Data communication and computer network

2022
Data communication and computer network

Chapter one
Overview and History
Data communications refers to the transmission of the digital data between two or more computers
and a computer network or data network is a telecommunications network that allows computers to
exchange data.
Computer network is a system of interconnected computers and computerized peripherals such as
printers. This interconnection among computers facilitates information sharing among them.
Computers may connect to each other by either wired or wireless media. The best-known computer
network is the Internet.

1.1. Why we studying the computer network?

Because the computer network is the basic communication way to exchange information in all aspects.
1.2. People that influenced or contributed to the area of networks.

???????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????????

1.3. Important topics when we discus about computer networks

If you are the computer network specialist, you should have good understanding about
the following core topics.

• Network architectures and protocols,

• Network types (LAN, WAN, MAN, and wireless),
• Data security,
• Data integrity, and
• Network performance

1.3.1. Network Architecture

Computer networks can be discriminated into various types such as Client-Server, peer-to-peer
or hybrid, depending upon its architecture.

 There can be one or more systems acting as Server. Other being Client, requests the Server to
serve requests. Server takes and processes request on behalf of Clients.
 Two systems can be connected Point-to-Point, or in back-to-back fashion. They both reside at
the same level and called peers.
 There can be hybrid network which involves network architecture of both the above types.

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 1

 Data communication and computer network
2022

1.3.2. Types of Computer Networks, Classification and its Application

Computer networks are classified based on various factors. They includes:

 Geographical span  Administration

 Inter-connectivity  Architecture

Geographical Span

Geographically a network can be seen in one of the following categories:

 It may be spanned across your table, among Bluetooth enabled devices, Ranging not more than
few meters.
 It may be spanned across a whole building, including intermediate devices to connect all
floors.
 It may be spanned across a whole city.
 It may be spanned across multiple cities or provinces.
 It may be one network covering whole world.

Inter-Connectivity

Components of a network can be connected to each other differently in some fashion. By

connectedness we mean either logically, physically, or both ways. Every single device can be
connected to every other device on network, making the network mesh. All devices can be connected
to a single medium but geographically disconnected, created bus like structure. Each device is
connected to its left and right peers only, creating linear structure. All devices connected together with
a single device, creating star like structure. All devices connected arbitrarily using all previous ways to
connect each other, resulting in a hybrid structure.

Administration

From an administrator’s point of view, a network can be private network which belongs a single
autonomous system and cannot be accessed outside its physical or logical domain. A network can be
public which is accessed by all.

Network Applications

Computer systems and peripherals are connected to form a network. They provide numerous
advantages:

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 2

 Data communication and computer network
2022
 Resource sharing such as printers and  Interaction with other users using
storage devices dynamic web pages
 Exchange of information by means of  IP phones
e-Mails and FTP  Video conferences
 Information sharing by using Web or  Parallel computing
Internet  Instant messaging

Generally, networks are distinguished based on their geographical span. A network can be as small as
distance between your mobile phone and its Bluetooth headphone and as large as the internet itself,
covering the whole geographical world,

Personal Area Network

A Personal Area Network (PAN) is smallest network which is very personal to a user. This may
include Bluetooth enabled devices or infra-red enabled devices. PAN has connectivity range up to 10
meters. PAN may include wireless computer keyboard and mouse, Bluetooth enabled headphones,
wireless printers and TV remotes.

Personal area network (PAN)

For example, Piconet is Bluetooth-enabled Personal Area Network which may contain up to 8 devices
connected together in a master-slave fashion.

Local Area Network

A computer network spanned inside a building and operated under single administrative system is
generally termed as Local Area Network (LAN). Usual, LAN covers an organization’ offices, schools,
colleges or universities.

LAN provides a useful way of sharing the resources between end users. The resources such as printers,
file servers, scanners, and internet are easily sharable among computers.

Local area network (LAN)

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 3

 Data communication and computer network
2022
LAN uses either Ethernet or Token-ring technology. Ethernet is most widely employed LAN
technology and uses Star topology, while Token-ring is rarely seen. LAN can be wired, wireless, or in
both forms at once.

Metropolitan Area Network

The Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) generally expands throughout a city such as cable TV
network. It can be in the form of Ethernet, Token-ring, ATM, or Fiber Distributed Data Interface
(FDDI).

Metro Ethernet is a service which is provided by ISPs. This service enables its users to expand their
Local Area Networks. For example, MAN can help an organization to connect all of its offices in a
city.

Metropolitan area network (MAN)

Backbone of MAN is high-capacity and high-speed fiber optics. MAN works in between Local Area
Network and Wide Area Network. MAN provides uplink for LANs to WANs or internet.

Wide Area Network

As the name suggests, the Wide Area Network (WAN) covers a wide area which may span across
provinces and even a whole country. Generally, telecommunication networks are Wide Area Network.
These networks provide connectivity to MANs and LANs. Since they are equipped with very high
speed backbone, WANs use very expensive network equipment.

Wide Area Network (WAN)

WAN may use advanced technologies such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM), Frame Relay,
and Synchronous Optical Network (SONET). WAN may be managed by multiple administration.

Internetwork

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 4

 Data communication and computer network
2022
A network of networks is called an internetwork, or simply the internet. It is the largest network in
existence on this planet. The internet hugely connects all WANs and it can have connection to LANs
and Home networks. Internet uses TCP/IP protocol suite and uses IP as its addressing protocol. Present
day, Internet is widely implemented using IPv4. Because of shortage of address spaces, it is gradually
migrating from IPv4 to IPv6. Internet enables its users to share and access enormous amount of
information worldwide. It uses WWW, FTP, email services, audio and video streaming etc. At huge
level, internet works on Client-Server model. Internet uses very high speed backbone of fiber optics.
To inter-connect various continents, fibers are laid under sea known to us as submarine
communication cable.

Internet is serving many proposes and is involved in many aspects of life. Some of them are:

 Web sites  Networking

 E-mail  Resource Sharing
 Instant Messaging  Audio and Video Streaming
 Blogging
 Social Media  Let us go through various LAN
 Marketing technologies in brie

Ethernet

 Ethernet is a widely deployed LAN technology. This technology was invented by Bob Metcalfe
and D.R. Boggs in the year 1970. It was standardized in IEEE 802.3 in 1980.
 Ethernet shares media. Network which uses shared media has high probability of data collision.
Ethernet uses Carrier Sense Multi Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD) technology to detect
collisions. On the occurrence of collision in Ethernet, all its hosts roll back, wait for some random
amount of time, and then re-transmit the data.
 Ethernet connector is, network interface card equipped with 48-bits MAC address. This helps other
Ethernet devices to identify and communicate with remote devices in Ethernet.
 Traditional Ethernet uses 10BASE-T specifications. The number 10 depicts 10MBPS speed, BASE
stands for baseband, and T stands for Thick Ethernet. 10BASE-T Ethernet provides transmission
speed up to 10MBPS and uses coaxial cable or Cat-5 twisted pair cable with RJ-5 connector.
Ethernet follows star topology with segment length up to 100 meters. All devices are connected to
a hub/switch in a star fashion

1.3.3. Internet security

 Interruption is a security threat in which availability of resources is attacked. For example, a

user is unable to access its web-server or the web-server is hijacked.

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 5

 Data communication and computer network
2022
 Integrity This type of threat includes any alteration or modification in the original context of
communication. The attacker intercepts and receives the data sent by the sender and the
attacker then either modifies or generates false data and sends to the receiver. The receiver
receives the data assuming that it is being sent by the original Sender.

 Authenticity This threat occurs when an attacker or a security violator, poses as a genuine person
and accesses the resources or communicates with other genuine users. No technique in the present
world can provide 100% security. But steps can be taken to secure data while it travels in
unsecured network or internet. The most widely used technique is Cryptography.

Cryptography is a technique to encrypt the plain-text data which makes it difficult to understand and
interpret. There are several cryptographic algorithms available present day as described below:

 Secret Key
 Public Key
 Message Digest

Secret Key Encryption

Both sender and receiver have one secret key. This secret key is used to encrypt the data at sender’s
end. After the data is encrypted, it is sent on the public domain to the receiver. Because the receiver
knows and has the Secret Key, the encrypted data packets can easily be decrypted.

Public Key Encryption

In this encryption system, every user has its own Secret Key and it is not in the shared domain. The
secret key is never revealed on public domain. Along with secret key, every user has its own but
public key. Public key is always made public and is used by Senders to encrypt the data. When the
user receives the encrypted data, he can easily decrypt it by using its own Secret Key.

Message Digest

In this method, actual data is not sent, instead a hash value is calculated and sent. The other end user,
computes its own hash value and compares with the one just received. If both hash values are matched,
then it is accepted otherwise rejected.

Physical layer provides its services to Data-link layer. Data-link layer hands over frames to physical
layer. Physical layer converts them to electrical pulses, which represent binary data. The binary data is
then sent over the wired or wireless media. Data or information can be stored in two ways, analog and

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 6

 Data communication and computer network
2022
digital. For a computer to use the data, it must be in discrete digital form. Similar to data, signals can also be in
analog and digital form. To transmit data digitally, it needs to be first converted to digital form.

1.4. Hardware and software components of the computer network and their operations.

1. Repeater 5. Router
2. Hub 6. Gateway
3. Bridge 7. Network interface card (NIC)
4. Switch

A. Repeater

A. Repeater is a physical layer device used to interconnect the media segments of an extended
network. The major function is receive signals form one network segment and amplify, retime, and
retransmit those signals to another network segment. This process prevents signal deterioration caused
by long cable lengths and large number of connected devices. It is incapable of performing complex
filtering and other traffic processing. In addition, all electrical signals, including electrical disturbance
and other errors are repeated and amplified. It connect segments with different physical media such as
UTP and coaxial cable. But, it can’t connect different network architectures such as Ethernet and
Token ring.

B. Hub:- A Hub is a physical layer device that connects multiple user stations, each via a dedicated
cable. Another name for hub is a concentrator. Hubs do not have any processing Power, it is just a
box where you plug cables, and works in half-duplex manner. Electrical interconnections are
established inside the hub. Hubs are also used as a multiport repeater. They are cheap and are not
intelligent. Physically similar to switches and logically similar to repeaters. Active hubs regenerate a
signal before forwarding it to all the ports on the device and requires a power supply. Regeneration of
the signal aside, the basic function of a hub is to take data from one of the connected devices and
forward it to all the other ports on the hub.

C. Bridges:- Bridges are data communication devices that operate at layer 2, (data-link layer). They
use to connect two LAN segments. They forward frames, but do not forward noise or collisions.
Bridges learn addresses by using source address to learn the location of computers. So they are
intelligent devices. They understand frames. A bridge functions by blocking or forwarding data, based
on the destination MAC address written into each frame of data. If the destination MAC address is on
a network other than that from which the data was received, it can forward the data to the other
networks to which it is connected. If the address is not on the other side of the bridge, the data is
blocked from passing. Today, network switches have largely replaced bridges. A bridge is a Layer 2
device used to divide, or segment, a network. A bridge is capable of collecting and selectively passing
data frames between two network segments. Bridges do this by learning the MAC address of all
devices on each connected segment. Using this information, the bridge builds a bridging table and

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 7

 Data communication and computer network
2022
forwards or blocks traffic based on that table. This results in smaller collision domains and greater
network efficiency. Bridges do NOT restrict broadcast traffic.

The Architecture of Bridge

D. Switches:- Switches are communication devices operating at data-link layer. They are
physically similar to hubs, but logically similar to bridges. They operate on frames; understand
addresses and only forward when necessary. Switches are far more efficient than hubs and are far
more desirable for today’s network environments. They permit separate pairs of computers to
communicate at the same time. Usually work in full-duplex and higher cost than hubs. A switch
forwards data only to the port on which the destination system is connected. It looks at the MAC
addresses of the devices connected to it to determine the correct port. By forwarding data only to the
system to which the data is addressed, the switch decreases the amount of traffic on each network link
dramatically. Switch acts like a hub, but unlike the hub, it examines the destination MAC addresses of
the packet to decide where the packet should be forwarded. Unlike routers that uses network address
to make routing decisions, it uses MAC addresses. Another name for switch is an intelligent hub.
Ethernet networks used to be built using repeaters. When the performance of these networks began to
suffer because too many devices shared the same segment, network engineers added bridges to create
multiple collision domains. As networks grew in size and complexity, the bridge evolved into the
modern switch, allowing micro segmentation of the network. Today’s networks typically are built
using switches and routers, often with the routing and switching function in the same device. Ethernet
is fundamentally a shared technology where all users on a given LAN segment compete for the same
available bandwidth. The introduction of hubs into a network resulted in more users competing for the
same bandwidth. Collisions are a by-product of Ethernet networks.

E. Router:- Router is a processor that connects two networks and whose primary function is to
relay data form one network to the other on its route form the source to the destination end system.
Router is an intermediate system used to connect two networks they may or may not be similar. The
basic requirement for a router is that it must have at least two network interfaces. If they are LAN
interfaces, the router can manage and route the information between two LAN segments. More
commonly, a router is used to provide connectivity across wide area networks. The router employs an
internet protocol (IP) present in each router and each end systems of the network. The router operates
at layer 3 (network layer) of the OSI model. If they are LAN interfaces, the router can manage and
route the information between two LAN segments. More commonly, a router is used to provide
connectivity across wide area networks. The router employs an internet protocol (IP) present in each

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 8

 Data communication and computer network
2022
router and each end systems of the network. The router operates at layer 3 (network layer) of the OSI
model. A router is a Layer 3 device. Used to “route” traffic between two or more Layer 3 networks.
Routers make decisions based on groups of network addresses, or classes, as opposed to individual
Layer 2 MAC addresses. Routers use routing tables to record the Layer 3 addresses of the networks
that are directly connected to the local interfaces and network paths learned from neighboring routers.

F. Gateways:- Two dissimilar networks can be connected by means of a gateway. For example, a
mainframe can be connected and accessible to a PC network by means of a gateway. Unlike routers, a
gateway converts the format of data sent between two networks. A router adds only addressing
information to the data packet. A router that can route data from an IPX network to an IP network is,
technically, a gateway. But a gateway has to identify the protocols used in the networks, and
recognize the data format, and convert the message format into suitable format to be accepted
by the other network. WANs often use gateways because there are a large number of
dissimilar networks present in a WAN. Gateway provides good connectivity to different kinds
of networks on the Internet. They operate at the layers above the network layer of the OSI
model.

G. Network interface card (NIC):-NICs are installed in a computer to allow it to communicate with a
network. They provide a transparent interface between the network and the computer. The computer
gives the NIC a message for another networked device and the NIC formats that message for transport
over the media. Also, the NIC receives messages from the network and reformats them so that the
computer can understand. Every NIC card has a unique address burnt into the card; which is a 6 byte
address with two parts. The first group of numbers is unique for card manufacturers, and the rest is
assigned by the manufacturer. This physical address is referred to as the MAC address. NICs operate
at the physical & data-link layer of the OSI model.

1.5. Network topology

A Network Topology is the arrangement with which computer systems or network devices are
connected to each other. Topologies may define both physical and logical aspect of the network. Both
logical and physical topologies could be same or different in a same network.

Bus Topology

In case of Bus topology, all devices share single communication line or cable. Bus topology may have
problem while multiple hosts sending data at the same time. Therefore, Bus topology either uses
CSMA/CD technology or recognizes one host as Bus Master to solve the issue. It is one of the simple
forms of networking where a failure of a device does not affect the other devices. But failure of the
shared communication line can make all other devices stop functioning.

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 9

 Data communication and computer network
2022

Both ends of the shared channel have line terminator. The data is sent in only one direction and as
soon as it reaches the extreme end, the terminator removes the data from the line.

Star Topology

All hosts in Star topology are connected to a central device, known as hub device, using a point-to-
point connection. That is, there exists a point to point connection between hosts and hub. The hub
device can be any of the following:

 Layer-1 device such as hub or repeater

 Layer-2 device such as switch or bridge
 Layer-3 device such as router or gateway

As in Bus topology, hub acts as single point of failure. If hub fails, connectivity of all hosts to all other
hosts fails. Every communication between hosts, takes place through only the hub. Star topology is not
expensive as to connect one more host, only one cable is required and configuration is simple.

Ring Topology

In ring topology, each host machine connects to exactly two other machines, creating a circular
network structure. When one host tries to communicate or send message to a host which is not
adjacent to it, the data travels through all intermediate hosts. To connect one more host in the existing
structure, the administrator may need only one more extra cable. Failure of any host results in failure
of the whole ring. Thus, every connection in the ring is a point of failure. There are methods which
employ one more backup ring.

Mesh Topology

In this type of topology, a host is connected to one or multiple hosts. This topology has hosts in point-
to-point connection with every other host or may also have hosts which are in point-to-point

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 10

 Data communication and computer network
2022
connection to few hosts only. Hosts in Mesh topology also work as relay for other hosts which do not
have direct point-to-point links. Mesh technology comes into two types:

Mesh Topology

Tree Topology

Also known as Hierarchical Topology, this is the most common form of network topology in use
presently. This topology imitates as extended Star topology and inherits properties of bus topology.

This topology divides the network in to multiple levels/layers of network. Mainly in LANs, a network
is bifurcated into three types of network devices. The lowermost is access-layer where computers are
attached. The middle layer is known as distribution layer, which works as mediator between upper
layer and lower layer. The highest layer is known as core layer, and is central point of the network, i.e.
root of the tree from which all nodes fork. All neighboring hosts have point-to-point connection
between them. Similar to the Bus topology, if the root goes down, then the entire network suffers even.
Though it is not the single point of failure. Every connection serves as point of failure, failing of which
divides the network into unreachable segment.

Tree topology

Hybrid Topology

A network structure whose design contains more than one topology is said to be hybrid topology.
Hybrid topology inherits merits and demerits of all the incorporating topologies. The above picture
represents an arbitrarily hybrid topology. The combining topologies may contain attributes of Star,
Ring, Bus, and Daisy-chain topologies. Most WANs are connected by means of Dual-Ring topology
and networks connected to them are mostly Star topology networks. Internet is the best example of
largest Hybrid topology.

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 11

 Data communication and computer network
2022

Hybrid Topology

1.6. Network software

The first computer networks were designed with the hardware as the main concern and the software as
an afterthought. This strategy no longer works. Network software is now highly structured depending
on the network architecture. Protocol is the main network software which used to guide the network.
Protocols works on session layer and above.
Protocols
• A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications.
• The purpose of network protocols
• A protocol defines what is communicated,
• How it is communicated, and when it is communicated.
• The key elements of a protocol are syntax, semantics, and timing.
• Some popular protocols
• TCP/IP
• UDP
• ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol )=network diagnostic and error reporting protocol
• SMTP
• (DHCP) Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
• HTTP
• FTP

OSI Model

Open System Interconnect is an open standard for all communication systems. OSI model is
established by International Standard Organization (ISO). This model has seven layers:

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 12

 Data communication and computer network
2022

 Application Layer: This layer is responsible for providing interface to the application user. This
layer encompasses protocols which directly interact with the user.
 Presentation Layer: This layer defines how data in the native format of remote host should be
presented in the native format of host.
 Session Layer: This layer maintains sessions between remote hosts. For example, once
user/password authentication is done, the remote host maintains this session for a while and does
not ask for authentication again in that time span.
 Transport Layer: This layer is responsible for end-to-end delivery between hosts.
 Network Layer: This layer is responsible for address assignment and uniquely addressing hosts in
a network.
 Data Link Layer: This layer is responsible for reading and writing data from and onto the line.
Link errors are detected at this layer.
 Physical Layer: This layer defines the hardware, cabling wiring, power output, pulse rate etc.

Internet (TCP/IP) Model

Internet uses TCP/IP protocol suite, also known as Internet suite. This defines Internet Model which
contains four layered architecture. OSI Model is general communication model but Internet Model is
what the internet uses for all its communication. The internet is independent of its underlying network
architecture so is its Model. This model has the following layers:

TCP/IP Model

 Application Layer: This layer defines the protocol which enables user to interact with the
network. For example, FTP, HTTP etc.
 Transport Layer: This layer defines how data should flow between hosts. Major protocol at this
layer is Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). This layer ensures data delivered between hosts is
in-order and is responsible for end-to-end delivery.
Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 13
 Data communication and computer network
2022
 Internet Layer: Internet Protocol (IP) works on this layer. This layer facilitates host addressing
and recognition. This layer defines routing.
 Link Layer: This layer provides mechanism of sending and receiving actual data. Unlike its OSI
Model counterpart, this layer is independent of underlying network architecture and hardware.

Prepared by Elias T ,WCUDC, Department of Information Technology Page 14