COMPUTER NETWORKS

UNIT -1: INTRODUCTION

Syllabus:
Introduction: Network Types, LAN, MAN, WAN, Network Topologies Reference models- The OSI
Reference Model- the TCP/IP Reference Model - A Comparison of the OSI and TCP/IP Reference Models,
OSI Vs TCP/IP, Lack of OSI models success, Internet History.
Physical Layer Introduction to Guided Media- Twisted-pair cable, Coaxial cable and Fiber optic cable
and unguided media: Wireless-Radio waves, microwaves, infrared.

Definition:
The term ''computer network'' to mean a collection of autonomous computers interconnected by a single
technology. Two computers are said to be interconnected if they are able to exchange information.

CLASSIFICATION OF NETWORKS:
There is no generally accepted taxonomy into which all computer networks fit, but two dimensions stand
out as important:
• transmission technology
• scale
TRANSMISSION TECHNOLOGY:
There are two types of transmission technology that are in widespread use. They are as follows:
1. Broadcast links.
2. Multicast links.
3. Point-to-point links.
1. Broadcast links:
Broadcast networks have a single communication channel that is shared by all the machines on the
network. Short messages, called packets in certain contexts, sent by any machine are received by all the others. An
address field within the packet specifies the intended recipient. Upon receiving a packet, a machine checks the
address field. If the packet is intended for the receiving machine, that machine processes the packet; if the packet
is intended for some other machine, it is just ignored.
2. Multicast links.
Some broadcast systems also support transmission to a subset of the machines, something known as
multicasting. Each machine can ''subscribe'' to any or all of the groups. When a packet is sent to a certain group, it
is delivered to all machines subscribing to that group.
3. Point-to-point links(Unicasting):
In contrast, point-to-point networks consist of many connections between individual pairs of machines. To
go from the source to the destination, a packet on this type of network may have to first visit one or more
intermediate machines. Often multiple routes, of different lengths, are possible, so finding good ones is important
in point-to-point networks. Point-to-point transmission with one sender and one receiver is sometimes called
unicasting.
BASED ON SCALE:
An alternative criterion for classifying networks is their scale. We classify multiple processor systems by
their physical size.

1. Personal area network:

Networks that communicate over the range of a person, For example, a wireless network
connecting a computer with its mouse, keyboard, and printer is a personal area network. Also, a PDA that
controls the user's hearing aid or pacemaker fits in this category. Without wireless, this connection must be
done with cables. Short range wireless network called Bluetooth to connect these components without
wires.

2. Local Area Networks:

A LAN is a privately owned network that operates within and nearby a single building like a home,
office or factory. LANs are widely used to connect personal computers and consumer electronics to let
them share resources (e.g., printers) and exchange information.
Wireless LANs are very popular these days, especially in homes, older office buildings, cafeterias,
and other places where it is too much trouble to install cables. In these systems, every computer has a radio
modem and an antenna that it uses to communicate with other computers called an AP (Access Point),
wireless router, or base station, relays packets between the wireless computers and also between them and
the Internet. There is a standard for wireless LANs called IEEE 802.11, popularly known as WiFi.
Wired LANs use a range of different transmission technologies. Most of them use copper wires, but
some use optical fiber. Wired LANs run at speeds of 100 Mbps to 1 Gbps the topology of many wired
LANs is built from point-to-point links. IEEE 802.3, popularly called Ethernet, is, by far, the most
common type of wired LAN. The most common type of wired LAN is switched Ethernet. Each computer
speaks the Ethernet protocol and connects to a box called a switch with a point-to-point link. A switch has
multiple ports, each of which can connect to one computer. The job of the switch is to relay packets
between computers that are attached to it, using the address in each packet to determine which computer to
send it to.
3. Metropolitan Area Network:

A metropolitan area network, or MAN, covers a city. The best-known example of a MAN is the
cable television network available in many cities. This system grew from earlier community antenna
systems used in areas with poor over-the-air television reception. In these early systems, a large antenna
was placed on top of a nearby hill and signal was then piped to the subscribers' houses. At first, these were
locally-designed, ad hoc systems. Then companies began jumping into the business, getting contracts from
city governments to wire up an entire city. The next step was television programming and even entire
channels designed for cable only. Often these channels were highly specialized, such as all news, all sports,
all cooking, all gardening, and so on. But from their inception until the late 1990s, they were intended for
television reception only. To a first approximation, a MAN might look something like the system shown in
Fig. In this figure both television signals and Internet are fed into the centralized head end for subsequent
distribution to people's homes. Cable television is not the only MAN. Recent developments in high-speed
wireless Internet access resulted in another MAN, which has been standardized as IEEE 802.16. A MAN is
implemented by a standard called DQDB (Distributed Queue Dual Bus) or IEEE 802.16. DQDB has two
unidirectional buses (or cables) to which all the computers are attached.

4. Wide Area Network:

A wide area network, or WAN, spans a large geographical area, often a country or continent. It
contains a collection of machines intended for running user (i.e., application) programs. These machines
are called as hosts. The hosts are connected by a communication subnet, or just subnet for short. The hosts
are owned by the customers (e.g., people's personal computers), whereas the communication subnet is
typically owned and operated by a telephone company or Internet service provider. The job of the subnet is
to carry messages from host to host, just as the telephone system carries words from speaker to listener.
Separation of the pure communication aspects of the network (the subnet) from the application aspects (the
hosts), greatly simplifies the complete network design. In most wide area networks, the subnet consists of
two distinct components: transmission lines and switching elements. Transmission lines move bits between
machines. They can be made of copper wire, optical fiber, or even radio links. In most WANs, the network
contains numerous transmission lines, each one connecting a pair of routers. If two routers that do not
share a transmission line wish to communicate, they must do this indirectly, via other routers. When a
packet is sent from one router to another via one or more intermediate routers, the packet is received at
 each intermediate router in its entirety, stored there until the required output line is free, and then
forwarded. A subnet organized according to this principle is called a store-and-forward or packet-switched
subnet. Nearly all wide area networks (except those using satellites) have store-and-forward subnets.

NETWORK TOPOLOGIES:
The topology of a network is the geometric representation of the relationship of all the links and
linking devices (usually called nodes) to one another.
There are four basic topologies possible: mesh, star, bus, and ring.

1. Mesh topologies:
In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every other device. The term
dedicated means that the link carries traffic only between the two devices it connects. To find the number
of physical links in a fully connected mesh network with n nodes by using the formula
n(n -1) /2.

Advantages:
1. the use of dedicated links guarantees that each connection can carry its own data load, thus eliminating the
traffic problems
2. a mesh topology is robust. I one link becomes unusable, it does not incapacitate the entire system
3. there is the advantage of privacy or security
Disadvantages
1. Mesh is related to the amount of cabling and the number of I/O ports required. First, because every device
must be connected to every other device, installation and reconnection are difficult
2. the hardware required to connect each link (I/O ports and cable) can be prohibitively expensive

2. 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. Unlike a mesh topology, a star
topology does not allow direct traffic between devices. The controller acts as an exchange: I 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:
1. A star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology. In a star, each device needs only one link and one I/O
port to connect it to any number of others
2. This factor also makes it easy to install and reconfigure. Far less cabling needs to be housed
3. Robustness. I one link fails; only that link is affected. All other links remain active
Disadvantage:
1) Star topology is the dependency of the whole topology on one single point, the hub. Ifthe hub goes down, the
whole system is dead.

3. Bus Topology
A bus topology, on the other hand, 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.
Bus topology was the one of the first topologies used in the design of early local area networks.

Advantages:
1. Bus topology includes ease of installation. Backbone cable can be laid along the most efficient path
Disadvantages:
1. Difficult reconnection and fault isolation. A bus is usually designed to be optimally efficient at installation.
It can therefore be difficult to add new devices.
2. A fault or break in the bus cable stops all transmission, even between devices on the same side of the
problem.

4. 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:
1. A ring is relatively easy to install and reconfigure
2. Each device is linked to only its immediate neighbors (either physically or logically). To add or delete a
device requires changing only two connections
 3. Fault isolation is simplified. Generally in a ring, a signal is circulating at all times. If one device does not
receive a signal within a specified period, it can issue an alarm
Disadvantages:
1. a break in the ring (such as a disabled station) can disable the entire network

5. Hybrid Topology
A network can be hybrid. For example, we can have a main star topology with each branch connecting
several stations in a bus topology

PROTOCOL HIERARCHIES:
To reduce their design complexity, most networks are organized as a stack of layers or levels, each one
built upon the one below it. The number of layers, the name of each layer, the contents of each layer, and the
function of each layer differ from network to network. The purpose of each layer is to offer certain services to the
higher layers while shielding those layers from the details of how the offered services are actually implemented
This concept is actually a familiar one and is used throughout computer science, where it is variously
known as information hiding, abstract data types, data encapsulation, and object-oriented programming.
The fundamental idea is that a particular piece of software (or hardware) provides a service to its users but
keeps the details of its internal state and algorithms hidden from them (which is called Encapsulation)
The entities comprising the corresponding layers on different machines are called peers. The peers may be
software processes, hardware devices, or even human beings. In other words, it is the peers that communicate by
using the protocol to talk to each other.

In reality, no data are directly transferred from layer n on one machine to layer n on another machine.
Instead, each layer passes data and control information to the layer immediately below it, until the lowest layer is
reached. Below layer 1 is the physical medium through which actual communication occurs. In above Fig., virtual
communication is shown by dotted lines and physical communication by solid lines.
 Between each pair of adjacent layers is an interface. The interface defines which primitive operations and
services the lower layer makes available to the upper one. When network designers decide how many layers to
include in a network and what each one should do, one of the most important considerations is defining clean
interfaces between the layers

DESIGN ISSUES FOR THE LAYERS:

• Addressing – each layer needs a mechanism for Identifying senders and receivers.
• The rules of data transfer – simplex, half-duplex, full- duplex
• Error Control – error-correction and error-detection
• Flow Control - The communication channels must preserve the order of messages sent on them
disassembling, transmitting, and then reassembling.
• Multiplexing – inconvenient or expensive to set up a connection for each pair of communication process.
• Routing – multiple paths between source and destination, a route must be chosen

CONNECTION-ORIENTED versus CONNECTIONLESS SERVICE:

Layers can offer two different types of service to the layers above them: connection-oriented and
connectionless.
Connection-oriented service is modeled after the telephone system. To talk to someone, you pick up the
phone, dial the number, talk, and then hang up. Similarly, to use a connection-oriented network service, the service
user first establishes a connection, uses the connection, and then releases the connection. The essential aspect of a
connection is that it acts like a tube: the sender pushes objects (bits) in at one end, and the receiver takes them out
at the other end. In most cases the order is preserved so that the bits arrive in the order they were sent.
To use a connection-oriented network service, the service user first establishes a connection, uses the
connection, and then releases the connection.
Connectionless service is modeled after the postal system. Each message (letter) carries the full
destination address, and each one is routed through the intermediate nodes inside the system independent of all the
subsequent messages. There are different names for messages in different contexts; a packet is a message at the
network layer. When the intermediate nodes receive a message in full before sending it on to the next node, this is
called store-and-forward switching. The alternative, in which the onward transmission of a message at a node
starts before it is completely received by the node, is called cut-through switching. Normally, when two messages
are sent to the same destination, the first one sent will be the first one to arrive. However, it is possible that the first
one sent can be delayed so that the second one arrives first. Unreliable (meaning not acknowledged)
connectionless service is often called datagram service.

The Relationship of SERVICES to PROTOCOLS:

Services and protocols are distinct concepts. This distinction is so important that we emphasize it again here.
A service is a set of primitives (operations) that a layer provides to the layer above it. The service defines
what operations the layer is prepared to perform on behalf of its users, but it says nothing at all about how these
operations are implemented. A service relates to an interface between two layers, with the lower layer being the
service provider and the upper layer being the service user.
A protocol, in contrast, is a set of rules governing the format and meaning of the packets, or messages that
are exchanged by the peer entities within a layer. Entities use protocols to implement their service definitions.
They are free to change their protocols at will, provided they do not change the service visible to their users. In this
way, the service and the protocol are completely decoupled. This is a key concept that any network designer
should understand well.
THE OSI REFERENCE MODEL:
The OSI model (minus the physical medium) is shown in Fig. This model is based on a proposal developed
by the International Standards Organization (ISO) as a first step toward international standardization of the
protocols used in the various layers (Day and Zimmermann, 1983). It was revised in 1995(Day, 1995). The model
is called the ISO-OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) Reference Model because it deals with connecting open
systems—that is, systems that are open for communication with other systems. The OSI model has seven layers.

The principles that were applied to arrive at the seven layers can be briefly summarized as follows:
1. A layer should be created where a different abstraction is needed.
2. Each layer should perform a well-defined function.
3. The function of each layer should be chosen with an eye toward defining internationally standardized protocols.
4. The layer boundaries should be chosen to minimize the information flow across the interfaces.
5. The number of layers should be large enough that distinct functions need not be thrown together in the same
layer out of necessity and small enough that the architecture does not become unwieldy.

Physical Layer:
The physical layer is concerned with transmitting raw bits over a communication channel. The design
issues have to do with making sure that when one side sends a 1 bit, it is received by the other side as a 1 bit, not
as a 0 bit.
Data Link Layer:
The main task of the data link layer is to transform a raw transmission facility into a line that appears free
of undetected transmission errors to the network layer. It accomplishes this task by having the sender break up the
input data into data frames (typically a few hundred or a few thousand bytes) and transmits the frames
sequentially. If the service is reliable, the receiver confirms correct receipt of each frame by sending back an
acknowledgement frame.
Another issue that arises in the data link layer (and most of the higher layers as well) is how to keep a fast
transmitter from drowning a slow receiver in data. Some traffic regulation mechanism is often needed to let the
transmitter know how much buffer space the receiver has at the moment. Frequently, this flow regulation and the
error handling are integrated.
Network Layer:
The network layer controls the operation of the subnet. A key design issue is determining how packets are
routed from source to destination. Routes can be based on static tables that are ''wired into'' the network and rarely
changed. They can also be determined at the start of each conversation, for example, a terminal session (e.g., a
login to a remote machine). Finally, they can be highly dynamic, being determined anew for each packet, to reflect
the current network load.
If too many packets are present in the subnet at the same time, they will get in one another's way, forming
bottlenecks. The control of such congestion also belongs to the network layer. More generally, the quality of
service provided (delay, transit time, jitter, etc.) is also a network layer issue.
When a packet has to travel from one network to another to get to its destination, many problems can arise.
The addressing used by the second network may be different from the first one. The second one may not accept the
packet at all because it is too large. The protocols may differ, and so on. It is up to the network layer to overcome
all these problems to allow heterogeneous networks to be interconnected. In broadcast networks, the routing
problem is simple, so the network layer is often thin or even nonexistent.
Transport Layer:
The basic function of the transport layer is to accept data from above, split it up into smaller units if need
be, pass these to the network layer, and ensure that the pieces all arrive correctly at the other end. Furthermore, all
this must be done efficiently and in a way that isolates the upper layers from the inevitable changes in the
hardware technology. The transport layer also determines what type of service to provide to the session layer, and,
ultimately, to the users of the network. The most popular type of transport connection is an error-free point-to-
point channel that delivers messages or bytes in the order in which they were sent. However, other possible kinds
of transport service are the transporting of isolated messages, with no guarantee about the order of delivery, and
the broadcasting of messages to multiple destinations. The type of service is determined when the connection is
established.
The transport layer is a true end-to-end layer, all the way from the source to the destination. In other words,
a program on the source machine carries on a conversation with a similar program on the destination machine,
using the message headers and control messages. In the lower layers, the protocols are between each machine and
its immediate neighbors, and not between the ultimate source and destination machines, which may be separated
by many routers.
Session Layer:
The session layer allows users on different machines to establish sessions between them. Sessions offer
various services, including dialog control (keeping track of whose turn it is to transmit), token management
(preventing two parties from attempting the same critical operation at the same time), and synchronization (check
pointing long transmissions to allow them to continue from where they were after a crash).
Presentation Layer:
The presentation layer is concerned with the syntax and semantics of the information transmitted. In order
to make it possible for computers with different data representations to communicate, the data structures to be
exchanged can be defined in an abstract way, along with a standard encoding to be used ''on the wire.'' The
presentation layer manages these abstract data structures and allows higher-level data structures (e.g., banking
records), to be defined and exchanged.
Application Layer:
The application layer contains a variety of protocols that are commonly needed by users. One widely-used
application protocol is HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol), which is the basis for the World Wide Web. When a
browser wants a Web page, it sends the name of the page it wants to the server using HTTP. The server then sends
the page back. Other application protocols are used for file transfer, electronic mail, and network news.

THE TCP/IP REFERENCE MODEL:

The TCP/IP reference model was developed prior to OSI model. The major design goals of this model
were,
1. To connect multiple networks together so that they appear as a single network.
 2. To survive after partial subnet hardware failures.
3. To provide a flexible architecture.
Unlike OSI reference model, TCP/IP reference model has only 4 layers.
They are,
1. Host-to-Network Layer
2. Internet Layer
3. Transport Layer
4. Application Layer

Fig: TCP/IP LAYERS

Fig: PROTOCOLS OF TCP/IP LAYERS

Host-to-Network Layer:
The TCP/IP reference model does not really say much about what happens here, except to point out that the
host has to connect to the network using some protocol so it can send IP packets to it. This protocol is not defined
and varies from host to host and network to network.
Internet Layer:
This layer, called the internet layer, is the linchpin that holds the whole architecture together. Its job is to
permit hosts to inject packets into any network and have they travel independently to the destination (potentially
on a different network). They may even arrive in a different order than they were sent, in which case it is the job of
higher layers to rearrange them, if in-order delivery is desired. Note that ''internet'' is used here in a generic sense,
even though this layer is present in the Internet.
The internet layer defines an official packet format and protocol called IP (Internet Protocol). The job of
the internet layer is to deliver IP packets where they are supposed to go. Packet routing is clearly the major issue
here, as is avoiding congestion. For these reasons, it is reasonable to say that the TCP/IP internet layer is similar in
functionality to the OSI network layer. Fig. shows this correspondence.
Transport Layer:
The layer above the internet layer in the TCP/IP model is now usually called the transport layer. It is
designed to allow peer entities on the source and destination hosts to carry on a conversation, just as in the OSI
transport layer. Two end-to-end transport protocols have been defined here.
The first one, TCP (Transmission Control Protocol), is a reliable connection oriented protocol that allows a
byte stream originating on one machine to be delivered without error on any other machine in the internet. It
fragments the incoming byte stream into discrete messages and passes each one on to the internet layer. At the
destination, the receiving TCP process reassembles the received messages into the output stream. TCP also
handles flow control to make sure a fast sender cannot swamp a slow receiver with more messages than it can
handle
The second protocol in this layer, UDP (User Datagram Protocol), is an unreliable, connectionless protocol
for applications that do not want TCP's sequencing or flow control and wish to provide their own. It is also widely
used for one-shot, client-server-type request-reply queries and applications in which prompt delivery is more
important than accurate delivery, such as transmitting speech or video. The relation of IP, TCP, and UDP is shown
in Fig. above since the model was developed; IP has been implemented on many other networks.
Application Layer:
The TCP/IP model does not have session or presentation layers. On top of the transport layer is the
application layer. It contains all the higher-level protocols. The early ones included virtual terminal (TELNET),
file transfer (FTP), and electronic mail (SMTP), as shown in Fig.6.2. The virtual terminal protocol allows a user
on one machine to log onto a distant machine and work there. The file transfer protocol provides a way to move
data efficiently from one machine to another. Electronic mail was originally just a kind of file transfer, but later a
specialized protocol (SMTP) was developed for it. Many other protocols have been added to these over the years:
the Domain Name System (DNS) for mapping host names onto their network addresses, NNTP, the protocol for
moving USENET news articles around, and HTTP, the protocol for fetching pages on the World Wide Web, and
many others.

COMPARISON OF THE OSI AND TCP/IP REFERENCE MODELS:

The OSI and TCP/IP reference models have much in common. Both are based on the concept of a stack of
independent protocols. Also, the functionality of the layers is roughly similar. For example, in both models the
layers up through and including the transport layer are there to provide an end-to-end, network-independent
transport service to processes wishing to communicate. These layers form the transport provider. Again in both
models, the layers above transport are application-oriented users of the transport service. Despite these
fundamental similarities, the two models also have many differences Three concepts are central to the OSI model:
1. Services.
2. Interfaces.
3. Protocols.
Probably the biggest contribution of the OSI model is to make the distinction between these three concepts
explicit. Each layer performs some services for the layer above it. The service definition tells what the layer does,
not how entities above it access it or how the layer works. It defines the layer's semantics.
A layer's interface tells the processes above it how to access it. It specifies what the parameters are and
what results to expect. It, too, says nothing about how the layer works inside.
Finally, the peer protocols used in a layer are the layer's own business. It can use any protocols it wants to,
as long as it gets the job done (i.e., provides the offered services). It can also change them at will without affecting
software in higher layers.
The TCP/IP model did not originally clearly distinguish between service, interface, and protocol, although
people have tried to retrofit it after the fact to make it more OSI-like. For example, the only real services offered
by the internet layer are SEND IP PACKET and RECEIVE IP PACKET.
As a consequence, the protocols in the OSI model are better hidden than in the TCP/IP model and can be
replaced relatively easily as the technology changes. Being able to make such changes is one of the main purposes
of having layered protocols in the first place. The OSI reference model was devised before the corresponding
protocols were invented. This ordering means that the model was not biased toward one particular set of protocols,
a fact that made it quite general. The downside of this ordering is that the designers did not have much experience
with the subject and did not have a good idea of which functionality to put in which layer.
Another difference is in the area of connectionless versus connection-oriented communication. The OSI
model supports both connectionless and connection-oriented communication in the network layer, but only
connection-oriented communication in the transport layer, where it counts (because the transport service is visible
to the users). The TCP/IP model has only one mode in the network layer (connectionless) but supports both modes
in the transport layer, giving the users a choice. This choice is especially important for simple request-response
protocols.

EXAMPLE NETWORKS:
•Novell NetWare
•ARPANET
•INTERNET

Novell NetWare:
The most popular network system in the PC world is Novell NetWare. This is based on client-server
model – PCs operate as servers, providing file services, database service, and other services to clients. The
physical and data link layers can be chosen from among various industry standards, including Ethernet, IBM token
ring, and ARC net.

SAP - Service Advertising Protocol

NCP – Network Control Protocol
SPX - Sequenced Packet Exchange
IPX - Internet Packet Exchange

The network layer runs an unreliable connectionless internetwork protocol called IPX(internet packet
exchange)
The format of an IPX packet is:

• SAP ( service advertising protocol)

– The packets are collected by special agent processes running on the router machine. The agents use
the information contained in them to construct database of which servers are running where.
– When a client machine is booted, it broadcast a request asking where the nearest server is, the agent
on local router machine sees the request looks in database for best server.
 – The choice of server is send back to the client. The client establishes a NCP connection with server.
Using this client and server negotiates the maximum packet size.
• Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks (LANs) and
metropolitan area networks(MANs).
• Systems communicating over Ethernet divide a stream of data into shorter pieces called frames.
• Each frame contains source and destination addresses and error-checking data so that damaged data can be
detected and re- transmitted.
• Token ring local area network (LAN) technology is a protocol which resides at the data link layer (DLL)
of the OSI model. It uses a special three-byte frame called a token that travels around the ring. Token-
possession grants the possessor permission to transmit on the medium. Token ring frames travel
completely around the loop.
• Initially used only in IBM computers, it was eventually standardized
• With protocol IEEE 802.5.
• The data transmission process goes as follows:
– Empty information frames are continuously circulated on the ring. When a computer has a message to
send, it seizes the token. The computer will then be able to send the frame.
– The frame is then examined by each successive workstation. The workstation that identifies itself to be
the destination for the message copies it from the frame and changes the token back to 0.
– The frame continues to circulate as an "empty" frame, ready to be
– taken by a workstation when it has a message to send.
– The token scheme can also be used with bus topology LANs

THE ARPANET
The story begins in the late 1950s. At the height of the Cold War, the U.S. DoD wanted a command-and-
control network that could survive a nuclear war. At that time, all military communications used the public
telephone network, which was considered vulnerable. The reason for this belief can be gleaned from Fig.(a). Here
the black dots represent telephone switching offices, each of which was connected to thousands of telephones.
These switching offices were, in turn, connected to higher-level switching offices (toll offices), to form a national
hierarchy with only a small amount of redundancy. The vulnerability of the system was that the destruction of a
few key toll offices could fragment it into many isolated islands.
Around 1960, the DoD awarded a contract to the RAND Corporation to find a solution. One of its
employees, Paul Baran, came up with the highly distributed and fault-tolerant design of Fig. (b). Since the paths
between any two switching offices were now much longer than analog signals could travel without distortion,
Baran proposed using digital packet-switching technology

Figure: (a) Structure of the telephone system. (b) Baran’s proposed distributed switching system.

Several years went by and still the DoD did not have a better command-andcontrol system. To understand
what happened next, we have to go back all the way to October 1957, when the Soviet Union beat the U.S. into
space with the launch of the first artificial satellite, Sputnik. When President Eisenhower tried to find out who was
asleep at the switch, he was appalled to find the Army, Navy, and Air Force squabbling over the Pentagon’s
research budget. His immediate response was to create a single defense research organization, ARPA, the
Advanced Research Projects Agency.
• Advanced research projects agency(ARPA) had a mission of advancing technology that might be useful to
the military.
• ARPA decided that the network should be packet- switched network, consisting of subnet and host
computers. later became known as the ARPANET
• The subnet would consist of minicomputers called IMPs (Interface Message Processors) connected by 56-
kbps transmission lines. For high reliability, each IMP would be connected to at least two other IMPs. The
subnet was to be a datagram subnet, so if some lines and IMPs were destroyed, messages could be
automatically rerouted along alternative paths. Each node of the network was to consist of an IMP and a
host, in the same room, connected by a short wire
• The software was split into two parts: subnet and host. The subnet software consisted of the IMP end of the
host-IMP connection, the IMP-IMP protocol, and a source IMP to destination IMP protocol designed to
improve reliability. The original ARPANET design is shown in Fig.

THE INTERNET

The Internet is not really a network at all, but a vast collection of different networks that use certain
common protocols and provide certain common services. It is an unusual system in that it was not planned by
anyone and is not controlled by anyone.
The architecture of the Internet has also changed a great deal as it has grown explosively. The big picture
is shown in Fig. Let us examine this figure piece by piece, starting with a computer at home (at the edges of
the figure). To join the Internet, the computer is connected to an Internet Service Provider, or simply ISP, from
who the user purchases Internet access or connectivity. This lets the computer exchange packets with all of the
other accessible hosts on the Internet. The user might send packets to surf the Web or for any of a thousand
other uses, it does not matter. There are many kinds of Internet access, and they are usually distinguished by
how much bandwidth they provide and how much they cost, but the most important attribute is connectivity.
A common way to connect to an ISP is to use the phone line to your house, in which case your phone
company is your ISP. DSL, short for Digital Subscriber Line, reuses the telephone line that connects to your
house for digital data transmission. The computer is connected to a device called a DSL modem that converts
between digital packets and analog signals that can pass unhindered over the telephone line. At the other end, a
device called a DSLAM (Digital Subscriber Line Access Multiplexer) converts between signals and packets.
Several other popular ways to connect to an ISP are shown in Fig. DSL is a higher-bandwidth way to use the
local telephone line than to send bits over a traditional telephone call instead of a voice conversation. That is
called dial-up and done with a different kind of modem at both ends. The word modem is short for ‘‘modulator
demodulator’’ and refers to any device that converts between digital bits and analog signals. Another method
is to send signals over the cable TV system. Like DSL, this is a way to reuse existing infrastructure, in this
case otherwise unused cable TV channels. The device at the home end is called a cable modem and the device
at the cable headend is called the CMTS (Cable Modem Termination System).
DSL and cable provide Internet access at rates from a small fraction of a megabit/sec to multiple
megabit/sec, depending on the system. These rates are much greater than dial-up rates, which are limited to 56
 kbps because of the narrow bandwidth used for voice calls. Internet access at much greater than dial-up speeds
is called broadband. The name refers to the broader bandwidth that is used for faster networks, rather than any
particular speed. The access methods mentioned so far are limited by the bandwidth of the ‘‘last mile’’ or last
leg of transmission. By running optical fiber to residences, faster Internet access can be provided at rates on the
order of 10 to 100 Mbps. This design is called FTTH (Fiber to the Home). For businesses in commercial areas,
it may make sense to lease a high-speed transmission line from the offices to the nearest ISP.

Fig: Internet Architecture

TRANSMISSION MEDIA:
A transmission medium can be broadly defined as anything that can carry information from a source to a
destination.
In telecommunications, transmission media can be divided into two broad categories: guided and unguided.
Guided media include twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable. Unguided medium is free space.

GUIDED MEDIA:
Guided media, which are those that provide a conduit from one device to another, include twisted-pair
cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable. A signal traveling along any of these media is directed and contained by
the physical limits of the medium.

1. TWISTED-PAIR CABLE:
A twisted pair consists of two conductors (normally copper), each with its own plastic insulation, twisted
together, as shown in Figure
 One of the wires is used to carry signals to the receiver, and the other is used only as a ground reference.
The receiver uses the difference between the two.
In addition to the signal sent by the sender on one of the wires, interference (noise) and crosstalk may
affect both wires and create unwanted signals.
If the two wires are parallel, the effect of these unwanted signals is not the same in both wires because they
are at different locations relative to the noise or crosstalk sources (eg., one is closer and the other is farther). This
results in a difference at the receiver. By twisting the pairs, a balance is maintained. For example, suppose in one
twist, one wire is closer to the noise source and the other is farther; in the next twist, the reverse is true. Twisting
makes it probable that both wires are equally affected by external influences (noise or crosstalk). This means that
the receiver, which calculates the difference between the two, receives no unwanted signals. The unwanted signals
are mostly canceled out. From the above discussion, it is clear that the number of twists per unit of length (e.g.,
inch) has some effect on the quality of the cable.

Unshielded Versus Shielded Twisted-Pair Cable:

The most common twisted-pair cable used in communications is referred to as unshielded twisted-pair
(UTP). IBM has also produced a version of twisted-pair cable for its use called shielded twisted-pair (STP). STP
cable has a metal foil or braided mesh covering that encases each pair of insulated conductors. Although metal
casing improves the quality of cable by preventing the penetration of noise or crosstalk, it is bulkier and more
expensive.

Categories:
The Electronic Industries Association (EIA) has developed standards to classify unshielded twisted-pair cable
into seven categories. Categories are determined by cable quality, with 1 as the lowest and 7 as the highest. Each
EIA category is suitable for specific uses.
Applications:
Twisted-pair cables are used in telephone lines to provide voice and data channels. The local loop-the line
that connects subscribers to the central telephone office---commonly consists of unshielded twisted-pair cables.
Local-area networks, such as lOBase-T and lOOBase-T, also use twisted-pair cables.

2. COAXIAL CABLE:
In Coaxial Cable Instead of having two wires, coax has a central core conductor of solid or stranded wire
(usually copper) enclosed in an insulating sheath, which is, in turn, encased in an outer conductor of metal foil,
braid, or a combination of the two. The outer metallic wrapping serves both as a shield against noise and as the
second conductor which completes the circuit. This outer conductor is also enclosed in an insulating sheath, and
the whole cable is protected by a plastic cover.

Coaxial Cable Standards

Coaxial cables are categorized by their radio government (RG) ratings. Each RG number denotes a unique
set of physical specifications, including the wire gauge of the inner conductor, the thickness and type of the inner
insulator, the construction of the shield, and the size and type of the outer casing. Each cable defined by an RG
rating is adapted for a specialized function,
Coaxial Cable Connectors
To connect coaxial cable to devices, we need coaxial connectors. The most common type of connector
used today is the Bayone-Neill-Concelman (BNe), connector. Below figure shows three popular types of these
connectors: the BNC connector, the BNC T connector, and the BNC terminator. The BNC connector is used to
connect the end of the cable to a device, such as a TV set. The BNC T connector is used in Ethernet networks to
branch out to a connection to a computer or other device. The BNC terminator is used at the end of the cable to
prevent the reflection of the signal.

Applications
Coaxial cable was widely used in analog telephone networks where a single coaxial network could carry
10,000 voice signals. Later it was used in digital telephone networks where a single coaxial cable could carry
digital data up to 600 Mbps. Another common application of coaxial cable is in traditional Ethernet LANs.

3. FIBER-OPTIC CABLE
A fiber-optic cable is made of glass or plastic and transmits signals in the form of light.
Light travels in a straight line as long as it is moving through a single uniform substance. If a ray of light
traveling through one substance suddenly enters another substance (of a different density), the ray changes
direction

As the figure shows, if the angle of incidence is less than the critical angle, the ray refracts and moves
closer to the surface. If the angle of incidence is equal to the critical angle, the light bends along the interface. If
the angle is greater than the critical angle, the ray reflects (makes a turn) and travels again in the denser substance.
Note that the critical angle is a property of the substance, and its value differs from one substance to another.
Optical fibers use reflection to guide light through a channel. A glass or plastic core is surrounded by a
cladding of less dense glass or plastic. The difference in density of the two materials must be such that a beam of
light moving through the core is reflected off the cladding instead of being refracted into it.
Propagation Modes
Current technology supports two modes (multimode and single mode) for propagating light along optical
channels, each requiring fiber with different physical characteristics. Multimode can be implemented in two forms:
step-index or graded-index.

i. Multimode
Multimode is so named because multiple beams from a light source move through the core in different
paths. How these beams move within the cable depends on the structure of the core,
a. In multimode step-index fiber, the density of the core remains constant from the center to the edges.
A beam of light moves through this constant density in a straight line until it reaches the interface of
the core and the cladding. At the interface, there is an abrupt change due to a lower density; this alters
the angle of the beam's motion. The term step index refers to the suddenness of this change, which
contributes to the distortion of the signal as it passes through the fiber.
b. A second type of fiber, called multimode graded-index fiber, decreases this distortion of the signal
through the cable. The word index here refers to the index of refraction. As we saw above, the index of
refraction is related to density. A graded-index fiber, therefore, is one with varying densities. Density is
highest at the center of the core and decreases gradually to its lowest at the edge
ii. Single-Mode
Single-mode uses step-index fiber and a highly focused source of light that limits beams to a small range of
angles, all close to the horizontal. The single mode fiber itself is manufactured with a much smaller diameter
than that of multimode fiber, and with substantiall Y lowers density (index of refraction). The decrease in
density results in a critical angle that is close enough to 90° to make the propagation of beams almost
horizontal. In this case, propagation of different beams is almost identical, and delays are negligible. All the
beams arrive at the destination "together" and can be recombined with little distortion to the signal
Fiber-Optic Cable Connectors
There are three types of connectors for fiber-optic cables,

The subscriber channel (SC) connector is used for cable TV. It uses a push/pull locking system. The
straight-tip (ST) connector is used for connecting cable to networking devices. It uses a bayonet locking system
and is more reliable than SC. MT-RJ is a connector that is the same size as RJ45.
Applications
Fiber-optic cable is often found in backbone networks because its wide bandwidth is cost-effective. Today,
with wavelength-division multiplexing (WDM), we can transfer data at a rate of 1600 Gbps.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Optical Fiber:

Advantages Fiber-optic cable has several advantages over metallic cable (twisted pair or coaxial).
• Higher bandwidth. Fiber-optic cable can support dramatically higher bandwidths (and hence data rates)
than either twisted-pair or coaxial cable.
• Less signal attenuation. Fiber-optic transmission distance is significantly greater than that of other guided
media. A signal can run for 50 km without requiring regeneration. We need repeaters every 5 km for
coaxial or twisted-pair cable.
• Immunity to electromagnetic interference. Electromagnetic noise cannot affect fiber-optic cables.
• Resistance to corrosive materials. Glass is more resistant to corrosive materials than copper.
• Light weight. Fiber-optic cables are much lighter than copper cables.

Disadvantages There are some disadvantages in the use of optical fiber.

• Installation and maintenance. Fiber-optic cable is a relatively new technology. Its installation and
maintenance require expertise that is not yet available everywhere.
• Unidirectional light propagation. Propagation of light is unidirectional. If we need bidirectional
communication, two fibers are needed.
• Cost. The cable and the interfaces are relatively more expensive than those of other guided media. Ifthe
demand for bandwidth is not high, often the use of optical fiber cannot be justified.

UNGUIDED MEDIA: WIRELESS

Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical conductor. This type of
communication is often referred to as wireless communication. Signals are normally broadcast through free space
and thus are available to anyone who has a device capable of receiving them.
 The electromagnetic spectrum is shown in above Fig. The radio, microwave, infrared, and visible light
portions of the spectrum can all be used for transmitting information by modulating the amplitude, frequency, or
phase of the waves. Ultraviolet light, X-rays, and gamma rays would be even better, due to their higher
frequencies, but they are hard to produce and modulate, do not propagate well through buildings, and are
dangerous to living things.
The section of the electromagnetic spectrum defined as radio waves and microwaves is divided into eight
ranges, called bands, each regulated by government authorities. These bands are rated from very low frequency
(VLF) to extremely high frequency (EHF).

Below Table lists these bands, their ranges, propagation methods, and some applications.

We can divide wireless transmission into three broad groups: radio waves, microwaves, and infrared
waves.
 1. RADIO WAVES:
Although there is no clear-cut demarcation between radio waves and microwaves, electromagnetic waves
ranging in frequencies between 3 kHz and 1 GHz are normally called radio waves; waves ranging in frequencies
between 1 and 300 GHz are called microwaves.
Radio waves, for the most part, are omnidirectional. When an antenna transmits radio waves, they are
propagated in all directions. This means that the sending and receiving antennas do not have to be aligned. A
sending antenna sends waves that can be received by any receiving antenna. The omnidirectional property has a
disadvantage, too. The radio waves transmitted by one antenna are susceptible to interference by another antenna
that may send signals using the same frequency or band.
Radio waves, particularly those waves that propagate in the sky mode, can travel long distances. This
makes radio waves a good candidate for long-distance broadcasting such as AM radio.
Radio waves, particularly those oflow and medium frequencies, can penetrate walls.

OmnidirectionalAntenna
Radio waves use omnidirectional antennas that send out signals in all directions. Based on the wavelength,
strength, and the purpose of transmission, we can have several types’ of antennas. Figure 7.20 shows an
omnidirectional antenna.

Applications: Radio waves are used for multicast communications, such as radio and television, and
paging systems

2. MICROWAVES
Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between I and 300 GHz are called microwaves.
Microwaves are unidirectional. When an antenna transmits microwave waves, they can be narrowly
focused. This means that the sending and receiving antennas need to be aligned. The unidirectional property has an
obvious advantage. A pair of antennas can be aligned without interfering with other pair of aligned antennas.

The following describes some characteristics of microwave propagation:

• Microwave propagation is line-of-sight. Since the towers with the mounted antennas need to be in
direct sight of each other, towers that are far apart need to be very tall. The curvature of the earth as
well as other blocking obstacles does not allow two short towers to communicate by using
microwaves. Repeaters are often needed for long distance communication.
• Very high-frequency microwaves cannot penetrate walls. This characteristic can be a disadvantage
if receivers are inside buildings.
• The microwave band is relatively wide, almost 299 GHz. Therefore wider sub bands can be
assigned, and a high data rate is possible.
• Use of certain portions of the band requires permission from authorities.

Unidirectional Antenna
Microwaves need unidirectional antennas that send out signals in one direction. Two types of antennas are
used for microwave communications: the parabolic dish and the horn
 A parabolic dish antenna is based on the geometry of a parabola: Every line parallel to the line of
symmetry (line of sight) reflects off the curve at angles such that all the lines intersect in a common point called
the focus.
A horn antenna looks like a gigantic scoop. Outgoing transmissions are broadcast up a stem (resembling a
handle) and deflected outward in a series of narrow parallel beams by the curved head. Received transmissions are
collected by the scooped shape of the horn, in a manner similar to the parabolic dish, and are deflected down into
the stem.
Applications: Microwaves are used for unicast communication such as cellular telephones, satellite
networks, and wireless LANs.

3. INFRARED
Infrared waves, with frequencies from 300 GHz to 400 THz (wavelengths from 1 mm to 770 nm), can be
used for short-range communication. Infrared waves, having high frequencies, cannot penetrate walls. This
advantageous characteristic prevents interference between one system and another; a short-range communication
system in one room cannot be affected by another system in the next room. When we use our infrared remote
control, we do not interfere with the use of the remote by our neighbors. However, this same characteristic makes
infrared signals useless for long-range communication. In addition, we cannot use infrared waves outside a
building because the sun's rays contain infrared waves that can interfere with the communication.

Applications: Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication in a closed area using line-of-sight
propagation.