Computer networks notes

What is a Network?
- A network is two or more computers, or other electronic devices, connected
together so that they can exchange data.
- Network connections between computers are typically created using cables (wires).
However, connections can be created using radio signals (wireless / wi-fi), telephone
lines (and modems) or even, for very long distances, via satellite links.
- A computer that is not connected to a network is known as a standalone computer.

- COMMON TERMS IN NETWORKS

o node or host refers to any device on a network

o Data transfer rate the speed with which data is moved from one place on a
network to another. It is a key issue in computer networks

Advantages of Networks?
- Using a computer connected to a network allows us to…

 Easily share files and data

o Share resources such as printers and Internet connections
o Communicate with other network users (e-mail, instant messaging, video-
conferencing, etc.)
o Store data centrally (using a file server) for ease of access and back-up
o Keep all of our settings centrally so we can use any workstation

 Make use of on-line services such as shopping (e-commerce) or banking

 Get access to a huge range of information for research
 Access different forms of entertainment (games, video, etc.)
 Join on-line communities (e.g. MySpace, Facebook, etc.)

Disadvantages of Networks?
- Using a computer connected to a network means that…

 The computer is vulnerable to hackers

 If the network breaks, many tasks become very difficult
 Your computer can more easily be attacked by a virus

- In particular, if we use a computer connected to The Internet…

 We have to be careful about revealing personal information

 We have to be careful to avoid suspect websites that might contain malware
 We have to be aware that information found on The Internet is not always accurate
or reliable

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Computers in a Network
Computers connected together to create a network fall into two categories: servers and
clients (workstations).

Clients
- Client computers, or workstations, are the normal computers that people sit at to get
their work done.

Servers
- Servers are special, powerful computers that provide ‘services’ to the client
computers on the network.

These services might include:

 Providing a central, common file storage area

 Sharing hardware such as printers
 Controlling who can or can’t have access the network
 Sharing Internet connections

Network devices

1. A router
- A router (including a wireless router) is a specialized networking device connected to two
or more networks running software that allows the router to move data from one network
to another. It may be wireless or wired
- The primary function of a router is to connect networks together and keep certain kinds of
broadcast traffic under control.

2. Modems
- Short for modulator-demodulator.
- A modem is a device or program that enables a computer to transmit data over, for
example, telephone or cable lines.
- Computer information is stored digitally, whereas information transmitted over
telephone lines is transmitted in the form of analogue waves.

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- Thus the purpose of a modem is to convert computer’s digital data to analogue for
transmission over a telephone line (modulation) and vice versa analogue to digital for
computer processing modulation (demodulation).
- Dial up modems are slower than ADSL
Difference between the router and a modem

Connecting to a router provides access to a local area network, it doesn’t necessarily provide
access to the internet while a modem connect you to the ISP, it provides access to the
internet.

The following is the device connection order:

i. PC or wireless device
ii. Router
iii. Modem
iv. ISP
v. Internet.
3. Network hubs
- A common connection point for devices in a network.
- Hubs are commonly used to connect segments of a LAN.
- A hub contains multiple ports and when a packet arrives at one port, it is copied to the
other ports so that all segments of the LAN can see all packets.
- It main task is to take data received via one of the ports and then send it out to the
others .
- It is least expensive, least intelligent and least complicated of the three devices (router
and modem).

4. Switches

- Similar to hubs but are more efficient in the way they distribute data.
- A network switch (also called switching hub, bridging hub, officially MAC Bridge) is a
computer networking device that connects devices together on a computer network, by
using packet switching to receive, process and forward data to the destination device.
- It learns which devices is connected to which ports.
- Each device has a MAC (Media access control) which identifies it uniquely.

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- Data packets send to the switch will be having MAC address of the source and receiving
device thus with a switch the network traffic will only go where it is needed hence a
switch is more efficient than a switch.

5. Bridge

A network bridge is software or hardware that connects two or more networks so that they
can communicate. People with home or small office networks generally use a bridge when
they have different types of networks but they want to exchange information or share files
among all of the computers on those networks.

6. Network interface card

A network interface card (NIC) is a circuit board or card that is installed in a computer so that
it can be connected to a network.

7. HTTP Proxy server

- Serves as a buffer between WAN and a LAN.

- A proxy server is a server (a computer system or an application) that acts as an intermediary
for requests from clients seeking resources from other servers.

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Types of Network
1. Local Area Network (LAN)
- A Local Area Network is a network confined to one building or site.
- Because LANs are geographically small, they usually use cables or low-power radio
(wireless) for the connections.

Wireless Local Area Network (WLAN)

- A wireless LAN (WLAN) is a LAN that uses radio signals (WiFi) to connect
computers instead of cables.
- At the centre of the WLAN is a wireless switch or router - a small box with one or
two antennas sticking out the back - used for sending and receiving data to the
computers. (Most laptops have a wireless antenna built into the case.)
- It is much more convenient to use wireless connections instead of running long wires
all over a building.

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- However, WLANs are more difficult to make secure since other people can also try
to connect to the wireless network. So, it is very important to have a good, hard-to-
guess password for the WLAN connections.

Wide Area Network (WAN)

- A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large area.
- A WAN is often created by joining several LANs together, such as when a business
that has offices in different countries links the office LANs together.
- Because WANs are often geographically spread over large areas and links between
computers are over long distances, they often use quite exotic connections
technologies: optical fibre (glass) cables, satellite radio links, microwave radio
links, etc.

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Computer networks notes

- The Internet is an example of a global WAN .In fact it is the world’s largest WAN.
- Computers on the International Space Station are linked to the Internet, so the you
could say the the Internet is now the first off-planet WAN!

Bluetooth (Personal Area Network)

- Bluetooth is a wireless networking technology designed for very short-range
connections (typically just a few metres).
- The idea of Bluetooth is to get rid of the need for all of those cables (e.g. USB cables)
that connect our computer to peripheral devices such as printers, mice, keyboards, etc.
- Bluetooth devices contain small, low-power radio transmitters and receivers. When
devices are in range of other Bluetooth devices, they detect each other and can be
'paired' (connected)

Typical uses of Bluetooth:

 Connecting a wireless keyboard to a computer

 Connecting a wireless mouse to a computer
 Using a wireless headset with a mobile phone
 Printing wirelessly from a computer or PDA
 Transferring data / music from a computer to an MP3 player
 Transferring photos from a phone / camera to another device
 Synchronising calendars on a PDA and a computer

The Internet
- The Internet is a world-wide network. IT is the global network that connect networks
together.
- The Internet connects millions of people, and thousands of businesses, governments,
schools, universities and other organisations.

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What Can We Use the Internet For?

- The Internet provides the network connections that links computers together. There
are many ways that we can use these connections:

 View web pages on the WWW (World-Wide Web)

 Sending and receiving e-mail messages
 Sharing files
 Communicating using voice (VOIP) and video (video-conferencing)
 Playing multi-player games
 Listening to streamed music or watching streamed video

Intranets
- An intranet is the name given to a private network that provides similar services to
The Internet: e-mail, messaging, web pages, etc.
- However, these services are only for the users of the intranet – they are private, not
public (unlike Internet services which are generally public).
- Businesses and other organisations often have intranets for use by their employees.

Typical uses of an intranet would be:

 Viewing internal web pages (e.g. company calendars, etc.)

 Internal e-mail and instant-messaging between workers
 Sharing of internal documents

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Computer networks notes

H/W 1
Topic: computer networks
1. a) Define the following
i. internet [2]
ii. PAN [2]
2. What is the difference between the following?
i. Internet and intranet
ii. Intranet and VPN
iii. Downloading and uploading.[6]
3. What can we use the internet for [10]

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Computer networks notes

Different Types of Internet Connections

- There are many ways a personal electronic device can connect to the internet. They
all use different hardware and each has a range of connection speeds. As technology
changes, faster internet connections are needed to handle those changes.
- Some of the different types of internet connections that are available for home and
personal use, paired with their average speeds.
i. Dial-Up (Analog 56K).
- Dial-up access is cheap but slow. A modem (internal or external) connects to the
Internet after the computer dials a phone number. This analog signal is converted to
digital via the modem and sent over a land-line serviced by a public telephone
network. Telephone lines are variable in quality and the connection can be poor at
times. The lines regularly experience interference and this affects the speed,
anywhere from 28K to 56K. Since a computer or other device shares the same line as
the telephone, they can’t be active at the same time.
ii. DSL. DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line. It is an internet connection that is
always “on”. This uses 2 lines so your phone is not tied up when your computer is
connected. There is also no need to dial a phone number to connect. DSL uses a
router to transport data and the range of connection speed, depending on the service
offered, is between 128K to 8 Mbps.
iii. Cable. Cable provides an internet connection through a cable modem and operates
over cable TV lines. There are different speeds depending on if you are uploading
data transmissions or downloading. Since the coax cable provides a much greater
bandwidth over dial-up or DSL telephone lines, you can get faster access. Cable
speeds range from 512K to 20 Mbps.
iv. Wireless. Wireless, or Wi-Fi, as the name suggests, does not use telephone lines or
cables to connect to the internet. Instead, it uses radio frequency. Wireless is also an
always on connection and it can be accessed from just about anywhere. Wireless
networks are growing in coverage areas by the minute so when I mean access from
just about anywhere, I really mean it. Speeds will vary, and the range is between 5
Mbps to 20 Mbps.
v. Satellite. Satellite accesses the internet via a satellite in Earth’s orbit. The enormous
distance that a signal travels from earth to satellite and back again, provides a delayed
connection compared to cable and DSL. Satellite connection speeds are around 512K
to 2.0 Mbps.
vi. Cellular. Cellular technology provides wireless Internet access through cell phones.
The speeds vary depending on the provider, but the most common are 3G and 4G
speeds. A 3G is a term that describes a 3rd generation cellular network obtaining
mobile speeds of around 2.0 Mbps. 4G is the fourth generation of cellular wireless
standards. The goal of 4G is to achieve peak mobile speeds of 100 Mbps but the
reality is about 21 Mbps currently.
vii.

Exercise

Date: 23/09/2015

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Computer networks notes

1. Define the following terms

a. Client server
b. Transfer rate
c. Node [6]
2. Outline advantages and disadvantages of Networks.[10]
3. Describe any 2 different option of connecting to the internet [4].

Firewall
- A firewall is a device, or a piece of software that is placed between your computer
and the rest of the network (where the hackers are!).
- If you wish to protect your whole LAN from hackers out on the Internet, you would
place a firewall between the LAN and the Internet connection.

- A firewall blocks unauthorised connections being made to your computer or LAN.

- Normal data is allowed through the firewall (e.g. e-mails or web pages) but all other
data is blocked.
- In addition to physical devices, firewalls can also be software. In fact most computer
operating systems have a software firewall built in (e.g. Windows, Linux and Mac OS)

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