OCR Computer Science A Level
1.3.3 Networks
Advanced Notes
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Specification
1.3.3 a)
● Characteristics of a Network
● Importance of Protocols and Standards
1.3.3 b)
● The internet Structure:
○ The TCP/IP stack
○ Protocol Layering
○ LANs and WANs
○ DNS
○ Packet and Circuit Switching
1.3.3 c)
● Network Security and Threats
● Firewalls
● Proxies
● Encryption
1.3.3 d)
● Network Hardware
1.3.3 e)
● Client-server
● Peer-to-peer
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Networks and Protocols
Characteristics of a network
A network is the name given to two or more computers connected together with the ability
to transmit data between each other. There are two main types of networks: local area
networks and wide area networks.
Local area network (or LAN) is the name given to a network which is spread over a small
geographical area or a single site, for example: a school. A wide area network (or WAN) is
the name given to a network which is spread over a large geographical area. Large
corporations with offices in multiple locations will often have a WAN allowing them to
communicate between different sites.
There are two types of network topology:
1) Physical topology: the physical layout of the wires and components which form the
network. Examples include bus, star and mesh.
2) Logical topology: the layout which shows how data flows.
Physical Bus Topology
In a bus topology, all the
terminals (devices) are
connected to a backbone
cable, the ends of which
are plugged into a
terminator.
Advantages of Bus Topology Disadvantages of Bus Topology
● Relatively inexpensive to set up ● If backbone cable fails, the entire
● Doesn’t require any additional network gets disconnected
hardware ● As traffic increases, performance
decreases
● All computers can see the data
transmission
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Physical Star Topology
Star topologies use a central node, often a
switch, to direct data through the network.
MAC (Media Access Control) addresses,
which are unique to a device, are used to
identify each device on the network.
Advantages of Star Topology Disadvantages of Star Topology
● Performance is consistent even with ● Expensive due to switch and cabling
heavy network traffic ● If the central switch fails, the rest of
● If one cable fails, only that single the network fails
terminal is affected
● Transmits data faster, giving better
performance than bus topology
● Easy to add new stations.
● No data collisions
Physical Mesh Topology
In a mesh topology, every node is
connected to every other node. Mesh
topologies are most commonly found
with wireless technology such as
Wi-Fi.
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Advantages of Mesh Topology Disadvantages of Mesh Topology
● If using a wireless network, there is ● If using a wireless network, devices
no cabling cost with wireless capability (which
● As the number of nodes increase, increases cost) must be purchased
the reliability and speed of network ● If using a wired network, a large
becomes better quantity of cable is required
● Nodes are automatically compared to other network
incorporated topologies like bus and star. This is
● Nodes don’t go through a central expensive.
switch, improving speed ● Maintaining the network is difficult
Protocols
A protocol is a set of rules defining how two computers communicate with each other.
Protocols are standard so that all devices have a designated method of communicating
with each other, regardless of manufacturer.
Examples of commonly used protocols are:
● HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) – Used for web page rendering, an encrypted
version, HTTPS (Secure), is becoming more common
● TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol) – This is a networking
protocol used in the routing of packets through networks
● POP3 (Post Office Protocol) and IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol) –
Mailing protocols, used for email access.
● FTP (File Transfer Protocol) – Used for the transmission of files over networks.
The Internet Structure
The Internet is a network of networks which allows computers on opposite sides of the
globe to communicate with each other. Continents are connected to each other using large
international backbone cables. Many of these pass underwater, linking continents to one
another.
The TCP/IP Stack and protocol layering
TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol. A stack of networking
protocols that work together passing packets during communication, they work as follows:
● Application Layer
○ The application layer is based at the top of the stack. It specifies what
protocol needs to be used in order to relate the application that’s being sent.
○ For example, if the application is a browser then it would select a protocol
such as HTTP, POP3, FTP
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● Transport Layer
○ The transport layer uses TCP to establish an end-to-end connection
between the source and recipient computer.
○ The transport layer splits data up into packets and labels these packets with
their packet number, the total number of packets the original data was split
up into and the port number being used for communication.
○ If any packets get lost, the transport layer requests retransmissions of these
lost packets.
● Network Layer
○ The network layer adds the source and destination IP addresses. (The
combination of the IP address and the port number is called a socket
address.)
○ Routers operate on the network layer and the router is what uses the IP
addresses to forward the packets.
○ The sockets are then used to specify which device the packets must be sent
to and the application being used on that device.
● Link Layer
○ The link layer is the connection between the network devices, it adds the
MAC address identifying the Network Interface Cards of the source and
destination computers.
○ For devices on the same network, the destination MAC address is the
address of the recipient computer, otherwise, it will be the MAC address of
the router.
It’s important to realise that this is
a stack. On the recipient’s
computer these layers are looked
at from bottom to top. Once the
destination has been reached, the
MAC address is removed by the
link layer, then the IP addresses
are removed by the Network
Layer, then the transport layers
remove the port number and
reassemble the packets. Finally,
the application layer presents the
data to the recipient in the form it
was requested in.
On the next page is a diagram showing exactly what happens in the process of sending a
file.
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LANs and WANs
As specified earlier, a LAN is a local area network and a WAN is a wide area network. A
LAN is a network spread over a small geographical area while a WAN is typically spread
over a large geographical area. Usually, a WAN will require extra telecommunication
hardware. Infrastructure used in WANs is owned by third-parties. The largest WAN is the
Internet, and is made up of a series of smaller networks.
DNS
The domain name system (DNS) is the system used to name and organise internet
resources. It is a hierarchy, in which each smaller domain is separated from the larger
domain by a full stop. For example, ‘leeds.gov.uk’. TLD stands for Top Level Domain, and
2LD stands for 2nd Level Domain.
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Domain names are much easier to remember than IP addresses, which is why they are
used to link to servers across the world. The role of the domain name system server (DNS
server) is to translate these domain names into IP addresses when we wish to access a
website.
Network Communication
Data Packets
Packets are segments of data. They contain various information:
● Header:
○ Sender and recipient IP addresses
The sender and the recipient’s IP addresses act like a postcode,
allowing the packet to be delivered to the correct destination and
enabling the recipient device to trace where the packet came from.
○ Protocol being used
The protocol allows the recipient computer to understand how to
interpret the packet.
○ Order of the packets
Upon arriving at the recipient device, packets are reconstructed in the
appropriate order as specified in the header.
○ Time To Live / Hop Limit
The Time To Live (TTL), tells the packet when to expire so that it does
not travel forever.
● Payload
○ Raw data to be transmitted
● Trailer
○ Checksum, or cyclic redundancy check
The trailer contains a code used to detect whether any errors have
occurred during transmission.
Circuit Switching and Packet Switching
There are two techniques using which networks exchange data: circuit switching and
packet switching.
Packet switching is a method of communication in which data is communicated using
packets across a network. In this method of communication, packets are sent across the
most efficient route, which can vary for each packet.
Advantages Disadvantages
Multiple methods to ensure data arrives Time is spent deconstructing and
intact eg. checksums and cyclic reconstructing the data packets
redundancy checks
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Multiple routes can be used between Must wait for all packets to arrive before
devices, so if one path breaks, another data can be received.
can be used.
Packets can be transferred over very
large networks to allow communication
globally.
Circuit switching is a method of communication where a direct link is created between two
devices. This direct link is maintained for the duration of the entire conversation between
devices. Circuit switching requires the two devices to transfer and receive data at the
same rate.
Advantages Disadvantages
Data arrives in a logical order which Bandwidth is wasted during periods of
results in a quicker reconstruction of the time in which no data is being sent.
data.
Enables two users to hold a call without Devices must transfer and receive data at
delay in speech. the same rate.
Using switches means electrical
interference may be produced which can
corrupt or destroy data.
Ties up sections of the network which
cannot be used by others data until
transmission has been completed
Network Security and Threats
Firewalls
A firewall is a device designed to prevent unauthorised access to a network. A firewall
consists of two network interface cards (NICs) between the user and the Internet. The
firewall passes the packets between these two NICs and compares them against a set of
rules set by the firewall software. The preconfigured rules are called packet filters.
Packet filtering / static filtering limits network access in accordance with administrator rules
and policies. It works by examining the source IP, destination IP and the protocols being
used as well as the ports being requested.
When access is denied by a firewall, two things can occur. The packet can either be
dropped or rejected. A rejected packet sends an alert to the sender to notify them of the
error whereas a dropped packet will not.
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Proxies
A proxy server acts as an intermediary, collecting and sending data on behalf of the user.
There are several benefits of using proxies:
- The privacy of the user is protected and they remain anonymous
- The proxy server can cache frequently used website data making it faster to load
- Proxies can reduce overall web traffic
- Can be used by administrators to prevent access to sensitive or irrelevant
information at work or at school
Encryption
Encryption is a way of keeping data secure when transmitting
it over the Internet. Encryption makes data unreadable if it is
intercepted. Data is encrypted and decrypted using a set of
keys.
Network Hardware
Maintaining a network requires various pieces of hardware, some of which are built into
devices, such as a network interface card (NIC) while others, like switches, are not.
Network interface cards (NIC)
A network interface card is the card required to connect a
device to a network. This is usually built into the device and
assigns a unique media access control (MAC) address to
each device. The MAC address is a 48-bit value coded into
the device and is usually written as a twelve digit
hexadecimal number.
Switch
A switch is a device used to direct the flow of data across a network. Switches are most
commonly used in networks using a star topology.
Wireless Access Point (WAP)
This is a device which allows a device to connect to a network. It is more commonly
combined with a router to enable internet access. These are used in mesh networks.
Routers
A router is used to connect two or more networks together. Routers allow private, home
networks to connect to the Internet.
Gateway
A gateway is used when protocols are not the same between networks. It translates the
protocols so that networks can communicate with each other. Gateways work by removing
the header from packets before adding the data to packets using the new protocol.
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Client-Server and Peer-to-Peer
Client-server
Client-server networks consist of terminals known as clients connected to a server. The
server is a powerful, central computer. The server holds all of the important information
and resources and has greater processing power than the terminals. Clients can request
to use the server.
Advantages of Client-server Disadvantages of Client-server
● More secure as data is stored in one ● Relatively expensive to set up
location ● Functionality of terminals depends
● Central backups are carried out so on the server; if this fails,
there is no need for individual performance falls
backups ● Trained staff are required to
● Data and resources can be shared maintain the server
between clients
Peer-to-Peer
A network in which computers are connected to each other so that they can share files.
Each device effectively acts as both a server and client, as it can both provide and request
resources. Peer-to-peer networks are used in piracy, since it’s almost impossible to trace
the origin of files.
Advantages of Peer-to-peer Disadvantages of Peer-to-peer
● Cheaper to set up ● Impossible to trace the origin of files
● Allows users to share resources ● Backups must be performed
● Easy to maintain separately
● Not dependent on a central server ● Poorer security
● Specialist staff are not required ● May be difficult to locate resources
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