Syllabus Unit II: Computer Networks (2022-23)

● Evolution of networking: introduction to computer networks, evolution of networking

(ARPANET, NSFNET, INTERNET)
● Data communication terminologies: concept of communication, components of data
communication (sender, receiver, message, communication media, protocols),
measuring capacity of communication media (bandwidth, data transfer rate), IP
address, switching techniques (Circuit switching, Packet switching)
● Transmission media: Wired communication media (Twisted pair cable, Co-axial cable,
Fiber- optic cable), Wireless media (Radio waves, Micro waves, Infrared waves
● Network devices (Modem, Ethernet card, RJ45, Repeater, Hub, Switch, Router,
Gateway, WIFI card)
● Network topologies and Network types: types of networks (PAN, LAN, MAN, WAN),
networking topologies (Bus, Star, Tree)
● Network protocol: HTTP, FTP, PPP, SMTP, TCP/IP, POP3, HTTPS, TELNET, VoIP
● Introduction to web services: WWW, Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML), Extensible
Markup Language (XML), domain names, URL, website, web browser, web servers,
web hosting

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WHAT IS A NETWORK?
Two computers are said to be interconnected if they are capable of exchanging
information.

NEED FOR NETWORKING:

(i) Resource Sharing. The aim is to make all programs, data and peripherals available to
anyone on the network irrespective of the physical location of the resources and the user.
Can share software, hardware, data, storage etc.
(ii) Reliability. A file can have copies on two or three different machines, so if one of them
is unavailable (hardware crash), the other copies could be used. For military, banking, air
reservation and many other applications it is of great importance.
(iii) Cost Factor. Personal computers have better price/performance ratio than
microcomputers. So, it is better to have PC’s, one per user, with data stored on one shared
file server machine.
(iv) Communication Medium. Using a network, it is possible for managers, working far
apart, to prepare financial report of the company. The changes at one end can be
immediately noticed at another and hence it speeds up co-operation among them.

Advantages and Disadvantages of Networks:

Advantages Disadvantages
1. Can share resources e.g. printer 1. Some time it may increase the cost and
software, hardware, storage, data etc. needs special staff.
2. Can communicate via messages, 2. If networks managed badly services can
emails. become unusable
3. Centrally control 3. Dependency on server
4. Better control and management of 4. Security of files
data.
5. Increased reliability
6. Overall cost reduction

EVOLUTION OF NETWORKING:
 Evolution of networking started way back in 1969 by the development of first network
called ARPANET, which led to the development of Internet.
 First network was sponsored by U.S. Department of Defense and called ARPANET
(Advanced Research Projects Agency Network).
 The goal of this project was to connect computers at different universities and U.S.
defense.
 The users can exchange the data and send messages on it. The users of this system
were also able to play long distance games and socialize with people who shared their
interests.
 In mid-80’s, the National Science Foundation, created a new, high- capacity network
called NSFnet, which was more capable than ARPANET.
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The Internet
 Internet is a worldwide network of computer networks.
 It is an interconnection of large and small networks around the globe.
 The common use of Internet standards allows users connected to one network to
communicate with users on another network.
 The computers on the Internet have to use a common set of rules for
communication. Those rules are called protocols, and the Internet uses a set of
protocols called TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol).
HOW DOES INTERNET WORK?

In Internet, most computers are not connected directly to the Internet. Rather they are
connected to smaller Networks, which in turn are connected through gateways to the
Internet backbone.
Gateway: A Gateway is a device that connects dissimilar networks.
Backbone: A Backbone is central interconnecting structure that connects one or more
networks just like the trunk of a tree or the spine of a human being.

Let us now see how Internet functions:

(i) At the source computer, the message, or the file/document to be sent another
computer is firstly divided into very small parts called Packets packet generally
contains some information.
(ii) Each packet is given a number serial wise e.g., 1, 2, 3.
(iii) All these packets are then sent to the address of destination computer.

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 (iv) The destination computer receives the packets in random manner. (It may even
receive packet 10 before packet 1 arrives). If a packet is garbled or lost, it is
demanded again.

The packets are reassembled in the order of their number and the original
message/file/document is obtained.
The reason that the Internet works at all is that every computer connected to it uses the
same set of rules for communication, these set of rules are called protocol.

The communication protocol used by Internet is TCP/IP.

The TCP (i.e., Transmission Control Protocol) part is responsible for dividing the
file/message into packets on the source computer. It (TCP) is also responsible for
reassembling the received packets at the destination or recipient computer.

The IP (i.e., Internet Protocol) part is responsible for handling the address of destination
computer so that each packet is routed (sent) to its proper destination.

The Interspace
Interspace is a client/server software program that allows multiple users to communicate
online with Realtime audio, video, and text chat in dynamic 3D environments.
The Interspace is a vision of what the Internet will become, where users cross-correlate
information in multiple ways from multiple sources. It is an applications environment for
interconnecting spaces to manipulate information.
Components/terms mostly used in networking.
Whenever we talk about a network it includes the hardware and the software that make
up the network. Some typical hardware components of network

Nodes (Workstations): A computer becomes a workstation of a network as soon as it is

attached to a network. The term nodes refer to the computers that are attached to a
network and are seeking to share the resources of the network.

Server: A computer that facilitates the sharing of data, software, and hardware resources
(e.g., printers, modems etc.) on the network, is termed as a Server.
Servers can be of two types: (i) non-dedicated and (ii) dedicated servers
(i) non-dedicated servers:
 On small networks, a workstation that can double up as a server, is known as
nondedicated server.
 Since one computer works as a workstation as well as a server, it is slower and
requires more memory.
 The (small) networks using such a server are known as PEER-TO-PEER networks.
(ii) dedicated servers:

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  On bigger networks, a computer that is reserved for server’s job and its only job is
to help workstations to access data, software and hardware resources is called
dedicated server.
 The networks using such a server are known as MASTER-SLAVE networks.
Network Interface Unit:
A Network Interface Unit is an interpreter that helps establish communication
between the server and workstations.
The NIU is also called Terminal Access Point (TAP).
Different manufacturers have different names for the interface. The NIU is
also called NIC – Network Interface Card.

MAC address: The MAC address refers to the physical address assigned by NIC
manufacturer.
SWITCHING TECHNIQUES:
Switching techniques are used for transmitting data across networks. Three switching
techniques are: Circuit switching Message switching Packet switching.
Circuit Switching

 First the complete physical connection between two computers is established and
then the data are transmitted from the source computer to the destination.
 When a call is placed the switching equipment within the system seeks out a
physical copper path all the way from the sender to the receiver.
 It is must to setup an end-to-end connection between computers before any data
can be sent.
 The circuit is terminated when the connection is closed.
 In circuit switching, resources remain allocated during the full length of a
communication, after a circuit is established and until the circuit is terminated and
the allocated resources are freed.
Message Switching

 In this the source computer sends data or the message to the switching circuit
which stores the data in its buffer.
 Then using any free link to the switching circuit, the data is send to the switching
circuit.
 Entire message is sent to the destination. It reaches through different intermediate
nodes following the “store and forward” approach.
 No dedicated connection is required.

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Packet Switching

 Packet switching is a more recent technology than circuit switching.

 Packet switching introduces the idea of cutting data i.e., at the source entire
message is broken in smaller pieces called packets which are transmitted over a
network without any resource being allocated.
 Then each packet is transmitted, and each packet may follow any rout available and
at destination packets may reach in random order.
 If no data is available at the sender at some point during a communication, then no
packet is transmitted over the network and no resources are wasted.

Q. What is the difference between Packet and Message switching?

Ans: Packet Switching Message switching
1. The data of fixed size are stored in 1. The data packets are stored on the
the main memory of switching disk of switching office computer.
office computer.
2. There is a size limit of packets size 2. There is no limit of size of packets to
to be transmitted. be transmitted.
3. The data is stored in main memory, 3. Due to the storage of data on disk,
so the access time is lower hence the access time is more hence performs
performance is fast slower.

DATA COMMUNICATION TERMINOLOGIES

Data Channel:
Data travels in the form of signals over a channel. Channel is the medium used to carry
information or data from one point to another.
Data Transfer Rate:
One signal carries one or more bits over the channel. Data transfer rate is the number
of bits transmitted between source and destination in one second. It is also known as
bit rate or Baud. It is measured in terms of bits per second (bps).
Bits Per Second (bps): It refers to the speed at which data transfer is measured. It is
generally used to measure the speed of information through a high-speed phone lines
or modems.

The higher units for data transfer rates are:

1 Kbps=210 bps=1024 bps

1 Mbps=220 bps=1024 Kbps
1 Gbps=230 bps=1024 Mbps
1 Tbps=240 bps=1024 Gbps

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 Note: MBps stands for Megabyte per second whereas Mbps stands for Megabit per
second.
Bandwidth: Technically, the bandwidth refers to the difference between the highest and
lowest frequencies of a transmission channel.
Generally speaking, bandwidth is directly proportional to the amount of data transmitted
or received per unit time.
In digital systems, bandwidth is data speed in bits per second (bps).
In analog systems, bandwidth is defined in terms of the difference between the highest-
frequency signal component and the lowest-frequency signal component. Frequency is
measured in cycles per second i.e., hertz.
A kilohertz (kHz) represents a thousand cycles per second.
A megahertz (MHz) represents a thousand kHz.
A gigahertz (GHz) represents a thousand MHz
A terahertz (THz) represents a thousand GHz.
Note: High bandwidth channels are called broadband channels and low bandwidth
channels are called narrowband channels
IP Address:
 An Internet Protocol address is a numerical label such as 192.0.2.1 that is connected to
a computer network that uses the Internet Protocol for communication.
 IP stands for "Internet Protocol," which is the set of rules governing the format of data
sent via the internet or local network.
 Each number in the set can range from 0 to 255. So, the full IP addressing range goes
from 0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255.
 Your IP address is assigned to your device by your ISP.
 An IP address serves two main functions: network interface identification and location
addressing.
How to protect and hide your IP address

Hiding your IP address is a way to protect your personal information and online identity.
The two primary ways to hide your IP address are:

1. Using a proxy server

A proxy server is an intermediary server through which your traffic is routed:

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  The internet servers you visit see only the IP address of that proxy server and not
your IP address.
 When those servers send information back to you, it goes to the proxy server,
which then routes it to you.
2. Using a virtual private network (VPN):
Using a VPN hides your IP address and redirects your traffic through a separate server,
making it much safer for you online. Situations where you might use a VPN include:
 When using public Wi-Fi
 When you are traveling
 When you are working remotely
 When you just want some privacy
Transmission Media:
A transmission medium can be anything that can carry signals or data between the source
(transmitter) and destination (receiver). For example, as we switch on a ceiling fan or a
light bulb, the electric wire is the medium that carries electric current from switch to the
fan or bulb. Two men are talking as shown in the picture given below. Here the medium is
air.

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In data communication, transmission media are the links that carry messages between two
or more communicating devices. Transmission can be classified as guided or unguided.
In guided transmission, there is a physical link made of wire/cable through which data in
terms of signals are propagated between the nodes. These are usually metallic cable,
fiber-optic cable, etc. They are also known as wired media.
In unguided transmission, data travels in air in terms of electromagnetic waves using an
antenna. They are also known as wireless media.
The guided/wired media:
Three commonly used guided/wired media for data transmission are, twisted pair, coaxial
cable, and fiber optic cable. Twisted pair and coaxial cable carry the electric signals
whereas the optical fiber cable carries the light signals.
(A) Twisted Pair Cable: A twisted pair consists of two copper wires twisted like a DNA
helical structure. Both the copper wires are insulated with plastic covers. Usually, a
number of such pairs are combined together and covered with a protective outer
wrapping.

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 Each of the twisted pairs act as a single communication link. The use of twisted
configuration minimizes the effect of electrical interference from similar pairs close
by.
Crosstalk: The bleeding of a signal from one wire to another and which can corrupt
signal and cause network errors. This form of signal interference is called Crosstalk.
There are two types of twisted pair cables available. These are:
(i) Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable. UTP cabling is used for variety of
electronic communications.
The UTP cables can have maximum segment length of 100 meters Various
types of UTP with data transfer rate are:
Type Description
CAT1 Voice-grade communications only. No data transmission
CAT2 Data-grade transmission upto 4 Mbps
CAT3 Data-grade transmission upto 10 Mbps
CAT4 Data-grade transmission upto 16 Mbps
CAT5 Data-grade transmission upto 1000 Mbps
(ii) Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cable. This type of cables comes with shielding of
the individual pairs of wires, which further protects it from external
interference. But these also, like UTP, can have maximum segment length of
100 meters.
The advantage of STP over UTP is that it offers greater protection from
interference and crosstalk due to shielding. But it is heavier and costlier than
UTP and requires proper grounding at both ends.
Advantages:
(i) It is simple. (ii) It is easy to install and maintain.
(iii) It is physically flexible. (iv) It has a low weight.
(v) It can be easily connected. (vi) It is very inexpensive.
Disadvantages:
(i) Because of high attenuation, it is incapable carrying a signal over long distances
without the use of repeaters (discussed later in the chapter).
(ii) Its low bandwidth capabilities make it unsuitable for broadband applications.
(iii) It supports maximum data rates 1 Mbps without conditioning and 10 Mbps
with conditioning.
(B) Coaxial cable: It is another type of data transmission medium. It is better shielded
and has more bandwidth than a twisted pair.
As shown in Figure, it has a copper wire at the core of the cable which is surrounded
with insulating material. The insulator is further surrounded with an outer conductor
(usually a copper mesh). This outer conductor is wrapped in a plastic cover.
The key to success of coaxial cable is its shielded design that allows the cable's copper
core to transmit data quickly, without interference of environmental factors. These
types of cables are used to carry signals of higher frequencies to a longer distance.

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  It is less popular than twisted pair, it is widely used for television signals. In the
form of (CATV) cable, it provides a cheap means of transporting multi-channel
television signals around metropolitan areas.
 It is also used by large corporations in building security systems.
 The data transmission characteristics of coaxial cable are considerably better than
those of twisted pair. (100 Mbps)
 This opens the possibility of using it as the basis for a shared cable network, with
part of the bandwidth being used for data traffic.

Types of Coaxial Cables

(i) Thicknet. This form of coaxial cable is thicker than thinnet. The thicknet coaxial
cable segments (while joining nodes of a network) can be upto 500 meters long.
(ii) Thinnet. This form of coaxial cable is thinner, and it can have maximum segment
length of 185 meters i.e., using this cable, nodes having maximum distance of 185
meters can be joined.

Advantages:
(i) The data transmission characteristics of coaxial cables are considerably better
than those of twisted-pair cables.
(ii) The coaxial cables can be used as the basis for a shared cable network.
(iii) The coaxial cables can be used for broadband transmission i.e., several channels
can be transmitted simultaneously (as with cable TV).
(iv) Offer higher bandwidths-upto 400 MBPS.

Disadvantages:
(i) Expensive compared to twisted pair cables.
(ii) The coaxial cables are not compatible with twisted pair cables.
(c) Optical fibers:

 Consist of thin strands of glass or glass like material which are so constructed that
they carry light from a source at one end of the fiber to a detector at the other
end.
 The light sources used are either light emitting diodes (LEDs) or laser diodes (LDs).

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  The data to be transmitted is modulated onto the light beam using frequency
modulation techniques. The signals can then be picked up at the receiving end and
demodulated.
 The bandwidth of the medium is potentially very high. For LEDs, this ranges
between 20 and 150 Mbps and higher rates are possible using LDs.
 The fiber cable consists of three pieces :

(i) the core, i.e., the glass or plastic through which the light travels
(ii) the cladding, which is a covering of the core that reflects light back to
the core, and the
(iii) protective coating, which protects the fiber cable from hostile environment.
Advantages
(i) It is immune to electrical and magnetic interference i.e., noise in any form
because the information is travelling on a modulated light beam.
(ii) It is highly suitable for harsh industrial environments.
(iii) It guarantees secure transmission and has a very high transmission capacity.
(iv) Fiber optic cables can be used for broadband transmission.

Disadvantages
(i) Installation problem. Fiber optic cables are quite fragile and may need special care to
make them sufficiently robust for an office environment.
(ii) Connecting either two fibers together or a light source to a fiber is a difficult process.
(iii) Because of noise immunity, optical fibers are virtually impossible to tap.
(iv) Light can reach the receiver out of phase. Connection losses are common
problems.
(v) Fiber optic cables are more difficult to solder.
(vii) They are the most expensive of all the cables.
Despite its shortcomings, optical fiber is an important technology and will be a very
attractive transmission indeed.

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Types of Fibre Optic Cables:
Two types:
Single node that supports a segment length of upto 2 kms and band- width of upto 100
Mbps.
Multinode with a segment length of 100 kms and bandwidth of 2 Gbps.

Wireless Transmission Media:

 In this technology, information travels in the form of electromagnetic signals
through air.
 Electromagnetic spectrum of frequency ranging from 3 KHz to 900 THz is available
for wireless communication.
 Wireless technologies allow communication between two or more devices in short
to long distance without requiring any physical media.
 There are many types of wireless communication technologies such as Bluetooth,
Wi-Fi, WiMAX etc.
 The electromagnetic spectrum range (3KHz to 900THz) can be divided into 4
categories - Radio waves, Microwaves, Infrared waves and Visible or Light waves

Microwave:

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  Microwave signals are used to transmit data without the use of cables.
 The microwave signals are like radio and television signals and are used for long
distance communication.
 The microwave transmission consists of a transmitter, receiver, and the
atmosphere.
 Microwave transmission can be of two types: Ground to Gound and Ground to
Geostationary orbit satellite.
1. Terrestrial Microwave
2. Satellite microwave
Microwave (Terrestrial Microwave):
 Ground to ground transmission.
 The microwave transmission consists of a transmitter, receiver, and the
atmosphere.
 In microwave communication, parabolic antennas are mounted on towers to send a
beam to other antennas tens of kilometers away.
 The higher the tower, the greater the range. With a 100-meter-high tower,
distances of 100 km between towers are feasible. The microwave transmission is
line-of-sight transmission.
Advantages
(i) It proves cheaper than digging trenches for laying cables and maintaining
repeaters and cables if cables get broken by a variety of causes.
(ii) It offers freedom from land acquisition rights that are required for laying, repairing
the cables.
(iii) It offers ease of communication over difficult terrain.
(iv) Microwaves can communicate over oceans.
Disadvantages
(i) Microwave communication is an insecure communication.
(ii) Signals from a single antenna may split up and propagate by slightly different
paths to the receiving antenna. When these out-of-phase signals recombine, they
interfere, reducing the signal strength.
(iii) Microwave propagation is susceptible to weather effects like rains, thunderstorms
etc.
(iv) Bandwidth allocation is extremely limited in case of microwaves.

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 (v) The cost of design, implementation, and maintenance of microwave links is high.

Satellite Microwave:

In satellite communication the earth station consists of a satellite dish that functions as an
antenna and communication equipment to transmit and receive data from satellites
passing overhead.

(i) Several communication satellites, owned by both governments and private

organizations, have been placed in stationary orbits about 22,300 miles above
the earth’s surface.
(ii) These satellites act as relay stations for communication signals(transponders).
(iii) The satellites accept data/ signals transmitted from an earth station, amplify
them, and retransmit them to another earth station.

Advantages:

1) The area coverage through satellite transmission is quite large.

2) The laying and maintenance of intercontinental cable is difficult and expensive,
and this is where the satellite proves to be the best alternative.
3) The heavy usage of intercontinental traffic makes the satellite commercial
attractive.
4) In the case of disaster, it has proved very helpful.
5) Satellites can cover large areas of the Earth. This is particularly useful for
sparsely populated areas.
Disadvantages:
1) Technological limitations preventing the deployment of large, high gain
antennas on the satellite platform.
2) Over-crowding of available bandwidths due to low antenna gains.
3) The high investment cost and insurance cost associated with significant
probability of failure.
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 4) High atmospheric losses above 30 GHz limit carrier frequencies

Radio Wave:

1) The transmission making use of radio frequencies is termed as radio-wave

transmission.
2) A Line-of-Sight signal passes through the atmosphere.
3) All radios today, however, use continuous sine waves to transmit information (audio,
video, data).
4) Any radio setup has two parts: The transmitter and the receiver.
5) The transmitter takes some sort of message (it could be the sound of someone’s
voice, pictures for a TV set, data for a radio modem or whatever), encodes it onto a
sine wave and transmits it with radio waves.
6) The receiver receives the radio waves and decodes the message from the sine wave
it receives.
7) Both the transmitter and receiver use antennas to radiate and capture the radio
signal.
Advantages
(i) Radio-wave transmission offers mobility.
(ii) It proves cheaper than digging trenches for laying cables and maintaining
repeaters and cables if cables get broken by a variety of causes.
(iii) It offers freedom from land acquisition rights that are required for laying, repairing
the cables.
(iv) It offers ease of communication over difficult terrain.
Disadvantages
(i) Radio-wave communication is an insecure communication.
(ii) Radio-wave propagation is susceptible to weather effects like rains,
thunderstorms etc. Security of such communication links is almost nonexistent.
Even so, the equipment has many advantages and is widely used by taxi, repair,
courier, and delivery services.

Other unguided wireless technologies:

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1. Infrared:
a) This type of transmission uses infrared light to send data.
b) You can see the use of this type of transmission in everyday life – TV remotes,
automotive garage doors, wireless speakers etc., all make use of infrared as
transmission media.
c) The infrared light transmits data through the air and can propagate throughout a
room (bouncing off surfaces), but will not penetrate walls.
d) The infrared transmission has become common in PDAs (Personal digital assistants)
e.g., handheld devices like palm pilots etc. The infrared transmission is a secure
one.
2. Laser:
 The laser transmission requires direct line-of-sight.
 It is unidirectional like microwave but has much higher speed than microwaves.
 The laser transmission requires the use of a laser transmitter and a photo-
sensitive receiver at each end.
 The laser transmission is point-to-point transmission, typically between buildings.
But lasers have a certain disadvantage, which is: it can be adversely affected by
weather.
3. Bluetooth technology:
a) It is a short-range wireless technology
b) It can be used to connect mobile-phones, mouse, headphones, keyboard,
speakers, computers, etc. wirelessly over a short distance.
c) One can print documents with Bluetooth enabled printers without a physical
connection.
d) All these Bluetooth-enabled devices have a low-cost transceiver chip.
e) This chip uses the unlicensed frequency band of 2.4 GHz to transmit and receive
data.
f) These devices can send data within a range of 10 meters (approx. 30 feets) with a
speed of 1 - 2 Mbps.
g) In Bluetooth technology, the communicating devices within a range of 10 meters
build a personal area network called piconet. The devices in a piconet work in a
master-slave configuration. A master device can communicate with up to 7 active
slave devices at the same time.
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 h) Bluetooth technology allows up to 255 devices to build a network. Out of them, 8
devices can communicate at the same time and remaining devices can be inactive,
waiting for a response command from the master device.

Selection of Transmission Medium:

Choose Coaxial Cable when:
1. Television signal distribution has to take place (i) Ariel to TV (ii) Cable TV
2. Long distance telephone transmission has to take place - Can carry 10,000 voice calls
simultaneously
3. Short distance computer systems links required
4. Local area networks are to be formed among some computers
Other Important factors
 If used for Analog transmission Amplifiers are required every 5 km to 6 km
 If used for Digital transmission Repeaters are required every 1 km

Choose Fibre Optic Cable when:

1. Greater Data capacity required - Data rates of hundreds of Gbps
2. Lower attenuation is required
3. Secure transmission is desired
4. Cost does not matter - most expensive of guided media

Other Important factors

 Greater repeater spacing -10s of km at least, i.e., Repeater required every 10 kms

Choose Radio waves when:

1. long distances are to be covered
2. Signals must be able to penetrate walls, buildings
3. Transmission must be omnidirectional ( in all directions)

Other important factors

 Health hazards involved

Choose microwaves when:

1. Transmission should be in directional, in a specific direction straight line;
2. cheaper than other unguided media
3. can be used for long-distance telephone service

Other Important Factors

 Requires repeaters every 30 miles; Because of Line-of-sight transmission, curvature of the
earth requires stations every 30 miles.
Choose Satellites when:
1. When the transmission has to take place over a very large area of Earth
2. Can be used for long distance Television distribution and Long-distance telephone
transmission

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Other important factors.
 expensive towers and repeaters
 subject to interference such as passing airplanes and rain.
Choose infrared when:
1. you want to transmit without any licensing hassles - no license needed
Other important factors : cannot penetrate solid walls

Network Devices:
Modem:
Modem A Modem is a computer peripheral that allows you to connect and communicate
with other computers via telephone lines.
This shift of digital data into analog data and back again, allows two computers to “speak’’
with one another. Called modulation/demodulation, this transformation of signals is how
the modem received its name.
Modems come in two varieties:
1. Internal modems: Internal modems are fixed within the computer.

2. External modems: An External modem the modems that are connected externally
to a computer as other peripherals are connected.

Difference between internal modem and external modems:

1. Its Price is low as compared to external It is comparatively high in price.

modem.

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2. For internal modem, user doesn’t need to In an external modem, RS232 interface
buy any external accessories. cable must be brought.

3. It is hard to transfer the internal modem The external modem can be moved
to another computer. easily.

4. The internal modem is powered by PC. The external modem needs external
power supply.

RJ 45 connector:
 RJ-45 is short for Registered Jack-45.
 RJ-45 is an eight-wire connector, which is commonly used to connect computers on
the local area networks i.e., LANs especially Ethernets.
 The RJ-45 connector looks very much like standard telephone connector (RJ-11
connector), but it is wider than RJ-11 as it houses eight wires instead of four.
 RJ-45 connectors are used to connect computers in Ethernet LANs.

Ethernet Card:
 Ethernet is a LAN architecture developed by Xerox Corp in association with DEC and
Intel.
 Ethernet uses bus or star topologies and can support data transfer rates of upto 10
Mbps.
 An Ethernet card contains connections for either coaxial or twisted pair cables (or
both).
 If it is designed for coaxial cable, the connection will be BNC (Bayonet Neill–
Concelman).
 If it is designed for twisted pair, it will have a RJ-45 connection.
 Some Ethernet cards also contain an AUI(attachment unit interface) connector.
 This can be used to attach coaxial, twisted pair, or fiber optics cable to an Ethernet
card.

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Hub:
 A hub is a hardware device used to connect several computers together.
 Hub is a multiport repeater, which broadcasts all information to all other ports.
 It causes unnecessary network traffic, so it is called non-intelligent or dumb device.
 Hub does not remember devices/computers connected to it, hence broadcasts all
information to all connected computers, including the one that sent it.
 A hub can send or receive information, but it can’t do both at a time.
 Hub however is an inexpensive way to connect multiple nodes/devices to network.

Switch:
 A switch has same job as that of a hub’s – i.e., to connect multiple computers.
 A switch is a smart device as it can identify the intended destination and send the
information only to the target computer(s).
 A switch does not share the media/bandwidth among all its connected computers.
 No unnecessary traffic generated.
 Can send and receive information at the same time.
 Switches, however, are expensive than hubs.

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 Key Differences Between Hub and Switch:

Bridge:
 A bridge is a device that lets you link two networks together.
 Bridges are smart enough to know which computers are on which side of the
bridge, so they only allow those messages that need to get to the other side to
cross the bridge.
 This improves performance on both sides of the bridge.
 As a packet arrives at the bridge, the bridge examines the physical destination
address of the packet. The bridge then decides whether to let the packet cross.

Router:

 A Router is a network device that is used to separate different segments in a

network to improve performance and reliability.
 A router works like a bridge but can handle different protocols.
 A router differs from a bridge in a way that router uses logical addresses, and the
bridge uses physical addresses.

Gateway:

 A Gateway is a network device that connects dissimilar networks.

 It establishes an intelligent connection between a local network and external
networks with completely different structures.
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WiFi card:

 It is either an internal or external Local Area Network adapter with a built-in

wireless radio and antenna.
 The most common WiFi cards used in desktop computers are PCI-Express WiFi cards
made to fit the PCI-Express card slots on the motherboard.
 The primary benefit of using a Wi-Fi card in a desktop computer is that it allows you
to setup your workstation or home office without considering the proximity or
availability of hard-line network access.

Repeater:

 A Repeater is a network device that amplifies and restores signals for long distance
transmission.
 Repeaters are of two kinds: amplifier and signal repeater.
 The first merely amplifies all incoming signals over the network. However, it
amplifies both the signal and any concurrent noise.

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  The second type collects the inbound packet and then retransmits the packet as if
it were starting from the source station. (removes the noise etc.)
 You need a repeater when the total length of a single span of network cable
exceeds 100 meters (328 feet).

Why repeaters?
Ans. When a signal travels along a cable, it tends to lose strength.
A repeater is a device that boots or regenerates a network’s signal as it passes
through and rebroadcasts it.
When are repeaters required?
Ans. Repeaters are mainly used for extending the range when the total length of network
cable exceeds the standards set, for example, in fast ethernet, this range is 100
meters. And if you must connect two computers that are more than 100 meters
apart you need repeater.
What is the 5:4:3 rule of using repeaters in the network?
Ans: No. we should follow: 5:4:3 RULE. One basic rule of using repeaters is the 5-4-3 Rule.
The maximum path between two stations on the network should not be more than
5 segments with 4 repeaters between those segments and no more than 3
populated segments.
NETWORK TOPOLOGIES:
The pattern of interconnection of nodes in a network is called the Topology.
While we connect the computers in the network the following points are considered.
1. Cost 2. Reliability 3. Flexibility
Various topologies are:
1. Star topology 2. Bus topology 3. Tree topology
4. Ring or circular topology 5. Graph topology 6. Mesh topology
The Star Topology:

 This topology consists of a central node to which all other nodes are connected by a
single path.
 It is the topology used in most existing information networks involving data
processing or voice communications.
Advantages:
 These provide easy access for service or reconfiguration of the network.

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  In One device per connection.
 Fault finding and isolation is easy
Disadvantages:
 Star Topology needs Long cable length.
 Difficult to expand.
 Central node dependency.
The Bus or Linear Topology:

 This consists of a single length of the transmission medium (normally coaxial

cable) onto which the various nodes are attached.
 The topology is used in traditional data communication network where the host
at one end of the bus communicates with several terminals attached along its
length.
 The transmission from any station travels the length of the bus, in both
directions, and can be received by all other stations.
 The bus has terminators at either end which absorb the signal, removing it from
the bus.
Advantages:
 Short cable length and simple wiring layout.
 Reduced cable cost as compared to Star topology.
 Very reliable from hardware point of view.
 Easy to extend and
Disadvantages:
 Fault diagnosis and isolation is difficult.
 Repeaters are required if we want to extend the backbone.
The Tree Topology:

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  In tree topology the computers are connected like branches of a tree.
 It is known as combination of BUS and STAR topology.
 The main characteristics of this topology are better flexibility and scalability.

Advantages:
 It is a combination of bus and star topology
 It provides high scalability, as leaf nodes can add more nodes in the hierarchical
chain.
 Other nodes in a network are not affected, if one of their nodes get damaged
 It provides easy maintenance and fault identification.

Disadvantages:
 Large cabling is required as compared to star and bus topology.
 On the failure of a hub, the entire network fails.
 Tree network is very difficult to configure than other network topologies.

TYPES OF NETWORKS:
Computers are classified based on geographical spread and on this basis, there can be four
types of networks:

1. Local Area Networks (LANs)

2. Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)
3. Wide Area Networks (WANs)
4. Personal Area Network (PAN)
Local Area Network (LAN):
 Small computer networks that are limited to an office, a building, a factory or
campus.
 The key purpose of a LAN is to serve its users in resource sharing of data,
information, programs, printer, hard-disks, modems etc.
 On most LANs, computers are connect using cables and network interface cards in
each computer.
 Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)

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Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN):

 MAN are the networks spread over a city. For example, cable TV networks that
are spread over a city, can be termed as metropolitan area networks.
 The purpose of a MAN is also the sharing of hardware and software resources
among its users.
Wide Area Networks (WAN):

The networks spread across countries are known as WANs.

 A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a group of computers that are separated by large
distances and tied together.
 It can even be a group of LANs.
 The WANs link computers to facilitate fast and efficient exchange of information at
lesser costs and higher speeds.
 Computers connected to a wide-area network are often connected through public
networks, such as the telephone system.
 Example: The largest WAN in existence is the Internet.

LAN MAN WAN

It stands for local area It stands for Metropolitan It stands for Wide area
network. area network. network.
It is a network within a It is a network spread with It may spread worldwide.
building, campus, office in a city. E.g., cable TV E.g., Internet
etc. e.g., network of school network.
lab.
Normally Coaxial or Coaxial or Optical fiber Generally, Telephone
Ethernet cables are used to cable (OFC) used to setup lines or satellite
setup LAN. MAN communication is used.
Cost of installation is not Cost of installation is bit It needs big investments for
very high. more than LAN. set up of WAN.
It is a privately owned It is privately owned by It is network of many private
network. one or more owners. networks with on owner.
The speed of transmission It is comparatively slower. It is not as fast as MAN or
is high. LAN.

Personal Area Network (PAN):

 It is the computer network that connects computers/devices within the range of an

individual person.
 PAN provides a network range within a person’s range typically within a range of 10
meters (33 feet).
 A Personal Area Network typically involves a computer, phone, tablet, printer, PDA
(Personal Digital Assistant) and other and other entertainment devices like speakers,
video game consoles etc.

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General Network Design Process:
While we design the network, the following points are to be considered:
1. Environment given:
location of hosts, servers, terminals, the projected traffic, projected costs etc.
2. Performance constraints:
Network reliability, performance throughput, host/client speed etc.
3. Internetworking variables:
network topology, line capacities, and packet flow assignments etc.
Note: The goal is to minimize cost based on these elements while delivering service
that does not compromise established availability requirements.

Good Network Design

The 80-20 Rule of Network design:
In a properly designed small to medium-sized network environment, 80 percent of the
traffic on a given network segment is local (with in the same workgroup), and not more
than 20 percent of the network traffic should need to move across a backbone.
Network Protocol:
Protocol is a set of standard rules that must be followed by all the communicating parties
e.g., the sender, the receiver, and all other devices in the network.
Need of protocol:
• how computers identify one another on a network.
• the form to which the data should be converted for transit.
• how to decide whether the data received is for that node or to be forwarded to
another node.
• ensuring that all the data have reached the destination without any loss.
• how to rearrange the packets and process them at the destination.
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)/ Internet Protocol (IP):
 TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol.
 It is a set of standardized rules that uses a client-server model.
 The IP protocol ensures that each computer or node connected to the Internet is
assigned an IP address.

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 TCP ensures that the message or data is broken into smaller chunks, called IP packets.
 Each of these packets are routed (transmitted) through the Internet, along a path from
one router to the next, until it reaches the specified destination.
 TCP guarantees the delivery of packets on the designated IP address. It is also
responsible for ordering the packets so that they are delivered in sequence.
 When all the packets finally reach the destination machine, they are reassembled into
the original message at the receiver’s end.
Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP):
 Hypertext refers to a document that contains images or text that can be linked to
another document or text.
 It is the primary protocol used to access the World Wide Web.
 HTTP is a request-response (also called client server) protocol that runs over TCP.
 The common use of HTTP is between a web browser (client) and a web server
(server).
 HTTP facilitates access of hypertext from the World Wide Web by defining how
information are formatted and transmitted, and how the Web servers and browsers
should respond to various commands.
 Once a user opens a web browser and types in the URL of the intended web page, a
logical communication link between the user machine (client) and the web server is
created using HTTP.
 For example, whenever we enter the URL http// www.cbse.nic.in in a browser, it
sends HTTP request to the webserver where cbse.nic.in is hosted. The HTTP response
from the webserver fetches and sends the requested Webpage, which is displayed on
your browser.

File Transfer Protocol (FTP):

 File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the protocol used for transferring files from one
machine to another.
 Like HTTP, FTP also works on a client-server model.
 When a user requests for a file transfer with another system, FTP sets up a
connection between the two nodes for accessing the file.
 After authentication using user ID and password. The user then specifies the file
name and location of the desired file.
 An another connection sets up and the file transfer happens directly between the
two machines.
Point to Point Protocol (PPP):
 PPP is a communication protocol which establishes a dedicated and direct connection
between two communicating devices.
 This protocol defines how two devices will authenticate each other and establish a
direct link between them to exchange data.

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 For example, two routers with direct connection communicate using PPP. The Internet
users who connect their home computers to the server of an Internet Service Provider
(ISP) through a modem also use PPP.
 The communicating devices should have duplex modes for using this protocol.
 This protocol maintains data integrity ensuring that the packets arrive in order.
 It intimates the sender about damage or lost packets and asks to resend it.

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP):

 SMTP is a protocol used for email services.
 It uses information written on the message header (header contains email addresses
of recipients) and is not concerned with the content of the email message.
 The SMTP sender program takes mails from the outgoing queue and transmits them to
the destination(s).
 The SMTP receiver program accepts each mail that has arrived and places it in the
appropriate user mailbox.
POP3:
 Stands for Post Office Protocol.
 It allows you to use your email inbox like a post office – emails are downloaded onto
your computer and removed from the mail server.

IMAP:
 IMAP stands for Internet message access protocol.
 IMAP makes it possible to access your emails from different devices and all changes
are synchronized with the mail server and any email client(s) you are using.

POP3 V/s IMAP:

POP3 and IMAP are protocols used to handle incoming emails.
When you access your mail from your phone,
 POP3 will download all the emails to your phone for you to view, and by doing so, all
emails are removed from the mail server
 IMAP will send a copy of the emails to your phone, but leaving the originals on your
mail server
Then when you return to your office and check your emails on your computer,
 POP3 will connect to your mail server and download all new emails but the emails
which you have already downloaded to your phone will not be show up on your
computer.
 IMAP will show you all new emails received since the last time you checked your
account, as well as all emails you have already accessed but from a different device.
(ie. Phone in this case).

POP3 or IMAP, which is better?

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  Use IMAP if: you check your emails from multiple devices (such as phone,
computers, tablets, etc.), you want your device(s) to sync, including emails and any
folder structure you have created
 Use POP3 if: you are using one email client on one dedicated device (ie, your work
computer at your office), you have a huge history of emails and/or you have a
limited email storage space.

Remote Login (Telnet) and Internet:

 Telnet was developed in 1969.
 Telnet is a protocol that allows you to connect to remote computers (called hosts)
over a TCP/IP network (such as the internet).
 It provides a command line interface for communication with a remote device or
server.
 Using telnet client software on your computer, you can make a connection to a telnet
server (the remote host).
VoIP (Voice Over Internet Protocol):
 It is the technology that enables voice communications over internet.
 The voice calls are first digitalized, compressed then divided into small packets and
then sent.
 User can have telephone calls and faxes over an IP network.
 VoIP allows both voice and data communications to be run over single network.
Advantages of VoIP:
 Low-cost telephone calls
 Add on services
 Reduced infra structure cost

HTTPS:
 Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS) is an extension of the Hypertext Transfer
Protocol (HTTP).
 It is used for secure communication over a computer network.
 In HTTPS, the communication protocol is encrypted using Transport Layer
Security (TLS) or, formerly, Secure Sockets Layer (SSL).

Introduction to Web services

WORLD WIDE WEB(WWW):

WHAT IS WORLD WIDE WEB?
 It was invented by Sir Tim Berners Lee in 1990.
 The world wide web (WWW) is a set of protocols that allows you to access any document
on the Internet.

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  It is a small service on internet which provides a way to access information over the
internet.
 It contains millions of documents or no. of pages (called web pages).
 Each page contains some text, graphics, video, audio, and links to other webpages using a
hyperlink.
 The web uses a protocol: HTTP (hypertext transfer protocol) to transfer the documents
over the internet.
HYPER TEXT MARK-UP LANGUAGE (HTML):
 HTML is a language used to design the layout of a webpage.
 HTML tells the browser how to display the contents of a documents including text,
images, and other support media.
 HTML also tells how to make a document interactive through special hyperlinks.
 HTML provides many commands, called tags that let you control the presentation of
information on a web page.
EXTENSIBLE MARK-UP LANGUAGE (XML):
 XML is a markup language for documents containing structured information.
 XML provides a facility to define tags and the structural relationships between them.
 In HTML, both the tag semantics and the tag set are fixed. On the other hand, XML
specifies neither semantics nor a tag set.

HYPER TEXT TRANSFER PROTOCOL (HTTP):

 The HTTP is the standard protocol used by World Wide Web.
 HTTP or Hyper Text Transfer Protocol determines how different programs exchange data
over the Internet.
 HTTP defines how messages are formatted and transmitted, and what actions web
servers and browsers should take in response to various commands.
 Hyper Text is a system in which different types of documents/files such as images, sound
effects and text are linked to each other. These documents can easily be accessed using a
web browser. To visit any website, we must type its URL which has a standard format.
URL:
URL stands for the Uniform Resource Locator.
It is a unique identifier that is used for locating the files/webpage on the internet.
It’s a web address, that we use to identify a specific resource on the network.
There are parts of a URL:
 Protocol: usually HTTP or HTTPS
 Subdomain: usually www
 Domain name
 Path + internal page
Example:
http://www.abzwebpedia.com/index.html is a complete URL.

DOMAIN NAMES:
 In general, a domain name is an address via which internet users can access your
website.

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  The Domain names are assigned as per the rules and procedures of the Domain Name
System (DNS protocol).
 Any publicly accessible name in the DNS is a domain name.
 To access any web-based service a user needs to use a valid domain name.

Examples of domain names: copahost.com, google.com, yahoo.com

DIFFERENCE BETWEEN URL AND DOMAIN NAME:

 URL is a string of information providing the complete address of the web page on the
internet whereas domain name is a part of URL which is a user-friendly form of IP address.
 We use the URL for identifying a particular web page on a web site.
 For example, http://www.abzwebpedia.com/index.html is a complete URL.
“abzwebpedia.com” is the domain name.
WEB PAGE
 A web page is written using HTML and is stored on a web server.
 It is a digital page which may contain text, hyperlink, videos, audios, images, tables etc.
 Each web page is identified by a unique web address called Uniform Resource Locator
(URL).

WEBSITE
 A website is a collection of related web pages.
 Each page may contain text, images, videos or other digital media and links to other
webpage or websites.
 These pages are written in Hyper Text Mark Up Language (HTML) and can be accessed via
Internet.
 A web site is hosted on a web server on the World Wide Web.
 Each site is owned and managed by an individual, company, or organization.

HOME PAGE
 The first page of a website is called the home page.
 The home page contains the main information about a website.
 It contains the links to other parts of the website.
 The URL of the home page also serves as the URL of the Website. For example,
http://www.microsoft.com.
 The website of Microsoft has an address or URL as shown above.
 We should set the most frequently used website as our home page. This saves our
precious time.

WEB BROWSER:
 Web browser is a software which is used to view web sites.
 It is an interface between a user and the World Wide Web.
 A web browser can have a graphical user interface like Internet Explorer, Mozilla Firefox,
Google Chrome, Opera, or can be text-based, like Lynx.
 It can be installed on a single computer. The user can navigate files, folders and web sites
using hyperlinks.

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  Multiple tabs and windows of the same browser can be opened.
 The features and facilities offered by a web browser include downloads, bookmarks, and
password management.
 It also offers functions like spell checking, search engine tool bars, tabbed browsing,
advertisement filtering, HTML access keys and pop-up blocking.

WEB SERVERS:
 A web server is software and hardware that uses HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) and
other protocols to respond to client requests made over the World Wide Web.
 The main job of a web server is to display website content through storing, processing,
and delivering webpages to users.

WEB HOSTING:
 Web hosting is an online service that enables you to publish your website or web application
on the Internet.
 When you sign up for a web hosting service, you basically rent some space on a physical
server where you can store all the files and data necessary for your website to work
properly. Some good web hosting sites in India are: BlueHost, HostGator, A2 Hosting etc.
*****

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