Introduction to Computer Networks

• Data Communication:

When we communicate, we are sharing information. This sharing can be local or

remote. Between individuals, local communication usually occurs face to face, while remote
communication takes place over distance.

• Components:

A data communications system has five components.

1. Message. The message is the information (data) to be communicated. Popular forms of

information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and video.

2. Sender. The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer,

workstation, telephone handset, video camera, and so on.

3. Receiver. The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a computer,

workstation, telephone handset, television, and so on.

4. Transmission medium. The transmission medium is the physical path by which a

message travels from sender to receiver. Some examples of transmission media include
twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, and radio waves

5. Protocol. A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It represents an

agreement between the communicating devices. Without a protocol, two devices may be
connected but not communicating, just as a person speaking French cannot be understood by
a person who speaks only Japanese.

• Characteristics of Data Communication

The effectiveness of any data communications system depends upon the following four
fundamental characteristics:
1. Delivery: The data should be delivered to the correct destination and correct user.
2. Accuracy: The communication system should deliver the data accurately, without
introducing any errors. The data may get corrupted during transmission affecting the
accuracy of the delivered data.
3. Timeliness: Audio and Video data has to be delivered in a timely manner without any
delay; such a data delivery is called real time transmission of data.
4. Jitter: It is the variation in the packet arrival time. Uneven Jitter may affect the timeliness
of data being transmitted.

• DATA FLOW/ Communication of Modes:

wo devices communicate with each other by sending and receiving data. The data can flow
between the two devices in the following ways.
1. Simplex
2. Half Duplex
3. Full Duplex
1 Simplex

• In Simplex, communication is unidirectional

• Only one of the devices sends the data and the other one only receives the data.
• Example: in the above diagram: a cpu send data while a monitor only receives data.

2 Half Duplex
3 Full Duplex

• In Full duplex mode, both stations can transmit and receive at the same time.
• Example: mobile phones.

❖ Comparison of Modes
❖

• STANDARDS IN NETWORKING

Standards are necessary in networking to ensure interconnectivity and interoperability

between various networking hardware and software components.

Without standards we would have proprietary products creating isolated islands of users
which cannot interconnect.
Concept of Standard
Standards provide guidelines to product manufacturers and vendors to ensure national and
international interconnectivity.

Data communications standards are classified into two categories:

1. De facto Standard
• These are the standards that have been traditionally used and mean by fact or by
convention
• These standards are not approved by any organized body but are adopted by
widespread use.

2. De jure standard
• It means by law or by regulation.
• These standards are legislated and approved by an body that is officially recognized.

Standard Organizations in field of Networking

Standards are created by standards creation committees, forums, and government regulatory
agencies.

Examples of Standard Creation Committees :

1. International Organization for Standardization(ISO)
2. International Telecommunications Union – Telecommunications Standard (ITU-T)
3. American National Standards Institute (ANSI)
4. Institute of Electrical & Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
5. Electronic Industries Associates (EIA)

Examples of Forums

1. ATM Forum 2. MPLS Forum 3. Frame Relay Forum

Examples of Regulatory Agencies:

1. Federal Communications Committee (FCC)

Bit Rate

• It is the number of bits transmitted in one second.

• It is expressed as bits per second (bps).
• Relation between bit rate and bit interval can be as follows

• Bit rate = 1 / Bit interval

Baud Rate
• It is the rate of Signal Speed, i.e the rate at which the signal changes.
• A digital signal with two levels ‗0‘ & ‗1‘ will have the same baud rate and bit rate &
bit rate.
 • The diagram below shows three signal of period (T) 1 second
- Signal with a bit rate of 8 bits/ sec and baud rate of 8 baud/sec
-Signal with a bit rate of 16 bits/ sec and baud rate of 8 baud/sec
-Signal with a bit rate of 16 bits/ sec and baud rate of 4 baud/sec
• Signals

When data is sent over physical medium, it needs to be first converted into electromagnetic
signals. Data itself can be analog such as human voice, or digital such as file on the disk.
Both analog and digital data can be represented in digital or analog signals.

1. Digital Signals

Digital signals are discrete in nature and represent sequence of voltage pulses. Digital signals
are used within the circuitry of a computer system.

2. Analog Signals

Analog signals are in continuous wave form in nature and represented by continuous
electromagnetic waves.

• Digital Transmission:

Data or information can be stored in two ways, analog and 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. Digital-to-Digital Conversion

This section explains how to convert digital data into digital signals. It can be done in two
ways, line coding and block coding. For all communications, line coding is necessary
whereas block coding is optional.

1.1 Line Coding

The process for converting digital data into digital signal is said to be Line Coding. Digital
data is found in binary format. It is represented (stored) internally as series of 1s and 0s.
 Digital signal is denoted by discreet signal, which represents digital data. There are three
types of line coding schemes available:

1.1.1 Unipolar Encoding

Unipolar encoding schemes use single voltage level to represent data. In this case, to
represent binary 1, high voltage is transmitted and to represent 0, no voltage is transmitted. It
is also called Unipolar-Non-return-to-zero, because there is no rest condition i.e. it either
represents 1 or 0.

1.2 Polar Encoding

Polar encoding scheme uses multiple voltage levels to represent binary values. Polar
encodings is available in four types:

1.2.1 Polar Non Return to Zero (Polar NRZ)

It uses two different voltage levels to represent binary values. Generally, positive voltage
represents 1 and negative value represents 0. It is also NRZ because there is no rest condition.
NRZ scheme has two variants: NRZ-L and NRZ-I.

NRZ-L changes voltage level at when a different bit is encountered whereas NRZ-I changes
voltage when a 1 is encountered.
 1.2.2 Return to Zero (RZ)

Problem with NRZ is that the receiver cannot conclude when a bit ended and when the
next bit is started, in case when sender and receiver’s clock are not synchronized.

RZ uses three voltage levels, positive voltage to represent 1, negative voltage to represent 0
and zero voltage for none. Signals change during bits not between bits.

1.2.3 Manchester

This encoding scheme is a combination of RZ and NRZ-L. Bit time is divided into two
halves. It transits in the middle of the bit and changes phase when a different bit is
encountered.

1.2.4 Differential Manchester

This encoding scheme is a combination of RZ and NRZ-I. It also transits at the middle of the
bit but changes phase only when 1 is encountered.

1.3 Bipolar Encoding

Bipolar encoding uses three voltage levels, positive, negative, and zero. Zero voltage
represents binary 0 and bit 1 is represented by altering positive and negative voltages

2 Block Coding

To ensure accuracy of the received data frame, redundant bits are used. For example, in even-
parity, one parity bit is added to make the count of 1s in the frame even. This way the original
number of bits is increased. It is called Block Coding. Block coding is represented by slash
notation, mB/nB. Means, m-bit b.

2 Analog-to-Digital Conversion

Microphones create analog voice and camera creates analog videos, which are treated is
analog data. To transmit this analog data over digital signals, we need analog to digital
conversion.

Analog data is a continuous stream of data in the wave form whereas digital data is discrete.
To convert analog wave into digital data, we use Pulse Code Modulation (PCM).

PCM is one of the most commonly used method to convert analog data into digital form. It
involves three steps:

• Sampling

• Quantization

• Encoding

2.1 Sampling
The analog signal is sampled every T interval. Most important factor in sampling is the rate at
which analog signal is sampled. According to Nyquist Theorem, the sampling rate must be at
least two times of the highest frequency of the signal.

2.2 Quantization

Sampling yields discrete form of continuous analog signal. Every discrete pattern shows the
amplitude of the analog signal at that instance. The quantization is done between the
maximum amplitude value and the minimum amplitude value. Quantization is approximation
of the instantaneous analog value.

2.3 Encoding

In encoding, each approximated value is then converted into binary format.

• ANALOG TRANSMISSION

To send the digital data over an analog media, it needs to be converted into analog signal.
There can be two cases according to data formatting.

• Bandpass: The filters are used to filter and pass frequencies of interest. A bandpass is
a band of frequencies which can pass the filter.
• Low-pass: Low-pass is a filter that passes low frequencies signals. When digital data
is converted into a bandpass analog signal, it is called digital-toanalog conversion.
 When low-pass analog signal is converted into bandpass analog signal, it is called
analog-to-analog conversion.

1 Digital-to-Analog Conversion

When data from one computer is sent to another via some analog carrier, it is first converted
into analog signals. Analog signals are modified to reflect digital data. An analog signal is
characterized by its amplitude, frequency, and phase. There are three kinds of digital-to-
analog conversions:

1.1 Amplitude Shift Keying

In this conversion technique, the amplitude of analog carrier signal is modified to reflect
binary data.

When binary data represents digit 1, the amplitude is held; otherwise it is set to 0. Both
frequency and phase remain same as in the original carrier signal.

1.2 Frequency Shift Keying

In this conversion technique, the frequency of the analog carrier signal is modified to reflect
binary data.

This technique uses two frequencies, f1 and f2. One of them, for example f1, is chosen to
represent binary digit 1 and the other one is used to represent binary digit 0. Both amplitude
and phase of the carrier wave are kept intact.

1.3 Phase Shift Keying

In this conversion scheme, the phase of the original carrier signal is altered to reflect the
binary data.
When a new binary symbol is encountered, the phase of the signal is altered. Amplitude and
frequency of the original carrier signal is kept intact.

2 Analog-to-Analog Conversion

Analog signals are modified to represent analog data. This conversion is also known as
Analog Modulation. Analog modulation is required when bandpass is used. Analog to analog
conversion can be done in three ways:

2.1 Amplitude Modulation

In this modulation, the amplitude of the carrier signal is modified to reflect the analog data.
Amplitude modulation is implemented by means of a multiplier.

The amplitude of modulating signal (analog data) is multiplied by the amplitude of carrier
frequency, which then reflects analog data. The frequency and phase of carrier signal remain
unchanged.

2.2 Frequency Modulation

 In this modulation technique, the frequency of the carrier signal is modified to reflect the
change in the voltage levels of the modulating signal (analog data).

The amplitude and phase of the carrier signal are not altered.

2.3 Phase Modulation

In the modulation technique, the phase of carrier signal is modulated in order to reflect the
change in voltage (amplitude) of analog data signal.
Phase modulation is practically similar to Frequency Modulation, but in Phase modulation
frequency of the carrier signal is not increased. Frequency of carrier is signal is changed
(made dense and sparse) to reflect voltage change in the amplitude of modulating signal.

• Computer Network

• Network :
Network is a communication system which supports many users. • The
interconnection of one station to many stations is called Networking. • A network is
any interconnection of two or more stations that wish to communicate.

• Node : Each station in a communication network is called as a node. The

nodes are connected in different way to each other to form a network.

• Definition : A computer network is a group of computers & other computing

hardware devices are linked together through communication channels to
facilitate communication & resource sharing among wide rang of user.
• Two computers are said to be interconnected if they exchange information.
• The connection between the separate computers.

• Need & application of computer network

• For sharing the resources such as printers among all the user.
• For sharing of expensive software and database
• To facilitate communication from one computer to the other
• To have exchange of data & information amongst the users, via network
• For sharing of information over the geographically wide area
• For connecting computers between various buildings of an organization
• For educational purposes

• Network Advantages
• Helps you to connect with multiple computers together to send and receive information
when accessing the network.
• Helps you to share printers, scanners, and email.
• Helps you to share information at very fast speed
 • Electronic communication is more efficient and less expensive than without the
network.

• Classification of Computer Network

1 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.

• Characteristics of PAN

• It is mostly personal devices network equipped within a limited area.

• Allows you to handle the interconnection of IT devices at the surrounding of a single user.

• PAN includes mobile devices, tablet, and laptop.

• It can be wirelessly connected to the internet called WPAN.

• Appliances use for PAN: cordless mice, keyboards, and Bluetooth systems.

• Advantages of PAN

• PAN networks are relatively secure and safe

• It offers only short-range solution up to ten meters

• Strictly restricted to a small area.

• Disadvantages of PAN

• It may establish a bad connection to other networks at the same radio bands.

• Distance limits.
2 Local Area Network:

A computer network spanned inside a building and operated under single administrative
system is generally termed as Local Area Network (LAN). Usually, LAN covers an
organization offices, schools, colleges or universities. Number of systems connected in LAN
may vary from as least as two to as much as 16 million.

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.

LANs are composed of inexpensive networking and routing equipment. It may contains local
servers serving file storage and other locally shared applications. It mostly operates on private
IP addresses and does not involve heavy routing. LAN works under its own local domain and
controlled centrally. 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.

• Characteristics of LAN

• It is a private network, so an outside regulatory body never controls it.

• LAN operates at a relatively higher speed compared to other WAN systems.

• Advantages of LAN

• Computer resources like hard-disks, DVD-ROM, and printers can share local area networks.
This significantly reduces the cost of hardware purchases.

• You can use the same software over the network instead of purchasing the licensed
software for each client in the network.

• Data of all network users can be stored on a single hard disk of the server computer.

• You can easily transfer data and messages over networked computers.
• It will be easy to manage data at only one place.

• Local Area Network offers the facility to share a single internet connection among all the
LAN users.

• Disadvantages of LAN

• LAN will indeed save cost because of shared computer resources, but the initial cost of
installing Local Area Networks is quite high.

• The LAN admin can check personal data files of every LAN user, so it does not offer good
privacy.

• Unauthorized users can access critical data of an organization in case LAN admin is not
able to secure centralized data repository.

• Local Area Network requires a constant LAN administration as there are issues related to
software setup and hardware failures.

3 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.

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.

• Characteristics of MAN

• It mostly covers towns and cities in a maximum 50 km range • Mostly used medium is
optical fibers cables

• Data rates adequate for distributed computing applications.

• Advantages of MAN
• It offers fast communication using high-speed carriers, like fiber optic cables.

• It provides excellent support for an extensive size network and greater access to WANs.

• The dual bus in MAN network provides support to transmit data in both directions
concurrently.

• A MAN network mostly includes some areas of a city or an entire city.

• Disadvantages of MAN

• You need more cable to establish MAN connection from one place to another.

• In MAN network it is difficult to make the system secure from hackers

4 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.

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.

• Characteristics of WAN

• The software files will be shared among all the users; therefore, all can access to the latest
files.

• Any organization can form its global integrated network using WAN

• Advantages of WAN

• WAN helps you to cover a larger geographical area. Therefore business offices situated at
longer distances can easily communicate.

• Contains devices like mobile phones, laptop, tablet, computers, gaming consoles, etc.
• WLAN connections work using radio transmitters and receivers built into client devices.

• Disadvantages of WAN

• The initial setup cost of investment is very high.

• It is difficult to maintain the WAN network. You need skilled technicians and network
administrators.

• There are more errors and issues because of the wide coverage and the use of different
technologies.

• It requires more time to resolve issues because of the involvement of multiple wired and
wireless technologies.

• Offers lower security compared to other types of networks.

5. Campus Area Network (CAN)

• A Campus Area Network is made up of an interconnection of LANs within a specific

geographical area.

• For example, a university campus can be linked with a variety of campus buildings to
connect all the academic departments.

❖ Network Architecture

• Local Area network are classified into two types

1. Peer to peer Network (P2P)

2. Client Server Network

1.Peer to peer Network (P2P)

In the peer to peer network, all “Peers” means all computers which are linked with each other
through internet. • P2P network has not any central server, so each user is capable to share
any types of files on any peer over this network.
2. Client Server Network

• In client server Network , Client : • It is a computer running a program that request services
from a server • The individual workstation in a network are client Server : • A server is a
computer that makes the network resources available & provides services to other computers
when they request for it.
• Client request the services such as file storage and printing • Server is a central computer
which allows the clients to access its softwares and database is called as the server.