Introduction to Networks and Systems

INSY 3071
 Chapter 1

Overview of Computer Networks

 Outline
➢Overview of Networks

➢The impact of Networks

➢The network as a platform

➢Network Role & Elements

➢Network Architecture Characteristics

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 Computer Network
 A computer network is a group of computers and
associated peripheral devices connected by a
communication channel capable of sharing files and
other resources among several users.
 A network can range from a peer-to-peer network
connecting a small number of users in an office or
department, to a LAN connecting many users over
permanently installed cables and dial-up lines, to a
MAN or WAN connecting users on several net-works
spread over a wide geographic area.
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 Computer Network
 Computer networking arose as an answer to the
need to share data in a timely fashion.
 Personal computers are powerful tools that can
process and manipulate large amounts of data
quickly, but they do not allow users to share that
data efficiently.

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 Computer Network
 Before networks, users needed either to print out
documents or copy document files to a disk for
others to edit or use them.
 If others made changes to the document, there was
no easy way to merge the changes. This was, and
still is, known as "working in a stand-alone
environment."

Stand-alone Computer

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 Computer Network
 But what if a computer was connected to other
computers? Then, it could share data with the other
computers or send documents to a printer.

 This connecting together of computers and other

devices is called a Network, and the concept of
connected computers sharing resources is called
Networking.

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 Computer Network
 Computer network is a connection of two or more
computers that are connected with one another for the
purpose of communicating data or information
electronically.
 Early data networks were limited to exchanging
character-based information between connected
computer systems.
 Current networks have evolved to carry voice, video
streams, text, and graphics between many different
types of devices.
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 Computer Network

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 Benefits of Network Computing

 Networks increase efficiency and reduce costs.

 Computer networks achieve these goals in
four primary ways:
➢Sharing Information (or Data)
➢Sharing Hardware(Peripheral Devices)
➢Sharing Programs/Software
➢Centralizing Administration and Support

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 Sharing Hardware
 Computer networks enable us to share expensive
hardware resource among several computers.
 A typical example of shared resource is printer. For
example, a company may prefer to acquire one
expensive printer and connect it to the network to
provide high quality printing to users. This avoids the
need to have separate printer for each computer in the
office.

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 Sharing Hardware
 Central Disk storage – Network system
provide the possibility of using a dedicated file
server to store all the company data in one
location.
 Users will be able to access their data over the
network from their workstations. Using central
disk storage system facilitates data backup
operations from a central location guarantying
complete data recovery in case of system failures.
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 Sharing data
 Users in a certain network environment have
the freedom of sharing data and information
across the network.
 Data sharing enables different users to work on
a certain file concurrently.

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 Sharing data
 Database: - databases are often managed centrally and
several users can have access to the database at same
time. For example, in a networked banking system,
different bank branches can have access to the central
account database. This enables bank clients to carry
their transactions on any branch bank office.
 E-mail: email communication can be achieved over the
network enabling networked users in the company to
communicate messages across the network using email.

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 Sharing Data
 Intranet: Intranets are similar to World Wide Web
(WWW) where centrally stored hypertext documents
can be accessed using the web. Unlike the WWW,
intranets are available only to user within the company
network system. Intranet is a very common service in
large networked organizations (example, AAUNet).
 Extranet: Although similar to intranet, extranet
provides selected users from outside the organization to
access data from the internal network. Extranets are
commonly used by suppliers to provide data to company
clients.
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 Centralizing Administration and Support

 Networking computers can simplify support

tasks as well.
 It is far more efficient for technical personnel to
support one version of one operating system or
application and to set up all computers in the
same manner than to support many individual
and unique systems and setups

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 Centralizing Administration and Support
 The login Process: Even if your computer is physically connected to a
network, you cannot typically use network resources until you log into
the network. When you log in, you formally identify yourself to the
network by providing your ID and password.
 For such network environment, a network administrator is required who
is responsible for setting up user accounts and maintains a network. The
network administrator provides each new user with a user ID and starter
password. In this way centralized administration and support can be
achieved.
 Network administration tasks include:
 Managing users and security.
 Making resources available.
 Maintaining applications and data.
 Installing and upgrading application and operating system software.

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 Advantages of Networks
 Speed
 Cost
 Security
 Resource Sharing
 Electronic Mail
 Flexible Access
 Centralized Software Management

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 Disadvantages Network
 Expensive to Install
 Requires Administrative Time
 File Server May Fail
 Cables May Break

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 Other benefits of computer
networks
 Documents (memos, spreadsheets, invoices, and so on).
 E-mail messages.
 Word-processing software.
 Project-tracking software.
 Illustrations, photographs, videos, and audio files.
 Live audio and video broadcasts.
 Printers, Fax machines.
 Hard drives.

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Networks Supporting The Way We Live

 The methods that we use to share ideas and information

are constantly changing and evolving.
 Whereas the human network was once limited to face-
to-face conversations, media breakthroughs continue to
extend the reach of our communications.
 From the printing press to television, each new
development has improved and enhanced our
communication.

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  Decide what to wear using online current weather
conditions.
 Find the least congested route to your destination,
displaying weather and traffic video from webcams.
 Check your bank balance and pay bills electronically.
 Receive and send e-mail, or make an Internet phone
call.
 Obtain health information and nutritional advice from
experts all over the world, and post to a forum to share
related health or treatment information.
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 Networks Support the way we Learn
 Communication, collaboration, and engagement are
fundamental building blocks of education.
 Institutions are continually striving to enhance these
processes to maximize the dissemination of knowledge.
 Robust and reliable networks support and enrich
student learning experiences. These networks deliver
learning material in a wide range of formats. The
learning materials include interactive activities,
assessments, and feedback.
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 Networks Support the way we Learn
 Availability of current and accurate training materials.
 Availability of training to a wide audience. Online
training is not dependent on travel schedules,
instructor availability or physical class size.
 Cost reduction. In addition to reducing the cost of
travel and the lost time associated with travel, there are
other cost reducing factors for business related to
online training.
 Online distance learning has removed geographic
barriers and improved student opportunity.
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 Networks Supporting the Way We Work

 Initially, data networks were used by businesses to

internally record and manage financial information,
customer information, and employee payroll systems.
 These business networks evolved to enable the
transmission of many different types of information
services, including e-mail, video, messaging, and
telephony.

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 Networks Supporting the Way We Work

 Intranets, private networks in use by just one company,

enable businesses to communicate and perform
transactions among global employee and branch
locations.
 Companies develop extranets, or extended
internetworks, to provide suppliers, vendors, and
customers limited access to corporate data to check
order status, inventory, and parts lists.
 Today, networks provide a greater integration between related
functions and organizations than was possible in the past.
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 Popular Communication Tools

Instant Messaging
 Instant messaging (IM) is a form of real-time
communication between two or more people based
on typed text.
 The text is conveyed via computers connected over
either a private internal network or over a public
network, such as the Internet.

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 Popular Communication Tools

 Developed from earlier Internet Relay Chat (IRC) services,

IM also incorporates features such as file transfer, voice, and
video communication.
 Like e-mail, IM sends a written record of the
communication. However, whereas transmission of e-mail
messages is sometimes delayed, IM messages are received
immediately.
 The form of communication that IM uses is called realtime
communication.

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 Popular Communication Tools
Weblogs (blogs)
 A blog post is usually one person's opinion, followed
optionally by comments
 Weblogs (Blogs) are web pages that are easy to
update and edit.
 Unlike commercial websites, which are created by
professional communications experts, blogs give
anyone a means to communicate their thoughts to a
global audience without technical knowledge of web
design
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 Popular Communication Tools
Wikis
 Wikis are web pages that groups of people can edit and
view together.
 A wiki is a knowledge base website on which users
collaboratively modify content and structure directly
from the web browser
 Whereas a blog is more of an individual, personal
journal, a wiki is a group creation. As such, it may be
subject to more extensive review and editing. Like blogs,
wikis can be created in stages, and by anyone, without
the sponsorship of a major commercial enterprise.

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 Popular Communication Tools
 There is a public wiki, called Wikipedia, that is
becoming a comprehensive resource - an online
encyclopedia - of publicly-contributed topics.
 Private organizations and individuals can also build
their own wikis to capture collected knowledge on a
particular subject.

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 Popular Communication Tools
Podcasting
 Podcasting is an audio-based medium that originally
enabled people to record audio and convert it for use
with iPods - a small, portable device for audio playback
manufactured by Apple.
 The ability to record audio and save it to a computer file
is not new. However, podcasting allows people to deliver
their recordings to a wide audience.
 The audio file is placed on a website (or blog or wiki)
where others can download it and play the recording on
their computers, laptops, and iPods.

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 Popular Communication Tools
Collaboration Tools
 Collaboration tools give people the opportunity to
work together on shared documents. Without the
constraints of location or time zone, individuals
connected to a shared system can speak to each other,
share text and graphics, and edit documents together.
 The broad distribution of data networks means that
people in remote locations can contribute on an
equal basis with people at the heart of large
population centers.
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 Popular Communication Tools

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 The Network as a Platform
Communicating over Networks
 Being able to reliably communicate to anyone,
anywhere, is becoming increasingly important to our
personal and business lives.
 In order to support the immediate delivery of the
millions of messages being exchanged between
people all over the world, we rely on a web of
interconnected networks.

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 The Network as a Platform
Communicating over Networks
 These data or information networks vary in size and capabilities, but
all networks have four basic elements in common:
 Rules or agreements to govern how the messages are sent,
directed, received and interpreted
 The messages or units of information that travel from one device
to another
 A means of interconnecting these devices - a medium that can
transport the messages from one device to another
 Devices on the network that exchange messages with each other

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 Elements of a Network
Networks vary in size and capabilities, but all
networks have five basic elements in
common:
 Sender/Source
 Media/Channel
 Message/Information
 Receiver/Destination
 Protocol/Rule
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 Data Communication
There are five components in data communication system.
 Message: the information to be communicated
 Sender: the device that sends the message
 Receiver: the device that receives the message
 Medium: the transmission medium is the physical path
that communicates the message from sender to receiver.
 Protocol: refers to a set of rules that coordinates the
exchange of information. Both the sender and the
receiver should follow the same protocol to
communicate data.
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 The Network Architecture
 Networks must support a wide range of
applications and services, as well as operate over
many different types of physical infrastructures.
 The term network architecture, in this context,
refers to both the technologies that support the
infrastructure and the programmed services and
protocols that move the messages across that
infrastructure.
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 The Network Architecture
 As the Internet, and networks in general, evolve,
we are discovering that there are four basic
characteristics that the underlying architectures
need to address in order to meet user
expectations:
 Fault tolerance
 Scalability
 Quality of services
 Security
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 Fault Tolerance network
 A fault tolerant network is one that limits the
impact of a hardware or software failure and
can recover quickly when such a failure occurs.
 These networks depend on redundant links, or
paths, between the source and destination of a
message.

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 Fault Tolerance
 If one link or path fails, processes ensure that
messages can be instantly routed over a
different link transparent to the users on either
end.
 Both the physical infrastructures and the
logical processes that direct the messages
through the network are designed to
accommodate this redundancy.
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 Scalability
 A scalable network can expand quickly to
support new users and applications without
impacting the performance of the service being
delivered to existing users.
 The ability of the network to support these new
interconnections depends on a hierarchical
layered design for the underlying physical
infrastructure and logical architecture.
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 Scalability
 The operation at each layer enables users or service
providers to be inserted without causing disruption to
the entire network.
 Technology developments are constantly increasing
the message carrying capabilities and performance of
the physical infrastructure components at every layer.
 These developments, along with new methods to
identify and locate individual users within an
internetwork, are enabling the Internet to keep pace
with user demand.
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 QoS (Quality of Service)
 Quality of Service (QoS) is a set of technologies
that work on a network to guarantee its ability to
dependably run high-priority applications and
traffic under limited network capacity.
 Measurements of concern to QoS are bandwidth
(throughput), latency (delay), jitter (variance in
latency), and error rate

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 QoS (Quality of Service)
 The Internet is currently providing an acceptable level of
fault tolerance and scalability for its users.
 But new applications available to users over
internetworks create higher expectations for the quality of
the delivered services.
 Voice and live video transmissions require a level of
consistent quality and uninterrupted delivery that was not
necessary for traditional computer applications.
 Quality of these services is measured against the quality of
experiencing the same audio or video presentation in
person.

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 QoS (Quality of Service)
 Traditional voice and video networks are
designed to support a single type of transmission,
and are therefore able to produce an acceptable
level of quality.
 New requirements to support this quality of
service over a converged network are changing
the way network architectures are designed and
implemented.
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 Security
 The Internet has evolved from a tightly controlled
internetwork of educational and government
organizations to a widely accessible means for
transmission of business and personal communications.
 As a result, the security requirements of the network
have changed.
 The security and privacy expectations that result from
the use of internetworks to exchange confidential and
business critical information exceed what the current
architecture can deliver.
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 Security
 Rapid expansion in communication areas that were
not served by traditional data networks is increasing
the need to embed security into the network
architecture.
 As a result, much effort is being devoted to this area
of research and development.
 In the meantime, many tools and procedures are
being implemented to combat inherent security
flaws in the network architecture.
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