CHAPTER 3

DATA COMMUNICATION AND COMPUTER NETWORK

3.1. DATA COMMUNICATION

A Communication system can be defined as the collection of hardware and software that
facilitates intersystem exchange of information between different devices. When we
communicate, we are sharing information. This sharing can be local (face to face
communication) or it may be remote (communication over distance).
Data communication is the exchange of data between two devices via some form of wired
or wireless transmission medium. It includes the transfer of data, the method of transfer
and the preservation of the data during the transfer process. To initiate data
communication, the communicating devices should be a part of an existing
communications system. For data communication to be effective, the following three
fundamental characteristics should be considered:
1. Delivery: The system must deliver data to the correct or the interned destination.
2. Accuracy: The system must deliver data accurately (error free).
3. Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner without enough
time lags.
3.1.1. Data Communication Components
There are five basic components in data communication system:
1. Message: it is the information that is to be communicated.
2. Sender: The sender is the device that sends the message.
3. Receiver: The receiver is the device that receives the message
4. Medium: The transmission medium is the physical path that communicates the
message from sender to receiver.
5. Protocol: Protocol refers to a set of rules that coordinates the exchange of
information. Both the sender and receiver should follow the same protocol to
communicate data. Without the protocol, the sender and receiver cannot
communicate with each other; just as a person speaking English cannot be
understood by a person speaks only Hindi.

Sender Receiver
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 Message Medium
Fig 4.1: Data Communication Component

3.1.2. Data Transmission Mode

Data transmission mode refers to the direction of signal flow between two linked devices.
There are three types of transmission modes: simplex, half-duplex, and full–duplex.
Simplex: transmission is unidirectional. The information flows in one direction across
the circuit, with no capability to support response in the other direction. Only one of the
communicating devices transmits information, the other can only receive it. Television
transmission can be considered as an example of simplex mode of transmission where the
satellite only transmits the data to the television, vice versa is not possible.

Sender Receiver

Fig 4.2: Simplex

Half-duplex, in half-duplex mode, each communicating device can receive and transmit
information, but not at the same time. When one device is sending the other can only
receive at that point of time. In half-duplex transmission mode, the entire capacity of the
transmission medium is taken over by the device, which is transmitting at that moment.
The most common example of half-duplex transmission is the wireless handsets
(generally used by military personnel) where one user talks at a time and another listens.

Sender Receiver

Fig 4.3: Half - duplex

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Full-duplex: Full-duplex transmission mode, also known as the duplex mode, allows
both communicating devices to transmit and receive data simultaneously. A full-duplex
mode can be compared to a two-way road with traffic flowing in both directions. A
common example of full-duplex transmitting mode is the telephone network, where two
people communicate over a telephone line; both can talk as well as listen at the same
time.

Sender Receiver

Fig 4.4: Full - duplex

3.1.3 Transmission Media
Transmission media refers to the physical media through which communication signals
(data and information are transmitted. Transmission media can be divided in to two broad
categories: guided media and unguided media.
A. Guided media
Guided transmission media use a cabling system that guide the data signals along a
specific path. The data signals are bound by the cabling system. Cabling refers to
transmission medium that consists of cables. There are four basic types of guided media.
 Open wire
 Twisted pair
 Coaxial cable
 Optical fiber
Open wire: Traditionally used to describe the electrical wire system or power
transmission wire strung along power pole.
1. No shielding or protection from noise interface.
2. It suffers from lose of energy problem and it can be easily tapped.
Twisted Pair: In this kind of cabling, pairs of wires are twisted together which are
surrounded by an insulating material and an outer layer called Jacket.

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  Each pair consists of a wire, used for receiving data signal, and for transmission
data signal.
 The wires are twisted in order to reduce noise (unwanted signal) and interface for
external sources.
 Used in short distance communication (<=100 meters).
Forms of Twisted Pair: There are two forms of Twisted Pair. These are
 Unshielded Twisted Pair, and
 Shielded Twisted Pair
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP): It is the most common type of
telecommunication medium in use today.
 It is most suited for both data and voice transmission, and hence is commonly
use in telephone system.
 Have a maximum transmission speed of up to 9600 bps.

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP): Has a metal foil or braided-mesh covering that
covers each pair of insulated conductor.
 The metal foil is used to prevent infiltration of electromagnetic noise.
 Helps to eliminate cross talk.

Coaxial cable: Has a single central conductor, which is made up of solid wire (usually
copper). This conductor is surrounded by an insulator.
 It is very robust and is commonly used in cable TV network.
 As compared to twisted pair, it offers higher band width.
 Transmitting data at a rate of 10mbps.

Optical fiber: Both twisted pair and coaxial cable transmit data in the form of current,
but optical fiber carry information in the form of visible light.
 Has three parts, i.e. Core, cladding , and jacket

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Advantages of Optical fiber
 Since transmission is light based rather than electricity, it is immune to
noise interface.
 Transmission distance is greater than other guided media, because of less
signal attenuation.
 It is more secure because cable cannot be tapped.
 They are smaller and lighter than copper wire and are free from corrosion
as well.
Disadvantages of Optical fiber
 It is expensive
 They are more fragile.
Unguided media: Unguided transmission media is data signals that flow through air.
They are not bounded to a fixed channel to follow. One of the common unguided media
is radio frequency propagation. Microwave and Satellite

3.2. COMPUTER NETWORK

Consider a situation in which many employees in an organization need to work with the
same data. A copy of the data can be loaded on each computer so that the employees can
access the data individually. However, a more efficient method is to load the data on one
computer and provide the other computers access to the data from this computer
remotely. This option saves disk space on the computers and provides a central location
for storing and managing the data that multiple users need to access.
This need to share data and resources led to the development of networking. A network is
a group of connected computers that allows people to share information. In a network,
multiple users can access the same information and connect to the same resource. For
example, instead of linking each computer to its own printer, all computers can be linked
to a common printer for shared access by multiple users.

Terms used in computer networking

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 1. Server – is a dedicated computer that serves the client with huge storage capacity,
database, interconnections to other networks etc.
2. Clients_ Computers that access shared network resources provided by a server.
3. Media – The wires that make the physical connections.
4. Shared data_ Files provided to clients by servers across the network.
5. Shared printers and other peripherals– Additional resources provided by the
server.
6. Resources_ Any service or device, such as files, printers or other items.
7. Workstation computers in a peer –to- peer network architecture.
8. Standalone computer a computer that is not connected in the network.
9. Node_is a computer, printers, or whatever, simply latch onto the cable at any posi-
tion between the two terminals in a topology.

3.2.1 Types of Networks

Networks may be classified based on a number of parameters:
Span of Control
Geographical Span
I. According to Span of Control
Based on span of control computer networks can be classified into two major groups:
 Centralized Network
 Distributed Network
Centralized Network: Centralized network has one main CPU that processes all
information requests and handles communication. The main CPU in a centralized
network is usually a mainframe or minicomputer capable of handling the processing
workload of many people simultaneously. People interface with the host computer by
using terminals and other input and output devices.
A terminal is a hardware device consisting of a keyboard and monitor.
There are two types of terminals:
 Dumb Terminals
 Intelligent Terminals

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Terminals that have no storage or processing capabilities are called dumb terminals.
Because dumb terminals do not have any processing capabilities, they must be connected
to a host computer that can perform any processing functions necessary. Intelligent
terminals, on the other hand, do have limited storage and processing capabilities.
Distributed Network: Distributed network is a collection of workstations connected to
each other, along with various shared storage and input and output devices (for example,
scanners and printers). In a distributed network each workstation can handle some, if not
all, of its own processing. Workstations in a distributed network also maintain local
information and software.
Distributed Network can be either
 Client/Server, or
 Peer-to-Peer

Client/Server network: A Client/Server network is a distributed network in which many

workstations (called Clients) are connected to a central host computer (called the Server).
The clients are the workstations in a Client/Server network that maintain local software
and information and do as much of the processing as possible.

FileServer

Peer-to-Peer: In a peer-to-peer network, workstations are connected to each other and do

not rely on a server for global software and data, data processing tasks, or communication
within the network. Basically, a peer-to-peer network consists of many workstations
connected together that can share resources and communicate with each other. Each
workstation can be a client at one time and a server at another time.

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 Client
and
Fig 4.10: Peer- to- peer Server

II. According to Geographical Span

Local Area network (LAN): A LAN, or local Area Network, is a computer network that
spans only a small geographical area (usually within a square mile or less), such as an
office, home or building.
Metropolitan Area network (MAN): A MAN, or Metropolitan Area network, is a
network of computers spread over a “Metropolitan” area such as a city and its suburbs,
As the name suggests, this sort of network is usually reserved for metropolitan areas
where the city bridges its local area networks with a series of backbones, making one
large network for the entire city. It may be a single network such as a cable television
network or it may be a means of connecting a number of LANs, Note that, MAN may be
operated by one organization ( a corporate with several offices in one city), or be shared
resources used by several organization in the same city.
Wide Area Network (WAN): A WAN, or Wide Area Network, is a system of
interconnecting many computers over a large geographical area such as cities, states,
countries or even the whole world. These kinds of networks use telephone lines, satellite
links, and other long-rang communications technologies to connect. Such networks are
designed to serve an area of hundreds or thousands of miles such as public and private
packet switching networks and national telephone networks.

MAN
LAN LAN LAN

WAN

Fig5.11: Type of network according geographical span

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3.2.2. NETWORK TOPOLOGIES
The term topology refers to the way a network is laid out, either physically or logically. A
topology can be considered as the network’s shape. It is thee geometric representation of
the relationship of all the links. There are five basic topologies: Bus, Ring, Star, and
Mesh.

Bus Topology: Bus topology uses a common bus or backbone ( a single cable) to
connect all devices with terminators at both ends. The backbone acts as a shared
communication medium and each node (file server, Workstations, and peripherals) is
attached to it with an interface connector. Whenever a message is to be transmitted on the
network, it is passed back and forth along the cable, past the stations (computers) and
between the two terminators, from one end of the network to the other. As the message
passes each station, the station checks the message’s destination address. If the address in
the message matches the station’s address, the station receives the message. If the
addresses do not match, the bus carries the message to the next station, and so on. Figure
12.33 illustrates how devices such as file serve workstations, and printers are connected
to the linear cable or the backbone.
Advantages of Bus Topology
 Connecting a computer or peripheral to a linear bus is easy.
 This topology requires least amount of cabling to connect the computers and
therefore, less expensive than other cabling arrangement.
 It is easy to extend a bus since two cables can be joined into longer cable with a
connector.
Disadvantages of Bus Topology
 Entire network shuts down if there is a failure in the backbone.
 Heavy traffic can slow down a bus because computers on such networks do not
coordinate with each other to reserve time to transmit.

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Ring Topology: In ring topology, computers are placed on a circle of cable without any
terminated ends since there are no unconnected ends. Every node has exactly two
neighbors for communication purposes. All messages travel through a ring in the same
direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) until it reaches its destination. Each node in the
ring incorporates a repeater. When a node receives a signal intended for another device,
its repeater regenerates the bits and passes them along the wire.
Advantage of Ring Topology
 Ring topology is easy to install and reconfigure.
 Every computer is given equal access to the ring. Hence, no single computer can
monopolize the network.
Disadvantages of Ring Topology
 Failure in any cable or node breaks the loop and can take down the entire
network.
 Maximum ring length and number of nodes are limited.

Star Topology: In star topology, devices are not directly linked to each other but they are
connected via a centralized network component known as hub or concentrator. The hub
acts as a central controller and if a node wants to send data to another node, it boosts up
the message and sends the message to the intended node. This topology commonly uses
twisted pair cable; however, coaxial cable or fiber optic cable can also be used.

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Advantages of Star Topology
 Star topology is easy to install and wire.
 The network is not disrupted even if a node fails or is removed from the network.
 Fault detection and removal of faulty parts is easier in star topology.
Disadvantages of Star Topology
 It requires a longer length of cable.
 If the hub fails, nodes attached to it are disabled.
 The cost of the hub makes the network expensive as compared to bus and ring
topology.

Mesh Topology: In the mesh topology, every node has a dedicated point-to-point link to
every other node. Messages sent on a mesh network can take any of several possible
paths from source to destination. A fully connected mesh network has n(n-1)/2 physical
links to link n devices. For example, if an organization has 5 nodes and wants to
implement a mesh topology, 5(5-1)/2, that is, 10 links are requires. In addition, to
accommodate that many links, every device on the network must have n-1
communication (input/output) ports.

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Advantages of Mesh Topology
 The use of large number of links eliminates network congestion.
 If one link becomes unusable, it does not disable the entire system.
Disadvantages of Mesh Topology
 The amount of required cabling is very large.
 As every node is connected to the other, installation and reconfiguration is very
difficult.
 The amount of hardware required in this type of topology can make it expensive
to implement.

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