DCN5511

Chapter 1
Introduction to Communications

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 1-1 DATA COMMUNICATIONS

The term telecommunication means communication at a

distance. The word data refers to information presented in
whatever form as agreed upon by the parties creating and
using the data. Data communications are the exchange of
data between two devices via some form of transmission
medium such as a cable.

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Figure 1.1 Five components of data communication

What is data communications?

Exchange of data between two devices via a transmission
medium
Any transfer of data within a computer, between computer and
any other devices
Exchange of digitally encoded information between two sides

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Data Representation

Text – represented as a bit pattern; codes often

used: ASCII; Extended ASCII; Unicode; ISO
Numbers – represented by binary equivalent
Images – bit patterns representing pixels
Audio
Video

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Figure 1.2 Data flow (simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex)

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 1-2 NETWORKS

A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes)

connected by communication links. A node can be a
computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending
and/or receiving data generated by other nodes on the
network.

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Categories of Network

Based on size, ownership, distance covered, and

physical architecture:
Local Area Network (LAN) – smaller geographical
area
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) – network
extended over an entire city
Wide Area Network (WAN) – large geographical
area

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Figure 1.3 Types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint

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Figure 1.4 Categories of topology

Topology refers to the way in which the end points

or stations, attached to the network, are
interconnected.

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Figure 1.5 A fully connected mesh topology (five devices)

Advantages:
1. Eliminate traffic problem.
2. If one link becomes unusable, it does not incapacitate the entire
system.
3. Privacy & security.
Disadvantages: Related to amount of cabling & number of I/O ports
required.

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Figure 1.6 A star topology connecting four stations

Advantage: If one link fails, only that link is affected.

Disadvantage: If the hub fails, the whole system is down.

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Figure 1.7 A bus topology connecting three stations

Advantage: Ease of installation.

Disadvantage: A fault or break in the bus cable stops all
transmission, even between devices on the same side of the
problem.

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Figure 1.8 A ring topology connecting six stations

Advantage: Easy to install and reconfigure.

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

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Figure 1.9 A hybrid topology: a star backbone with three bus networks

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Figure 1.10 An isolated LAN connecting 12 computers to a hub in a closet

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Figure 1.11 WANs: a switched WAN and a point-to-point WAN

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Figure 1.12 A heterogeneous network made of four WANs and two LANs

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1-3 THE INTERNET

The Internet has revolutionized many aspects of our daily

lives. It has affected the way we do business as well as
the way we spend our leisure time. The Internet is a
communication system that has brought a wealth of
information to our fingertips and organized it for our
use.

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Figure 1.13 Hierarchical organization of the Internet

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1-4 PROTOCOLS AND STANDARDS

In this section, we define two widely used terms:

protocols and standards. First, we define protocol, which
is synonymous with rule. Then we discuss standards,
which are agreed-upon rules.

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Protocols and Standards

Why do we need Protocol and Standard?

Protocol – set of rules that govern data

communication; defines what, how, and when
(Key elements – syntax, semantics, timing)

Standard – provides a model for development;

allows for interoperability

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Key Elements of a Protocol
Syntax
Format of the data blocks f1 f2 f3
e.g. What are the fields, how many bits per field, etc.
Semantics
Control information for coordination & operation
Defines functions of the fields, what does each field do?
This include error handling information
Timing
Speed matching/synchronizing so that packets can be received properly
(especially to know where the protocol frame starts and ends)
Sequencing so that frames or packets can be received in order
(especially for packet-based switching)

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Standards
A set of agreed-upon rules/protocols which are essential in creating
and maintaining an open and competitive market for equipment
manufacturers and other service providers, also in guaranteeing
international interoperatibility of data and telecommunications
technology and processes
Standard Organization:
CCITT International Telegraph and Telephone Consultative
Committee in Europe [now ITU-T (International
Telecommunication Union – Telecommunication standardization
sector)]
ISO – International Standards Organization

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Standards
Advantages
Ensures a large market for equipment and software
Allows products from different vendors to
communicate
Disadvantages
Freeze technology
May be multiple standards for the same thing

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2-1 LAYERED TASKS

We use the concept of layers in our daily life. As an

example, let us consider two friends who
communicate through postal mail. The process of
sending a letter to a friend would be complex if there
were no services available from the post office.

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Figure 2.1 Tasks involved in sending a letter

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2-2 THE OSI MODEL
Established in 1947, the International Standards
Organization (ISO) is a multinational body dedicated
to worldwide agreement on international standards.
An ISO standard that covers all aspects of network
communications is the Open Systems
Interconnection (OSI) model. It was first introduced in
the late 1970s.
An open system is a set of protocols that allows any
two different system to communicate regardless of
their underlying architecture

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 Note

ISO is the organization.

OSI is the model.

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Figure 2.2 Seven layers of the OSI model

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Figure 2.3 The interaction between layers in the OSI model
the same set of
layered functions must
exist in 2 systems
(transmitting and
receiving sides)
communication is
achieved by having
The corresponding
(peer) layers in 2
Systems
communicate

telecom networks
mainly concern
the lowest 3 layers

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Figure 2.4 An exchange using the OSI model

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2-3 LAYERS IN THE OSI MODEL

The process on each machine that communicate at a

given layer are called peer-to-peer process.

In this section we briefly describe the functions of

each layer in the OSI model.

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Figure 2.5 Physical layer

The physical layer is responsible for movements of

individual bits from one hop (node) to the next.

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Figure 2.6 Data link layer

The data link layer is responsible for moving

frames from one hop (node) to the next.

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Figure 2.7 Hop-to-hop delivery

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Figure 2.8 Network layer

The network layer is responsible for the

delivery of individual packets from
the source host to the destination host.

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Figure 2.9 Source-to-destination delivery

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Figure 2.10 Transport layer

The transport layer is responsible for the delivery

of a message from one process to another.

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Figure 2.11 Reliable process-to-process delivery of a message

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Figure 2.12 Session layer

The session layer is responsible for dialog

control and synchronization.

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Figure 2.13 Presentation layer

The presentation layer is responsible for translation,

compression, and encryption.

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Figure 2.14 Application layer

The application layer is responsible for

providing services to the user.

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Figure 2.15 Summary of layers

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2-4 TCP/IP PROTOCOL SUITE
The layers in the TCP/IP protocol suite do not exactly
match those in the OSI model. The original TCP/IP
protocol suite was defined as having four layers:
host-to-network, internet, transport, and application.
However, when TCP/IP is compared to OSI, we can
say that the TCP/IP protocol suite is made of five
layers: physical, data link, network, transport, and
application.

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2-4 TCP/IP PROTOCOL SUITE

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TCP/IP Model
Everyone believed that the OSI model would become the
ultimate standard for computer communication before
1990, but this did not happen
TCP/IP protocol suite became the dominant commercial
architecture because it was used and tested extensively
in the Internet, while the OSI model was never fully
implemented
As TCP/IP was developed concurrently with the OSI
model, it does not contain specific protocols relating to all
the OSI layers
The TCP/IP suite is made of five layers
The three top-most layers in the OSI model are
represented by the applications layer
The OSI model specifies functions associated with each
layer, whereas TCP/IP layers contain relatively
independent protocols that can be mixed and matched
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Figure 2.16 TCP/IP and OSI model

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2-5 ADDRESSING
Four levels of addresses are used in an internet
employing the TCP/IP protocols: physical, logical, port,
and specific.

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Figure 2.18 Relationship of layers and addresses in TCP/IP

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2.5 Addressing

Physical Address

07:01:02:01:2C:4B

A 6-byte (12 hexadecimal digits) physical

address.

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2.5 Addressing

Logical Address

An IPv4 address is 32 bits long.

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2.5 Addressing

Port Address

A port address is a 16-bit address represented by

one decimal number.

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 Example 2.1

In Figure 2.19 a node with physical address 10 sends a

frame to a node with physical address 87. The two nodes
are connected by a link (bus topology LAN). As the
figure shows, the computer with physical address 10 is
the sender, and the computer with physical address 87 is
the receiver.

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Figure 2.19 Physical addresses

Figure below shows a node with physical address 10 sends a

frame to a node with physical address 87. The two nodes are
connected by a link (bus topology LAN). As the figure shows, the
computer with physical address 10 is the sender, and the computer
with physical address 87 is the receiver.

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 Example 2.2

Most local-area networks use a 48-bit (6-byte) physical

address written as 12 hexadecimal digits; every byte (2
hexadecimal digits) is separated by a colon, as shown
below:

07:01:02:01:2C:4B

A 6-byte (12 hexadecimal digits) physical address.

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 Example 2.3

Figure 2.20 shows a part of an internet with two routers

connecting three LANs. Each device (computer or
router) has a pair of addresses (logical and physical) for
each connection. In this case, each computer is
connected to only one link and therefore has only one
pair of addresses. Each router, however, is connected to
three networks (only two are shown in the figure). So
each router has three pairs of addresses, one for each
connection.

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Figure 2.20 IP addresses

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 Example 2.4

Figure 2.21 shows two computers communicating via the

Internet. The sending computer is running three
processes at this time with port addresses a, b, and c. The
receiving computer is running two processes at this time
with port addresses j and k. Process a in the sending
computer needs to communicate with process j in the
receiving computer. Note that although physical
addresses change from hop to hop, logical and port
addresses remain the same from the source to
destination.

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Figure 2.21 Port addresses

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