Aptitude Engineering Mathematics Discrete Mathematics Operating System DBMS Computer Networks Dig

Last Minute Notes – Computer Networks

Last Updated : 01 Mar, 2024
See Last Minute Notes on all subjects here.

1. OSI Model
2. Physical Layer
3. Data Link layer
4. Network Layer
5. Transport Layer
6. Presentation & Session layer
7. Application Layer

OSI Model
OSI stands for Open Systems Interconnection. It has been developed by
ISO– International Organization for Standardization, in the year 1984. It is
a seven-layer architecture with each layer having specific functionality to
perform.

OSI Layers, Data Units, and Functions:

Layers Data Units Functions

Application
Data Mail Services, Directory Services, FTAM
Layer

Presentation
Data Encryption/Decryption, Compression
Layer

Session Layer Session Establishment,

Data
Synchronization, Dialog Controller

Transport Segments,
Segmentation
Layer Datagram

Network Layer Packets Traffic control, Fragmentation, Routing

 Layers Data Units Functions

Data Link Layer Flow control, Error control, Access

Frames
control

Physical Layer Bit Synchronization, Bit rate control,

Bits
Physical Topologies

Layers and their uses:

Physical Layer
Network Topologies:

Mesh Topology: In a mesh topology, every device is connected to another

device via a particular channel. If suppose, N number of devices are
connected with each other, then a total number of links is required to
connect NC2.
Bus Topology: Bus topology is a network type in which every computer
and network device is connected to a single cable. If N devices are
connected, then the number of cables required is 1 which is known as
backbone cable, and N drop lines are required.
Star Topology: In star topology, all the devices are connected to a single
hub through a cable. If N devices are connected to each other, then the no.
of cables required N.
Ring Topology: In this topology, it forms a ring connecting devices with
exactly two neighboring devices.

Transmission Modes:

Simplex Mode: the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way

street. Only one of the two devices on a link can transmit, and the other
can only receive.
 Half-duplex Mode: each station can both transmit and receive, but not at
the same time.
Full-duplex Mode: both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously.

Manchester Encoding: When there is a long sequence of 0s and 1s, there is

a problem at the receiving end. The problem is that the synchronization is
lost due to a lack of transmissions.

NRZ-level encoding: The polarity of signals changes when the incoming

signal changes from ‘1’ to ‘0’ or from ‘0’ to ‘1’. It considers the first bit of
data as polarity change.
NRZ-Inverted/ Differential encoding: In this, the transitions at the
beginning of the bit interval are equal to 1 and if there is no transition at
the beginning of the bit interval are equal to 0.

Data Link Layer

Flow Control: The methods to maintain the flow of the data while the
transmission is known as flow control methods. Mainly we have two
approaches:
Stop & Wait: Only one data packet can be shared over the link and the
sender has to wait for the positive acknowledgment so that it can send
another packet. It leads to poor efficiency and poor resource utilization.
Sliding Window Protocol
Go Back N: It is also known as “conservative protocol”, and uses
cumulative/piggybacking acknowledgments. The receiver window
size is 1, and the sender window size is 2k -1 where K is the number
of bits received for the window size in the header.
Selective Repeat: It accepts out-of-order packets and accepts
cumulative/ independent/ piggybacking acknowledgments.
 Round Trip Time is the overall time taken in transmitting a packet, it is
also known as minimum acknowledgment waiting time.
Sequence Number <= (Sender’s Window Size) + (Receiver’s Window
Size )
Efficiency in TDM(polling) = Tt / (Tpoll + Tt)
In CSMA/CD, Tt >= 2*Tp Hence, min frame length = 2*Tp*B and Efficiency
in CSMA = 1/(1 + 6.44a)
Back-off Algorithm for CSMA/CD Waiting time = back–off time Let n =
collision number or re-transmission serial number. Then, Waiting time = K
* Tslot where K = [0, 2n – 1 ]
N = No. of stations Early Token Reinsertion : Efficiency = 1/(1 + a/N)
Delayed Token Reinsertion : Efficiency = 1/(1 + (N+1)a/N)
Pure Aloha Efficiency = 18.4 % Slotted Aloha Efficiency = 36.8%
Maximum data rate (channel capacity) for noiseless and noisy channels
Noiseless Channel: Nyquist Bit Rate BitRate = 2 * Bandwidth * log2(L)
where L is the number of signal levels used to represent data.
Noisy Channel : Shannon Capacity Capacity = bandwidth * log2(1 +
SNR) where, SNR is the signal-to-noise ratio
Error Control
Hamming Code: It is a set of error-correction codes that can be used to
detect and correct the errors that can occur when the data is moved or
stored from the sender to the receiver.
Redundant bits: 2r ≥ m + r + 1 where, r = redundant bit, m = data bit
CRC: CRC stands for Cyclic Redundancy Check and this uses a
polynomial generator on both the sender and receiver sides to detect
the error in the transmitted data.
Checksum: It is more reliable than other modes of error detection, it
uses a checksum generator on the sender side and a checksum checker
on the receiver side
Framing in DLL: It provides a way for a sender to transmit a set of bits
that are meaningful to the receiver.
Character/Byte Stuffing: Used when frames consist of character. If
data contains ED then, a byte is stuffed into the data to differentiate
it from ED.
Bit stuffing: Sender stuffs a bit to break the pattern i.e. here
appends a 0 in data = 011101.

Network Layer
Class Full Addressing Table:

IPv4 header datagram:

IP version 6 Header Format:

Subnetting: Dividing a bigger network into a smaller network to maintain the

security of the network is known as subnetting.
Supernetting: Multiple smaller networks are combined to form a bigger
network. It is mainly used in router summarization, etc.

VLSM: Variable Length Subnet Mask is where the subnet design uses more
than one mask in the same network which means more than one mask is
used for different subnets of a single class A, B, C, or a network. It is also
defined as the process of subnetting a subnet. It is used to increase the
usability of subnets as they can be of variable size.

Internet Control Message Protocol: Since IP does not have an inbuilt

mechanism for sending error and control messages. It depends on Internet
Control Message Protocol(ICMP) to provide error control.

1. Source quench message

2. Parameter problem
3. Time exceeded message
4. Destination un-reachable

Difference between DVR and LSR:

The router having the highest router priority will be declared as DR.
If there is a tie-in router priority then the highest router will be considered.
First, the highest loopback address is considered. If no loopback is
 configured then the highest active IP address on the router’s interface is
considered.

Hop Count: Hop count is the number of routers between the source and
destination network. The path with the lowest hop count is considered the
best route to reach a network and therefore placed in the routing table.

The maximum hop count allowed for RIP is 15 and a hop count of 16 is
considered as network unreachable.

Open shortest path first (OSPF): Open the shortest path first (OSPF) is a
link-state routing protocol that is used to find the best path between the
source and the destination router using its own SPF algorithm.
Designated Router(DR) and Backup Designated Router(BDR) election takes
place in the broadcast network or multi-access network.

Routing Information Protocol (RIP): RIP is a dynamic routing protocol that

uses hop count as a routing metric to find the best path between the source
and the destination network. It is a distance vector routing protocol that has
an AD value of 120 and works on the application layer of the OSI model. RIP
uses port number 520.

Transport Layer
TCP header

In TCP congestion control Algorithm

When Time Out Occurs Algorithm Enters Slow Start Phase

When 3 Duplicate occurs algorithm enters the congestion avoidance
phase

TCP 3-Way Handshake Process:

 Step 1 (SYN): In the first step, the client wants to establish a connection
with the server, so it sends a segment with SYN(Synchronize Sequence
Number) which informs the server that the client is likely to start
communication and with what sequence number it starts segments with
Step 2 (SYN + ACK): Server responds to the client request with SYN-ACK
signal bits set. Acknowledgment (ACK) signifies the response of the
segment it received and SYN signifies with what sequence number it is
likely to start the segments with
Step 3 (ACK): In the final part client acknowledges the response of the
server and they both establish a reliable connection with which they will
start eh actual data transfer.

UDP header:

Session & Presentation Layer

Session Layer:

The session layer is responsible for establishing, maintaining, and

terminating sessions in a network. The session layer manages data
transmission for a certain time period.
The session layer is responsible for the identification of entities
participating in a session.
It provides synchronization services to the data stream.

Presentation Layer:

The presentation layer translates the data packet from the network layer
to the application layer and vice versa.
The main responsibility of the Presentation layer is protocol conversion,
data encryption/decryption, character conversion, and data compression.
 It sets standards for different systems to provide flawless communication.

Application Layer
Application Layer: It is the topmost layer of the OSI model and it directly
interacts with web applications or application services. This layer provides
several ways for manipulating the data (information) which actually enables
any type of user to access the network with ease.

Functions of Application Layer:

Application Layer facilitates email sending and storing features.

This layer allows users to access, retrieve and manage files from a remote
computer.
This layer provides services that include: E-mail, File transfer, directory
services, network resources, etc.

Domain Name Server: DNS is a hostname for IP address translation service.

DNS is a distributed database implemented in a hierarchy of name servers. It
is an application layer protocol for message exchange between clients and
servers.

Protocols in Application Layer

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol(DHCP) is an application layer

protocol that is used to provide:
Subnet Mask (Option 1 – e.g., 255.255.255.0)
Router Address (Option 3 – e.g., 192.168.1.1)
DNS Address (Option 6 – e.g., 8.8.8.8)
Vendor Class Identifier (Option 43 – e.g., ‘unifi’ = 192.168.1.9 ##where
unifi = controller)
Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP): SNMP is an application
layer protocol that uses UDP port number 161/162.SNMP is used to
monitor networks, detect network faults, and sometimes even used to
configure remote devices.
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP): SMTP is an application layer
protocol. The client who wants to send the mail opens a TCP connection
to the SMTP server and then sends the mail across the connection. The
SMTP server is always in listening mode. As soon as it listens for a TCP
connection from any client, the SMTP process initiates a connection on
that port (25). After successfully establishing the TCP connection the
client process sends the mail instantly.
 File Transfer Protocol (FTP): File Transfer Protocol(FTP) is an application
layer protocol that moves files between local and remote file systems. It
runs on top of TCP, like HTTP. To transfer a file, 2 TCP connections are
used by FTP in parallel: control connection and data connection.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP): is an application-level protocol that
uses TCP as an underlying transport and typically runs on port 80. HTTP
is a stateless protocol i.e. server maintains no information about past
client requests.

Port number and transport mode used by Protocols:

Port TCP/UDP Protocol Name

Number

20, 21 TCP File Transfer Protocol (FTP)

TCP and
22 Secure Shell (SSH)
UDP

23 TCP Telnet

25 TCP Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

TCP and
53 Domain Name Server (DNS)
UDP

67, 68 UDP Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)

69 UDP Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP)

80 TCP HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

110 TCP Post Office Protocol (POP3)

119 TCP Network News Transport Protocol (NNTP)

123 UDP Network Time Protocol (NTP)

135-139 TCP and NetBIOS

 Port TCP/UDP Protocol Name
Number

UDP

TCP and
143 Internet Message Access Protocol (IMAP4)
UDP

TCP and
161, 162 Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP)
UDP

179 TCP Border Gateway Protocol (BGP)

TCP and
389 Lightweight Directory Access Protocol
UDP

TCP and
443 HTTP with Secure Sockets Layer (SSL)
UDP

Internet Security Association and Key

500 UDP Management Protocol (ISAKMP) / Internet Key
Exchange (IKE)

TCP and Lightweight Directory Access Protocol over

636
UDP TLS/SSL (LDAPS

989/990 TCP FTP over TLS/SSL

Get 90% Course fee refund in just 90 Days! Also get 1:1 Mock Interview,
Job assistance and more additional benefits on selected courses. Take up
the Three 90 challenge today!

"GeeksforGeeks helped me ace the GATE exam! Whenever I had any doubt
regarding any topic, GFG always helped me and made my concepts quiet
clear." - Anshika Modi | AIR 21

Choose GeeksforGeeks as your perfect GATE 2025 Preparation partner with

these newly launched programs
GATE CS & IT
GATE DS & AI
GATE Offline (Delhi/NCR)

Over 125,000+ students already trust us to be their GATE Exam guide. Join
them & let us help you in opening the GATE to top-tech IITs & NITs!

204 Suggest improvement

Previous Next

Top 50 IP addressing interview Computer Network - Cheat Sheet

questions and answers

Share your thoughts in the comments Add Your Comment

Similar Reads
Computer Networks - GATE CSE Computer Networks | Set 5
Previous Year Questions

Computer Networks | Set 3 Computer Networks | Set 4

Computer Networks | Set 12 Computer Networks | Set 6

Computer Networks | Set 7 Computer Networks | Set 8

Computer Networks | Set 9 Computer Networks | Set 10

 GeeksforGeeks

Article Tags : Computer Networks , GATE CS

A-143, 9th Floor, Sovereign Corporate

Tower, Sector-136, Noida, Uttar Pradesh -
201305

Company Explore Languages DSA Data Science Web

About Us Job-A-Thon Python Data Structures & ML Technologies
Legal Hiring Challenge Java Algorithms Data Science HTML
Careers Hack-A-Thon C++ DSA for With Python CSS
In Media GfG Weekly PHP Beginners Data Science For JavaScript
Contest Basic DSA Beginner
Contact Us GoLang TypeScript
Offline Classes Problems Machine
Advertise with SQL ReactJS
(Delhi/NCR) DSA Roadmap Learning
us R Language NextJS
DSA in JAVA/C++ Tutorial
GFG Corporate DSA Interview
Android Tutorial ML Maths NodeJs
Solution Master System Questions
Design Data Bootstrap
Placement Competitive
Master CP Programming Visualisation Tailwind CSS
Training
Tutorial
Program GeeksforGeeks
Videos Pandas Tutorial
Geeks NumPy Tutorial
Community NLP Tutorial
Deep Learning
Tutorial

Python Computer DevOps System School Commerce

Tutorial Science Git Design Subjects Accountancy
GATE CS Notes AWS High Level Mathematics Business Studies
Design
Python Operating Docker Low Level Physics Economics
Programming Systems Kubernetes Design Chemistry Management
Examples Computer UML Diagrams
Azure Biology HR Management
Django Tutorial Network Interview Guide
GCP Social Science Finance
Python Projects Database Design Patterns
DevOps English Income Tax
Python Tkinter Management
Roadmap OOAD Grammar
System
Web Scraping System Design
Software
OpenCV Tutorial Bootcamp
Engineering
Python Interview
Digital Logic
Interview Questions
Design
Question
Engineering
Maths

UPSC Study Preparation Competitive More Free Online Write & Earn
Material Corner Exams Tutorials Tools Write an Article
Polity Notes Company-Wise JEE Advanced Software Typing Test Improve an
Geography Recruitment UGC NET Development Image Editor Article
Notes Process Software Testing Pick Topics to
SSC CGL Code Formatters
History Notes Resume Product Write
SBI PO Code Converters
Templates Management Share your
Science and SBI Clerk Currency
Technology Aptitude Project Experiences
IBPS PO Converter
Notes Preparation Management Internships
IBPS Clerk Random
Economy Notes Puzzles Linux Number
Ethics Notes Company-Wise Excel Generator
Preparation
Previous Year All Cheat Sheets Random
Papers Companies Password
Colleges Generator

@GeeksforGeeks, Sanchhaya Education Private Limited, All rights reserved