Chapter 1 : Generalities on Networking

Introduction
Originally, a network was a collection of people or objects, from the 1970s so the appearance of the
first large teleprocessing networks which were then essentially reserved for transactional
applications of data from different terminals connected to a single central unit called "Large system
or centralization of data in one place". But with technological developments, technicians and
researchers have changed the configuration of terminals by assigning them information
functionalities from one station to another. Around 1983, shortly after the birth of microcomputing,
the first generation of networks based on arc net appeared. The first objective was the sharing of
resources between several users. Thus, the first local networks were made with several Ethernet
mainly then with the Token ring around 1985.

The services offered by networks today are part of the everyday life of businesses and
administrations (society, commerce, banking, etc.). make them communicate with each other.
Whether for file sharing or sending messages, most companies today have a network to be more
efficient.

I- DEFINITIONS OF SOME TERMS AND CONCEPTS USED IN COMPUTER

NETWORKS

-Computer Network: A computer network is a set of devices connected through links. A node can
be computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending or receiving the data.

-Addressing: it is the transmission of information to a single computer located in a network

comprising several machines.
-Local network: set of devices connected each other without any router.
-Topology: description of spatial disposition of equipment in a computer network.
-TCP: transmission control protocol that enable the exchange between the application programs
and computing devices.
-IP: internet protocol
-Switching: data transmission in a temporary way or act of directing data packet.
-SLAAC: stateless Automatic Auto configuration.
Http: hyper text protocol.
Protocol: set of rules that govern communication between two or more devices in a computer
network.
Nodes: end devices that are capable of sending or receiving data that are generated by other nodes
in the network.
Link: an intermediary medium that can carry information in the network example: twisted-pair
cable, air.

II- COMPUTER NETWORK CATEGORIES

1-Wired computer network

Wired networks are those that can use a physical transmission medium (coaxial cable, twisted
pair cable, optical fiber, etc.) to allow networked equipment to communicate with each other.

The classification of computer networks takes into account certain criteria:

• The size of the network (number of machines)
• Data transfer speed
• The geographical scope
In view of these criteria, wired computer networks are classified into 03 main types: LAN, MAN,
WAN.

a) LAN

LANs (Local Area Networks) are computer networks on a relatively small geographical scale not
exceeding 1 km (e.g. for a building, an establishment, a company, a building, a private dwelling,
etc.). The speed can range from a few Mbits/s to 100 Mbits/s for an Ethernet network and 1
gigabits/second for an FDDI network. The size of a local network varies between 100 and 1000
users. Example: Ethernet

b) MAN
MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) not exceeding 25km (e.g. from a city to a region). These
networks can be private or public. They interconnect several geographically close Lans through a
router or router-Switch. Throughput is high.
Exemples of MANs : FDDI( Fiber Distributed Data Interface),
DQDB(Distributed Queue Dual Bus)…

c) WAN
WANs (Wide Area Networks) are national or international networks. Most are public. The speeds
depend on the medium used, but the most widely used nowadays is fiber optics, from 56Kbits/s for
the most efficient modems at present to more than 2megabits/s (eg ADSL(Asymmetric Digital
Subscriber Line) when it operates normally, etc.). . Examples of WAN: Digital, Internet.

2-Wireless computer network

A wireless network allows at least two terminals to communicate with each other without any wired
connection thanks to radio electric signals. A distinction is made between WLAN, WMAN, WWAN.

a) WLAN
The wireless local area network (denoted WLAN for Wireless Local Area Network) is a network
making it possible to cover the equivalent of a corporate local area network, ie a range of
approximately one hundred meters. It allows the terminals present in the coverage area to be linked
together. There are several competing technologies:
-wi-fi
-bluethoot
-infra red
-zig bee..

b) WMAN
WiMAX is good in cities and users can connect their devices (smartphones, laptops, tablets, and
computers) with this wireless network. But WiMAX becomes expensive in rural areas. This
technology can work with devices that have frequencies between 10 GHz to 66 GHz. WiMAX
works great for tracking your mobile device if it is stolen.
Some examples of WMAN includes:
 WiMAX
 Networking between buildings and university campuses
 Networking between buildings that are under construction
 WiBro
c) WWAN

They are also known as mobile cellular networks. These are the most common wireless networks
since all mobile phones are connected to a wireless wide area network. The main technologies are:
 GSM (Global System for Mobile Communications)
 GPRS(General Packet Radio Service) et EDGE
 UMTS (Universal Mobile Telecommunications System)
 LTE (Long Term Evolution)

NB: with the evolution of technology, certain services initially provided by computer networks are
increasingly integrated into telecommunications networks and vice versa.

An example: the telephony service was initially provided by the telecommunications network, today IP
telephony is fully integrated into computer networks.

Other types of computer network:

- The GAN (Global Area Network) is a global network like the Internet in companies that operate
internationally also maintain isolated networks that span multiple WANs. GANs use the fiber optic
infrastructure of wide area networks and combine these with international submarine cables or
satellite transmission.
- PAN (Personal Area Network) allows the exchange of data from modern devices such as
smartphones, tablets, laptops or desktops with the common transmission techniques USB, Irda,
Zigbee.

-WPAN and PAN usually only cover a few meters and are not suitable for devices in different
rooms or buildings. WPAN is used for communication, control and monitoring of low data rate
applications.

- VPN is a virtual communications network that uses the infrastructure of a physical network to
logically link computer systems. This is possible for any type of network mentioned above (LAN,
MAN, WAN …) the data is transferred within a virtual tunnel which is built between a client and a
server. VPNs are usually encrypted to ensure data privacy and are used to connect local networks to
the internet or allow access to a network or a single computer over the public connection.

III- Intranet and Extranet Concept

1) Intranet
One common configuration of a LAN is an intranet. Intranet web servers differ from public web
servers in that the public does not have access to an organization’s intranet without the proper
permissions and passwords. Intranets are designed to be accessed by users who have access
privileges to an organization’s internal LAN. Within an intranet, web servers are installed in the
network, and browser technology is used as the common front end to access information such as
financial data or graphical, text-based data stored on those servers.
So intranet is a set of well-defined networks, specific to a company or an organization. An intranet
in a company makes it easy to provide employees with various and varied documents it allows to
have a centralized and coherent access to the memory of the company we thus speak of
capitalization of knowledge.
An intranet is generally based on a three-tier architecture, consisting of: clients, application servers
and database servers.

a) Functions of an intranet
 The functions performed by an intranet are:
• Provision of company information (billboard)
• Provision of technical documents
• Documentation search engine
• An exchange of data between collaborators
• Staff Directory
• Project management, decision support, agenda, computer-aided engineering
• Email

b) Some advantages of an intranet

• The cost of the material
• Its maintenance and updating
• The use of free browsers
• Any type of machine can be connected to intranet
• Enables cooperative work

c) The disadvantages
• Definition of access rights for intranet users to documents present on it
• Authentication of different users in order to personalize access to certain documents
• Management is centralized

2) Extranet

An extranet is an intranet that is partially accessible to authorized outsiders. Whereas an intranet

resides behind a firewall and is accessible only to people who are members of the same company or
organization, an extranet provides various levels of accessibility to outsiders. You can access an
extranet only if you have a valid username and password, and your identity determines which parts
of the extranet you can view.
Extranets help extend the reach of applications and services that are intranet-based but that employ
extended, secure access to external users or enterprises. This access is usually accomplished through
passwords, user IDs, and other application-level security.
Therefore, an extranet is the extension of two or more intranet strategies with a secure interaction
between participant enterprises and their respective intranets.
An extranet is the use of the internet network in which an organization structures this network to
interconnect with its business partners. Access to the extranet must be secure insofar as this
provides access to the information system to people located outside the company. You can pass
simple authentication (username and password) or strong authentication using a certificate
(encryption algorithm)
It is recommended to use HTTPS for all web pages consulted from outside in order to secure the
transport of HTTP requests and responses and in particular to avoid the circulation of the password
in plain text on the network.
An extranet is therefore neither an intranet nor a website. This is an additional system offering, for
example, a company's customers, its partners or subsidiaries privileged access to certain computer
resources of the company via a Web interface.

 characteristics of a good computer network

-Fault Tolerance
-Scalability
-Quality of Service (QoS)
-Security
 Advantages and the network limits

1) Advantages
 Central Storage of Data
 Anyone can connect to a computer network
 Faster Problem-solving
 Reliability
 It is highly flexible
 Security through Authorization
 It boosts storage capacity

2) Limits
 Lack of data security and privacy.
 Presence of computer viruses and malwares.
 Lack of Independence.
 Lack of Robustness.
 Need an efficient handler.

Conclusion
In this chapter, you learned the following key points:
 Computers are vital components of every network. The more you know about the keys terms the
easier it is to understand networks.
 Knowing how network categories functions makes it easier to understand networks.
 Intranet, extranet and about computer networks concepts.