8 - Computer Networks

Computer Networks
It is an interconnection of computers and other hardware devices like printers, scanners, etc using a
communication medium.
Advantages

Advantages of computer network

Resource sharing Price-performance ratio Communication Reliability Scalability

1)Resource sharing- The sharing of available hardware and software resources in a computer network is
called resource sharing

2) Price-performance ratio - The cost of purchasing licensed software for each computer, can be reduced
by purchasing network versions of such software in a network.

3) Communication – The computer network helps users to communicate with any other computer in the
network through its services like e-mail, chatting, video conferencing, etc

4) Reliability- In a network, it is possible to backup data on multiple computers. This helps users to retrieve
data in the case of failures in accessing data.

5) Scalability - Computing capacity can be increased or decreased easily by adding or removing computers
to the network.
Some key terms

 Bandwidth: bandwidth measures the amount of data that can be send over a specific connection in a
given amount of time.

 Noise: It is unwanted electric or electromagnetic energy that lowers the quantity of data signals.

 Node: Any device which is directly connected to a network is called a Node.

Data communication
It is the exchange of digital data between any two devices through a medium of transmission.

Elements of data communication system

Message Sender Receiver Medium Protocol.

1) Message : It is the information to be communicated like text, picture etc.

2) Sender (transmitter or source) : The device used for sending data
3) Receiver : The device that receives the message
4) Medium :It is the path through which message travels from sender to receive.
5) Protocol : The rules under which transmission takes place between sender and receiver

PREPARED BY MUHAMMAD RAYEES K A, HSST COMPUTER APPLICATION, WOHSS PINANGODE Page 1

Downloaded from hssreporter.com

Communication Medium
 The medium for data transmission over a computer network is called communication channel or
communication medium.

Communication Medium

Guided Medium (wired medium) Unguided Medium (wireless medium)

Twisted pair cable Coaxial cable Optical fibre cable Radio Waves Microwaves Infrared Waves

Unshielded Twisted pair Bluetooth

(UTP)

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Wi-Fi

Wi-MAX

Satellite

Guided Medium
(a) Twisted pair cable (Ethernet cable)
Most widely used
Two types: (1) Unshielded Twisted pair (UTP), (2) Shielded Twisted Pair (STP)
Characteristics of UTP cable
 Low cost
 Thin and flexible
 Easy installation
 Carry data up to a length of 100m
Characteristics of STP cable
 Better immunity against noise
 Expensive
 Difficult to install
 RJ-45 connector is used to connect UTP/STP twisted pair cable to a computer.

(b) Coaxial cable

 Carries data to long distance 185-500m
 High band width
 Less noise
 Thicker than twisted pair
 Less flexible
 Difficult to install

(c) Optical fibre cable

 Data travels as fast as light
 High bandwidth
 Carries data for a long distance
 It uses light for data transmission
 Most expensive and efficient
 Installation and maintenance are difficult

PREPARED BY MUHAMMAD RAYEES K A, HSST COMPUTER APPLICATION, WOHSS PINANGODE Page 2

Downloaded from hssreporter.com

Unguided Medium
 Electromagnetic waves are used for wireless communication
 Based on the frequencies electromagnetic waves are into varies type as radio wave, microwave,
infrared etc..

(a) Radio Waves

 Frequency range is 3KHz to 3 GHz
 Used for short and long distance communication
 Waves are transmitted in all directions
 Inexpensive than wired media
 Can penetrate through most objects
 Less secure
 Permission required for radio wave transmission
 Example: FM, AM, mobile phone, cordless phone, broadcast TV etc

(b) Microwaves
 Frequency range is 300MHz to 300GHz
 Travels in straight line
 Cannot penetrate any solid object
 Inexpensive than wired media
 Microwave Oven, GPS, Military Applications, Radar, Weather Satellites etc

(c) Infrared Waves

 Frequency range is 300GHz to 400THz
 Used for short range communication
 Line of sight transmission
 Only two devices can communicate at a time
 Cannot cross solid objects
 The longer the distance the weaker the performance
 Example: Remote Control, Infrared Cookers, Electric Heaters, Infrared Lamps etc

Wireless Communication technologies using radio waves

(a) Bluetooth
 Frequency range is 2.402GHz to 2.480GHz
 Used for short distance communication
 Used in cell phones, laptops, mouse, keyboard etc.
 It cannot connect up to 8 devices simultaneously
 Slow data transfer rate
(b) Wi-Fi
 Frequency range is 2.4GHz to 5GHz
 Data transmission speed upto 54Mbps
 It can be used to connect more number of devices simultaneously
 Used for communication upto 375ft

PREPARED BY MUHAMMAD RAYEES K A, HSST COMPUTER APPLICATION, WOHSS PINANGODE Page 3

Downloaded from hssreporter.com

(c) Wi-MAX
 Worldwide Interoperability for Microwave Access
 Frequency range is 2GHz to 11GHz
 Used to provide high speed wireless internet access over very long distances
 Hundreds of users can connect to a single station
 High speed connection upto 70Mbps
 Weather conditions may interrupt the signal
 High power consumption
(d) Satellite link
 Uses Geostationary satellites
 These satellites contains an electronic device called transponder
 Transponders are used to amplify and re-broadcast signals to earth
 Transmission of signals from earth to a satellite is called uplink
 Transmission of signals from satellite to earth is called Downlink
 It can cover a large area of the earth
 Expensive
 Requires legal permission and authorisation

Data communication devices:

A data communication device provides an interface between computer and the communication
channel.

1). NIC
 It enables a computer to connect a
network and communicate.
 It can break up data into small units,
translate the protocols, send and receive
data.
 It may be wired (Ethernet) or wireless NIC
(Wi-Fi).

2). Hub
 Hub is used in wired network to connect
devices of the same network.
 It transmits data to all the devises
connected to it. Only the device to
which data is assigned is responds to it.
 Large network traffic due to this reduces
its bandwidth.

PREPARED BY MUHAMMAD RAYEES K A, HSST COMPUTER APPLICATION, WOHSS PINANGODE Page 4

Downloaded from hssreporter.com

 3). Switch:
 A switch is a device that connects
several computers to form a network.
 It an intelligent device, because it can
transmit the received data to the
destination only.
 It will store the addresses of all the Switch
devices connected to it .

4) Bridge
 A bridge is a device used to segmentize
a network.
 A network can be split into different
segments and can be interconnected
using a bridge.
 This reduces the amount of traffic on a
network.
Bridge

5) Router
 A router is a device that can
interconnect two networks of the same
type using the same protocol.
 It can find the optimal path for data
packets to travel and reduce the amount
of traffic on a network. Router

6) Gateway
 A gateway is a device that can
interconnect two different networks
having different protocols.
 It can translate one protocol to another.
 It can find the optimal path for packets -
to reach the destination. Gateway

7). Repeater:
 They are used to receive the incoming
signal, amplify it to their original
strength and retransmit it.
Repeater

PREPARED BY MUHAMMAD RAYEES K A, HSST COMPUTER APPLICATION, WOHSS PINANGODE Page 5

Downloaded from hssreporter.com

Data Terminal Equipment’s
Data terminal equipment is a device that controls data flowing to or from a computer.

1) Modem :
 A modem is a device used for
communication between computers
through telephone lines.
 The name is formed from modulator and
demodulator.
 It converts digital signals received from a
computer to analog signals for telephone
lines and vice versa. Modem

2)Multiplexer and Demultiplexer

 A multiplexer selects an input from several
inputs then it is transmitted in the form of a
single line
 A demultiplexer uses one input signal and
generates many
Multiplexer and Demultiplexer

Network topologies
The way in which the nodes are physically interconnected to form a network is called Topology

Topology

Bus Topology Star Topology Ring Topology Mesh Topology

1)Bus topology:
 In bus topology, all the nodes are
connected to a main cable called bus.
 A small device called a terminator is
attached to each end of the bus.
Bus topology

PREPARED BY MUHAMMAD RAYEES K A, HSST COMPUTER APPLICATION, WOHSS PINANGODE Page 6

Downloaded from hssreporter.com

 Characteristics of bus topology
1)Easy to install.
2)Requires less cable length and hence it is cost-effective.
3)Failure of a node does not affect the network.
4)Failure of cable (bus) or terminator leads to a breakdown of the entire network.
5)Fault diagnosis is difficult.
6)Only one node can transmit data at a time.

2)Star topology
 In star topology, each node is directly
connected to a hub/switch.
 If any node has to send some
information to any other node, it sends
the signal to the hub/switch.

Star topology

Characteristics of star topology

1)More efficient compared to bus topology.
2) Easy to install.
3) Easy to diagnose faults.
4)Easy to expand depending on the specifications of the central hub/switch.
5)Failure of hub/switch leads to failure of the entire network.
6) Requires more cable length compared to bus topology.

3) Ring topology
 In ring topology, all nodes are connected using a
cable that loops the ring or circle.
 A ring topology is in the form of a circle.
 Data travels only in one direction in a ring.

Ring topology

Characteristics of ring topology

1) No signal amplification is required as each node amplifies the signal.

PREPARED BY MUHAMMAD RAYEES K A, HSST COMPUTER APPLICATION, WOHSS PINANGODE Page 7

Downloaded from hssreporter.com

2)Requires less cable length and hence is cost-effective.
3)If one node fails, the entire network will fail.
4) Addition of nodes to the network is difficult.

4) Mesh topology:
 In mesh topology, every node is connected to
other nodes.
 There will be more than one path between two
nodes.
 If one path fails, the data will take another path
and reach the destination.
Characteristics of mesh topology
1) Network will not fail even if one path between the
nodes fails.
Fig 8.11 Mesh topology
2) Expensive because of the extra cables needed.
3)Very complex and difficult to manage.

Types of networks
On the basis of the area covered, computer networks are classified as:

PAN - Personal Area Network

Types of networks

LAN - Local Area Network

MAN - Metropolitan Area Network

WAN -Wide Area Network

1) Personal Area Network (PAN)

 PAN is a network of communicating devices
(computer, mobile, tablet, printer, etc.) in the
proximity of an individual.
 It can cover an area of a radius of few meters.
PAN

PREPARED BY MUHAMMAD RAYEES K A, HSST COMPUTER APPLICATION, WOHSS PINANGODE Page 8

Downloaded from hssreporter.com

 2) LAN (Local Area Network)
 LAN is a network of computing
andcommunicating devices in a room building
or campus.
 It can cover an area of few meters to few
kilometres.

. LAN

3) MAN (Metropolitan Area Network):

 MAN is a network of computing and
communication devices within a city.
 It can cover an area of a few kilometres to a
few hundred kilometres radius.

MAN

4) WAN (Wide Area Network):

 WAN is a network of computing and
communicating devices crossing the limits of a
city, country, or continent.
 It can cover an area of hundreds of Kilometres
in radius.

. WAN

PREPARED BY MUHAMMAD RAYEES K A, HSST COMPUTER APPLICATION, WOHSS PINANGODE Page 9

Downloaded from hssreporter.com

 Summary of PAN, LAN, MAN, WAN
Parameter PAN LAN MAN WAN

Area covered Small area (Up A few meters to A city and its Entire country,
to 10 m radius) few Kilometres vicinity (Up to continent, or
(Up to 10 Km 100 Km radius) globe
radius)
Transmission High speed High speed Moderate speed Low speed
speed
Networking cost Negligible Inexpensive Moderately Expensive
expensive

Logical classification of networks

 Based on the role of the computer in the network

Peer to peer
Logical classification
Client Server

Peer to peer
 Each and every node is itself client and server
 No dedicated servers
 Ideal for small networks
Client Server
 The client server architecture consists of high end computer called server.
 Centralized server is used to store the data
 Classification of servers are :
a. File Server: Computers stores and manages files for the users in the
network
b. Print Server: Redirect print jobs from client to specific printers
c. Web server: Dedicated to responds the requests for web pages.
d. Data Base Server: Allows authorized clients to view , modify and/ or delete data in a common
database.

Network protocols
 Network protocols are a set of well-defined rules through which a user communicates over the
internet
TCP/IP
 Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol
 TCP is a popular communication protocol which is used for communicating over a network.
 It divides any message into series of packets that are sent from source to destination and there it gets
reassembled at the destination.
 Internet Protocol(IP) is responsible for the delivery of each of these packets to the right
 destination
 HTTP, FTP and DNS are the three sub protocols of TCP/IP protocol
HTTP
 Hypertext Text Transfer protocol

PREPARED BY MUHAMMAD RAYEES K A, HSST COMPUTER APPLICATION, WOHSS PINANGODE Page 10

Downloaded from hssreporter.com

  It is a standard protocol for transferring request from client side and to receive responses from
 Server side
 The pair of HTTP request and response is called HTTP session
FTP
 File Transfer Protocol
 It is the easiest way to transfer files between computers over the internet
 A FTP client program can be used to upload and download files(FileZilla, CuteFTP etc.)

DNS
 Domain Name System
 Returns the IP address of the domain name that we type in the browser's address bar
 DNS maintain a database to store domain names and IP address information of all websites

Identification of Computers on a network

1) Media Access Control (MAC) address:
 A universally unique address (12 digit hexadecimal number) assigned to each NIC (Network
Interface Card) by its manufacturer.
 MAC addresses are usually written in one of the following two formats:
 MM : MM : MM : SS : SS : SS or MM – MM – MM – SS – SS – SS
 The first half (MM:MM:MM) of a MAC address contains the ID number of the adapter
manufacturer.
 The second half (SS:SS:SS) of a MAC address represents the serial number assigned to the
adapter (NIC) by its manufacturer.
 eg.00:A0:C9 : 14:C8:35
2) IP address:
 An IP address is a unique 4 part numeric address assigned to each node on a network, for
their unique identification.
 An IP address is a group of four bytes (or 32 bits) each of which can be a number from 0 to
255.

IP address
 There are two types of IP addresses
o IPV4: A 32 bit address which can identify only 4 billion devices in the net.
o IPV6: A 128 bit address which can identify 4x4x4 billion devices in the net.

PREPARED BY MUHAMMAD RAYEES K A, HSST COMPUTER APPLICATION, WOHSS PINANGODE Page 11

Downloaded from hssreporter.com

Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
 It is also known as an internet address or web address
 A website URL is the location of a specific website, page, or file on the Internet.
 URL consists of letters, numbers and punctuations
 Eg: https:// www.google.com.in/index.html

http:// www.google.com.in /index.html

Protocol Domain name Filename

 URL have three parts :

(1) Network Protocol
(2) Domain name
(3) Filename

 Protocol
Protocols are a set of well-defined rules through which a user communicates over the internet
 Domain name
A domain name is an easy-to-remember address used to access websites

Generic Domain Name

eg:.com,.edu,.net
Domain Name
country specific Domain Name
eg:.in,.au,.us

 File Name
• It is the file to be opened.eg: index.html

PREPARED BY MUHAMMAD RAYEES K A, HSST COMPUTER APPLICATION, WOHSS PINANGODE Page 12

Downloaded from hssreporter.com