Lecture~9
Identifying Network Components and Protocols
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Introduction
Identifying Network Components and Protocols
Modern networks are connected through a
variety of components.
These network components may include a
variety of media, infrastructure components and
specialised network devices.
These devices involve low cost and are easy to
install and use.
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Cable
A network cable is used to connect one or more
network devices.
It helps in transmitting data among computers,
routers, switches and other network devices by
connecting them together.
The type of network cable to be used is determined
on the basis of the network topology used, network
size and protocols.
The network cables consist of coaxial cable, optical
fiber and twisted pair cable.
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Hub
A hub connects several
networking devices together
and creates a network.
It functions at the first layer -
the physical layer - of the OSI
model.
It provides physical
connectivity to the different
components on the network.
It has several ports for input
and output through which the
signals are received and
delivered.
It receives data packets from
one port and broadcasts them
to all the other ports available.
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Switch
A network switch connects multiple computers with a
LAN.
It operates at the second layer of the OSI model - the data link layer.
It analyses the data packets being transmitted and routes them to their
source and destination hosts.
The capability of a switch to route the data to their correct locations
conserves a lot of network bandwidth.
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Network Components
Network Switch
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Router
A router is a layer 3 hardware
device.
It receives and analyses the data packets
transmitted over a network and then
routes them to desired locations.
It can convert the existing data packets by repackaging
them to make them compatible for another network
interface.
Routers are very popular within a home-based network where the
same Internet connection can be shared by multiple computer
users.
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IP Address
IP address is the unique identifier for a device on the network.
IP address is the logical address of a device.
An IP address consists of four Octal=32bits.
Each number can range from 0 to 255.
IP addresses can be either static or dynamic.
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Packet
A packet is a unit of data that is transmitted from
the source to the destination network on the
Internet or any other network.
Each data packet is provided unique identifiers
and the source and destination addresses, known
as the IP addresses.
After reaching the destination, packets are
reconfigured to the complete message body,
which can be an HTML file, an e-mail, an image
or a Web page.
Packets are also known as datagrams.
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Network Components
Router 10
Common Network Protocols
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP): This provides
reliable transport of files over the Internet. The sender receives a
confirmation of every received file.
User Datagram Protocol (UDP): This transfers files;
however, no confirmation is sent or received.
File Transfer Protocol (FTP): This transfers files from
one remote host to another after authenticating user
details.
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Common Network Protocols
Domain Name System (DNS): This service contains
mapping of easy-to-remember domain names to IP
addresses.
Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP): This
assigns a unique IP address to each device that enters a
network.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP): It helps retrieve
data from a Web server.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS): It helps
retrieve data from a Web server securely.
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Common Network Protocols
Address Resolution Protocol (ARP): This helps translate
an IP address to a physical address.
Telnet: This protocol helps in establishing a connection
with a remote host.
Secure Shell (SSH): This helps in establishing a secure
connection with a remote host.
Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP): This
protocol is responsible for sending error messages
indicating that a requested service is not available.
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Common Network Protocols
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP): This protocol
is used to send e-mails.
Post Office Protocol version 3 (POP3): This protocol
helps in retrieving e-mails from an e-mail server.
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Summary
Network components are an integral part of a computer
network and they facilitate the working of a network.
Common network components include Frames, Packets,
Switch, Router & Cable.
IP address is the unique identifier for a device on the
network. IP addresses can be either static or dynamic.
A packet is a unit of data that is transmitted from the
source to the destination network on the Internet or
any other network.
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Any Question
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