Learning Resource

On

Computer Networks

Chapter-1
Introduction to Computer Networks

Prepared By:
Kunal Anand, Asst. Professor
SCE, KIIT, DU, Bhubaneswar-24
•1
Lecture Outcome:
• After the completion of this chapter, the students
will be able to:
– Define Network and its types
– Explain LAN, MAN, and WAN
– Define switched network and its types
– Differentiate between circuit switched network and
packet switched network
– List out the delays and throughput in packet switched
network
– Define protocal and protocol layering
– Explain OSI and TCP/IP models

2
Organization of this Lecture:
• Introduction to networks
• Types of Network
– LAN
– WAN
• Switched Networks
– Circuit Switched Network
– Packet Switched Network
• Protocol and Protocol Layering
• Service Models
– OSI Model
– TCP/IP
3
Introduction to Computer Networks
• A network is the interconnection of a set of devices capable of
communication. It can be as small as two computers or as
large as billions of devices that are linked in order to share
resources (such as printers and CDs), exchange files, or allow
electronic communications.

• In this definition, a device can be a host such as a large

computer, desktop, laptop, workstation, cellular phone, or
security system. A device can also be a connecting device such
as a router a switch, a modem that changes the form of data,
and so on.

• The computers on a network may be linked through cables,

telephone lines, radio waves, satellites, or infrared light beams.
Types of Networks
• Many types of networks exist, but they fall under two primary
categories named as LANs and WANs.
• Local Area Network (LAN):
– A Local Area Network (LAN) is a group of computer and
peripheral devices which are connected in a limited area
such as school, laboratory, home, and office building.
– It is a widely useful network for sharing resources like files,
printers, games, and other application.
– The simplest type of LAN network is to connect computers
and a printer in someone's home or office.
– In general, LAN will be used as one type of transmission
medium.
– On a single LAN, computers and servers may be connected
by cables or wirelessly.
Figure 1.1: An Isolated LAN in the past and today

1.6
Advantage of LAN
– Computer resources like hard-disks, DVD-ROM, and
printers can share local area networks. This significantly
reduces the cost of hardware purchases as one can use the
same software over the network instead of purchasing the
licensed software for each client in the network.

– Data of all network users can be stored on a single hard

disk of the server computer. One can easily transfer data
and messages over networked computers.

– It will be easy to manage data at only one place, which

makes data more secure.

– Local Area Network offers the facility to share a single

internet connection among all the LAN users.
Disadvantages of LAN
• LAN will indeed save cost because of shared computer
resources, but the initial cost of installing Local Area
Networks is quite high.

• The LAN admin can check personal data files of every LAN
user, so it does not offer good privacy.

• Unauthorized users can access critical data of an organization

in case LAN admin is not able to secure centralized data
repository.

• Local Area Network requires a constant LAN administration

as there are issues related to software setup and hardware
failures
Wide Area Network (WAN)
• WAN (Wide Area Network) is another important computer
network that which is spread across a large geographical area.

• WANs are often comprised of multiple LANs that are

connected over the Internet.

• A company WAN, for example, may extend from the

headquarters to other offices around the world. Access to
WANs may be limited using authentication, firewalls, and
other security measures.

• The Internet itself is the largest WAN since it encompasses all

locations connected to the Internet.
WAN (contd..)
Types of WAN
• Point to Point WAN
– A point-to-point wide area network (WAN) consists of two end nodes
connected by a leased line.
– In a typical configuration, a router on the network is connected using a
serial transmission interface such as V.35 to a Channel Service Unit
(CSU) at the local customer premises.
– The CSU provides the interface between the router and the telco’s
leased line. An identical setup is configured at the remote customer
premises.
Types of WAN
• Switched WAN
– A switched WAN network is used to connect multiple end nodes
through a common WAN network.
– The end nodes connect to a switched WAN network to either reach
other nodes connected to the switched network or to connect to the
public Internet.
Advantages and Disadvantages of WAN
• Advantages of WAN
– WAN helps to cover a larger geographical area. Therefore business
offices situated at longer distances can easily communicate.
– Contains devices like mobile phones, laptop, tablet, computers,
gaming consoles, etc.

• Disadvantage of WAN
– The initial setup cost of investment is very high.
– It is difficult to maintain the WAN network. One needs skilled
technicians and network administrators.
– There are more errors and issues because of the wide coverage and
the use of different technologies.
– It requires more time to resolve issues because of the involvement
of multiple wired and wireless technologies.
– Offers lower security compared to other types of networks.
A Heterogenous Network made of LAN and WAN
Switched Network
• An internet is a switched network in which a switch
connects at least two links together.

• A switch needs to forward data from a link to another

link when required.

• Following are the two types of switched networks

– Circuit Switched Network
– Packet Switched Network
Circuit Switched Network
• It is a connection oriented network switching technique.

• It is implemented at Physical Layer.

• It is not a store and forward transmission. Data is processed

and transmitted at the source only.

• A dedicated path has to be established between the source and

the destination before transfer of data commences.

• In circuit switching, each data unit know the entire path

address which is provided by the source.

• Once, the data is transmitted, the path is relinquished.

• The entire message is received in the order sent by the source.

contd..
Advantage and Disadvantage
• Advantages:
– It uses a fixed bandwidth.
– A dedicated communication channel increases the quality of
communication.
– It ensures ordered delivery of data
– Suitable for bulk data transferlong continuous communication

• Disadvantages:
– A dedicated connection makes it impossible to transmit other data
even if the channel is free i.e. Resources are not utilized fully.
– At times, the time required to establish the physical link between
the two stations is too long.
– As a dedicated path has to be established for each connection,
circuit switching is more expensive.
– Dedicated channels require more bandwidth.
Packet Switched Network
• It is a connectionless network switching technique.
• It is implemented at Network Layer.
• There is no need to establish a dedicated path from the source
to the destination.
• Each packet is routed separately. Consequently, it is flexible in
nature where the different data packets follow different paths.
• The individual packets of the message are received out of
order and so need to be reassembled at the destination.
• It has two approaches named as Datagram, and Virtual Circuit
• It is store and forward transmission. Data is processed and
transmitted, not only at the source but at each switching station.
contd..
Approaches in Packet Switching
• Datagram:
– It is connection less approach.
– In Datagram Packet Switching technique, the path is not fixed.
– Here the data is transmitted in form of packets, known as datagram.
Each packet contains the information about the destination and
switch uses this information to forward the packet to the correct
destination.
– The packets are reassembled at the receiving end in correct order.
– Intermediate nodes take the routing decisions to forward the
packets.
• Virtual Circuit Switching
– It is also known as connection-oriented switching.
– In the case of Virtual circuit switching, a preplanned route is
established before the messages are sent.
– Call request and call accept packets are used to establish the
connection between sender and receiver.
– In this case, the path is fixed for the duration of a logical
connection.
Delays and Throughput in Packet Switching
Network
• When a package is sent from one host (source) to another host
(destination), it travels through a series of nodes and routers.
Travelling from one of these nodes/routers and on to a
subsequent node/router, the packet will suffer from different
types of delay.

• In packet switching network, the packets suffer from total

nodal delay which is actually the sum of following types of
delays:
– Transmission Delay
– Propagation Delay
– Queuing Delay
– Processing Delay
Types of Delays
• Transmission Delay:
– Packets are commonly transmitted in a first-come-first-
serve manner, and it is realistic to assume that a packet will
not be transmitted until all prior packets are transmitted.
– The transmission delay is the amount of time used to
transmit (push) all of the packets bits from the queue and
into the link.
– Transmission Delay = Data size / bandwidth = (L/B)
second
• Propagation Delay:
– It is simply the time required for bits to reach the
destination from the start point.
– Factors on which Propagation delay depends are Distance
and propagation speed.
– Propagation delay = distance/transmission speed = d/s
Types of Delays
• Queuing Delay:
– Queuing delay is the time a job waits in a queue until it can be
executed. It depends on congestion.
– It is the time difference between when the packet arrived Destination
and when the packet data was processed or executed.
– It may be caused by mainly three reasons i.e. originating switches,
intermediate switches or call receiver servicing switches.
– Average Queuing delay = (N-1)L/(2*R); where N = no. of packets
L=size of packet, R=bandwidth
• Processing Delay:
– It is the time it takes routers to process the packet header.
– Processing of packets helps in detecting bit-level errors that occur
during transmission of a packet to the destination.
– Processing delays in high-speed routers are typically on the order of
microseconds or less.
– In simple words, it is just the time taken to process packets.
contd..

• Total nodal delay or End-to-End time

= Transmission delay + Propagation delay+ Queuing
delay + Processing delay

• For M hops and N packets –

Total delay = M*(Transmission delay + propagation
delay)+ (M-1)*(Processing delay +
Queuing delay) + (N-1)*(Transmission
delay)
• For N connecting link in the circuit –
Transmission delay = N*L/R
Propagation delay = N*(d/s)
Throughput and Packet Loss
• Throughput:
– It is the rate at which the bits are transmitted between the
sender and receiver.
– It is represented in bits/time unit
– It can be measured as instantaneous or as average.
– Instantaneous thorughput is at a given point of time
whereas, the average throughput is at a longer period of
time.
• Packet Loss:
– queue (aka buffer) preceding link in buffer has finite
capacity
– packet arriving to full queue dropped (aka lost)
– lost packet may be retransmitted by previous node, by
source end system, or not at all
Advantages of Packet Switched Network
• It is cost-effective as switching devices do not require massive
secondary storage to store the packets, so cost is minimized to
some extent.

• It is reliable as if any node is busy, then the packets can be

rerouted.

• More fault tolerant because packets may follow different path

in case any link is down, Unlike Circuit Switching.

• It does not require any established path prior to the

transmission, and many users can use the same communication
channel simultaneously, hence makes use of available
bandwidth very efficiently.
Disadvanatges of Packet Switched Network
• As the packet switching network mostly do not uses dedicated
path, the packets may follow different path due to which they
may arrive in out of sequence at the reciever's side.

• The Packet Switching technique cannot be implemented in

those applications that require low delay and high-quality
services.

• The protocols used in a packet switching technique are very

complex and requires high implementation cost.

• If the network is overloaded or corrupted, then it requires

retransmission of lost packets. It can also lead to the loss of
critical information if errors are nor recovered.
Difference between Circuit switching and
Packet switching
• In-circuit switching, data is transmitted continuously between
the sender and receiver. Whereas in packet switching the data
is packetized and sent independently over a shared network.
• Circuit switching provides high-quality service due to the
dedicated path whereas, in packet switching the bandwidth is
shared by the users. Thus, the quality of the service is low in
packet switching.
• Packet switching supports store and forward transmission but
the circuit switching does not support this.
• Packet switching is more efficient compared to circuit
switching.
• Packet switching infrastructure is less complicated compared
to circuit switching.
• Bandwidth utilization is better in packet switching as
compared to circuit switching.
Protocol Layering
• Protocol is a set of rules or guidelines that governs the
communications between two devices.

• A protocol defines the rules that both the sender and receiver
and all intermediate devices need to follow to be able to
communicate effectively.

• When communication is simple, we may need only one simple

protocol; when the communication is complex, we need a
protocol at each layer, or protocol layering.
Single Layer Vs Multi Layer
OSI Reference Model
• 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.

• OSI model describes how information from a software

application in one computer moves through a physical medium
to the software application in another computer.

• OSI consists of seven layers, and each layer performs a

particular network function.

• Each layer is self-contained, so that task assigned to each layer

can be performed independently.
Layers in OSI Model
Layers in OSI Model (contd..)
• Physical Layer (Layer-1)
– It is the lowest layer of the OSI model.
– The main functionality of the physical layer is to transmit
the individual bits from one node to another node in the
form of electrical signal.
– It establishes, maintains and deactivates the physical
connection.
– The physical layer is responsible for line configuration,
determination of mode of data transmission, selection of
network topology, and type of signal to be used for
communication.
Layers in OSI Model (contd..)
• Data Link Layer (Layer-2)
– This layer is responsible for the error-free transfer of data
frames.
– It defines the format of the data on the network.
– It provides a reliable and efficient communication between
two or more devices.
– It is mainly responsible for the unique identification of each
device that resides on a local network.
– It contains two sub-layers named as Logical Link Control
(LLC) Layer and Media Access Control (MAC) layer.
– This layer is responsible for data framing, physical
addressing, flow control, error control, and access control.
Layers in OSI Model (contd..)
• Network Layer (Layer-3)
– This layer manages device addressing, tracks the location
of devices on the network.
– 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. It is called routing.
– This layer is responsible for routing and forwarding the
packets. Routers are the layer 3 devices, they are specified
in this layer and used to provide the routing services within
an internetwork.
– The protocols used to route the network traffic are known
as Network layer protocols. Example: Internet Protocol (IP)
– The functions of the network layer includes
internetworking, addressing, routing, and packetizing.
Layers in OSI Model (contd..)

• Transport Layer (Layer-4)

– 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.
– It receives the data from the upper layer and converts them
into smaller units known as segments.
– This layer uses two protocols named as Transmission
Control Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol
(UDP).
– Transport layer is mainly responsible for segmentation and
reassembling, flow and error control, and congestion
control.
Layers in OSI Model (contd..)
• Session Layer (Layer-5)
– It is a layer 5 in the OSI model. It is used to establish,
maintain and synchronizes the interaction between
communicating devices.
– The functions of Session layer includes Dialog control and
Synchronization.
• Presentation Layer (Layer-6)
– A Presentation layer is mainly concerned with the syntax
and semantics of the information exchanged between the
two systems.
– It acts as a data translator for a network.
– This layer is a part of the operating system that converts the
data from one presentation format to another format.
– The function of this layer is translation, encryption
/decryption, and compression.
Layers in OSI Model (contd..)
• Application Layer (Layer-7)
– An application layer serves as a window for users and
application processes to access network service.
– It handles issues such as network transparency, resource
allocation, etc.
– An application layer is not an application, but it performs
the application layer functions.
– This layer provides the network services to the end-users.
– The functions of Application layer includes File transfer,
access, and management (FTAM), Mail services, and
Directory services.
TCP/IP Protocol Suite

• TCP/IP is a protocol suite used in the Internet today.

• It is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules,
each of which provides a specific functionality.
• The term hierarchical means that each upper level protocol is
supported by the services provided by one or more lower level
protocols.
• The original TCP/IP protocol suite was defined as four
software layers built upon the hardware. Today, however,
TCP/IP is thought of as a five-layer model.
• The TCP/IP model consists of five layers: the application
layer, transport layer, network layer, data link layer and
physical layer.
Layers in TCP/IP Protocol Suite
Layers in TCP/IP Protocol Suite
• Network Access Layer
– A network layer is the lowest layer of the TCP/IP model.
– It is the combination of the Physical layer and Data Link
layer defined in the OSI reference model.
– It defines how the data should be sent physically through
the network.
– This layer is mainly responsible for the transmission of the
data between two devices on the same network.
– 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.
– The protocols used by this layer are ethernet, token ring,
FDDI, X.25, frame relay.
Layers in TCP/IP Protocol Suite
• Internet Layer
– An internet layer is the second layer of the TCP/IP model.
– An internet layer is also known as the network layer.
– 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.
– The protocols used in internet layer are as below:
• Internet Protocol, IP, is responsible for IP adressing, host to host
communication, data encapsulation and formatting, fragmentation
and reassembly, and routing.
• Address Resolution Protocol, ARP, which deals with the
determination of the physical address.
• Internet Control Message Protocol, ICMP, which is used by
the hosts and the routers to send notifications regarding datagram
problem back to the sender.
Layers in TCP/IP Protocol Suite
• 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, UDP, and Transmission control protocol, TCP.
• Application Layer
– The topmost layer in the TCP/IP model that is responsible for
handling high-level protocols, issues of representation.
– This layer allows the user to interact with the application.
– When one application layer protocol wants to communicate with
another application layer, it forwards its data to the transport layer.
– The main protocols used in this layer are Hyper Text Transfer
Protocol (HTTP), Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Simple
Network Management Protocol (SNMP), Domain Name System
(DNS), Terminal Network (TELNET), File Transfer Protocol
(FTP).