CSC 423 : COMPUTER NETWORKS

* Introduction to Networking
* Classification/Types of Networks
- LAN, WAN, INTRANET, EXTRANET, INTERNET
* LAN Definition, Scope, Components, Topology
* Internetworking
* Interconnectivity, Standards, Protocols.
Textbooks
1.
Computer Networks and Internets with Internet Applications, 3rd Edition
Author: Douglas E-Comer
2.

Data and Computer Communications, 3rd Edition

Author ; Williams Stallings.

Monday, January 05,

2015

COMPUTER NETWORKS BASICS

-

Evolution of Computer Networks

* Batch oriented configuration
* Time sharing Multi-user
* Single User
* LAN
* Private WANs (Metropolitan)
* Publicly Switched Data Networks (WAN)
* Internet
* Intranet
Motivation/Benefits of Networks
* Fast communication data/messages:- The first data networks were developed to share large scale
computational power
- Information
- Software
* Sharing of resources Data / Messages
- information
- software
- hardware processor, memory, printer, modem, remote devices
e.t.c
* Cost effectiveness
* Convenience
* Delivered new paradigms Global village, digital economy, information society, common humanity.
delivered new services e-services e.g. e-mail, web browsing,, e-purse, e-banking, e-commerce,
virtual- learning, virtual lab etc. ftp, teleconferencing etc.
Network Types
- LAN, MAN, WAN, INTRANET, INTERNET
- LAN
* Definition & Scope
* Benefits
* Requirements
* Point to point t/Direct & shared LAN
* Topology / Architecture

Monday, January 05,

2015

-A network is a set or collection of nodes or points which are linked or connected together
e.g. network of roads, a network of fuel depots, a network of product distributors.
- Computer Network refers to a set or collection of computers that are linked or connected
together in some pattern.
Historical development of computer Networks
* Development of multi-user systems
* Limitations of multi-user systems
* Development of top-end PCs
* Limitations of PCs
- Motivation/Benefits of computer networks
* Fast Communication
** Messages / Information
** Data
** Software
** Access to specified remote devices
* Sharing of computer resources
** Messages / information
** Data
** Software
** Devices e.g. printers, moderns, telephone lines.
** RAM space
Monday, January 05,
2015

** Processor
** Hard disk space
* Cost
* Convenience

Monday, January 05,

2015

LAN Contd
* General Introduction
* Point to Point versus shared LAN
No. of direct = (N2 N) / 2
Connections
* Locality of reference principle
- Temporal locality of reference
- Physical locality of reference
* Requirements

* Topology / Architecture
Discuss the different lines (cables, cards, connector & other accessories)
available in the market based on star, Ring & Bus architecture.
Monday, January 05,
2015

LAN Contd
The decreasing cost and increasing performance of micros have led to a continuing integration of microtechnology into every facet of business, education, and government.
Single Site organizations i.e. organizations whose communication occurs across relatively short distances
such as a building or a group of offices, benefit from LAN.
- The initial motivation for LAN was the need to share expensive resources such as laser printers and highcapacity, high-speed mass storage devices etc. among a number of users termed WORKGROUP. This is a
direct economic benefit.
- LAN allows the high-speed exchange of essential information between workgroup members in an
organization. This promotes efficiency and productivity.
- LAN provides the catalyst to increase the range of potential applications for PCs.
- LAN could be a visible contributor to increased profitability or some other productivity metric in the case
of non-profit organisations)
Terminology CLIENTS Workstations running host applications.
The term SERVER refers to a software application that offers a well-defined service to network users. A
server application can be run on special-purpose hardware or an ordinary PC. In the latter case, the PC
often has minimum configuration requirements. The most common types of servers are Web servers, mail
servers, File Servers, Print servers, Communication Servers, & Database servers etc.
SERVER could be dedicated or non-dedicated
A dedicated server is set up to provide one or more services to users on the network.
A non-dedicated server can simultaneously function as a workstation and one or more servers. LANs
connecting non-dedicated servers are also referred to as PEER-TO-PEER NETWORKS.
Monday, January 05,
2015

Direct
Point-to-point & shared LANs
Direct Point-to-point
The first computer communication systems all used the direct point-to-point pattern of
communication. In this pattern, each communication channel or medium connected
exactly two computers, and was available to those computers exclusively. Known as a
point-to-point network or mesh network, the scheme has three useful properties.
First, because each connection is installed independently, appropriate hardware can be
used. For example the transmission capacity i.e. the bandwidth of the underlying circuit
and the modems used do not need to be the same on all connections. Second, because
they have exclusive access, the connected computers can decide exactly how to send
data across the connection. They can choose a frame format, an error detection
mechanism and a maximum frame size. More important, because each connection is
independent of others, the details can be changed whenever the owners of the attached
computers agree to make a change. Third, because only two computers have access to
the channel, it is easy to enforce security and privacy. No other computers handle data,
and no other computers can obtain access.

However, the main disadvantage of direct point-to-point connection becomes apparent

when more than two computers need to communicate with one another. In a point-to-point
scheme that provides a separate communication channel for each pair of computers, the
number of connections grows quickly as the size of the set increases. For example, two
computers need only one connection, three computers need three connections, and four
computers need 6 connections.
Monday, January 05,
2015

The total number of connections grows more rapidly as the total number of computers. Mathematically,
the number of connections needed for N computers is proportional to the square of N :
DIRECT CONNECTIONS REQUIRED = (N2 - N) /2= N(N-1)/2
These connections are expensive in terms of cabling cost. Local Area Networks (LANs) were devised
as alternatives to expensive, dedicated point-to-point connections. Each LAN consists of a single
shared medium, usually a cable, to which many computers attach. The computers take turn to use the
medium to communicate with one another.
LAN concept is supported by a fundamental principle of computer networking known as LOCALITY
OF REFERENCE. It states that communication among a set of computers is not random, but instead
allows two patterns. First, if a pair of computers communicates once, the pair is likely to communicate
again in the near future and then periodically. This pattern is called TEMPORAL LOCALITY OF
REFERENCE to imply a relationship over time. Second, a computer tends to communicate most often
with other computers that are nearby. This second pattern is called PHYSICAL LOCALITY OF
REFERENCE to emphasize the geographic relationship.
The locality reference principle is easy to understand because it applies to human communication.
For example, people communicate most often with others who are nearby (e.g. working together).
Furthermore, if an individual communicates with someone (e.g a friend or family members), the
individual is likely to communicate with the same person again.

Requirements
Computers hardware
-Workstations /Clients
-Servers

Monday, January 05,

2015

Computer Software
-Network Operating System (OS)
-Server applications (Network versions of application software)
-Client OS
-Client applications
Communication hardware
-Network Cards (NAC/NIC) Switches/Hubs
-Cables
-Accessories
-Protocol Software
Peopleware
-Network Administrator/Manager
-Network Engineer
-Network Programmer
-Database Administrator
-Web designer
-Network user

Monday, January 05,

2015

NETWORK ARCHITECTURE OR TOPOLOGY

Network designs have three categories : Star network, Ring network, and Bus network.
- A Star network: Contains a central connecting device called or Hub or Switch and
one or more workstations connected to the central device, forming a Star.
The Star arrangement is logical. e.g. Ethernet 10 Base T, Asynchronous Transfer
Mode (ATM).
- In a Ring network, there is no central system, rather, a series of computer systems
communicate with one another from one node to the next node in one direction only
(closed loop). The ring arrangement is logical e.g. IBM Token Ring, Fibre Distributed
Data Interconnect (FDDI).
- The Bus network is a kind of Broadcast topology characterised by a single
communication channel shared by all communicating computers e.g. consists of a
single, long cable to which computers attach.
In the Bus network, one computer is allowed to transmit message onto the bus while
others are required to receive or not to transmit, at any one time e.g. Ethernet
Thicknet and Thinnet (10 Base 2)
In the Bus network, the message usually bears the address of the intended receivers so
that others will share it.
Monday, January 05,
2015

10

NETWORK TOPOLOGY (contd.)

STAR
Switch

Client A

Monday, January 05,

2015

Client B

Client C

Server

Client D

11 11

NETWORK TOPOLOGY (contd.)

RING
Client B

Client A
Client C

Server

Broadcast method
Client D A message can be sent
from a PC to multiple destinations at the same
time.
Monday, January 05,
2015

12 12

NETWORK TOPOLOGY (contd.)

BUS
Client D

Client C

Bus (cable)
Terminal

Broadcast
method

Terminal

Server

Client A

Client B

Broadcast
Monday, January 05,
2015

13 13

TOPOLOGY

Network design or Architecture The way a network is physically connected together. It

has effect on network selection and management.
Common topology are: Star, Ring, Bus, Distributed Star.
Factors that influence choice of topology:- The complexity & cost of network cable installation
- Redundant, or fail-safe design
- Fault isolation
- Strategy for physically expanding and reconfiguring the network.
Ring - Provides redundancy through the use of a backup cable path which can be used
for
network reconfiguration resulting from media failure.
- Provides built-in hardware features to isolate failed station loops from the active
ring.

Star It is the superior choice for fault detection and isolation.

Bus More difficult to diagnose since there is no built-in means to isolate faulty cable
segments
Monday, January 05,
2015

14

Star - Asynchrous Transfer Mode (ATM) uses an electronic switch or a hub to

which computers are attached by means of fibre optics cables.
- Twisted Pair Ethernet (10 Base T)
Twisted pair wiring

Hub/
Switch

Ring IBM Token Ring Concept of TOKEN (Broadcasting)

- Fibre Distributed Data Interconnect (FDDI)
- Copper Distributed Data Interconnect (CDDI)
- Uses two layers of rings in a counter rotating form. Outer carries data, while inner is used when the
outer ring fails.
Bus Ethernet Thicknet & Thinnet (Broadcasting)
* Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA)
* Carrier Sense Multiple Access / Collision
1st Collision applies a delay of o to d
Subsequent collision applies a delay of o to nd where n is an even
factor this scheme is referred to as the Binary Exponential Back off

Monday, January 05,

2015

15

HARDWARE ADDRESSING IN LAN & FRAME TYPE IDENTIFICATION

LAN Technologies use an Addressing Scheme to provide direct communication.
Each workstation on the LAN is assigned a unique numeric value called a PHYSICAL ADDRESS, HARDWARE
ADDRESS or MEDIA ACCESS ADDRESS (MAC ADDRESS)
Each Packet or Data Frame transmitted from a Workstation on a LAN consists of two address fields SOURCE
address field, DESTINATION address field.
Senders address makes it easy for the receiver to generate a reply to the sender in case of errors or for
acknowledgement.
Categories of Addressing
Static: Hardware manufacturer-assigned. Does not change except NIC is changed.
Configurable: provides a mechanism for users to set the address manual through setting of switches or electronic
using EPROM. Configuration usually done once when NIC is first installed.
Dynamic: A physical address is assigned to a workstation when the workstation first boots. It uses a random number
that does not correspond to any other workstation's address.
Unicasting - a single destination address
Broadcasting makes a copyof message available to all connected computers on the network. A reserved
BROADCAST address is needed in the DESTINATION field e.g. 11111111 could specify broadcast & 10000001 the
stations address
i.e. either address in the destination field could lead to forwarding of the packet to receiving hosts Operating System.
Multicasting A restricted form of Broadcasting. NIC is programmed with specs of which multicast frames
i.e. destination addresses to accept or reject.

Monday, January 05,

2015

16

Packet Frame
Syn

Dest Addr

Source Addr

Packet / Frame formats

Frame Header

Frame type

Data

Error Checking code

Frame Data Area or Payload

General format
Frame header contains info. Such as Source & Destination addresses.
Frame Data Area or Payload contains information or message being sent.
Preamble Dest
Source
Frame
Data
CRC
Address.
Addr
type
8Bytes

6bytes

6bytes

46-1500

Ethernet frame format

Monday, January 05,

2015

17

INTERNETWORKING COMPONENTS & SYSTEMS

Internetworking Connecting multiple physical networks into a large, logically
uniform communication system.
Motivation
- Constraints of specific networks e.g. LANs provide high speed communication
within a short distance.

- Diverse networking requirements by large organizations implies multiple

physical networks.
- Choice of different networks suited to different tasks.
Concept of universal service:

Monday, January 05,

2015

18

INTERCONNECTIVITY, STANDARDS, PROTOCOLS

Network entities : Computers, Applications, Networks
Multivendor disparate products exist for these entities. For Interconnectivity & Inter-operability or
OPENNESS between diverse, disparate products, upward compatibility, there is need to have certain
common denominators in network entities design & implementation.
These common denominators are provided by many national and international organizations.
Protocol refers to rules, conventions, guidelines, agreed to/adopted by a group of stakeholders for the
design & implementation of products.
A protocol or protocol suite adopted by a group & widely circulated and accepted becomes a
STANDARD.
Standards could be :
- Dejure
- National
- Universal
- Defactor
- International
Examples of Standards and Regulations Organizations:
ISO International Standards Organization
IEEE Institute of Electrical & Electronic Engineers
ITU International Telecommunications Union
CCITT Consultative Committee in International Telegraphy and Telephony
NCC National Communications Commission
SON Standards Organization of Nigeria
Monday, January 05,
2015

19

ANSI American National Standards Institute

ECMA European Computer Manufacturers Association
DoD Department of Defense, United States of American
Develop your note on the history & functions of the above bodies especially in the areas of Computers
& Networking.
Connectivity levels / layers : Communications is made possible generally by 3 layers / levels
- Cognitive,
- Language
- Transmission

- Understanding the concept

- Expression
- Physical means of communication

Independent layers but each depends on at least one other layer for effectiveness.
OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) reference model of ISO.
X.200 of CCITT
TRANSMISSION CONTROL PROTOCOL / INTERNET PROTOCOL (TCP/IP)
LAN Protocols ieee series

Monday, January 05,

2015

20

TCP/IP was the first set of protocols developed for use in an internet. It is a result of protocol research and development
conducted on the experimental packet-switched network the ARPANET, funded by the Defense Advanced Research
Projects Agency (DARPA) of USA, and is generally referred to as the TCP/IP protocol suite.
Indeed, researchers who devised TCP/IP also developed the internet architecture described earlier. Work on TCP/IP began
in the early 1980s, about the same time that Local Area Networks (LANs) were being developed. The military was among the
first organisations to have multiple physical networks. Consequently it was among the first to realize the need for universal
service.
Research on internetworking and TCP/IP protocols has produced dramatic results. Inter-networking has become one of the
most important ideas in modern networking. In fact internet technology has revolutionized computer communication. Most
large organisations already use internetworking as the primary computer communication mechanism. Smaller organisations
and individuals have started to do so as well. The TCP/IP technology has made this possible.
Communication task for TCP/IP are organized into five relatively independent layers :
OSI Model

Application

TCP/IP Model

Process/Application

Presentation

Host-to-Host
(Transport)

Session

Internet

Transport

Network

Network

Interface layer

Data Link

Physical

Monday, January 05,

Physical
2015

21

The model is a framework for defining standards for linking heterogeneous computers.
The OSI is concerned with the exchange of information between a pair of open systems and not and
with the internal functioning of each individual system.
The OSI model/architecture has seven layers which are listed with a brief definition as follows :

* Physical Concerned with mechanical, electrical functional and procedural

characteristics of physical links
* Data link Provides for the reliable transfer of data across the physical link.
* Network - Responsible for establishing, maintaining, and terminating network connections
* Transport Provides reliable, transparent transfer of data between end points.
* Session Establishes, manages, and terminates sessions between cooperating applications
* Presentation Performs transformations on data to provide standardised application interface e.g.
encryption, text compression.
* Application Provides services to users of the OSI environment e.g. transaction services, file
transfer etc.

Monday, January 05,

2015

22

The Physical and Network Interface Layers of the TCP/IP model use existing Physical and
Data link standards, such as Ethernet and Token Ring, thereby making TCP/IP hardwareindependent.
As a result, the protocol is widely used to connect heterogeneous systems.
The Internet layer provides procedures needed to allow data to traverse multiple
interconnected networks. The Internet Protocol (IP) is used at this layer to provide the routing
function across multiple networks.

The Transport layer (Host-to-Host) provides the requirements needed for data to be exchanged
reliably regardless of the nature of the applications that are exchanging data. The Transmission
Control Protocol (TCP) is the most commonly used protocol to provide this functionality.
Finally, the Application layer contains the logic needed to support the various user applications.

Monday, January 05,

2015

23

The TCP/IP Protocol

Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
The Internet concept :

a. The illusion of a single network that TCP/IP software provides to users and applications

Monday, January 05,

2015

24

host computer
router

net 2

net 1
net 3
net 4

net 6

net 5

b. The underlying physical structure in which a computer attaches to one physical network, and routers
interconnect the networks.
Monday, January 05,
2015

25

A router is a special-purpose computer dedicated to the task of interconnecting networks. A router

can interconnect networks that use different technologies including different media, physical
addressing schemes, or data frame formats.
An Internet consists of a set of networks interconnected by routers. The internet scheme allows each
organization to choose the number and type of networks, the number of routers to use to
interconnect them, and the type of interconnection.
Host Computer : TCP/IP defines the term host computer to refer to any computer system that
connects to an internet and runs applications. A host can be as small as a PC or as large as a
mainframe.

Monday, January 05,

2015

26

TCP/IP PROTOCOL SUITE

SMTP

TELNET

TCP

UDP

FTP

DNS

HTTP

NETWORK
VOICE PROTOCOL (VoIP)

Application layer
Transport layer

Internet layer

IP
Network Interface layer

ICMP

LAN Protocols

Monday, January 05,

2015

ARP

RARP
Physical

27

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) Handles the transfer of emails using
UDP or TCP as underlying protocols.
TELNET It is a remote log-in protocol that uses TCP as the underlying
protocol.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP) It is the protocol that gives access to

data/software files stored in folders for general use. It uses TCP as the
underlying protocol.
Domain Name Service (DNS) This protocol resolves domain names to IP
addresses and vice versa. It uses UDP as the lower transport protocol.

Monday, January 05,

2015

28

Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) a special purpose set of messages that are used between
internetwork nodes to resolve problems in packet processing.
These messages include :
Echo request, Source quench, Routing change request,
Time stamp request / Reply.
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) used to map the 32-bit IP address to a MAC address e.g. (an
Ethernet 48-bit address). The ARP is necessary because there is no preestablished relationship
between IP and MAC address.
Address resolution / Binding can be done in 3 different ways:
- Table lookup, Closed form computation, Message exchange.
Reverse Address Resolution Protocol (RARP) It is a who am l broadcast that is transmitted by a
new station entering the network. The broadcast is responded to by a RARP server that maps the
Requesters MAC address to an IP address appropriate to the internetwork configuration.
Connectionless & Connection-oriented Services
Connectionless - A characteristic of a network system that allows a computer to send data to any
other computer at anytime. Connectionless networks are analogous to a postal system in which each
letter carries the address of the recipient; letters can be sent at any time. It is an extension of packet
Switching.
Connection-oriented- A characteristic of a network system that requires a pair of a computers to establish a connection
before sending data. Connection-oriented networks are similar to a telephone system in which a call must be placed
and answered before communication can begin.
TCP/IP includes both services the fundamental delivery service is connectionless, however, a reliable connectionoriented service uses the underlying connectionless service.
An Internet Packet is called an IP Datagram.

Monday, January 05,

2015

29

TCP Transmission Control Protocol

It is an End-to-End protocol because it provides connection directly from an application on one computer
to an application on a remote computer.
The connections are called VIRTUAL CONNECTIONS because they are achieved by software.
It provides Reliable Transport Service.
From an application program's point of view, the service offered by TCP has seven major features:
- Connection orientation
- Point-to-Point
- Complete reliability : Exact delivery ,no duplication, no data missing or out of order
- Full duplex communication
- Stream Interface
- Reliable Connection Startup
- Graceful Connection Shutdown

User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

It is a connectionless transport protocol that permits an application to send a message to any
destination at anytime. When using a connectionless transport protocol, the sending applications must
specify a destination with each message it sends. An application using UDP can send a sequence of
messages, where each message is sent to a different destination.
Monday, January 05,
2015

30

Hardware Frame, IP datagram, Fragmentation, Maximum Transmission

Unit, Encapsulation
IP datagram is encapsulated in a Hardware frame.

IP Header
Hardware
Frame Header

IP data area
Hardware Frame data

Each hardware technology has a maximum amount of data that a Frame can carry; this
limit is known as Maximum Transmission Unit (MTU). Thus, a datagram must be less
or equal to an MTU in size, or it cannot be encapsulated.
The Router uses the technique known as FRAGMENTATION to divide the datagram
into smaller pieces called Fragments, which are then transmitted independently.

IP Header

IP Header
Monday, January 05,
2015

data 1

Original datagram data area

IP Header

data 2

IP Header

data 3
31

TCP/IP continued
IP Addresses
Internet as a single, uniform Virtual Network.
To guarantee uniform addressing of routers and hosts, the protocol software defines an
addressing scheme for all computers on the internet .
Each host has a unique IP Address used by Application programs & higher layers of protocol software
for communication.
Each host has a unique 32-bit number known as IP address.
IP address is different from MAC physical address.
Network number
Host number

Prefix

suffix

Classful IP addressing
0
8
Class A
C
Class B

prefix

Class C

Class D

16
prefix

1
1
1 0
Class E
Monday, January 05,
2015

31

suffix

suffix

prefix

24

suffix

multicast

address

reserved for future use

32

Dotted Decimal Notation

32-bit Binary Number

00000010111111100000000100000000

Equivalent Dotted
2.254.1.0

IANA Internet Assigned Number Authority

ICANN Internet Corporate for Assigned Names and Numbers
Subnet & Classless Addressing
0 Address mask or

31 32

Actual host address

63

Subnet mask
The mask specifies the boundary between prefix & suffix.
1bits mark network prefix
0 bits mark host or suffix portion
Classless Inter-Domain Routing CIDR
IP address/mask
e.g. 200.218.56.18/20
Monday, January 05,
2015

33