CHAPTER 1 : INTRODUCTORY CONCEPTS

Computer Network:

Computer network is a group of computers that are connected and communicated together for the
purpose of message passing, sharing the resources, data and applications.

A computer network is defined as interconnected collection of autonomous computers. Computer are

said to be interconnected means able to interchange information, via transmission medium such as
twisted pair cable, co axial cable fibre optic and communication satellite.

Goals of Computer network

Following are the main Goals of computer network

1. Resource Sharing: The main goal of a computer network is the resource sharing, means that
any computer can access the resources such as printers, disk or application software on the
network without considering its geographical location on the network.
2. Information Sharing: On the network, any computer can receive and transmit the information;
therefore it provides easy accessibility of files or database. And it also improves the search
capability of the network.
3. Remote Computing: A remote computer is a computer that a user has no access to physically, but
may be able to access it remotely via a network link from another computer. Remote connections are
made through the use of a network which connects the computer and the device that is used to access
it.
4. High Reliability: Computer Network provides the high reliability of the shared information. E.g.
all files can be recreated on a few machines, and thus if one of them is non-existent, the
additional copies could be available.
5. Communication: The main application of a computer network is the message passing
between different computer systems via e mail or broadcasting the messages.

6. Performance Enhancement: As network is define as network of networks of different computer

system for the purpose of sharing the information. Therefore it improves the accessibility and the

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 performance of the system. A system’s performance can be improved by inserting one or more
processors into it as its workload grows. For example, if the system is full, replacing it with a
larger one at a large expense, it is better to add more processors to it at less cost and less
disruption to the user. This improves both accessibilities as well as the performance of a system.
7. Communication Medium:
Computer network provides a powerful communication medium so that any user on the network
can immediately identify a file or document that has been updated on a network.it allows inter
process communication.
8. Cost Saving:
Computer network provides resource sharing with high reliability, therefore it saves money
also.
9. Distributed processing (GRID Computing): Computer network provides Grid computing .It
is define as multiple computers geographically apart from each other but connected by the
network and work together as a single computer system with resource sharing.

10. Easy Accessibility: Files can be accessed from any computer in the network. The project
can be begun on one computer and finished on another.

RESOURCE SHARING

ACCESSIBILITY COST SAVING

COMMUNICATION REMOTE COMPUTING

COMPUTER NETWORK
GOALS
COMMUNICATION PERFORMANCE
MEDIUM ENHANCEMENTS

HIGH RELIABILITY INFORMATION SHARING

DISTRIBUTED
COMPUTING

Fig: Goals of Computer Network

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 CHAPTER 2: APPLICATIONS OF COMPUTER
NETWORK

Applications of Computer Network

Now a days computer network uses in each and every field such as banking transactions, hospital
management, hotel management, Agriculture etc. some of the applications of computer network is as
follows:

1. Marketing and sales: In marketing and sales, it provides security so only authenticates user can buy
or sell the products. Market analyst analyses the data and scales products on demand.

These applications include online reservation system such as hotels, railways, airlines and restaurants
etc.

2. Chat Groups: computer network allows chat groups between the users without considering their
geographical locations or which system they are using to connect over a network such as mobile phone
or computer system.

3. Searchable Data (Web Sites): Any authentic user can access and search desirable content or data
on computer network.

4. E-Commerce : computer network also supports E Commerce applications such as Business to

business , client to client and client to business applications with the reliable communications.

5. Access to remote programs : it allows to access and use the computer programs which is reside
on the remote computers (long distant from the user computer ).

6. Access to remote databases: computer network also allows the remote database reliable and
authentic access to the users.

7. Value-added communication facilities. value added communication facilities provides companies

with a secure way to send and share data with its counterparties.

8. Financial services: It include Banking services , investment services and fund transfer (EFT), which
allow a user to transfer money without going to bank.

9. Manufacturing: computer networks are used today in many aspects of manufacturing, including the
manufacturing processes itself. Two aspects that uses network to provide essential services are
computer Assisted design (CAD) and computer Assisted manufacturing (CAM), both of which allow
multiple user to work on a project simultaneously.

10. Electronic Messaging: E-mails transfer the messages between two and more users in a network.
With this application user can transfer the information in the form of text, picture and voice.

11. Directory Services: It allows list of files to be stored in central location to speed up the world wide
search operation. E.g. search engines like Google, Britannia, and Yahoo etc.

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 12. Information Services: It includes Bulletin Boards and data bank. A ‘www’ site offering the technical
specification for a new product in a information services.

13. Electronic Data Exchange (EDI): EDI allows business information (including documents such as
purchase orders and services) to be transferred without using paper.

14. Teleconferencing: It allows conference to occur without the participant being in the same location.
It includes:

15. Text Conferencing: Participant communicates through their keywords and computer monitors.

16, Voice Conferencing: Participant at a number of locations communicates simultaneously through

phone (talk).

17.Video Conferencing: Participant can see as well as talk to another.

18. Cellular Telephone and Cable TV : Wireless phone communication even while travelling through
long distance. Cable TV is widest usable thing today throughout the world.

TELECONFERENCING, TEXT
DIRECTORY SERVICES, CONFERENCING, VOICE
FINANCIAL SERVICES, CONFERENCING, VIDEO
INFORMATION SERVICES CONFERENCING

VALUE ADDED SERVICES E COMMERCE

APPLICATIONS OF CELLULAR TELEPHONE

EDI COMPUTER AND CABLE TV
NETWORK

ACCESS TO REMOTE
DATABSE ACCESS TO REMOTE
PROGRAMS

MANUFACTURING ELECTRONIC MESSAGING

Fig: Applications of Computer Network

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 CCCCC

CHAPTER 3 : CATEGORIES OF COMPUTER NETWORK

Categories of Computer Network:

Computer network is broadly classified into two types,

1. On the basis of size

2. On the basis of architecture

TYPES OF COMPUTER NETWORK

ON THE BASIS OF SIZE ON THE BASIS OF ARCHITECTURE

LOCAL METROPOLITAN WIDE PERSONAL PEER TO CLIENT SERVER

AREA AREA AREA AREA PEER ARCHITECTURE
NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK NETWORK
(LAN) (MAN) (WAN) (WAN)

SWITCHED POINT WIRED WIRELESS

WAN TO PAN PAN
POINT
WAN

A computer network can be categorized by their size. A computer network is mainly of four types:

LAN(Local Area Network)

WAN(Wide Area Network)

MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)

PAN(Personal Area Network)

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1.1 LAN (LOCAL AREA NETWORK)
Local Area Network is a group of computers connected to each other in a small area such as
building, office.LAN is used for connecting two or more personal computers through a
communication medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.It is less costly as it is built with
inexpensive hardware such as hubs, network adapters, and ethernet cables.
The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in Local Area Network.
Local Area Network provides higher security.
1.2 PAN(PERSONAL AREA NETWORK)
Personal Area Network is a network arranged within an individual person, typically within a
range of 10 meters.Personal Area Network is used for connecting the computer devices of
personal use is known as Personal Area Network.Thomas Zimmerman was the first research
scientist to bring the idea of the Personal Area Network.Personal Area Network covers an area
of 30 feet.Personal computer devices that are used to develop the personal area network are
the laptop, mobile phones, media player and play stations.
TYPES OF PAN

1.2.1 Wireless Personal Area Network: Wireless Personal Area Network is developed by simply
using wireless technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth. It is a low range network.

1.2.2 Wired Personal Area Network: Wired Personal Area Network is created by using the USB.

1.3 MAN (METROPOLITAN AREA NETWORK)

A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger geographic area by
interconnecting a different LAN to form a larger network.Government agencies use MAN to
connect to the citizens and private industries.In MAN, various LANs are connected to each
other through a telephone exchange line.The most widely used protocols in MAN are RS-232,
Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN, OC-3, ADSL, etc.It has a higher range than Local Area Network(LAN).

LAN 2
LAN 1
HOSPITAL
FACTORY
LAN
LAN

LAN 2 LAN 2

COLLEGE SCHOOL
LAN LAN

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 Applications
• MAN is used in communication between the banks in a city.
• It can be used in an Airline Reservation.
• It can be used in a college within a city.
• It can also be used for communication in the military.

1.4 WAN(Wide Area Network)

A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large geographical area such as states or
countries.A Wide Area Network is quite bigger network than the LAN.A Wide Area Network is
not limited to a single location, but it spans over a large geographical area through a telephone
line, fibre optic cable or satellite links.The internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.A
Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of Business, government, and education.
Following are the advantages of the Wide Area Network:
• Geographical area: A Wide Area Network provides a large geographical area. Suppose if the
branch of our office is in a different city then we can connect with them through WAN. The
internet provides a leased line through which we can connect with another branch.
• Centralized data: In case of WAN network, data is centralized. Therefore, we do not need to
buy the emails, files or back up servers.
• Get updated files: Software companies work on the live server. Therefore, the programmers
get the updated files within seconds.
• Exchange messages: In a WAN network, messages are transmitted fast. The web application
like Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype allows you to communicate with friends.
• Sharing of software and resources: In WAN network, we can share the software and other
resources like a hard drive, RAM.
• Global business: We can do the business over the internet globally.
• High bandwidth: If we use the leased lines for company then this gives the high bandwidth.
The high bandwidth increases the data transfer rate which in turn increases the productivity
of our company.
The following are the disadvantages of the Wide Area Network:
• Security issue: A WAN network has more security issues as compared to LAN and MAN
network as all the technologies are combined together that creates the security problem.
• Needs Firewall & antivirus software: The data is transferred on the internet which can be
changed or hacked by the hackers, so the firewall needs to be used. Some people can inject
the virus in our system so antivirus is needed to protect from such a virus.
• High Setup cost: An installation cost of the WAN network is high as it involves the
purchasing of routers, switches.
• Troubleshooting problems: It covers a large area so fixing the problem is difficult.

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 Differences between LAN, MAN and WAN
LAN MAN WAN

ABBERVATIONS LAN stands for MAN stands for WAN stands for
local area metropolitan area wide area
network. network network.

OPERATING DISTANCE Operates in Operates in Operates in

small areas large areas such larger areas
such as the as a city. such as country
same building or continent.
or campus.

PROPOGATION DELAY The There is a Whereas, there

propagation moderate is a long
delay is short in propagation propagation
a LAN. delay in a MAN. delay in a WAN.

TRANSMISSION SPEED The While the Whereas the

transmission transmission transmission speed of a
speed of a LAN speed of a MAN WAN is low
is high. is average.

DESIGN AND LAN’s design While MAN’s Whereas

MAINTANENCE and design and WAN’s design
maintenance maintenance and
are easy. are difficult maintenance
than LAN. are also difficult
than LAN as
well MAN.

OWENER’S SHIP LAN’s ownership is MAN’s While WAN

private ownership can also might not
be private or be owned by
public. one
organization.

SPEED Early Lan had data Moderate speed Few kbps to mbps, less
speed 4 to 16 mbps but speed than LAN
today’s LAN speed is
100 to 1000 mbps.

2. Network Classification on the basis of Architecture

2.1 Peer-to-Peer Network :

In the P2P (Peer-to-Peer) network, “peers” generally represent computer system. These
peers are connected to each other with help of Internet. Files might be shared directly
without requirement of central server among these systems on the network. It can be said
that each of computers on P2P network usually becomes file server even as client also. In

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 this architecture, system is generally decomposed into various computational nodes that
contain the same and equivalent capabilities, abilities, and responsibilities. In this network,
tasks are allocated at each and every device available on network. This network is very
essential and important for small environments, usually up to at least 10 computers. There is
also no separate division as clients and servers. Each and every computer in this network are
treated same and equally and might send even receive message directly. This P2P network is
generally useful in various fields such as business, education, military, etc.

Advantages :

• Dedicated server or centralized is not very essential, so P2P network is less costly and is very
cheaper. It is affordable.

• P2P is very simple and not complex. This is because all computers that are connected in
network communication in an efficient and well-mannered with each other.

• It is very easy and simple to set up and manage as installation and setup is less painless and
computer manages itself. This is because of built-in support in modern operating systems.

Disadvantages :

• Security is one of major issues in this type of network. This is because message that
is sent flows freely among connected computers.

• If computer working with some of resources is down and sharing of resources might
become major problem.

• Performance, security, and access can also become major problem and headache
with an increase in number of computers on this network.

2.2 Client/Server Network :

CSN (Client/Server Network) is type of computer network in which one of centralized and
powerful computers (commonly called as server) is hub to which many of personal
computers that are less powerful or workstations (commonly known as clients) are
connected. It is type of system where clients are connected to server to just share or use
resources. These servers are generally considered as heart of system. This type of network is
more stable and scalable as compared to P2P network. In this architecture, system is
generally decomposed into client and server processor or processes. This architecture
supports separation of functionality commonly based on concept of service.

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 • Advantages :

• A special Network Operating System (NOS) is provided by server to provide resources to

many users that request them.

• It is also very easy and simple to set up and manage data updates. This is because data is
generally stored in centralized manner on server.

• The server usually controls resources and data security.

• This network also boosts speed of sharing resources.

• Disadvantages :

• If anyhow server goes down or crashes, entire will be affected by this.

• It is very expensive as compared to P2P. This is due to need for server with greater memory
as well as need for many networking devices such as hubs, routers, switches, etc.

• Cost of NOS being provided is very high.

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 CHAPTER 4 : INTERNETWORK

INTERNETWORK:

An internetwork is defined as two or more computer network LANs or WAN or computer network
segments are connected using devices, and they are configured by a local addressing scheme. This
process is known as internetworking.An interconnection between public, private, commercial,
industrial, or government computer networks can also be defined as internetworking.An
internetworking uses the internet protocol.

The reference model used for internetworking is Open System Interconnection(OSI).

Types of Internetwork:

1. Extranet
2. Intranet
1. Extranet: An extranet is a communication network based on the internet protocol such
as Transmission Control protocol and internet protocol. It is used for information sharing.
The access to the extranet is restricted to only those users who have login credentials. An
extranet is the lowest level of internetworking. It can be categorized as MAN, WAN or other
computer networks. An extranet cannot have a single LAN, atleast it must have one connection
to the external network.

Extranet refers to network within an organization, using internet to connect to the outsiders in
controlled manner. It helps to connect businesses with their customers and suppliers and
therefore allows working in a collaborative manner.

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2. Intranet: An intranet is a private network based on the internet protocol such as Transmission
Control protocol and internet protocol. An intranet belongs to an organization which is only
accessible by the organization's employee or members. The main aim of the intranet is to share the
information and resources among the organization employees. An intranet provides the facility to work
in groups and for teleconferences.

Characteristics of Intranet

• Intranet is defined as private network of computers within an organization with its own server
and firewall. Moreover we can define Intranet as:

• Intranet is system in which multiple PCs are networked to be connected to each other. PCs in
intranet are not available to the world outside of the intranet.

• Usually each company or organization has their own Intranet network and members/employees
of that company can access the computers in their intranet.

• Every computer in internet is identified by a unique IP address.

• Each computer in Intranet is also identified by a IP Address, which is unique among the
computers in that Intranet.

Advantages of Intranet

• Communication: It provides a cheap and easy communication. An employee of the

organization can communicate with another employee through email, chat.

• Time-saving: Information on the intranet is shared in real time, so it is time-saving.

• Collaboration: Collaboration is one of the most important advantage of the intranet. The
information is distributed among the employees of the organization and can only be accessed
by the authorized user.

• Platform independency: It is a neutral architecture as the computer can be connected to

another device with different architecture.

• Cost effective: People can see the data and documents by using the browser and distributes
the duplicate copies over the intranet. This leads to a reduction in the cost.

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 Differences between Intranet and Extranet

s.No. Intranet Extranet

1 Internal network and cannot be Internal Network and can be
accessed externally. accessed externally by
authentic users.
2 Only limited users of an Extranet is the extension of
organization. organization Intranet.
3 Within the organization with Same Organization but different
limited set of authentic users geographical area with
authentic users
example : Suppose a company Example: Same company ABC
ABC provides internet to their have a branch in different
employees with the premises of geographical area , provide
the ABC company. internet to their employees at
same premises or in other
branch which is located at
different location with security.

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 CHAPTER 5 : ORGANIZATION OF NETWORK

The Internet is a collection of autonomous and interconnected networks that implement open protocols
and standards. No single person, government or organization owns or controls the Internet or the
World Wide Web. A non-profit organization called ISOC (Internet Society) has some control over the
future of the Internet.

The Internet is the network of networks and the network allows to exchange of the data between two or
more computers. The Web is a way to access Information through the Internet. The Web is a model
for sharing information using Internet. The Internet is a way of transporting information between
devices

Internet Organizations

• A non-profit organization called ISOC (Internet Society) has some control over the future of
the Internet. It appoints a technical advisory group callethe IAB (Internet Architecture Board)
to evaluate and set standards.

• Input on protocols and standards can come from anybody – individuals, research groups,
companies and universities. A specification is submitted as an Internet draft and made
available for review and comments. Various Internet organizations evaluate whether these
specifications should be advanced – through a process that may elevate the specification
through different levels until it potentially reaches a ‘standards’ status.

• In general, the IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force) forms working groups to develop
specifications, which are evaluated by the IESG (Internet Engineering Steering Group) in
conjunction with the IAB. ISOC then publicizes the new standards. Web standards are
promulgated by the W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) and other groups.

• W3C develops interoperable technologies (specifications, guidelines, software and tools) for
the Web. Its goal is to lead the World Wide Web to its full potential by developing protocols
and guidelines that ensure long-term growth for the Web.

• The W3C is an international industry consortium founded in October 1994 to develop common
protocols that promote the evolution of the World Wide Web and ensure its interoperability.

• Services provided by the Consortium include: a repository of information about the World Wide
Web for developers and users; reference code implementations to embody and promote
standards; and various prototype and sample applications to demonstrate use of new
technology.

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 1. IETF (Internet Engineering Task Force)
The IETF is a large open international community of network designers, operators, vendors and
researchers concerned with the evolution of the Internet architecture and the smooth operation
of the Internet. The actual technical work of the IETF is done in its working groups which
include Applications, Internet, Network Management, Operational Requirements, Routing,
Security, Transport and User Services. Working groups are managed by members of the
IESG. The IAB provides architectural oversight. The IETF also facilitates technology transfers
from the IRTF to the wider Internet community. It is open to any interested individual.

2. ISOC (Internet Society)

The ISOC is an international organization which promotes global cooperation and coordination
for the Internet and its internetworking technologies and applications. ISOC approves
appointments to the IAB from nominees submitted by the IETF Nominating Committee. ISOC
membership is open to any interested person

3. W3C (World Wide Web Consortium) – Web Accessibility Initiative

WAI develops guidelines which are widely regarded as the international standard for Web
accessibility and support materials to help understand and implement Web accessibility
through international collaboration.

4. ISP stands for Internet Service Provider which is a term used to refer to a company that
provides internet access to people who pay the company or subscribe to the company for the
same. For their services, the customers have to pay the internet service provider a nominal fee
which varies according to the amount of data they actually use or the data plan which they
purchase. An Internet Service Provider is also known as an Internet Access Provider or an
online service provider. An Internet Service Provider is a must if one wants to connect to the
internet.

4.1 ISP Characteristics

E-mail Account: Many Internet Service Providers offer an e-mail address to their consumers.

User Support: Professionals and an increasing number of lay users prefer an ISP that can
provide them with customer support so that they have someone they can refer to if things go
awry.

Access to high-speed internet: Probably the most obvious item on this list as this feature os
an Internet Service Provider lies literally in its name. Furthermore, the higher the speed an
Internet Service Provider can offer one, the better it’s standing in the market and the more
customers it can attract.

Spam Blocker: An Internet Service Provider that hinders its customers’ productivity by way of
not blocking spam and displaying frequent ads is not something that is generally favoured in
the market today. Therefore, many of the Internet Service Providers offer spam blocking
features to their customers.

Web Hosting: Some of the ISPs offer web hosting services to their clientele as well.

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 4.2 Different types of ISP connections
DSL, Wi-Fi broadband, mobile broadband, fibre optic broadband, cable broadband

4.3 List of ISP

Realiance Jio

Vodafone Idea

Airtel

BSNL

Hathway

4.4 ISP Advantages

The customer need not then bother with either the technicalities or finances of investing and
inventing a web browser to work with. An ISP can readily do all of this for its customers.

Many ISPs, being professional companies, provide its clientele with high-speed internet and
that is not possible if one decides to sidesteps these companies.

ISPs offer a very high degree of reliability and availability

The ISPs are secure – they offer a tremendous deal of protection against viruses and use only
the latest software patches whilst operating and thereby, maintaining the integrity of the
browser.

User do not need to invest in user’s own web server.

ISP’s should give the best uptime guarantee.

4.5 ISP Disadvantages

Because of the range of options available in the market and due to cut-throat competition,
some of the ISPs have been accused of violating the customers’ trust by way of inflated pricing,
data losses, etc. It is true that using an ISP makes the customer entirely dependent on it.

If an Internet Service Provider is stretched thin because of hosting too many sites on a shared
server, it can compromise the quality of the customers’ data by way of slow download rates and
poor performance of websites.

User need to trust user’s ISP for uptime and security.

ISP can directly affect user if the it gets blacklisted.

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 CHAPTER 6: OSI REFERENCE MODEL

OSI MODEL

OSI Model is an OPEN SYSTEM INTERCONNECTION model. It is a reference model that defines 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.

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.

Characteristics of OSI model

• OSI model divides the whole task into seven smaller and manageable tasks. Each layer is
assigned a particular task.

• Each layer is self-contained, so that task assigned to each layer can be performed
independently.

• All these 7 layers work collaboratively to transmit the data from one person to another across
the globe.

• The OSI model is divided into two layers: upper layers and lower layers.

• 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.

• 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.

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 Layer 7: APPLICATION LAYER APDU

Layer 6: PRESENTATION LAYER PPDU

USER SUPPORT LAYER

Layer 5: SESSION LAYER SPDU

Layer 4: TRANSPORT LAYER SEGMENTS

Layer 3: NETWORK LAYER PACKETS

NETWORK SUPPORT LAYER Layer 2: DATA LINK LAYER FRAMES

OR
LOWER LAYER
OR Layer1: PHYSICAL LAYER
HARDWARE LAYER BITS

Fig: OSI Model

Figure: OSI model with detailed descriptions

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 1. Physical Layer (Layer 1) :
The lowest layer of the OSI reference model is the physical layer. It is responsible for the actual physical
connection between the devices. The physical layer contains information in the form of bits. It is responsible
for transmitting individual bits from one node to the next. When receiving data, this layer will get the signal
received and convert it into 0s and 1s and send them to the Data Link layer, which will put the frame back
together. Physical layer co-ordinates the functions required to transmit a bit stream over a physical
medium. It deals with the mechanical and electrical specifications of the interface and transmission
medium.

DESIGN ISSUES OF PHYSICAL LAYER

1 Physical layer mainly maintains the bits integrity means when 1 bit sends from sender
device to receiver device it should be received as 1 by the receiver not as a 0 bit.
2 Design issues provide the electrical and mechanical specifications of bit patterns which is
transmitted from sender to receiver.
3 It also includes the transmission media specifications such as which type of transmission
media has to be selected while transmitting the bit patterns as a message.
4 Design issues of physical layer also include timing interfaces.
5 Physical layer mainly concerned with transmitting raw bits over a communication channel.

FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSBILITIES OF PHYSICAL LAYER

1 Data Rate Data Rate is define as how many bits transmitted per second. e.g. if the data
rate is 100 mbps it means 100 megabits transmitted in one second.
2 Physical Each interface defines what information and services a layer must provide for
Interface the layer above it. Well defined interfaces and layer functions provide modularity
to a network. As long as a layer provides the expected services to the layer
above it, the specific implementation of its functions can be modified or replaced
without requiring changes to the surrounding layers
3 Topology Physical topology is the graphical representation of hosts on the network which
defines how devices are connected to make a network. Different types of
topologies are Mesh, Ring, star, Bus, tree and Hybrid Topology.
4 Line The physical layer is concerned with how devices are connected to make a
Configuration network. There are two types of line configuration , first is point to point
configuration which defines that two devices are connected with the dedicated
link., second is Multipoint Configuration , a link shared by several devices.
5 Transmission There are two types of transmission media that is Guided and unguided Media.
Media Transmission media provides a wired or wireless connection between the
devices to make a network.
6 Representation Physical layer defines the types of encoding(i.e. how bit patterns 0’s and 1’s
of bits changed to signal. To be transmitted bits must be encoded into signal electrical
or optical.
7 Synchronization The sender and receiver clocks must be synchronized.it is the responsibility of
of bits the physical layer that sender and receiver must be synchronized at bit level.
8 Transmission Physical layer also defines the directions of transmission between two devices
Mode . types of transmission modes are Simplex, Half Duplex and Full Duplex.
Simplex mode is one way communication, Half duplex is a two way

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 communication but not at the same time. In full duplex mode two devices can
send and receive data simultaneously.

PHYSICAL LAYER DEVICES

Hub, Repeater, Modem, Cables are Physical Layer devices

2. Data Link Layer (DLL) (Layer 2)

The data link layer is responsible for the node to node delivery of the message. The main
function of this layer is to make sure data transfer is error-free from one node to another,
over the physical layer. Packet in Data Link layer is referred as Frame. Data Link layer is
handled by the NIC (Network Interface Card) and device drivers of host machines. When a
packet arrives in a network, it is the responsibility of DLL to transmit it to the Host using its
MAC address.
The packet received from Network layer is further divided into frames depending on the
frame size of NIC (Network Interface Card). DLL also encapsulates Sender and Receiver’s
MAC address in the header.
The Receiver’s MAC address is obtained by placing an ARP(Address Resolution Protocol)
request onto the wire asking “Who has that IP address?” and the destination host will reply
with its MAC address.

Data Link Layer is divided into two sub layers:

I. Logical Link Control (LLC)
II. Media Access Control (MAC)

DESIGN ISSUES OF DATA LINK LAYER

1 Data link layer is responsible for hop to hop delivery. Here Hop means immediate next
neighbour of host .
2 The main design issues of Data link layer is that how to implement hardware address or
physical address on NIC i.e. network interface card.
3 The Data link layer acts as a service interface to network layer. The principle service is
transferring data from network layer on sending machine to the network layer on
destination .
4 Data Link Layer functionalities are integral to any network implementation. This is because
the layer ensures reliable data exchange between network nodes while providing the
means for establishing, managing, and releasing end-to-end data-link connections across
different networking devices
5 It provides intermediate functionalities between network nodes, which ensure that
messages are properly delivered to their destination. To this end, the data are assembled
into data frames, which contain source and destination addresses as needed for
guaranteeing reliably delivery.

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 FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSBILITIES OF DATA LINK LAYER
1 Framing Framing is a function of the data link layer. It provides a way for a sender to
transmit a set of bits that are meaningful to the receiver. This can be
accomplished by attaching special bit patterns to the beginning and end of the
frame.

2 Physical After creating frames, Data link layer adds physical addresses (MAC address) of
addressing sender and/or receiver in the header of each frame.
3 Error control Data link layer provides the mechanism of error control in which it detects and
retransmits damaged or lost frames.

4 Flow Control: The data rate must be constant on both sides else the data may get corrupted
thus , flow control coordinates that amount of data that can be sent before
receiving acknowledgement.
5 Access When a single communication channel is shared by multiple devices, MAC sub-
control layer of data link layer helps to determine which device has control over the
channel at a given time

DATA LINK LAYER DEVICES

Switch & Bridge are Data Link Layer devices.

3. Network Layer (Layer 3)

Network layer is also called Layer 3 in OSI model. It provides source to destination delivery. Network
layer works for the transmission of data from one host to the other located in different networks. It also
takes care of packet routing i.e. selection of the shortest path to transmit the packet, from the number of
routes available. The sender & receiver’s IP address are placed in the header by the network layer.
Segment in Network layer is referred as Packet.

DESIGN ISSUES OF NETWORK LAYER

1 It works to provide logical connection across multiple devices.
2 It is responsible to source to destination delivery.
3 Network layer provides its services to upper layer i. e. transport layer through the
network/transport interface.
4 It uses the services coming from the lower layer i.e. data link layer through the data
link/network interface.

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 FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSBILITIES OF NETWORK LAYER
1 Routing The network layer protocols determine which route is suitable from source to
destination. This function of network layer is known as routing.
2 Logical In order to identify each device on internetwork uniquely, network layer defines
Addressing an addressing scheme. The sender & receiver’s IP address are placed in the
header by network layer. Such an address distinguishes each device uniquely
and universally

NETWORK LAYER DEVICES

Network layer is implemented by networking devices such as routers.

4. Transport Layer (layer 4)

Transport layer provides services to application layer and takes services from network layer. The data
in the transport layer is referred to as Segments. It is responsible for the End to End Delivery of the
complete message. The transport layer also provides the acknowledgement of the successful data
transmission and re-transmits the data if an error is found. Transport layer receives the formatted data
from the upper layers, performs Segmentation and also implements Flow & Error control to ensure
proper data transmission. It also adds Source and Destination port number in its header and forwards
the segmented data to the Network Layer. Data in the Transport Layer is called as Segments.

The sender need to know the port number associated with the receiver’s application. Generally, this
destination port number is configured, either by default or manually. For example, when a web
application makes a request to a web server, it typically uses port number 80, because this is the
default port assigned to web applications. Many applications have default port assigned. At receiver’s
side: Transport Layer reads the port number from its header and forwards the Data which it has
received to the respective application. It also performs sequencing and reassembling of the segmented
data.

Note: Transport layer is operated by the Operating System. It is a part of the OS and communicates
with the Application Layer by making system calls.
Transport Layer is called as Heart of OSI model.

DESIGN ISSUES OF TRANSPORT LAYER

1 It accepts data coming from session layer ,splits into TPDU or segments and send to the
Network layer.
2 It provides integrity and efficiency during delivery of the segments
3 Transport layer provides Process to process delivery.
4 It provides the isolation to upper layers from the technological changes.

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 FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSBILITIES OF TRANSPORT LAYER
1 Segmentation This layer accepts the message from the (session) layer , breaks the message
and into smaller units . Each of the segments produced has a header associated with
Reassembly it. The transport layer at the destination station reassembles the message.
2 Service Point In order to deliver the message to correct process, transport layer header
Addressing includes a type of address called service point address or port address. Thus by
specifying this address, transport layer makes sure that the message is delivered
to the correct process.
3 Connection Connection Oriented Service: It is a three-phase process which include
Control -Connection Establishment
– Data Transfer
– Termination / disconnection
In this type of transmission, the receiving device sends an acknowledgement,
back to the source after a packet or group of packet is received. This type of
transmission is reliable and secure.
Connection less service: It is a one-phase process and includes Data
Transfer. In this type of transmission, the receiver does not acknowledge
receipt of a packet. This approach allows for much faster communication
between devices. Connection-oriented service is more reliable than
connectionless Service.

4 Flow Control Like the data link layer, the transport layer is responsible for flow control,
however, flow control at this layer is performed end to end rather than across a
single link.
5 Error Control Like the data link layer, the transport layer is responsible for flow control,
however, flow control at this layer is performed process to process rather than
across a single link.

TRANSPORT LAYER DEVICES

Gateway

5. Session Layer (Layer 5)

This layer is responsible for establishment of connection, maintenance of sessions, authentication
and also ensures security. The main responsibility of session layer is Session establishment,
maintenance and termination: The layer allows the two processes to establish, use and
terminate a connection.
DESIGN ISSUES OF SESSION LAYER
1 The session layer creates sessions between source and destination devices.
2 It is responsible for opening the session , ensuring that they remain open until the complete
data transfer, and functional while complete data is transferred and terminate the session
when communication ends.

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 FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSBILITIES OF SESSION LAYER
1 Synchronization This layer allows a process to add checkpoints which are considered as
synchronization points into the data. These synchronization point help to
identify the error so that the data is re-synchronized properly, and ends of the
messages are not cut prematurely and data loss is avoided.

2 Dialog The session layer allows two systems to start communication with each other
Controller in half-duplex or full-duplex.

3. Service Point It provides service point addressing.

Addressing

SESSION LAYER DEVICES

Gateway

6. Presentation layer (Layer 6)

Presentation layer is also called the Translation layer.The data from the application layer is
extracted here and manipulated as per the required format to transmit over the network.

DESIGN ISSUES OF PRESENTATION LAYER

1 Presentation layer provides the services( if required ) to upper layer that is session layer.
2 Presentation layer gets specific process from transport layer through the transport
/presentation interface.

FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSBILITIES OF PRESENTATION LAYER

1 Translation : The process in two systems are usually exchange information in the form of
character , strings numbers and so on. The information should be changed to bit
streams before being transmitted. Because different computers use different
encoding systems, the presentation layer is responsible for interoperability
between these encoding methods. The presentation layer at the receiving
machine changes the common formats into its receiver dependent format. For
example, ASCII to EBCDIC.
2 Encryption/ Data encryption translates the data into another form or code. The encrypted
Decryption data is known as the cipher text and the decrypted data is known as plain text.
A key value is used for encrypting as well as decrypting data.
•
3 Compression Compression defines as reduces the number of bits that need to be transmitted
on the network. It is of two types.
1. Lossless Compression (e.g. text Compression)
2. Lossy Compression (e.g. Image ,audio and video compression)

PRESENTATION LAYER DEVICES

Gateway

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 1. Application Layer (layer 7)
At the very top of the OSI Reference Model stack of layers, we find Application layer which is
implemented by the network applications. These applications produce the data, which has to
be transferred over the network. This layer also serves as a window for the application services
to access the network and for displaying the received information to the user. The application
layer in the OSI model generally acts only like the interface which is responsible for
communicating with host-based and user-facing applications. This is in contrast with TCP/IP
protocol, wherein the layers below the application layer, which is Session Layer and
Presentation layer, are clubbed together and form a simple single layer which is responsible
for performing the functions, which includes controlling the dialogues between computers,
establishing as well as maintaining as well as ending a particular session, providing data
compression and data encryption and so on.At first, client sends a command t server and
when server receives that command, it allocates port number to client. Thereafter, the client
sends an initiation connection request to server and when server receives request, it gives
acknowledgement (ACK) to client through client has successfully established a connection
with the server and, therefore, now client has access to server through which it may either
ask server to send any types of files or other documents or it may upload some files or
documents on server itself.
Ex: Application – Browsers, Skype Messenger etc.
Application Layer is also called as Desktop Layer
DESIGN ISSUES OF APPLICATION LAYER
1 It ensures agreement at both ends on error recovery procedures.
2 It provides data integrity and privacy.
3 It determines protocols and data syntax rules at the application level and presents data on the receiving
end to the user application.
4 It facilitates users to send and receive several mails.
5. It also provides the storage facility .

FUNCTIONS AND RESPONSBILITIES OF APPLICATION LAYER

1 NVT (Network It is a software version of a physical terminal and allows a user to access remote host.
Virtual Terminal)
2 FTAM(File This application allows a user to access files in a remote host (to update the file or read the
transfer and file), to retrieve files from a remote computer for use in local computer and to manage or
access control files in a remote computer locally.
management)
3 Mail services Application layer provides email forwarding and storage.
4 Directory services It provides distributed database sources and access for global information about various
objects and services.
5

APPLICATION LAYER DEVICES

Gateway

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 CHAPTER 7 :TCP/IP MODEL

TCP/IP Model:

The TCP/IP model was developed prior to the OSI model. The TCP/IP model is not exactly similar to
the OSI model.The TCP/IP model consists of five layers: the application layer, transport layer, network
layer, data link layer and physical layer. 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. 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.

Fig: TCP/IP Model

1. Network Access Layer

A network Access 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

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 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.
2. Network Layer:
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.
Host-to-host communication: It determines the path through which the data is to be
transmitted.
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.
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.
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
ARP stands for Address Resolution Protocol.
ARP is a network layer protocol which is used to find the physical address from the IP address.
The two terms are mainly associated with the ARP Protocol:
a. ARP request: When a sender wants to know the physical address of the device, it
broadcasts the ARP request to the network.
b. 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

3. 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.
• User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
– It provides connectionless service and end-to-end delivery of transmission.
– It is an unreliable protocol as it discovers the errors but not specify the error.
– User Datagram Protocol discovers the error, and ICMP protocol reports the error to the
sender that user datagram has been damaged.

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 – 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.
– UDP does not specify which packet is lost. UDP contains only checksum; it does not
contain any ID of a data segment.

• Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)It provides a full transport layer services to applications.
• It creates a virtual circuit between the sender and receiver, and it is active for the duration of
the transmission.
• 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.
• 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.
• At the receiving end, TCP collects all the segments and reorders them based on sequence
numbers.

4. Application Layer
An application layer is the topmost layer in the TCP/IP model. It 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. 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.
Differences between TCP/IP and OSI Model
TCP/IP OSI

OSI refers to Open Systems

TCP refers to Transmission Control Protocol. Interconnection.

TCP/IP has 5 layers. OSI has 7 layers.

TCP/IP is more reliable OSI is less reliable

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 TCP/IP does not have very strict boundaries. OSI has strict boundaries

TCP/IP follow a horizontal approach. OSI follows a vertical approach.

TCP/IP uses both session and presentation layer in OSI uses different session and
the application layer itself. presentation layers.

TCP/IP developed protocols then model. OSI developed model then protocol.

In OSI model, transport layer

Transport layer in TCP/IP does not provide provides assurance delivery of
assurance delivery of packets. packets.

Connection less and connection

TCP/IP model network layer only provides oriented both services are provided
connection less services. by network layer in OSI model.

While in OSI model, Protocols are

Protocols cannot be replaced easily in TCP/IP better covered and is easy to replace
model. with the change in technology.

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 CHAPTER 8 : TRANSMISSION IMPAIRMENTS

Transmission Impairments

When the signal passes through the medium, it tends to get weaker. As it covers distance, it
loses strength. As signal travels through the media, it tends to spread and overlaps. The
amount of dispersion depends upon the frequency used.

TRANSMISSION IMAIRMENTS

ATTENUATION NOISE DISTORTION

INDUCED NOISE

IMPULSE NOISE

CROSSTALK

THERMAL NOISE

1. 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 and compensate for this loss.
 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)

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  P1 is the power at sending end and P2 is the power at receiving end.
 Some where the decibel is also define in terms of voltage instead of power.In this case
because power is proportional to the square of the voltage the formula is
 Attenuation(dB) = 20log10(V2/V1)
 V1 is the voltage at sending end and V2 is the voltage at receiving end.
2. Distortion – It means changes in the form or shape of the signal. This is generally seen in
composite signals made up with different frequencies. Each frequency component has its
own propagation speed travelling through a medium. And thats why it delay in arriving at
the final destination Every component arrive at different time which leads to distortion.
Therefore, they have different phases at receiver end from what they had at senders end.

3. 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 .

• Note: To find the theoretical bit rate limit, we need to know the ration .The signal-to-noise ratio
is defined as
• SNR = AVG SIGNAL POWER / AVG NOISE POWER

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 CHAPTER 9 : NETWORK PERFORMANCE

Network Performance:

Performance of a network pertains to the measure of service quality of a network as perceived by the
user. There are different ways to measure the performance of a network, depending upon the nature
and design of the network.

the characteristics that measure the performance of a network are :

• Bandwidth

• Throughput

• Latency (Delay)

• Jitter

1. Bandwidth:
One of the most essential conditions of a website’s performance is the amount of bandwidth
allocated to the network. Bandwidth determines how rapidly the web server is able to upload
the requested information. While there are different factors to consider with respect to a site’s
performance, bandwidth is every now and again the restricting element.
Bandwidth is characterized as the measure of data or information that can be transmitted in a
fixed measure of time. The term can be used in two different contexts with two distinctive
estimating values. In the case of digital devices, the bandwidth is measured in bits per
second(bps) or bytes per second. In the case of analog devices, the bandwidth is measured in
cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz).
• Bandwidth in Hertz : It is the range of frequencies contained in a composite signal or the range
of frequencies a channel can pass. For example, let us consider the bandwidth of a subscriber
telephone line as 4 kHz.
• Bandwidth in Bits per Seconds : It refers to the number of bits per second that a channel, a link,
or rather a network can transmit. For example, we can say the bandwidth of a fast Ethernet
network is a maximum of 100 Mbps, which means that the network can send 100 Mbps of data.

2. Throughput
Throughput is the number of messages successfully transmitted per unit time. It is controlled by
available bandwidth, the available signal-to-noise ratio and the hardware limitations. The
maximum throughput of a network may be consequently higher than the actual throughput
achieved in everyday consumption. The terms ‘throughput’ and ‘bandwidth’ are often thought of
as the same, yet they are different. Bandwidth is the potential measurement of a link, whereas
throughput is an actual measurement of how fast we can send data.

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 Ques:A network with bandwidth of 10 Mbps can pass only an average of 12, 000 frames per
minute where each frame carries an average of 10, 000 bits. What will be the throughput for
this network ?
• Solution:We can calculate the throughput as- Throughput = (12, 000 x 10, 000) / 60 = 2 Mbps
The throughput is nearly equal to one-fifth of the bandwidth in this case.
3. Latency: In a network, during the process of data communication, latency(also known as
delay) is defined as the total time taken for a complete message to arrive at the destination,
starting with the time when the first bit of the message is sent out from the source and ending
with the time when the last bit of the message is delivered at the destination. The network
connections where small delays occur are called “Low-Latency-Networks” and the network
connections which suffer from long delays are known as “High-Latency-Networks.

Latency = Propagation Time + Transmission Time + Queuing Time + Processing Delay

3.1 Propagation Time:

It is the time required for a bit to travel from the source to the destination. Propagation time can
be calculated as the ratio between the link length (distance) and the propagation speed over
the communicating medium. For example, for an electric signal, propagation time is the time
taken for the signal to travel through a wire.

Propagation time = Distance / Propagation speed

Ques: What will be the propagation time when the distance between two points is 12, 000 km?
Assuming the propagation speed to be 2.4 * 10^8 m/s in cable.

Solution: We can calculate the propagation time as- Propagation time = (12000 * 10000) / (2.4 * 10^8)
= 50 ms

3.2 Transmission Time:

Transmission time is a time based on how long it takes to send the signal down the
transmission line. It consists of time costs for an EM signal to propagate from one side to the
other, or costs like the training signals that are usually put on the front of a packet by the
sender, which helps the receiver synchronize clocks. The transmission time of a message
relies upon the size of the message and bandwidth of the channel.

Transmission time = Message size / Bandwidth

Ques.What will be the propagation time and the transmission time for a 2.5-kbyte message when the
bandwidth of the network is 1 Gbps? Assuming the distance between sender and receiver is 12, 000
km and speed of light is 2.4 * 10^8 m/s.

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Sol:

We can calculate the propagation and transmission time as- Propagation time = (12000 * 10000) / (2.4
* 10^8) = 50 ms Transmission time = (2560 * 8) / 10^9 = 0.020 ms

Note: Since the message is short and the bandwidth is high, the dominant factor is the propagation
time and not the transmission time(which can be ignored).

3.3 Queuing Time: Queuing time is a time based on how long the packet has to sit around in the
router. Quite frequently the wire is busy, so we are not able to transmit a packet immediately. The
queuing time is usually not a fixed factor, hence it changes with the load thrust in the network. In cases
like these, the packet sits waiting, ready to go, in a queue. These delays are predominantly
characterized by the measure of traffic on the system. The more the traffic, the more likely a packet is
stuck in the queue, just sitting in the memory, waiting.

3.4 Processing Delay: Processing delay is the delay based on how long it takes the router to figure out
where to send the packet. As soon as the router finds it out, it will queue the packet for transmission.
These costs are predominantly based on the complexity of the protocol. The router must decipher
enough of the packet to make sense of which queue to put the packet in. Typically the lower level
layers of the stack have simpler protocols. If a router does not know which physical port to send the
packet to, it will send it to all the ports, queuing the packet in many queues immediately. Differently, at a
higher level, like in IP protocols, the processing may include making an ARP request to find out the
physical address of the destination before queuing the packet for transmission. This situation may also
be considered as a processing delay.

4. JITTER
Jitter is another performance issue related to delay. In technical terms, jitter is a “packet delay
variance”. It can simply mean that jitter is considered as a problem when different packets of data face
different delays in a network and the data at the receiver application is time-sensitive, i.e. audio or video
data. Jitter is measured in milliseconds(ms). It is defined as an interference in the normal order of
sending data packets. For example: if the delay for the first packet is 10 ms, for the second is 35 ms,
and for the third is 50 ms, then the real-time destination application that uses the packets experiences
jitter.

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 CHAPTER 10: SWITCHING

SWITCHING:

In large networks, there may be more than one paths for transmitting data from sender to receiver.
Selecting a path that data must take out of the available options is called switching.

Switching Techniques:

1. Circuit Switching
When a dedicated path is established for data transmission between sender and receiver, it is
called circuit switching. When any network node wants to send data, be it audio, video, text or
any other type of information, a call request signal is sent to the receiver and acknowledged
back to ensure availability of dedicated path. This dedicated path is then used to send data.
• Communication through circuit switching has 3 phases:
i) Circuit establishment
ii) Data transfer
iii) Circuit Disconnect

Features of Circuit Switching

• Circuit switching is a switching technique that establishes a dedicated path between sender
and receiver.

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 • In the Circuit Switching Technique, once the connection is established then the dedicated path
will remain to exist until the connection is terminated.

• Circuit switching in a network operates in a similar way as the telephone works.

• A complete end-to-end path must exist before the communication takes place.

• In case of circuit switching technique, when any user wants to send the data, voice, video, a
request signal is sent to the receiver then the receiver sends back the acknowledgment to
ensure the availability of the dedicated path. After receiving the acknowledgment, dedicated
path transfers the data.

• Circuit switching is used in public telephone network. It is used for voice transmission.

• Fixed data can be transferred at a time in circuit switching technology.

Types of circuit switching techniques

Circuit Switching can use either of the two technologies:

1.1 Space Division Switches

1.2 Time Division Switches:

1.1 Space Division Switches:

• Space Division Switching is a circuit switching technology in which a single transmission path is
accomplished in a switch by using a physically separate set of cross points.

• Space Division Switching can be achieved by using crossbar switch. A crossbar switch is a
metallic crosspoint or semiconductor gate that can be enabled or disabled by a control unit.

• The Crossbar switch is made by using the semiconductor. For example, Xilinx crossbar switch
using FPGAs.

• Space Division Switching has high speed, high capacity, and nonblocking switches.

Space Division Switches can be categorized in two ways:

1.1.1 Crossbar Switch

1.1.2 Multistage Switch
1.1.1 Crossbar Switch
The Crossbar switch is a switch that has n input lines and n output lines. The crossbar switch has
n2 intersection points known as crosspoints.
Disadvantage of Crossbar switch:
The number of crosspoints increases as the number of stations is increased. Therefore, it
becomes very expensive for a large switch. The solution to this is to use a multistage switch.

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 1.1.2 Multistage Switch
Multistage Switch is made by splitting the crossbar switch into the smaller units and then
interconnecting them.It reduces the number of crosspoints. If one path fails, then there will be an
availability of another path.

Steps to design a three stage switch

• To design a three-stage switch,
• we follow these steps:
1. We divide the N input lines into groups, each of n lines.
• For each group, we use one crossbar of size n x k, where k is the number of crossbars
in the middle stage. ie, the first stage has N/n crossbars of n x k cross points.
2. We use k crossbars, each of size (N/n) x (N/n) in the middle stage.
3. We use N/n crossbars, each of size k x n at the third stage.In a three-
stage switch, the total number of cross points is
2kN +k(N/n)2

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Advantages of Circuit Switching

• Circuit switching provides these advantages over other switching techniques −

• Once path is set up, the only delay is in data transmission speed

• No problem of congestion or garbled message

Disadvantages of Circuit Switching

• Long set up time is required

• A request token must travel to the receiver and then acknowledged before any transmission
can happen

• Line may be held up for a long time

2. Packet switching

• the packet switching is a switching technique in which the message is sent in one go, but it is
divided into smaller pieces, and they are sent individually.

• The message splits into smaller pieces known as packets and packets are given a unique
number to identify their order at the receiving end.

• Every packet contains some information in its headers such as source address, destination
address and sequence number.

• Packets will travel across the network, taking the shortest path as possible.

• All the packets are reassembled at the receiving end in correct order.

• If any packet is missing or corrupted, then the message will be sent to resend the message.

• If the correct order of the packets is reached, then the acknowledgment message will be sent.

Approaches Of Packet Switching

There are two approaches to Packet Switching:

2.1 Datagram Packet switching

2.2 Virtual Circuit Switching

2.1 Datagram Packet switching

• It is a packet switching technology in which packet is known as a datagram, is considered as

an independent entity. 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.

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 • In Datagram Packet Switching technique, the path is not fixed.

• Intermediate nodes take the routing decisions to forward the packets.

• Datagram Packet Switching is also known as connectionless switching.

2.2 Virtual Circuit Switching

Virtual Circuit Switching 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.

Differences b/w Datagram approach and Virtual Circuit approach

Datagram approach Virtual Circuit approach

Node takes routing decisions to forward the Node does not take any routing decision.
packets.

Congestion cannot occur as all the packets Congestion can occur when the node is busy,
travel in different directions. and it does not allow other packets to pass
through.

It is more flexible as all the packets are treated It is not very flexible.
as an independent entity.

Advantages Of Packet Switching

• Cost-effective: In packet switching technique, switching devices do not require massive

secondary storage to store the packets, so cost is minimized to some extent. Therefore, we can
say that the packet switching technique is a cost-effective technique.
• Reliable: If any node is busy, then the packets can be rerouted. This ensures that the Packet
Switching technique provides reliable communication.

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 • Efficient: Packet Switching is an efficient technique. 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.
Disadvantages Of Packet Switching
• 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.

3. Message Switching
Message Switching is a switching technique in which a message is transferred as a complete
unit and routed through intermediate nodes at which it is stored and forwarded. In Message
Switching technique, there is no establishment of a dedicated path between the sender and
receiver. The destination address is appended to the message. Message Switching provides a
dynamic routing as the message is routed through the intermediate nodes based on the
information available in the message. Message switches are programmed in such a way so
that they can provide the most efficient routes. Each and every node stores the entire message
and then forward it to the next node. This type of network is known as store and forward
network. Message switching treats each message as an independent entity.

Advantages Of Message Switching

• Data channels are shared among the communicating devices that improve the efficiency of
using available bandwidth.
• Traffic congestion can be reduced because the message is temporarily stored in the nodes.
• Message priority can be used to manage the network.
• The size of the message which is sent over the network can be varied. Therefore, it supports
the data of unlimited size.
Disadvantages Of Message Switching
• The message switches must be equipped with sufficient storage to enable them to store the
messages until the message is forwarded.
• The Long delay can occur due to the storing and forwarding facility provided by the message
switching technique.

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