Computer Network

• A computer network consists of two or more

computing devices that are connected in order to
share the components of your network (its
resources) and the information you store there.
• The most basic computer network (which consists
of just two connected computers) can expand
and become more usable when additional
computers join and add their resources to those
being shared.
 Types of computer Network –
classifying based on their geography
• Local Area Network – LAN
• Wide Area Network – WAN
• Metropolitan Area Network - MAN
 LAN
• If the network is contained within a relatively small
area, such as a classroom, school, or single building.
• lowest cost
• Least overall capability of the three geographic
classifications.
• Because the pieces of equipment in a LAN are in
relatively close proximity, LANs are inexpensive to
install.
• Despite their decreased capability, however, their
closeness and resultant low costs typically result in the
use of the fastest technology on a LAN.
• building blocks for creating larger networks.
LAN
 MAN
• MAN stands for Metropolitan Area Network.
• It represents a computer network which spans
in a city or connects two or more different
LAN networks such as Cable Network, Campus
network, university network, etc
• Difficult to install
• Needs additional communications equipment
• It requires high speed connections usch as
fibre optics
MAN
 WAN
• WAN stands for Wide Area Network.
• It represents a computer network which spans
over a large geographical area such as ISPs
Network, MNCs network etc
• Uses telecommunications networks for their
connections, which increases the cost of
network
WAN
 Types of Computer Networks –
classifying based on component roles
• Peer to Peer networks
• Server based networks
• Client based networks
 Peer to Peer networks
• All computers are considered as equals
• Each computer controls its own information
• Capable of functioning as either a client or server
• Shares are any resources users control on their
computers, such as document folders, printers,
and other peripherals.
• Each shared resource can actually have its own
password.
• Security on a peer to-peer network can quickly
become complex and confusing
Peer to Peer networks
 Peer to Peer networks
Advantages
• It is easy to install and so is the configuration of computers on this
network
• All the resources and contents are shared by all the peers, unlike
server-client architecture where Server shares all the contents and
resources.
• P2P is more reliable as central dependency is eliminated.
Disadvantages
• In this network, the whole system is decentralized thus it is difficult
to administer. That is one person cannot determine the whole
accessibility setting of whole network.
• Security in this system is very less viruses, spywares,trojans, etc
malwares can easily transmitted over this P-2-P architecture.
• Data recovery or backup is very difficult. Each computer should have
its own back-up system
Example - Torrent
 Server based networks
• a server-based network offers centralized
control and is designed for secured operations
• A dedicated server is one that, for all practical
purposes, operates solely as a server
• A dedicated server on a server-based network
services its network clients by storing data,
applications, and other resources, and then
providing access to those resources when
called for by a client
Server based networks
 Client based networks
• Client-based networks are a further refinement to the concept of a
serverbased network that relieves the heavy burden on the
network’s capacity resulting from frequent server-performed
transactions.
• A client-based network takes better advantage of the server’s
powerful processors and of the increasingly powerful computers
used in typical workstations.
• A clientbased network utilizes a client workstation’s power in
processing some functions locally while requesting additional
processing from a server whenever it is needed for increased
speed.
• This type of arrangement may include application servers (where
entire computer programs are shared from the server) and
communications servers (where e-mail and other communications
media are operated).
Client based networks
Internet
• Internet is the largest computer network ever made. It
is a public network and not owned by any government,
organization or company. Anyone with any type of
device is allowed to connect with this network.
Intranet
• Intranet is an IP based private network. It is owned and
administrated by an individual body such as a company
or an organization. In this network external users are
not allowed to access the internal resources.
Extranet
• Extranet is an extended Intranet. In this network,
external users such as suppliers, buyer, vendors and
customers are allowed to access a small portion of
network for business purpose.
 Types of computer networks –
classifying based on transmission
technology
• Broadcast networks
• Point to point networks
 Broadcast netowkrs
• Single communication channel that is shared
by all the machines on the network
• Short msgs called – packets sent by any
machine are received by all others.
• Eg:an airport announcement
• Broadcasting – processed by all machines
• Multicasting – processed by a group of
machines
 Point to point networks
• Many connections between individual pair of
machines
 Network Topology
• A network topology defines the layout of a
computer network
• BUS topology
• STAR topology
 BUS topology
• In this topology, a single coaxial cable (known as
trunk, backbone or segment) is used to connect
all systems together.
• Bus topology provides a cost effective solution to
build a computer network. It only uses a coaxial
cable and few connectors. Due to its low cost, it
was one of the most popular topologies in earlier
days of computer networking.
• The biggest disadvantage of this topology is that
if there is a break in main cable, entire network
will be down.
BUS topology
Advantages (benefits) of Linear Bus Topology
1. It is easy to set-up and extend bus network.
2. Bus topology costs very less.
3. Good for LAN.

Disadvantages (Drawbacks) of Linear Bus Topology

1. There is a limit on central cable length and number of
nodes that can be connected.
2. whole network breaks down if the main cable breaks
down
3. Proper termination is required to dump signals. Use
of terminators is must.
4. Maintenance costs can get higher with time.
5. It is not suitable for networks with heavy traffic.
 STAR Topology
• In this topology, a centralized device usually a
hub or a switch is used to connect all systems
together. Systems connect with centralized
device through their individual cables.
• Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Ethernet cable
is used to connect workstations to central
node.
STAR Topology
Advantages of Star Topology
1) Signals don’t necessarily get transmitted to all the
workstations. A sent signal reaches the intended destination
after passing through no more than 3-4 devices and 2-3 links.
3) Centralized management. It helps in monitoring the
network.
4) Failure of one node or link doesn’t affect the rest of
network. At the same time its easy to detect the failure and
troubleshoot it.
Disadvantages of Star Topology
1) Too much dependency on central device has its own
drawbacks. If it fails whole network goes down.
2) The use of hub or a switch as central device increases the
overall cost of the network.
 RING Topology
• All the nodes are connected to each-other in
such a way that they make a closed loop. Each
workstation is connected to two other
components on either side, and it
communicates with these two adjacent
neighbors.
• Data travels around the network, in one
direction. Sending and receiving of data takes
place by the help of TOKEN.
RING Topology
Advantages of Ring Topology
• This type of network topology is very organized.
Each node gets to send the data when it receives
an empty token. This helps to reduces chances of
collision. Also in ring topology all the traffic flows
in only one direction at very high speed.
• Even when the load on the network increases, its
performance is better than that of Bus topology.
Disadvantages of Ring Topology
• Each packet of data must pass through all the
computers between source and destination. This
makes it slower than Star topology.
• If one workstation or port goes down, the entire
network gets affected.
 References
• Computer networks – Andrew Tanenbaum
• https://www3.nd.edu/~cpoellab/teaching/cse
40814_fall14/networks.pdf