Computer Networks
Riphah International University, Lahore
Objectives
🠶 Course Module Discussion
🠶 Data Communication
🠶 Network vs Internet
🠶 internet, Internet, Intranet, Extranet
Data Communication
• Effectiveness of Data Communication System
• Components
• Data Representation
• Data Flow
DATA COMMUNICATION
🠶 The term telecommunication means
communication at a distance. The word data refers
to information presented in whatever form is
agreed upon by the parties creating and using the
data. Data communications are the exchange of
data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable.
Effectiveness of Data Comm. System
🠶 Effectiveness depends upon four fundamental characteristics
1. Delivery : The system must deliver data to correct
destination. Data received by the indented user only
2. Accuracy: The system must deliver data accurately (no
change).
🠶 Data changed & uncorrected is unusable
3. Timeliness: The system must deliver data in timely
manner
🠶 Data arrived late are useless
4. Jitter: Variation in the packet arrival time (uneven quality
in the video is the result)
Components
🠶 A data communication system is made up of five
components
Components
1. Message: the information (data) to be
communicated
● Consist of text, numbers, pictures, audio, or
video
2. Sender: the device that sends the data
message
● Computer, workstation, telephone handset,
video camera, …
3. Receiver: the device that receives the
message
● Computer, workstation, telephone handset,
television, ….
Components
4. Medium: The physical path by which a
message travels from sender to receiver
● twisted pair, coaxial cable, fiber-optic, radio waves
Components
5. Protocol: a set of rules that govern data
communications
● An agreement between the communicating
devices
● Devices may be connected but not
communicating (no protocol)
● Arabic speaker with Japanese speaker
Data Representation
Text
Numbers
Images
Audio
Video
Data Flow
🠶 Communication between two devices
can be:
🠶 Simplex
🠶 Half-Duplex
🠶 Full-Duplex
Data Flow
🠶 Simplex (one way street)
🠶 The communication is unidirectional
🠶 Only one device on a link can transmit; the
other can only receive
🠶 Use the entire capacity of the channel to
send data
🠶 Example: Keyboards, Monitors
Dat
a
Data Flow
🠶 Half-Duplex (one-lane with two-directional traffic)
🠶 Each station can both transmit and receive,
but not at the same time
🠶 When one device is sending, the other can
only receive, and vice versa
🠶 The entire capacity of a channel is taken
over by the transmitting device
🠶 Example: Walkie-talkies
Dat
a
Dat
a
Data Flow
🠶 Full-Duplex (Duplex) (two-way street)
🠶 Both stations can transmit and receive at same
time
🠶 Signals going in either direction sharing the
capacity of the link
🠶 Sharing can occur in two ways:
🠶 Link has two physically separate transmission paths
🠶 One for sending and the other for receiving
🠶 The capacity of the channel is divided between signals
travelling in both directions
🠶 Example: Telephone network
Dat
a
Dat
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Exercise
🠶 What mode of data flow the following exhibits
shows?
Dat
a
Dat
a
🠶 Answer: Full-Duplex
Network
• Network Performance
• Characteristics of a Network
• Physical Structures
What is a Network?
🠶 Α NETWORK is simply defined as something that connects
things together for a specific purpose.
🠶 The term network is used in a variety of contexts, including
telephone, television, computer, or even people networks.
🠶 A COMPUTER NETWORK connects two or more devices
together to share information and services, including
🠶 Websites
🠶 Email and messaging
Characteristics of a Network
🠶 Performance
🠶 Transit time: Amount of time
required for a message to travel
from one device to another
🠶 Response time: Elapsed time
between an inquiry and a
response
Characteristics of a Network
🠶 Performance
🠶 Performance is evaluated by two
contradictory networking metrics:
🠶 Throughput (high): a measure of
how fast we can actually send data
through a network
🠶 Delay (low)
Terminology
🠶 The throughput or bandwidth of a channel
is the number of bits it can transfer per
second
🠶 The latency or delay of a channel is the
time that elapses between sending
information and the earliest possible
reception of it
Characteristics of a Network
🠶 Speed
🠶 Cost
🠶 Security
🠶 Availability
🠶 Scalability
🠶 Reliability
Characteristics of a Network
🠶 Speed
🠶 Speed is a measure of how
fast data is transmitted over
the network.
🠶 A more precise term would be
data rate.
Characteristics of a Network
🠶 Cost
🠶 Cost indicates the general
cost of components,
installation, and maintenance
of the network.
Characteristics of a Network
🠶 Security
🠶 Security indicates how secure the
network is, including the data
that is transmitted over the
network.
🠶 The subject of security is
important and constantly
evolving.
Characteristics of a Network
🠶 Availability
🠶 Availability is a measure of the
probability that the network will be
available for use when required
([Number of minutes in a year – downtime] / [Number of minutes in a year]) *
100 = Percentage availability
🠶 For example, if a network is unavailable for 15 minutes a year because of
network outages, its percentage availability will be 99.9971
Characteristics of a Network
🠶 Scalability
🠶 Scalability indicates how well the network
can accommodate more users and data
transmission requirements.
🠶 If a network is designed and optimized for
just the current requirements, it can be
very expensive and difficult to meet new
needs when the network grows.
Characteristics of a Network
🠶 Reliability
🠶 Reliability indicates the dependability
of the components (routers, switches,
PCs, and so on) that make up the
network. Reliability is often measured
as a probability of failure, or mean
time between failures (MTBF).
Physical Structures:
🠶 Type of connection
🠶 Network: Two or more devices connected through links
🠶 Link: Communication pathway that transfers data from one
device two another
🠶 Two devices must be connected in some way to the same
link at the same time. Two possible types:
🠶 Point-to-Point
🠶 Multipoint
Type of connection
🠶 Point-to-Point
🠶 Dedicated link between two devices
🠶 Entire capacity of the link is reserved for transmission
between those two devices
🠶 Use an actual length of wire or cable
Type of connection
🠶 Point-to-Point
🠶
Other options, such as microwave or satellite is
possible
🠶 Example: Television remote control
Type of connection
🠶 Multipoint (multidrop)
🠶 More than two devices share a single link
🠶 Capacity is shared
🠶 Channel is shared either spatially or temporally
🠶 Spatially shared: if devices use link at same time
🠶 Timeshare: if users must take turns
Physical Topology
🠶 The way a network is laid out physically
🠶 Two or more links form a topology
🠶 The topology of a network is the geometric
representation of the relationship of all the
links and linking devices (nodes) to one
another.
🠶 Four topologies : Mesh, Star, Bus, and Ring
Physical Topology
Physical Topology
🠶 Mesh
🠶 Every link is dedicated point-to-point link
🠶 The term dedicated means that the link carries traffic only
between the two devices it connects
Physical Topology
🠶 Mesh
🠶 To link n devices fully connected mesh has:
n ( n - 1) / 2 physical channels (Full-
Duplex)
🠶 Every Device on the network must have
n - 1 ports
Physical Topology
🠶 Mesh
🠶 Example:
8 devices in mesh has links: n(n-1) / 2
number of links = 8 (8-1)/2 = 28
number of ports per device = n – 1 = 8 –1 =
7
Physical Topology
🠶 Mesh
🠶 Advantages
🠶 Each connection carry its own data load (no traffic
problems)
🠶 A mesh topology is robust
🠶 Privacy or security
🠶 Fault identification and fault isolation
Physical Topology
🠶 Mesh:
🠶 Disadvantages
🠶 Big amount of cabling
🠶 Big number of I/O ports
🠶 Installation and reconnection are difficult
🠶 Sheer bulk of the wiring can be greater than the available space
🠶 Hardware connect to each I/O could be expensive
🠶 Mesh topology is implemented in a
limited fashion; e.g., as backbone of
hybrid network
Physical Topology
🠶 Star:
🠶 Dedicated point-to-point to a central controller (Hub)
🠶 No direct traffic between devices
🠶 The control acts as an exchange
Physical Topology
🠶 Star
🠶 Advantages
🠶 Less expensive than mesh
(1 Link + 1 port per device)
🠶 Easy to install and reconfigure
🠶 Less cabling
🠶 Additions, moves, and deletions required one
connection
🠶 Robustness : one fail does not affect others
🠶 Easy fault identification and fault isolation
Physical Topology
🠶 Star
🠶 Disadvantages
🠶 Dependency of the whole topology on one single point
(hub)
🠶 More cabling than other topologies ( ring or bus)
🠶 Used in LAN
Physical Topology
🠶 Bus
🠶 It is multipoint
🠶 One long cable acts as a backbone
🠶 Used in the design of early LANS, and Ethernet LANs
Physical Topology
🠶 Bus
🠶 Nodes connect to cable by drop lines and taps
🠶 Signal travels along the backbone and some of its energy is
transformed to heat
🠶 Limit of number of taps and the distance between taps
Physical Topology
🠶 Bus
🠶 Advantages
🠶 Ease of installation
🠶 Less cables than mesh, star topologies
🠶 Disadvantages
🠶 Difficult reconnection and fault isolation ( limit of taps)
🠶 Adding new device requires modification of backbone
🠶 Fault or break stops all transmission
🠶 The damaged area reflects signals back in the direction of the origin,
creating noise in both directions
Physical Topology
🠶 Ring
🠶 Each device has dedicated point-to-point connection
with only the two devices on either side of it
🠶 A signal is passed along the ring in one direction from
device to device until it reaches its destination
🠶 Each devices incorporates a Repeater
Physical Topology
🠶 Ring
🠶 Advantages
🠶 Easy of install and reconfigure
🠶 Connect to immediate neighbors
🠶 Move two connections for any moving (Add/Delete)
🠶 Easy of fault isolation
🠶 Disadvantage
🠶 Unidirectional
🠶 One broken device can disable the entire network. This
weakness can be solved by using a dual ring or a switch
capable of closing off the break
Physical Topology
🠶 Hybrid Topology
🠶 Example: having a main star topology with each branch connecting
several stations in a bus topology
Network vs Internet
🠶 A network is a collection of connected computing
devices.
🠶 An internet is a network of interconnected networks
(inter-network).
Self Study
🠶 Internet History
🠶 internet, Internet, Intranet, Extranet
