UNIT I

1. What is a Computer Network?

o Computer Network is a group of computers connected with each other through wires,
optical fibres or optical links so that various devices can interact with each other through
a network.
o The aim of the computer network is the sharing of resources among various devices.
o In the case of computer network technology, there are several types of networks that vary
from simple to complex level.

Components Of Computer Network:

Major components of a computer network are:

NIC(National interface card)

NIC is a device that helps the computer to communicate with another device. The network
interface card contains the hardware addresses, the data-link layer protocol use this address to
identify the system on the network so that it transfers the data to the correct destination.

There are two types of NIC: wireless NIC and wired NIC.

o Wireless NIC: All the modern laptops use the wireless NIC. In Wireless NIC, a
connection is made using the antenna that employs the radio wave technology.
 o Wired NIC: Cables use the wired NIC to transfer the data over the medium.

Hub

Hub is a central device that splits the network connection into multiple devices. When computer
requests for information from a computer, it sends the request to the Hub. Hub distributes this
request to all the interconnected computers.

Switches

Switch is a networking device that groups all the devices over the network to transfer the data to
another device. A switch is better than Hub as it does not broadcast the message over the
network, i.e., it sends the message to the device for which it belongs to. Therefore, we can say
that switch sends the message directly from source to the destination.

Cables and connectors

Cable is a transmission media that transmits the communication signals. There are three types
of cables:

o Twisted pair cable: It is a high-speed cable that transmits the data over 1Gbps or more.
o Coaxial cable: Coaxial cable resembles like a TV installation cable. Coaxial cable is
more expensive than twisted pair cable, but it provides the high data transmission speed.
o Fibre optic cable: Fibre optic cable is a high-speed cable that transmits the data using
light beams. It provides high data transmission speed as compared to other cables. It is
more expensive as compared to other cables, so it is installed at the government level.

Router

Router is a device that connects the LAN to the internet. The router is mainly used to connect the
distinct networks or connect the internet to multiple computers.

Modem
Modem connects the computer to the internet over the existing telephone line. A modem is not
integrated with the computer motherboard. A modem is a separate part on the PC slot found on
the motherboard.

Uses Of Computer Network

o Resource sharing: Resource sharing is the sharing of resources such as programs,

printers, and data among the users on the network without the requirement of the physical
location of the resource and user.
o Server-Client model: Computer networking is used in the server-client model. A server
is a central computer used to store the information and maintained by the system
administrator. Clients are the machines used to access the information stored in the server
remotely.
o Communication medium: Computer network behaves as a communication medium
among the users. For example, a company contains more than one computer has an email
system which the employees use for daily communication.
o E-commerce: Computer network is also important in businesses. We can do the business
over the internet. For example, amazon.com is doing their business over the internet, i.e.,
they are doing their business over the internet.

2.DATA AND SIGNALS

Analog Signals
An analog or analogue signal is any continuous signal for which the time varying feature
(variable) of the signal is a representation of some other time varying quantity, i.e., analogous to
another time varying signal. It differs from a digital signal in terms of small fluctuations in the
signal which are meaningful. Analog is usually thought of in an electrical context; however,
mechanical, pneumatic, hydraulic, and other systems may also convey analog signals.

Digital Signals
A digital signal is a chemical signal that is a representation of a sequence of discrete values (a
quantified discrete-time signal), for example of arbitrary bit stream, or of a digitized (sampled
and analog-to-digital converted) analog signal. The term digital signal can refer to

1. a continuous-time waveform signal used in any form of digital communication.

2. a pulse train signal that switches between a discrete number of voltage levels or levels of
light intensity, also known as a a line coded signal, for example a signal found in digital
 electronics or in serial communications using digital baseband transmission in, or a pulse
code modulation (PCM) representation of a digitized analog signal.

A signal that is generated by means of a digital modulation method (digital pass

band transmission), produced by a modem, is in the first case considered as a digital signal, and
in the second case as converted to an analog signal.

Periodic and Non-periodic

Both analog and digital signals can take one of two forms: periodic or non-periodic sometimes
referred to as aperiodic; A periodic signal completes a pattern within a measurable time frame,
called a period, and repeats that pattern over subsequent identical periods. The completion of one
full pattern is called a cycle. A non-periodic signal changes without exhibiting a pattern or cycle
that repeats over time. Both analog and digital signals can be periodic or non-periodic. In data
communications, we commonly use periodic analog signals and non-periodic digital signals.
Analog is best explained by the transmission of signal such as sound or human speech, over an
electrified copper wire. In its native form, human speech is an oscillatory disturbance in the air.
Which varies in terms of its volume or power (amplitude) and its pitch or tone (frequency)?
Analogous variations in electrical or radio waves are created in order to transmit the
analog information signal for video or audio or both over a network from a transmitter (TV station
or CATV source) to a receiver (TV set, computer connected with antenna). At the receiving end
an approximation (analog) of the original information is presented.
Information which is analog in its native form (audio and image) can vary continuously in terms
of intensity (volume or brightness) and frequency (tone or color). Those variations in the native
information stream are translated in an analog electrical network into variations in -the amplitude
 and frequency of the carrier signal. In other words, the carrier signal is modulated (varied) in order
to create an analog of the original information stream.
The electromagnetic sinusoidal (waveform) or sine wave can be varied in amplitude at a fixed
frequency, using Amplitude Modulation (AM). Alternatively, the frequency of the sine wave can
be varied at constant amplitude using Frequency Modulation (FM). Additionally, both frequency
and amplitude can be modulated simultaneously.
1. Analog signal can have infinite number of values and varies continuously with time.
2. Analog signal is usually represented by sine wave.
3. As shown in figure each cycle consists of a single arc above the time axis followed by a single arc
below the time axis.
4. Example of analog signal is human voice. When we speak, we use air to transmit an analog signal.
Electrical signal from an audio tape, can also be in analog form

Characteristics of Analog Signal

1. Amplitude
(i) Amplitude of a signal refers to the height of the signal.
(ii) It is equal to the vertical distance from a given point on the waveform to the horizontal axis.
(iii) The maximum amplitude of a sine wave is equal to the highest value it reaches on the vertical
axis as shown in figure.
(iv) Amplitude is measured in volts, amperes or watts depending on the type of signal. A volt is
used for voltage, ampere for current and watts for power.
2. Period
(i) Period refers to the amount of time in which a signal completes one cycle.
(ii) It is measured in seconds.
(iii) Other units used to measure period are millisecond (10-3 sec.) microsecond (10-6 sec),
nanosecond (10-9 sec) and picoseconds (10-12 sec).
3. Frequency
(i) It refers to the number of wave patterns completed in a given period of time.
(ii) To be more precise, frequency refers to number of periods in one second or number of cycles
per second.
(iii) Frequency is measured in Hertz (Hz)
(iv) Other units used to express frequency are kilohertz (103 Hz) Megahertz (106 Hz), gigahertz
(109 Hz) and terahertz (1012 Hz).
(v) Frequency and period are the inverse of each other. Period is the inverse of frequency and
frequency is the inverse of period.
4. Phase
(i) Phase describes the position of the waveform relative to time zero.
(ii) Phase describes the amount by which the waveform shifts forward or backward along the time
axis.
(iii) It indicates the status of first cycle.
(iv)Phase is measured in degrees or radians.
(v) A phase shift of 3600 indicates a shift of a complete period, a phase shift of 180° indicates a
shift of half period and a phase shift of 90° indicates a shift of a quarter of a period as shown in
fig. below.

Advantages of Analog Signals

(1) Best suited for the transmission of audio and video.
(2) Consumes less bandwidth than digital signals to carry the same information.
(3) Analog systems are readily in place around the world.
(4) Analog signal is less susceptible to noise.

3) Bit rate

In telecommunications and computing, bit rate (bitrate or as a variable R) is the number

of bits that are conveyed or processed per unit of time.[1]
The bit rate is quantified using the bits per second unit (symbol: "bit/s"), often in conjunction
with an SI prefix such as "kilo" (1 kbit/s = 1,000 bit/s), "mega" (1 Mbit/s = 1,000 kbit/s), "giga"
(1 Gbit/s = 1,000 Mbit/s) or "tera" (1 Tbit/s = 1000 Gbit/s).[2] The non-standard abbreviation
"bps" is often used to replace the standard symbol "bit/s", so that, for example, "1 Mbps" is used
to mean one million bits per second.
In most environments, one byte per second (1 B/s) corresponds to 8 bit/s.
Baud rate
A baud is the number of signaling elements per second sent by a communications device such as
a modem, In theory, a modem with a high baud rate means fast transmission. The baud rate is
therefore equal to the bit rate only if each signal element represents one bit of information.
Difference between Bit Rate and Baud Rate

Both Bit rate and Baud rate are generally used in data communication,
Bit rate is the transmission of number of bits per second. On the other hand, Baud rate is defined
as the number of signal units per second. The formula which relates both bit rate and baud rate is
given below:
Bit rate = Baud rate x the number of bit per baud.

Bandwidth

Bandwidth is defined as a range within a band of frequencies or wavelengths. Bandwidth is

also the amount of data that can be transmitted in a fixed amount of time.
For digital devices, the bandwidth is usually expressed in bits per second(bps) or bytes per
second. For analog devices, the bandwidth is expressed in cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz).
The bandwidth is particularly important for I/O devices. For example, a fast disk drive can be
hampered by a bus with a low bandwidth. This is the main reason that new buses, such as AGP,
have been developed for the PC.
4.Data Communication | Transmission Impairment
In communication system, analog signals travel through transmission media, which tends to
deteriorate the quality of analog signal. This imperfection causes signal impairment. This means
that received signal is not same as the signal that was send.
Causes of impairment –

• Attenuation – It means loss of energy. The strength of signal decreases with increasing
distance which causes loss of energy in overcoming resistance of medium. This is also
known as attenuated signal. Amplifiers are used to amplify the attenuated signal which
gives the original signal back.

Image Source – aviationchief

Attenuation is measured in decibels(dB). It measures the relative strengths of two signals
or one signal at two different point.
Attenuation(dB) = 10log10(P2/P1)
P1 is power at sending end and P2 is power at receiving end.
• Distortion – It means change in the shape of signal. This is generally seen in composite
signals with different frequencies. Each frequency component has its own propagation
speed travelling through a medium. Every component arrive at different time which leads
to delay distortion. Therefore, they have different phases at receiver end from what they
had at senders end.
• Noise – The random or unwanted signal that mixes up with the original signal is called
noise. There are several types of noise such as induced noise, crosstalk noise, thermal noise
and impulse noise which may corrupt the signal.
 Induced noise comes from sources such as motors and appliances. These devices act as
sending antenna and transmission medium act as receiving antenna. Thermal noise is
movement of electrons in wire which creates an extra signal. Crosstalk noise is when one
wire affects the other wire. Impulse noise is a signal with high energy that comes from
lightning or power lines
SNR = AVG SIGNAL POWER / AVG NOISE POWER

5. Data communication protocols and their standards

Protocols
In information technology, a protocol (from the Greek protocollon, which was a leaf of paper
glued to a manuscript volume, describing its contents) is the special set of rules that end points in
a telecommunication connection use when they communicate. Protocols exist at several levels in
a telecommunication connection. For example, there are protocols for the data interchange at the
hardware device level and protocols for data interchange at the application program level. In the
standard model known as Open Systems Interconnection (OSI), there are one or more protocols
attach layer in the telecommunication exchange that both ends of the exchange must recognize
and observe. Protocols are often described in an industry or international standard.

Standards
A common set of rules.

Standards Organization
Standards creation Communities

IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers)

IEEE's Constitution defines the purposes of the organization as "scientific and educational,
directed toward the advancement of the theory and practice of Electrical, Electronics,
Communications and Computer Engineering, as well as Computer Science, the allied branches of
engineering and the related arts and sciences." The IEEE is incorporated under the Not-for-Profit
Corporation Law of the state of New York, United States. It was formed in 1963 by the merger
of the Institute of Radio Engineers (IRE, founded 1912) and the American Institute of Electrical
Engineers (AIEE, founded 1884). It has more than 400,000 members in more than 160 countries,
45% outside the United States.In pursuing these goals, the IEEE serves as a major publisher of
scientific journals and a conference organizer. It is also a leading developer of industrial
standards (having developed over 900 active industry standards) in a broad range of disciplines,
including electric power and energy, biomedical technology and health care, information
technology, information assurance, telecommunications, consumer electronics, transportation,
aerospace, and nanotechnology. IEEE develops and participates in educational activities such as
accreditation of electrical engineering programs in institutes of higher learning.
IEEE is one of the leading standards-making organizations in the world. IEEE performs its
standards making and maintaining functions through the IEEE Standards Association (IEEE-
SA). IEEE standards affect a wide range of industries including: power and energy, biomedical
and health care, Information Technology (IT), telecommunications, transportation,
nanotechnology, information assurance, and many more. In 2005, IEEE had close to 900 active
standards, with 500 standards under development. One of the more notable IEEE standards is the
IEEE 802 LAN/MAN group of standards which includes the IEEE 802.3 Ethernet standard and
the IEEE 802.11 Wireless Networking standard.
ANSI (American National Standards Institute)

Though ANSI itself does not develop standards, the Institute oversees the development and use
of standards by accrediting the procedures of standards developing organizations. ANSI
accreditation signifies that the procedures used by standards developing organizations meet the
Institute's requirements for openness, balance, consensus, and due process.
ANSI was originally formed in 1918, when five engineering societies and three government
agencies founded the American Engineering Standards Committee (AESC). In 1928, the AESC
became the American Standards Association (ASA). In 1966, the ASA was reorganized and
became the United States of America Standards Institute (USASI). The present name was
adopted in 1969.Prior to 1918, these five engineering societies:

• American Institute of Electrical Engineers (AIEE, now IEEE)

• American Society of Mechanical Engineers (ASME)
• American Society of Civil Engineers (ASCE)
• American Institute of Mining Engineers (AIME, now American Institute of Mining,
Metallurgical, and Petroleum Engineers)
• American Society for Testing and Materials (now ASTM International)

ANSI also designates specific standards as American National Standards, or ANS, when the
Institute determines that the standards were developed in an environment that is equitable,
accessible and responsive to the requirements of various stakeholders.

The American National Standards process involves:

• consensus by a group that is open to representatives from all interested parties

• broad-based public review and comment on draft standards
• consideration of and response to comments
• incorporation of submitted changes that meet the same consensus requirements into a
draft standard
• availability of an appeal by any participant alleging that these principles were not
respected during the standards-development process.

ITU (International Telecommunications Union - formerly CCITT)

The International Telecommunication Union is the specialized agency of the United Nations
which is responsible for information and communication technologies. ITU coordinates the
shared global use of the radio spectrum, promotes international cooperation in assigning satellite
orbits, works to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing world and
establishes worldwide standards.
ITU coordinates the shared global use of the radio spectrum, promotes international cooperation
in assigning satellite orbits, works to improve telecommunication infrastructure in the developing
world and establishes worldwide standards.ITU also organizes worldwide and regional
exhibitions and forums, such as ITU TELECOM WORLD, bringing together representatives of
government and the telecommunications and ICT industry to exchange ideas, knowledge and
technology.The ITU is active in areas including broadband Internet, latest-generation wireless
technologies, aeronautical and maritime navigation, radio astronomy, satellite-based
meteorology, convergence in fixed-mobile phone, Internet access, data, voice, TV broadcasting,
and next-generation networks.
ISO (International Organization for Standards)
The International Organization for Standardization widely known as ISO, is an international
standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national standards
organizations. Founded on February 23, 1947, the organization promulgates worldwide
proprietary industrial and commercial standards. It has its headquarters in Geneva, Switzerland.
While ISO defines itself as a non-governmental organization, its ability to set standards that
often become law, either through treaties or national standards, makes it more powerful than
most non-governmental organizations. In practice, ISO acts as a consortium with strong links to
governments
ISO, is an international standard-setting body composed of representatives from various national
standards organizations the organization promulgates worldwide proprietary industrial and
commercial standards.ISO's main products are the International Standards. ISO also publishes
Technical Reports, Technical Specifications, Publicly Available Specifications, Technical
Corrigenda, and Guides .
EIA (Electronic Industries Association)
The Electronic Industries Alliance (EIA, until 1997 Electronic Industries Association) was a
standards and trade organization composed as an alliance of trade associations for electronics
manufacturers in the United States. They developed standards to ensure the equipment of
different manufacturers was compatible and interchangable.In 1924 the Associated Radio
Manufacturers alliance was formed, which was renamed to Radio Manufacturers Association
(RMA) the same year. Upcoming new electronic technologies brought new members and further
name changes: Radio Television Manufacturers Association (RTMA) (1950), Radio Electronics
Television Manufacturers (RETMA) (1953) and Electronics Industries Association (EIA) (1957).
The last renaming took place in 1997, when EIA became Electronics Industries Alliance (EIA),
reflecting the change away from a pure manufacturers associationA standard defining serial
communication between computers and modems e. g. was originally drafted by the radio sector
as RS-232. Later it was taken over by the EIA as EIA-232. Later this standard was managed by
the TIA and the name was changed to the current TIA-232. Because the EIA was accredited by
ANSI to help develop standards in its areas, the standards are often described as e. g. ANSI TIA-
232 (or formerly as ANSI EIA/TIA-232').
ETSI (European Telecommunications Standards Institute)

The European Telecommunications Standards Institute (ETSI) is an independent, non-profit,

standardization organization in the telecommunications industry (equipment makers and network
operators) in Europe, with worldwide projection. ETSI has been successful in standardizing the
Low Power Radio, Short Range Device, GSM cell phone system and the TETRA professional
mobile radio system.

Significant ETSI standardisation bodies include TISPAN (for fixed networks and
Internetmachine-to-machine communications). ETSI inspired the creation of, and is a partner in
3GPP.

ETSI was created by CEPT in 1988 and is officially recognized by the European Commission
and the EFTA secretariat. Based in Sophia Antipolis (France), ETSI is officially responsible for
standardization of Information and Communication Technologies (ICT) within Europe. These
technologies include telecommunications, broadcasting and related areas such as intelligent
transportation and medical electronics. ETSI has 740 members from 62 countries/provinces
inside and outside Europe, including manufacturers, network operators, administrations, service
providers, research bodies and users — in fact, all the key players in the ICT arena. convergence)
and M2M (for ETSI has been successful in standardizing the Low Power Radio, Short Range
Device, GSMTETRA professional mobile radio system.ETSI was created by CEPT in 1988 and
is officially recognized by the European Commission and the EFTASophia Antipolis (France),
ETSI is officially responsible for standardization of Information and Communication
Technologies (ICT) within Europe. These technologies include telecommunications,
broadcasting and related areas such as intelligent transportation and medical electronics.
W3C - World Wide Web Consortium
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) is the main international standards
organizationWorld Wide Web (abbreviated WWW or W3).

Founded and headed by Tim Berners-Lee,the consortium is made up of member organizations

which maintain full-time staff for the purpose of working together in the development of
standards for the World Wide Web. As of 18 February 2011, the World Wide Web Consortium
(W3C) has 322 members.

W3C also engages in education and outreach, develops software and serves as an open forum for
discussion about the Web.

W3C also engages in education and outreach, develops software and serves as an open forum for
discussion about the Web.W3C was created to ensure compatibility and agreement among
industry members in the adoption of new standards. Prior to its creation, incompatible versions
of HTML were offered by different vendors, increasing the potential for inconsistency between
web pages. The consortium was created to get all those vendors to agree on a set of core
principles and components which would be supported by everyone.

OSI Model

o OSI stands for Open System Interconnection is a reference model that describes how
information from a software application in one computer moves through a physical
medium to the software application in another computer.
 o OSI consists of seven layers, and each layer performs a particular network function.
o OSI model was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in
1984, and it is now considered as an architectural model for the inter-computer
communications.
o OSI model divides the whole task into seven smaller and manageable tasks. Each layer is
assigned a particular task.
o Each layer is self-contained, so that task assigned to each layer can be performed
independently.

Characteristics of OSI Model:

o The OSI model is divided into two layers: upper layers and lower layers.
o The upper layer of the OSI model mainly deals with the application related issues, and
they are implemented only in the software. The application layer is closest to the end
user. Both the end user and the application layer interact with the software applications.
An upper layer refers to the layer just above another layer.
o The lower layer of the OSI model deals with the data transport issues. The data link layer
and the physical layer are implemented in hardware and software. The physical layer is
the lowest layer of the OSI model and is closest to the physical medium. The physical
layer is mainly responsible for placing the information on the physical medium.

Functions of the OSI Layers

Physical layer
 o The main functionality of the physical layer is to transmit the individual bits from one
node to another node.
o It is the lowest layer of the OSI model.
o It establishes, maintains and deactivates the physical connection.
o It specifies the mechanical, electrical and procedural network interface specifications.

Functions of a Physical layer:

o Line Configuration: It defines the way how two or more devices can be connected
physically.
o Data Transmission: It defines the transmission mode whether it is simplex, half-duplex
or full-duplex mode between the two devices on the network.
o Topology: It defines the way how network devices are arranged.
o Signals: It determines the type of the signal used for transmitting the information.

Data-Link Layer

o This layer is responsible for the error-free transfer of data frames.

o It defines the format of the data on the network.
o It provides a reliable and efficient communication between two or more devices.
o It is mainly responsible for the unique identification of each device that resides on a local
network.
o It contains two sub-layers:
o Logical Link Control Layer
 o It is responsible for transferring the packets to the Network layer of the
receiver that is receiving.
o It identifies the address of the network layer protocol from the header.
o It also provides flow control.
o Media Access Control Layer
o A Media access control layer is a link between the Logical Link Control
layer and the network's physical layer.
o It is used for transferring the packets over the network.

Functions of the Data-link layer

o Framing: The data link layer translates the physical's raw bit stream into packets known
as Frames. The Data link layer adds the header and trailer to the frame. The header which
is added to the frame contains the hardware destination and source address.

o Physical Addressing: The Data link layer adds a header to the frame that contains a
destination address. The frame is transmitted to the destination address mentioned in the
header.
o Flow Control: Flow control is the main functionality of the Data-link layer. It is the
technique through which the constant data rate is maintained on both the sides so that no
data get corrupted. It ensures that the transmitting station such as a server with higher
processing speed does not exceed the receiving station, with lower processing speed.
o Error Control: Error control is achieved by adding a calculated value CRC (Cyclic
Redundancy Check) that is placed to the Data link layer's trailer which is added to the
message frame before it is sent to the physical layer. If any error seems to occurr, then the
receiver sends the acknowledgment for the retransmission of the corrupted frames.
o Access Control: When two or more devices are connected to the same communication
channel, then the data link layer protocols are used to determine which device has control
over the link at a given time.

Network Layer
 o It is a layer 3 that manages device addressing, tracks the location of devices on the
network.
o It determines the best path to move data from source to the destination based on the
network conditions, the priority of service, and other factors.
o The Data link layer is responsible for routing and forwarding the packets.
o Routers are the layer 3 devices, they are specified in this layer and used to provide the
routing services within an internetwork.
o The protocols used to route the network traffic are known as Network layer protocols.
Examples of protocols are IP and Ipv6.

Functions of Network Layer:

o Internetworking: An internetworking is the main responsibility of the network layer. It

provides a logical connection between different devices.
o Addressing: A Network layer adds the source and destination address to the header of
the frame. Addressing is used to identify the device on the internet.
o Routing: Routing is the major component of the network layer, and it determines the best
optimal path out of the multiple paths from source to the destination.
o Packetizing: A Network Layer receives the packets from the upper layer and converts
them into packets. This process is known as Packetizing. It is achieved by internet
protocol (IP).
Transport Layer

o The Transport layer is a Layer 4 ensures that messages are transmitted in the order in
which they are sent and there is no duplication of data.
o The main responsibility of the transport layer is to transfer the data completely.
o It receives the data from the upper layer and converts them into smaller units known as
segments.
o This layer can be termed as an end-to-end layer as it provides a point-to-point connection
between source and destination to deliver the data reliably.

The two protocols used in this layer are:

o Transmission Control Protocol

o It is a standard protocol that allows the systems to communicate over the internet.
o It establishes and maintains a connection between hosts.
o When data is sent over the TCP connection, then the TCP protocol divides the
data into smaller units known as segments. Each segment travels over the internet
using multiple routes, and they arrive in different orders at the destination. The
transmission control protocol reorders the packets in the correct order at the
receiving end.
o User Datagram Protocol
o User Datagram Protocol is a transport layer protocol.
 o It is an unreliable transport protocol as in this case receiver does not send any
acknowledgment when the packet is received, the sender does not wait for any
acknowledgment. Therefore, this makes a protocol unreliable.

Functions of Transport Layer:

o Service-point addressing: Computers run several programs simultaneously due to this

reason, the transmission of data from source to the destination not only from one
computer to another computer but also from one process to another process. The transport
layer adds the header that contains the address known as a service-point address or port
address. The responsibility of the network layer is to transmit the data from one computer
to another computer and the responsibility of the transport layer is to transmit the
message to the correct process.
o Segmentation and reassembly: When the transport layer receives the message from the
upper layer, it divides the message into multiple segments, and each segment is assigned
with a sequence number that uniquely identifies each segment. When the message has
arrived at the destination, then the transport layer reassembles the message based on their
sequence numbers.
o Connection control: Transport layer provides two services Connection-oriented service
and connectionless service. A connectionless service treats each segment as an individual
packet, and they all travel in different routes to reach the destination. A connection-
oriented service makes a connection with the transport layer at the destination machine
before delivering the packets. In connection-oriented service, all the packets travel in the
single route.
o Flow control: The transport layer also responsible for flow control but it is performed
end-to-end rather than across a single link.
o Error control: The transport layer is also responsible for Error control. Error control is
performed end-to-end rather than across the single link. The sender transport layer
ensures that message reach at the destination without any error.

Session Layer
 o It is a layer 3 in the OSI model.
o The Session layer is used to establish, maintain and synchronizes the interaction between
communicating devices.

Functions of Session layer:

o Dialog control: Session layer acts as a dialog controller that creates a dialog between two
processes or we can say that it allows the communication between two processes which
can be either half-duplex or full-duplex.
o Synchronization: Session layer adds some checkpoints when transmitting the data in a
sequence. If some error occurs in the middle of the transmission of data, then the
transmission will take place again from the checkpoint. This process is known as
Synchronization and recovery.

Presentation Layer
 o A Presentation layer is mainly concerned with the syntax and semantics of the
information exchanged between the two systems.
o It acts as a data translator for a network.
o This layer is a part of the operating system that converts the data from one presentation
format to another format.
o The Presentation layer is also known as the syntax layer.

Functions of Presentation layer:

o Translation: The processes in two systems exchange the information in the form of
character strings, numbers and so on. Different computers use different encoding
methods, the presentation layer handles the interoperability between the different
encoding methods. It converts the data from sender-dependent format into a common
format and changes the common format into receiver-dependent format at the receiving
end.
o Encryption: Encryption is needed to maintain privacy. Encryption is a process of
converting the sender-transmitted information into another form and sends the resulting
message over the network.
o Compression: Data compression is a process of compressing the data, i.e., it reduces the
number of bits to be transmitted. Data compression is very important in multimedia such
as text, audio, video.

Application Layer
 o An application layer serves as a window for users and application processes to access
network service.
o It handles issues such as network transparency, resource allocation, etc.
o An application layer is not an application, but it performs the application layer functions.
o This layer provides the network services to the end-users.

Functions of Application layer:

o File transfer, access, and management (FTAM): An application layer allows a user to
access the files in a remote computer, to retrieve the files from a computer and to manage
the files in a remote computer.
o Mail services: An application layer provides the facility for email forwarding and
storage.
o Directory services: An application provides the distributed database sources and is used
to provide that global information about various objects.

TCP/IP model

o The TCP/IP model was developed prior to the OSI model.

o The TCP/IP model is not exactly similar to the OSI model.
o The TCP/IP model consists of five layers: the application layer, transport layer, network
layer, data link layer and physical layer.
 o The first four layers provide physical standards, network interface, internetworking, and
transport functions that correspond to the first four layers of the OSI model and these four
layers are represented in TCP/IP model by a single layer called the application layer.
o TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules, and each of them
provides specific functionality.

Here, hierarchical means that each upper-layer protocol is supported by two or more lower-level
protocols.

Functions of TCP/IP layers:

Network Access Layer

o A network layer is the lowest layer of the TCP/IP model.

o A network layer is the combination of the Physical layer and Data Link layer defined in
the OSI reference model.
o It defines how the data should be sent physically through the network.
o This layer is mainly responsible for the transmission of the data between two devices on
the same network.
 o The functions carried out by this layer are encapsulating the IP datagram into frames
transmitted by the network and mapping of IP addresses into physical addresses.
o The protocols used by this layer are ethernet, token ring, FDDI, X.25, frame relay.

Internet Layer

o An internet layer is the second layer of the TCP/IP model.

o An internet layer is also known as the network layer.
o The main responsibility of the internet layer is to send the packets from any network, and
they arrive at the destination irrespective of the route they take.

Following are the protocols used in this layer are:

IP Protocol: IP protocol is used in this layer, and it is the most significant part of the entire
TCP/IP suite.

Following are the responsibilities of this protocol:

o IP Addressing: This protocol implements logical host addresses known as IP addresses.

The IP addresses are used by the internet and higher layers to identify the device and to
provide internetwork routing.
o Host-to-host communication: It determines the path through which the data is to be
transmitted.
o Data Encapsulation and Formatting: An IP protocol accepts the data from the transport
layer protocol. An IP protocol ensures that the data is sent and received securely, it
encapsulates the data into message known as IP datagram.
o Fragmentation and Reassembly: The limit imposed on the size of the IP datagram by
data link layer protocol is known as Maximum Transmission unit (MTU). If the size of IP
datagram is greater than the MTU unit, then the IP protocol splits the datagram into
smaller units so that they can travel over the local network. Fragmentation can be done by
the sender or intermediate router. At the receiver side, all the fragments are reassembled
to form an original message.
o Routing: When IP datagram is sent over the same local network such as LAN, MAN,
WAN, it is known as direct delivery. When source and destination are on the distant
network, then the IP datagram is sent indirectly. This can be accomplished by routing the
IP datagram through various devices such as routers.

ARP Protocol

o ARP stands for Address Resolution Protocol.

 o ARP is a network layer protocol which is used to find the physical address from the IP
address.
o The two terms are mainly associated with the ARP Protocol:
o ARP request: When a sender wants to know the physical address of the device, it
broadcasts the ARP request to the network.
o ARP reply: Every device attached to the network will accept the ARP request
and process the request, but only recipient recognize the IP address and sends
back its physical address in the form of ARP reply. The recipient adds the
physical address both to its cache memory and to the datagram header

ICMP Protocol

o ICMP stands for Internet Control Message Protocol.

o It is a mechanism used by the hosts or routers to send notifications regarding datagram
problems back to the sender.
o A datagram travels from router-to-router until it reaches its destination. If a router is
unable to route the data because of some unusual conditions such as disabled links, a
device is on fire or network congestion, then the ICMP protocol is used to inform the
sender that the datagram is undeliverable.
o An ICMP protocol mainly uses two terms:
o ICMP Test: ICMP Test is used to test whether the destination is reachable or not.
o ICMP Reply: ICMP Reply is used to check whether the destination device is
responding or not.
o The core responsibility of the ICMP protocol is to report the problems, not correct them.
The responsibility of the correction lies with the sender.
o ICMP can send the messages only to the source, but not to the intermediate routers
because the IP datagram carries the addresses of the source and destination but not of the
router that it is passed to.

Transport Layer

The transport layer is responsible for the reliability, flow control, and correction of data which is
being sent over the network.

The two protocols used in the transport layer are User Datagram protocol and Transmission
control protocol.

o User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

 o It provides connectionless service and end-to-end delivery of transmission.
o It is an unreliable protocol as it discovers the errors but not specify the error.
o User Datagram Protocol discovers the error, and ICMP protocol reports the error
to the sender that user datagram has been damaged.
o UDP consists of the following fields:
Source port address: The source port address is the address of the application
program that has created the message.
Destination port address: The destination port address is the address of the
application program that receives the message.
Total length: It defines the total number of bytes of the user datagram in bytes.
Checksum: The checksum is a 16-bit field used in error detection.
o UDP does not specify which packet is lost. UDP contains only checksum; it does
not contain any ID of a data segment.

o Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

o It provides a full transport layer services to applications.
o It creates a virtual circuit between the sender and receiver, and it is active for the
duration of the transmission.
o TCP is a reliable protocol as it detects the error and retransmits the damaged
frames. Therefore, it ensures all the segments must be received and acknowledged
before the transmission is considered to be completed and a virtual circuit is
discarded.
o At the sending end, TCP divides the whole message into smaller units known as
segment, and each segment contains a sequence number which is required for
reordering the frames to form an original message.
 o At the receiving end, TCP collects all the segments and reorders them based on
sequence numbers.

Application Layer

o An application layer is the topmost layer in the TCP/IP model.

o It is responsible for handling high-level protocols, issues of representation.
o This layer allows the user to interact with the application.
o When one application layer protocol wants to communicate with another application
layer, it forwards its data to the transport layer.
o There is an ambiguity occurs in the application layer. Every application cannot be placed
inside the application layer except those who interact with the communication system.
For example: text editor cannot be considered in application layer while web browser
using HTTP protocol to interact with the network where HTTP protocol is an
application layer protocol.

Following are the main protocols used in the application layer:

o HTTP: HTTP stands for Hypertext transfer protocol. This protocol allows us to access
the data over the world wide web. It transfers the data in the form of plain text, audio,
video. It is known as a Hypertext transfer protocol as it has the efficiency to use in a
hypertext environment where there are rapid jumps from one document to another.
o SNMP: SNMP stands for Simple Network Management Protocol. It is a framework used
for managing the devices on the internet by using the TCP/IP protocol suite.
o SMTP: SMTP stands for Simple mail transfer protocol. The TCP/IP protocol that
supports the e-mail is known as a Simple mail transfer protocol. This protocol is used to
send the data to another e-mail address.
o DNS: DNS stands for Domain Name System. An IP address is used to identify the
connection of a host to the internet uniquely. But, people prefer to use the names instead
of addresses. Therefore, the system that maps the name to the address is known as
Domain Name System.
o TELNET: It is an abbreviation for Terminal Network. It establishes the connection
between the local computer and remote computer in such a way that the local terminal
appears to be a terminal at the remote system.
o FTP: FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a standard internet protocol used for
transmitting the files from one computer to another computer.