, finance houses, and stock broking firms are widely using computers for their concerns.

Insurance companies are maintaining a database of all clients with information showing −

 Procedure to continue with policies

 Starting date of the policies
 Next due installment of a policy
 Maturity date
 Interests due
 Survival benefits
 Bonus

Education

The computer helps in providing a lot of facilities in the education system.

 The computer provides a tool in the education system known as CBE (Computer Based
Education).
 CBE involves control, delivery, and evaluation of learning.
 Computer education is rapidly increasing the graph of number of computer students.
 There are a number of methods in which educational institutions can use a computer to
educate the students.
 It is used to prepare a database about performance of a student and analysis is carried out on
this basis.

Marketing
In marketing, uses of the computer are following −

 Advertising − With computers, advertising professionals create art and graphics, write and
revise copy, and print and disseminate ads with the goal of selling more products.
 Home Shopping − Home shopping has been made possible through the use of computerized
catalogues that provide access to product information and permit direct entry of orders to be
filled by the customers.

Healthcare

Computers have become an important part in hospitals, labs, and dispensaries. They are being used
in hospitals to keep the record of patients and medicines. It is also used in scanning and diagnosing
different diseases. ECG, EEG, ultrasounds and CT scans, etc. are also done by computerized
machines.

Following are some major fields of health care in which computers are used.

 Diagnostic System − Computers are used to collect data and identify the cause of illness.
 Lab-diagnostic System − All tests can be done and the reports are prepared by computer.
 Patient Monitoring System − These are used to check the patient's signs for abnormality
such as in Cardiac Arrest, ECG, etc.
 Pharma Information System − Computer is used to check drug labels, expiry dates, harmful
side effects, etc.
 Surgery − Nowadays, computers are also used in performing surgery.

Engineering Design

Computers are widely used for Engineering purpose.

One of the major areas is CAD (Computer Aided Design) that provides creation and modification of
images. Some of the fields are −
  Structural Engineering − Requires stress and strain analysis for design of ships, buildings,
budgets, airplanes, etc.
 Industrial Engineering − Computers deal with design, implementation, and improvement of
integrated systems of people, materials, and equipment.
 Architectural Engineering − Computers help in planning towns, designing buildings,
determining a range of buildings on a site using both 2D and 3D drawings.

Military

Computers are largely used in defence. Modern tanks, missiles, weapons, etc. Military also employs
computerized control systems. Some military areas where a computer has been used are −

 Missile Control
 Military Communication
 Military Operation and Planning
 Smart Weapons

Communication

Communication is a way to convey a message, an idea, a picture, or speech that is received and
understood clearly and correctly by the person for whom it is meant. Some main areas in this
category are −

 E-mail
 Chatting
 Usenet
 FTP
 Telnet
  Video-conferencing

Government

Computers play an important role in government services. Some major fields in this category are −

 Budgets
 Sales tax department
 Income tax department
 Computation of male/female ratio
 Computerization of voters lists
 Computerization of PAN card
 Weather forecasting

Computer Network Types

Generally, networks are distinguished based on their geographical span. A network can be as small
as distance between your mobile phone and its Bluetooth headphone and as large as the internet
itself, covering the whole geographical world.

Personal Area Network

A Personal Area Network (PAN) is smallest network which is very personal to a user. This may
include Bluetooth enabled devices or infra-red enabled devices. PAN has connectivity range up to 10
meters. PAN may include wireless computer keyboard and mouse, Bluetooth enabled headphones,
wireless printers and TV remotes.

For example, Piconet is Bluetooth-enabled Personal Area Network which may contain up to 8
devices connected together in a master-slave fashion.

Local Area Network

A computer network spanned inside a building and operated under single administrative system is
generally termed as Local Area Network (LAN). Usually,LAN covers an organization’ offices, schools,
colleges or universities. Number of systems connected in LAN may vary from as least as two to as
much as 16 million.

LAN provides a useful way of sharing the resources between end users.The resources such as
printers, file servers, scanners, and internet are easily sharable among computers.

LANs are composed of inexpensive networking and routing equipment. It may contains local servers
serving file storage and other locally shared applications. It mostly operates on private IP addresses
and does not involve heavy routing. LAN works under its own local domain and controlled centrally.

LAN uses either Ethernet or Token-ring technology. Ethernet is most widely employed LAN
technology and uses Star topology, while Token-ring is rarely seen.

LAN can be wired,wireless, or in both forms at once.

Metropolitan Area Network

The Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) generally expands throughout a city such as cable TV
network. It can be in the form of Ethernet,Token-ring, ATM, or Fiber Distributed Data Interface
(FDDI).

Metro Ethernet is a service which is provided by ISPs. This service enables its users to expand their
Local Area Networks. For example, MAN can help an organization to connect all of its offices in a
city.

Backbone of MAN is high-capacity and high-speed fiber optics. MAN works in between Local Area
Network and Wide Area Network. MAN provides uplink for LANs to WANs or internet.

Wide Area Network

As the name suggests,the Wide Area Network (WAN) covers a wide area which may span across
provinces and even a whole country. Generally, telecommunication networks are Wide Area Network.
These networks provide connectivity to MANs and LANs. Since they are equipped with very high
speed backbone, WANs use very expensive network equipment.

WAN may use advanced technologies such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Frame Relay,
and Synchronous Optical Network (SONET). WAN may be managed by multiple administration.

Internetwork

A network of networks is called an internetwork, or simply the internet. It is the largest network in
existence on this planet.The internet hugely connects all WANs and it can have connection to LANs
and Home networks. Internet uses TCP/IP protocol suite and uses IP as its addressing protocol.
Present day, Internet is widely implemented using IPv4. Because of shortage of address spaces, it is
gradually migrating from IPv4 to IPv6.

Internet enables its users to share and access enormous amount of information worldwide. It uses
WWW, FTP, email services, audio and video streaming etc. At huge level, internet works on Client-
Server model.

Internet uses very high speed backbone of fiber optics. To inter-connect various continents, fibers are
laid under sea known to us as submarine communication cable.

Internet is widely deployed on World Wide Web services using HTML linked pages and is accessible
by client software known as Web Browsers. When a user requests a page using some web browser
located on some Web Server anywhere in the world, the Web Server responds with the proper HTML
page. The communication delay is very low.

Internet is serving many proposes and is involved in many aspects of life. Some of them are:

 Web sites
 E-mail
 Instant Messaging
 Blogging
 Social Media
 Marketing
 Networking
 Resource Sharing
 Audio and Video Streaming

Network LAN Technologies

Ethernet
Ethernet is a widely deployed LAN technology.This technology was invented by Bob Metcalfe and
D.R. Boggs in the year 1970. It was standardized in IEEE 802.3 in 1980.

Ethernet shares media. Network which uses shared media has high probability of data collision.
Ethernet uses Carrier Sense Multi Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) technology to detect
collisions. On the occurrence of collision in Ethernet, all its hosts roll back, wait for some random
amount of time, and then re-transmit the data.

Ethernet connector is,network interface card equipped with 48-bits MAC address. This helps other
Ethernet devices to identify and communicate with remote devices in Ethernet.

Traditional Ethernet uses 10BASE-T specifications.The number 10 depicts 10MBPS speed, BASE
stands for baseband, and T stands for Thick Ethernet. 10BASE-T Ethernet provides transmission
speed up to 10MBPS and uses coaxial cable or Cat-5 twisted pair cable with RJ-45 connector.
Ethernet follows star topology with segment length up to 100 meters. All devices are connected to a
hub/switch in a star fashion.

Fast-Ethernet

To encompass need of fast emerging software and hardware technologies, Ethernet extends itself as
Fast-Ethernet. It can run on UTP, Optical Fiber, and wirelessly too. It can provide speed up to 100
MBPS. This standard is named as 100BASE-T in IEEE 803.2 using Cat-5 twisted pair cable. It uses
CSMA/CD technique for wired media sharing among the Ethernet hosts and CSMA/CA (CA stands
for Collision Avoidance) technique for wireless Ethernet LAN.

Fast Ethernet on fiber is defined under 100BASE-FX standard which provides speed up to 100 MBPS
on fiber. Ethernet over fiber can be extended up to 100 meters in half-duplex mode and can reach
maximum of 2000 meters in full-duplex over multimode fibers.

Giga-Ethernet

After being introduced in 1995, Fast-Ethernet could enjoy its high speed status only for 3 years till
Giga-Ethernet introduced. Giga-Ethernet provides speed up to 1000 mbits/seconds. IEEE802.3ab
standardize Giga-Ethernet over UTP using Cat-5, Cat-5e and Cat-6 cables. IEEE802.3ah defines
Giga-Ethernet over Fiber.

Virtual LAN

LAN uses Ethernet which in turn works on shared media. Shared media in Ethernet create one single
Broadcast domain and one single Collision domain. Introduction of switches to Ethernet has removed
single collision domain issue and each device connected to switch works in its separate collision
domain. But even Switches cannot divide a network into separate Broadcast domains.

Virtual LAN is a solution to divide a single Broadcast domain into multiple Broadcast domains. Host in
one VLAN cannot speak to a host in another. By default, all hosts are placed into the same VLAN.
In this diagram, different VLANs are depicted in different color codes. Hosts in one VLAN, even if
connected on the same Switch cannot see or speak to other hosts in different VLANs. VLAN is Layer-
2 technology which works closely on Ethernet. To route packets between two different VLANs a
Layer-3 device such as Router is required.

Computer Network Toplogies

A Network Topology is the arrangement with which computer systems or network devices are
connected to each other. Topologies may define both physical and logical aspect of the network.
Both logical and physical topologies could be same or different in a same network.

Point-to-Point

Point-to-point networks contains exactly two hosts such as computer, switches or routers, servers
connected back to back using a single piece of cable. Often, the receiving end of one host is
connected to sending end of the other and vice-versa.

If the hosts are connected point-to-point logically, then may have multiple intermediate devices. But
the end hosts are unaware of underlying network and see each other as if they are connected
directly.

Bus Topology

In case of Bus topology, all devices share single communication line or cable.Bus topology may have
problem while multiple hosts sending data at the same time. Therefore, Bus topology either uses
CSMA/CD technology or recognizes one host as Bus Master to solve the issue. It is one of the simple
forms of networking where a failure of a device does not affect the other devices. But failure of the
shared communication line can make all other devices stop functioning.
Both ends of the shared channel have line terminator. The data is sent in only one direction and as
soon as it reaches the extreme end, the terminator removes the data from the line.

Star Topology

All hosts in Star topology are connected to a central device, known as hub device, using a point-to-
point connection. That is, there exists a point to point connection between hosts and hub. The hub
device can be any of the following:

 Layer-1 device such as hub or repeater

 Layer-2 device such as switch or bridge
 Layer-3 device such as router or gateway

As in Bus topology, hub acts as single point of failure. If hub fails, connectivity of all hosts to all other
hosts fails. Every communication between hosts, takes place through only the hub.Star topology is
not expensive as to connect one more host, only one cable is required and configuration is simple.

Ring Topology

In ring topology, each host machine connects to exactly two other machines, creating a circular
network structure. When one host tries to communicate or send message to a host which is not
adjacent to it, the data travels through all intermediate hosts. To connect one more host in the
existing structure, the administrator may need only one more extra cable.
Failure of any host results in failure of the whole ring.Thus, every connection in the ring is a point of
failure. There are methods which employ one more backup ring.

Mesh Topology

In this type of topology, a host is connected to one or multiple hosts.This topology has hosts in point-
to-point connection with every other host or may also have hosts which are in point-to-point
connection to few hosts only.

Hosts in Mesh topology also work as relay for other hosts which do not have direct point-to-point
links. Mesh technology comes into two types:

 Full Mesh: All hosts have a point-to-point connection to every other host in the network. Thus
for every new host n(n-1)/2 connections are required. It provides the most reliable network
structure among all network topologies.
 Partially Mesh: Not all hosts have point-to-point connection to every other host. Hosts
connect to each other in some arbitrarily fashion. This topology exists where we need to
provide reliability to some hosts out of all.

Tree Topology

Also known as Hierarchical Topology, this is the most common form of network topology in use
presently.This topology imitates as extended Star topology and inherits properties of bus topology.

This topology divides the network in to multiple levels/layers of network. Mainly in LANs, a network is
bifurcated into three types of network devices. The lowermost is access-layer where computers are
attached. The middle layer is known as distribution layer, which works as mediator between upper
layer and lower layer. The highest layer is known as core layer, and is central point of the network,
i.e. root of the tree from which all nodes fork.

All neighboring hosts have point-to-point connection between them.Similar to the Bus topology, if the
root goes down, then the entire network suffers even.though it is not the single point of failure. Every
connection serves as point of failure, failing of which divides the network into unreachable segment.

Daisy Chain

This topology connects all the hosts in a linear fashion. Similar to Ring topology, all hosts are
connected to two hosts only, except the end hosts.Means, if the end hosts in daisy chain are
connected then it represents Ring topology.

Each link in daisy chain topology represents single point of failure. Every link failure splits the network
into two segments.Every intermediate host works as relay for its immediate hosts.

Hybrid Topology

A network structure whose design contains more than one topology is said to be hybrid topology.
Hybrid topology inherits merits and demerits of all the incorporating topologies.
The above picture represents an arbitrarily hybrid topology. The combining topologies may contain
attributes of Star, Ring, Bus, and Daisy-chain topologies. Most WANs are connected by means of
Dual-Ring topology and networks connected to them are mostly Star topology networks. Internet is
the best example of largest Hybrid topology.

Network Criteria:

Computer network is a telecommunication channel through which we can share our data. It is also
called data network. The best example of computer network is Internet. Computer network does not
mean a system with control unit and other systems as its slave. It is called a distributed system

A network must be able to meet certain criteria, these are mentioned below:

1. Performance
2. Reliability
3. Scalability

Performance

It can be measured in following ways :

 Transit time : It is the time taken to travel a message from one device to another.
 Response time : It is defined as the time elapsed between enquiry and response.

Other ways to measure performance are :

1. Efficiency of software
2. Number of users
3. Capability of connected hardware

Reliability

It decides the frequency at which network failure take place. More the failures are, less is the
network's reliability.

Security

It refers to the protection of data from the unauthorised user or access. While travelling through
network, data passes many layers of network, and data can be traced if attempted. Hence security is
also a very important characteristic for Networks.

Components of Data Communication

1. Message : It is the information to be delivered.

2. Sender : Sender is the person who is sending the message.
3. Receiver : Receiver is the person to him the message is to be delivered.
4. Medium : It is the medium through which message is to be sent for example modem.
5. Protocol : These are some set of rules which govern data communication.

Line Configuration in Computer Networks

Network is a connection made through connection links between two or more devices. Devices can
be a computer, printer or any other device that is capable to send and receive data. There are two
ways to connect the devices :
 1. Point-to-Point connection
2. Multipoint connection

Point-To-Point Connection

It is a protocol which is used as a communication link between two devices. It is simple to establish.
The most common example for Point-to-Point connection (PPP) is a computer connected by
telephone line. We can connect the two devices by means of a pair of wires or using a microwave or
satellite link.

Example: Point-to-Point connection between remote control and Television for changing the
channels.

MultiPoint Connection

It is also called Multidrop configuration. In this connection two or more devices share a single link.

There are two kinds of Multipoint Connections :

 If the links are used simultaneously between many devices, then it is spatially shared line
configuration.
 If user takes turns while using the link, then it is time shared (temporal) line configuration.

Computer Network Models

Networking engineering is a complicated task, which involves software, firmware, chip level
engineering, hardware, and electric pulses. To ease network engineering, the whole networking
concept is divided into multiple layers. Each layer is involved in some particular task and is
independent of all other layers. But as a whole, almost all networking tasks depend on all of these
layers. Layers share data between them and they depend on each other only to take input and send
output.

Layered Tasks

In layered architecture of Network Model, one whole network process is divided into small tasks.
Each small task is then assigned to a particular layer which works dedicatedly to process the task
only. Every layer does only specific work.

In layered communication system, one layer of a host deals with the task done by or to be done by its
peer layer at the same level on the remote host. The task is either initiated by layer at the lowest level
or at the top most level. If the task is initiated by the-top most layer, it is passed on to the layer below
it for further processing. The lower layer does the same thing, it processes the task and passes on to
lower layer. If the task is initiated by lower most layer, then the reverse path is taken.
Every layer clubs together all procedures, protocols, and methods which it requires to execute its
piece of task. All layers identify their counterparts by means of encapsulation header and tail.

OSI Model

Open System Interconnect is an open standard for all communication systems. OSI model is
established by International Standard Organization (ISO). This model has seven layers:

 Application Layer: This layer is responsible for providing interface to the application user.
This layer encompasses protocols which directly interact with the user.
 Presentation Layer: This layer defines how data in the native format of remote host should be
presented in the native format of host.
 Session Layer: This layer maintains sessions between remote hosts. For example, once
user/password authentication is done, the remote host maintains this session for a while and
does not ask for authentication again in that time span.
 Transport Layer: This layer is responsible for end-to-end delivery between hosts.
 Network Layer: This layer is responsible for address assignment and uniquely addressing
hosts in a network.
 Data Link Layer: This layer is responsible for reading and writing data from and onto the line.
Link errors are detected at this layer.
 Physical Layer: This layer defines the hardware, cabling wiring, power output, pulse rate etc.

Internet Model

Internet uses TCP/IP protocol suite, also known as Internet suite. This defines Internet Model which
contains four layered architecture. OSI Model is general communication model but Internet Model is
what the internet uses for all its communication. The internet is independent of its underlying network
architecture so is its Model. This model has the following layers:

 Application Layer: This layer defines the protocol which enables user to interact with the
network.For example, FTP, HTTP etc.
 Transport Layer: This layer defines how data should flow between hosts. Major protocol at
this layer is Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). This layer ensures data delivered between
hosts is in-order and is responsible for end-to-end delivery.
 Internet Layer: Internet Protocol (IP) works on this layer. This layer facilitates host addressing
and recognition. This layer defines routing.
 Link Layer: This layer provides mechanism of sending and receiving actual data.Unlike its
OSI Model counterpart, this layer is independent of underlying network architecture and
hardware.

Computer Network Security

Security threats can be divided into the following categories During initial days of internet, its use was
limited to military and universities for research and development purpose. Later when all networks
merged together and formed internet, the data useds to travel through public transit
network.Common people may send the data that can be highly sensitive such as their bank
credentials, username and passwords, personal documents, online shopping details, or confidential
documents.

All security threats are intentional:

 Interruption

Interruption is a security threat in which availability of resources is attacked. For example, a

user is unable to access its web-server or the web-server is hijacked.

 Privacy-Breach

In this threat, the privacy of a user is compromised. Someone, who is not the authorized
person is accessing or intercepting data sent or received by the original authenticated user.

 Integrity

This type of threat includes any alteration or modification in the original context of
communication. The attacker intercepts and receives the data sent by the sender and the
attacker then either modifies or generates false data and sends to the receiver. The receiver
receives the data assuming that it is being sent by the original Sender.

 Authenticity
 This threat occurs when an attacker or a security violator, poses as a genuine person and
accesses the resources or communicates with other genuine users.

No technique in the present world can provide 100% security. But steps can be taken to secure data
while it travels in unsecured network or internet. The most widely used technique is Cryptography.

Cryptography is a technique to encrypt the plain-text data which makes it difficult to understand and
interpret. There are several cryptographic algorithms available present day as described below:

 Secret Key
 Public Key
 Message Digest

Secret Key Encryption

Both sender and receiver have one secret key. This secret key is used to encrypt the data at sender’s
end. After the data is encrypted, it is sent on the public domain to the receiver. Because the receiver
knows and has the Secret Key, the encrypted data packets can easily be decrypted.

Example of secret key encryption is Data Encryption Standard (DES). In Secret Key encryption, it is
required to have a separate key for each host on the network making it difficult to manage.

Public Key Encryption

In this encryption system, every user has its own Secret Key and it is not in the shared domain. The
secret key is never revealed on public domain. Along with secret key, every user has its own but
public key. Public key is always made public and is used by Senders to encrypt the data. When the
user receives the encrypted data, he can easily decrypt it by using its own Secret Key.

Example of public key encryption is Rivest-Shamir-Adleman (RSA).

Message Digest

In this method, actual data is not sent, instead a hash value is calculated and sent. The other end
user, computes its own hash value and compares with the one just received.If both hash values are
matched, then it is accepted otherwise rejected.

Example of Message Digest is MD5 hashing. It is mostly used in authentication where user password
is cross checked with the one saved on the server.