Basics of Computer Networks

• A computer network is a telecommunications network, which allows digital

devices(nodes) to exchange data between each other using either wired or wireless
connections to share resources (h/w or s/w) e.g. internet. A collection of autonomous
computers interconnected by a single technology.
• Networks come in many sizes, shapes and forms. They are usually connected together to
make larger networks, with the Internet being the most well-known example of a
network of networks.

• Data communications are the exchange of data between to two devices via some
transmission medium. A data communication system has five components
o Message- information (data) to be communicated e.g. text, audio, video.
o Sender- device how sends the message (computer, phone, camera etc.)
o Receiver- device how receives the message (computer, phone, television etc.)
o Transmission medium – is the physical path by which a message travels from
sender to receiver.
o Protocol – the set of rules that governs the data communication.

• Effectiveness of the data communications system depends on four fundamental

characteristics
o Delivery- must deliver the data to correct destination.
o Accuracy- must be delivered accurately without any error
o Timeliness- must deliver the data in a timely manner, sometime time in real time
applications data delivered after time is useless.
o Jitter- Refers to variation in the packet arrival time i.e. the uneven delay between
the packets (mismatch in audio and picture in a video)
• Data flow between two systems can be categorised into three types –
• Simplex – the communication is unidirectional, as a one-way street.one device always
sends can always send other can always receive. E.g. radio, mouse.
o The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to send data in one
direction.
o

• Half duplex – each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same time. E.g.
like a one lane road, walkie-talkie etc.
o When one device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa.
o In a half-duplex transmission, the entire capacity of a channel is taken over by
whichever of the two devices is transmitting at the time.
o Walkie-talkies are both half-duplex systems.

• Full duplex – both stations can transmit and receive at the same time. Actually, it is two
half duplex connections.
o Telephone network is an example of full-duplex mode, when two people are
communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same time.
o The capacity of the channel, must be divided between the two directions.
• Network criteria- a network must be able to meet a certain number of criteria. The most
important of these are performance, reliability and security.
o Performance – can be measured in many ways including transit time, response
time, number of users, type of transmission medium, capabilities of connected
hardware’s and efficiency of software.
o Reliability – is a measure of frequency of failure and the time taken to resolve
from the failure.
o Security – includes protecting data from unauthorised access, protecting data
from damage and development.

• Physical structure
• Types of connection-
o Point to point- A point-to-point connection provides a dedicated link between
two devices. Most point-to-point connections use an actual length of wire or cable
to connect the two ends, but other options, such as microwave or satellite links,
are also possible.

o Multipoint - A multipoint (also called multidrop) connection is one in which more

than two specific devices share a single link.
 Topology
• Physical topology-refers to the way in which a network is laid out physically. topology of
a network is the geometric representation of the relationship of all the links and linking
devices to one another.

Mesh Topology
• In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every other
device.
• In mesh topology, we need
n (n -1) /2, duplex-mode links, where n is number of nodes.

Advantages

• The use of dedicated links guarantees that each connection can carry its own data load,
thus eliminating the traffic problems that can occur when links must be shared by
multiple devices.
• A mesh topology is robust. If one link becomes unusable, it does not incapacitate the
entire system.
• There is the advantage of privacy or security. When every message travel along a
dedicated line, only the intended recipient sees it. Physical boundaries prevent other
users from gaining access to messages.
• Point-to-point links make fault identification and fault isolation easy. Traffic can be
routed to avoid links with suspected problems.
Disadvantage

• Since every device must be connected to every other device, installation and
reconnection are difficult.
• The sheer bulk of the wiring can be greater than the available space (in walls, ceilings, or
floors) can accommodate.
• The hardware required to connect each link (I/O ports and cable) can be prohibitively
expensive.

Star Topology

• In a star topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a central
controller, usually called a hub. The devices are not directly linked to one another.
• The controller acts as an exchange: If one device wants to send data to another, it sends
the data to the controller, which then relays the data to the other connected device.

Advantages

• A star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology.

• It is easy to install and reconfigure and less costly.
• It is robust. If one link fails, only that link is affected.
• Easy fault identification and fault isolation.

Disadvantage

• Dependency of the whole topology on one single point, the hub. If the hub goes down,
the whole system is dead.
• Often more cabling is required in a star than in some other topologies.
 Bus Topology
• A bus topology, is multipoint. One long cable acts as a backbone to link all the devices in
a network.

• Nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop lines and taps.
• A drop line is a connection running between the device and the main cable.
• A tap is a connector that either splices into the main cable or punctures the sheathing of
a cable to create a contact with the metallic core.
Advantages

• Advantages of a bus topology include ease of installation.

• Uses less cabling than mesh or star topologies.
Disadvantage

• Disadvantages include difficult reconnection and fault isolation.

• Difficult to add new devices to network.
• A fault or break in the bus cable stops all transmission.

Ring Topology
• In a ring topology, each device has a 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 device in the ring incorporates a repeater.
• When a device receives a signal intended for another device, its repeater regenerates
the bits and passes them along.
Advantages

• A ring is relatively easy to install and reconfigure.

• Fault isolation is simplified.
Disadvantages

• A break in the ring (such as a disabled station) can disable the entire network.

• Categories of networks-
o LAN
o WAN
o MAN

• Interconnection of network- The Internet

• Protocols and Standards-

o Syntax
o Semantics
o Timing
o De facto, De jure
 Network Models
• Layered Task- International standard organization (ISO) - open system interconnection
(OSI) model- allows two system to communicate regardless of their architecture. - which
has seven layers with following duties
• An open system is a set of protocols that allows any two different systems to
communicate regardless of their underlying architecture.
• The purpose of the OSI model is to show how to facilitate communication between
different systems without requiring changes to the logic of the underlying hardware and
software.
• The OSI model is not a protocol; it is a model for understanding and designing a network
architecture that is flexible, robust, and interoperable.
• It consists of seven separate but related layers, each of which defines a part of the
process of moving information across a network.
 Layered Architecture
• The OSI model is composed of seven ordered layers: physical (layer 1), data link (layer 2),
network (layer 3), transport (layer 4), session (layer 5), presentation (layer 6), and
application (layer 7).
• Within a single machine, each layer calls upon the services of the layer just below it.
Layer 3, for example, uses the services provided by layer 2 and provides services for
layer 4.
• Between machines, layer x on one machine communicates with layer x on another
machine.
• This communication is governed by an agreed-upon series of rules and conventions
called protocols.
• The processes on each machine that communicate at a given layer are called peer-to-
peer processes.
 Peer-to-Peer Processes
• At the physical layer, communication is direct: device A sends a stream of bits to device
B (through intermediate nodes).
• At the higher layers, communication must move down through the layers on device A,
over to device B, and then back up through the layers.
• Each layer in the sending device adds its own information to the message it receives
from the layer just above it and passes the whole package to the layer just below it.
• At layer I the entire package is converted to a form that can be transmitted to the
receiving device.
• At the receiving machine, the message is unwrapped layer by layer, with each process
receiving and removing the data meant for it.
 Physical layer
• The physical layer is also concerned with the following:

o The physical layer defines the characteristics of the interface between the devices
and the transmission medium.

o Representation of bits. The physical layer data consists of a stream of bits (sequence
of 0s or 1s) with no interpretation. To be transmitted, bits must be encoded into
signals- electrical or optical.

o Data rate. The transmission rate-the number of bits sent each second-is also defined
by the physical layer.

o Line configuration. The physical layer is concerned with the connection of devices to
the media.

o Physical topology. The physical topology defines how devices are connected to make
a network.

o Transmission mode. The physical layer also defines the direction of transmission
between two devices: simplex, half-duplex, or full-duplex.
 Data link layer
• The data link layer transforms the physical layer, a raw transmission facility, to a reliable
link.
• It makes the physical layer appear error-free to the upper layer (network layer)
Main Responsibilities

• Framing. The data link layer divides the stream of bits received from the network layer
into manageable data units called frames.
• Physical addressing. If frames are to be distributed to different systems on the network,
the data link layer adds a header to the frame to define the sender and/or receiver of
the frame.
• Flow control. If the rate at which the data are absorbed by the receiver is less than the
rate at which data are produced in the sender, the data link layer imposes a flow control
mechanism to avoid overwhelming the receiver.
• Error control. The data link layer adds reliability to the physical layer by adding
mechanisms to detect and retransmit damaged or lost frames. It also uses a mechanism
to recognize duplicate frames. Error control is normally achieved through a trailer added
to the end of the frame.

• Access control. When two or more devices are connected to the same link, data link
layer protocols are necessary to determine which device has control over the link at any
given time.
 Network layer
• The network layer is responsible for the source-to-destination delivery of a packet,
possibly across multiple networks (links).
• Logical addressing. If a packet passes the network boundary, we need another
addressing system to help distinguish the source and destination systems. The network
layer adds a header to the packet coming from the upper layer that, among other things,
includes the logical addresses of the sender and receiver.
• Routing. When independent networks or links are connected to create internetworks
(network of networks) or a large network, the connecting devices (called routers or
switches) route or switch the packets to their final destination. One of the functions of
the network layer is to provide this mechanism.
 Transport layer
• The transport layer is responsible for process-to-process delivery of the entire message.
• A process is an application program running on a host. Whereas the network layer
oversees source-to-destination delivery of individual packets, it does not recognize any
relationship between those packets.
Other Responsibilities

• Service-point addressing. The transport layer header must include a type of address
called a service-point address (or port address). The network layer gets each packet to
the correct computer; the transport layer gets the entire message to the correct process
on that computer.
• Segmentation and reassembly. A message is divided into transmittable segments, with
each segment containing a sequence number. These numbers enable the transport layer
to reassemble the message correctly upon arriving at the destination and to identify and
replace packets that were lost in transmission.
• Connection control. The transport layer can be either connectionless or connection
oriented. A connectionless transport layer treats each segment as an independent
packet and delivers it to the transport layer at the destination machine. A connection-
oriented transport layer makes a connection with the transport layer at the destination
machine first before delivering the packets. After all the data are transferred, the
connection is terminated.
• Flow control. Like the data link layer, the transport layer is responsible for flow control.
However, flow control at this layer is performed end to end rather than across a single
link.
• Error control. Like the data link layer, the transport layer is responsible for error control.
However, error control at this layer is performed process-to process rather than across a
single link. The sending transport layer makes sure that the entire message arrives at the
receiving transport layer without error (damage, loss, or duplication). Error correction is
usually achieved through retransmission.
 Session layer
• The session layer is the network dialog controller. It establishes, maintains, and
synchronizes the interaction among communicating systems.
• The session layer is responsible for dialog control and synchronization.
• Dialog control. The session layer allows two systems to enter into a dialog. It allows the
communication between two processes to take place in either half duplex (one way at a
time) or full-duplex (two ways at a time) mode.
• Synchronization. The session layer allows a process to add checkpoints, or
synchronization points, to a stream of data.

Presentation layer
• The presentation layer is concerned with the syntax and semantics of the information
exchanged between two systems.
• Translation. The processes (running programs) in two systems are usually exchanging
information in the form of character strings, numbers, and so on. The information must
be changed to bit streams before being transmitted. Because different computers use
different encoding systems, the presentation layer is responsible for interoperability
between these different encoding methods. The presentation layer at the sender
changes the information from its sender-dependent format into a common format. The
presentation layer at the receiving machine changes the common format into its
receiver-dependent format.
• Encryption. To carry sensitive information, a system must be able to ensure privacy.
Encryption means that the sender transforms the original information to another form
and sends the resulting message out over the network. Decryption reverses the original
process to transform the message back to its original form.
• Compression. Data compression reduces the number of bits contained in the
information. Data compression becomes particularly important in the transmission of
multimedia such as text, audio, and video.
 Application layer
• The application layer enables the user, whether human or software, to access the
network.
• It provides user interfaces and support for services such as electronic mail, remote file
access and transfer, shared database management, and other types of distributed
information services.

Services

• Network virtual terminal. A network virtual terminal is a software version of a

physical terminal, and it allows a user to log on to a remote host. To do so, the
application creates a software emulation of a terminal at the remote host. The user's
computer talks to the software terminal which, in turn, talks to the host, and vice
versa. The remote host believes it is communicating with one of its own terminals
and allows the user to log on.
• File transfer, access, and management. This application allows a user to access files
in a remote host (to make changes or read data), to retrieve files from a remote
computer for use in the local computer, and to manage or control files in a remote
computer locally.
• Mail services. This application provides the basis for e-mail forwarding and storage.
• Directory services. This application provides distributed database sources and access
for global information about various objects and services.
 TCP/IP Protocol Suite
• For physical and data link layer TCP/IP do not define any specific protocol.
• In network layer – IP, ICMP, IGMP, RARP, ARP
• In transport layer – SCTP, TCP, UDP
• In application layer – SMTP. FTP, HTTP, DNS, SNMP, TELNET

Q In the following pairs of OSI protocol layer/sub-layer and its functionality, the INCORRECT
pair is (Gate-2014) (1 Marks)
(a) Network layer and Routing
(b) Data Link Layer and Bit synchronization
(c) Transport layer and End-to-end process communication
(d) Medium Access Control sub-layer and Channel sharing
ANSWER B

Q A multiplexer combines four 100-Kbps channels using a time slot of 2 bits. What is the bit
rate? (NET-JULY-2016)
(a) 100 Kbps (b) 200 Kbps (c) 400 Kbps (d) 1000 Kbps
Ans: c