Nalanda Open University

Course Name: BCA Part II

Paper-X (Networking)
Topic-Introduction to Computer Network
Coordinator: A. N. Pandey
E-mail ID : [email protected]

E-CONTENT

INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER NETWORK

1.1 Introduction

Each of the past three centuries has been dominated by a single technology. People were doing
lot of paper work in organizations because, lack of advance systems which may help them in
day to day work. The 18th century was the time of the great mechanical systems accompanying
the Industrial revolution. Computer industry has made spectacular progress in short time.
During the first two decades of their existence. Computer systems were highly centralized,
usually within the single large room. A medium size company or an organisation were having
one or two computers, white large institutions having a few dozen. The idea that within 20
years powerful computers smaller than postage stamps would be mass produced was pure
science fiction.
The merging of computers and communications has had a profound influence on the way
computer systems are organized. The old model of single computer serving all of the
organization computational need has been replaced by one which the-large no of separate but
interconnected computers do the job. These systems are called as computer network.
A network is a group of two of more computer systems sharing services and interacting in some
manner. This interaction is, accomplished through a shared communication link, with the
shared components being data. Putting simply a network is a collection of machines that have
been linked both physically and through software components to facilitate communication and
sharing of information.
A physical pathway known as transmission medium, connects the systems and a set of rules
determines how they communicate. These rules are known as protocols. A network protocol is
software installed on a machine that determines the agreed –upon set of rules for two or more
machine to communicate with each other. One common metaphor used to describe different
protocols is to compare them to human languages.
Think of a group of people in the same room who know nothing about each other. In order for
them to communicate, this group must determine what language to speak, how to handle
identifying each other, whether to make general announcements or have private conversations
and so on. Machines using different protocols installed can't communicate with each other.
Networks are widely used by companies or on personal level also. Network for companies
should provide high reliability, cost efficient, and recourse sharing.
A most distinguishing characteristic of a general computer network is that data can enter or
leave at any point and can be processed at any workstation. For example: A printer can be
controlled from any computer on the network. This is an introductory unit where, you will
learn about the basic concepts regarding Computer Networks, different types of Networks, their
applications, Network topology, Network protocols, OSI Reference Model, TCP/IP Reference
Model. We shall also examine some of the popular computer networks like Novell network,
ARPANET, Internet, and ATM networks. We conclude the Unit with a brief summary
followed by an exercise and some suggested readings for the students.

1.2 Objectives

After going through this unit, you should be able to:

• understand the concept of computer networks;
• differentiate between different types of computer networks;
• understand the different application of networks;
• compare the different network topologies;
• signify the importance of network protocols;
• know the importance of using networked system;
• understand the layered organisation and structuring of computer networks using OSI and
TCP/IP reference model;
• have a broad idea about some of the popular networks like Novell network, ARPANET,
INTERNET, ATM etc., and

1.3 COMPUTER NETWORK

A computer network is a system in which multiple computers are connected to each other to
share information and resources.

• Two computers are said to be interconnected if they interchange information. The connection
between the separate computers can be done via a copper wire, fibre optics, microwaves or
communication satellite.
• A printer, computer, or any machine that is capable of communicating on the network is
referred to as a device or node.
• We can also say that computer network is an interconnection of various computers to share
software, hardware, and data through a communication medium between them. The computers
connected in a network share files, folders, applications and resources like scanner, web-cams,
printers etc.

• The best example of computer network is the Internet.

A computer network is an interconnection of various computers to share software, hardware,

resources, and data through a communication medium between them.
A Computer Networking is a set of autonomous computers that permits distributed processing
of the information and data and increased Communication of resources.
Any Computer Networking communication need a sender, a receiver and a communication
medium to transfer signal or Data from sender to the receiver. We need sender, receiver,
communication channel, protocols and operating system to establish a computer networking.
A networks model describes the organization of various computers in a network for
using resources.

Computer Network Model

A computer networks communication can be based on centralized, distributed or
collaborative computing. Centralized computing involves many workstations or terminals,
connected to one central mainframe or other powerful computer. Distributed computing
interconnects one or more personal computers and allows various services like Data sharing,
hardware sharing resources sharing or network sharing. The collaborative computing is the
combination of centralized and distributed computing.
1. Centralized Computing.
Centralized computing is like a client/server architecture where one or more client PCs
are directly connected to a central server. Typically, each client PC is a thin client with
no or very limited computing capacity. They generally have a visual display, basic input
devices and a thin CPU with networking capabilities. Client PCs are connected over
the network to a central server that processes their computations. The central server
is deployed with the primary application, massive computing resources, storage and
other high-end computing-intensive features. All the client nodes are entirely
dependent on the central server for any application access, computing, storage,
Internet access and security. Moreover, the administrator in a centralized computing
infrastructure manages all the client nodes from the central server interface.
2. Distributed computing
A distributed network is a type of computer network that is spread over different
networks. This provides a single data communication network, which can be managed
jointly or separately by each network. Besides shared communication within the
network, a distributed network often also distributes processing.
Distributed networks are part of distributed computing architecture, in which
enterprise IT infrastructure resources are divided over a number of networks,
processors and intermediary devices. A distributed network is powered by network
management software, which manages and monitors data routing, combining and
allocating network bandwidth, access control and other core networking processes.
Distributed networks and processing work together to deliver specialized applications
to different remote users. This means that an application may be hosted and
executed from a single machine but accessed by many others. A client/server
computing architecture is an example of a distributed network where the server is the
producer of a resource and many interconnected remote users are the consumers
who access the application from different networks.
3. Collaborative computing / Hybrid computing
Collaborative computing is described as a phenomenon where modern technology
tools facilitate and enhance group work that exists through distributed technology –
where individuals collaborate from remote locations.
Many different types of modern tools and technologies constitute collaborative
programming resources. Some of the earliest systems focused on how to allow groups
in distributed locations to view files, share information and chat amongst themselves
in order to complete projects. As collaborative computing and general technology
evolved, videoconferencing and multi-feature conferencing programs upped the ante
in providing sophisticated platforms where remote teams could complete tasks like
content management, or work on the full “life cycle” for a product or service.

Centralised Computing system

Figure 1: Centralised and Distributed Computing

Computer Network topology

The physical arrangement of computers in a communication network is called as topology. In
star topology, every system on the network is connected to a central controller called Hub and
all the data is transmitted through this. Star topology is very easy to install and configure. In
bus topology, a single cable acts as a backbone of the communication network and all the nodes
or computers are attached to it by using T connectors.
Uses of Computer Networks
The computer networks are playing an important role in providing services to large
organizations as well as to the individuals.
Service Provided by the Network for Companies:
• Many organizations have many computers in operation. These computers may be within the
same building, campus, city, or different cities.
• Even though the computers are located in different locations, the organizations want to keep
track of inventories, monitor productivity, do the ordering and billing etc.
• The computer networks are useful to the organizations in the following ways:

1. Resource sharing.
2. For providing high reliability.
3. To save money.
4. It can provide a powerful communication medium.
1. Resource sharing
• It allows all programs, equipment and data available to anyone on the network irrespective of
the physical location of the resource and the user.
• Show in Fig (a) and (b) which shows a printer being shared and different information being
shared.
 Figure 2 : (a) Sharing of Printer (b) Sharing of Software
2. High reliability due to alternative sources of data:

• It provides high reliability by having alternative sources of data. For e.g. all files could be
replicated on more than one machines, so if one of them is unavailable due to hardware failure
or any other reason, the other copies can be used.
• The aspect of high reliability is very important for military, banking, air traffic control,
nuclear reactor safety and many other applications where continuous operations is a must even
if there are hardware or software failures.
3. Money saving:
• Computer networking is an important financial aspect for organizations because it saves
money.
• Organizations can use separate personal computer one per user instead of using mainframe
computer which are expensive.
• The organizations can use the workgroup model (peer to peer) in which all the PCs are
networked together and each one can have the access to the other for communicating or sharing
purpose.
• The organization, if it wants security for its operation it can go in for the domain model in
which there is a server and clients. All the clients can communicate and access data through
the server.
• The whole arrangement is called as client -server model.

Figure 3 : Client Server Model

Client: The individual workstations in the network are called as clients.

Server:
The central computer which is more powerful than the clients and which allows the clients to
access its software and database is called as the server .
• Server computers typically are more powerful than client computers or are optimized to
function as servers.
Communication in client-server configuration:

Figure 4 : Client/Server communication

• The client places a request on the server machine when he wants an access to the centralized
resources.
• The server responds to this request and sends the signal accordingly to the client.
• The software run at the client computer is called as client program. This software configures
the computer to act as a client.
• Similarly the software run on the server computer IS called as server program. It configures
a computer to act as a server.
4. Communication Medium:
• A computer network provides a powerful communication medium among widely separated
employees.
• Using network it is easy for two or more employees, who are separated by geographical
locations to work on a report, document or R and D simultaneously i.e. on -line.
Networks for People:
• Starting in 1990s, the computer networks began to start delivering services to the private
individuals at home.
• The computer networks offer the following services to an individual person:

1. Access to remote information

2. Person to person communication
3. Interactive entertainment.

1. Access to remote information:

Access to remote information involves interaction· between a person and a remote database.
Access to remote information comes in many forms like:

(i) Home shopping, paying telephone, electricity bills, e-banking, on line share market etc.
(ii) Newspaper is. On-line and is personalized, digital library consisting of books, magazines,
scientific journals etc.
(iii) World wide web which contains information. about the arts, business, cooking,
government, health, history, hobbies, recreation, science, sports etc.
2. Person to person communication:
Person to person communication includes:
(i) Electronic-mail (e-mail)
(ii) Real time e-mail i.e. video conferencing allows remote users to communicate with no delay
by seeing and hearing each other. Video-conferencing is being used for remote school, getting
medical opinion from distant specialists etc.
(iii) Worldwide newsgroups in which one person posts a message and all other subscribers to
the newsgroup can read it or give their feedbacks.
3. Interactive entertainment:
Interactive entertainment includes:
(i) Multiperson real-time simulation games.
(ii) Video on demand.
(iii) Participation in live TV programmes likes quiz, contest, discussions etc.
In short, the ability to merge information, communication and entertainment will surely give
rise to a massive new industry based on computer networking.
1.4 Network Goals and Motivations
Before designing a computer network we should see that the designed network fulfils the basic
goals. One of the main goals of a computer network is to enable its users to share resources, to
provide low cost facilities and easy addition of new processing services. The computer network
thus, creates a global environment for its users and computers.
Some of the basic goals that a Computer network should satisfy are:
 The main goal of networking is "Resource sharing", and it is to make all programs,
data and equipment available to anyone on the network without the regard to the
physical location of the resource and the user.
 A second goal is to provide high reliability by having alternative sources of supply.
For example, all files could be replicated on two or three machines, so if one of them
is unavailable, the other copies could be available.
 Another goal is saving money. Small computers have a much better rice/performance
ratio than larger ones. Mainframes are roughly a factor of ten times faster than the
fastest single chip microprocessors, but they cost thousand times more. This mbalance
has caused many system designers to build systems consisting of powerful personal
computers, one per user, with data kept on one or more shared file server machines.
This goal leads to networks with many computers located in the same building. Such
a network is called a LAN (local area network).
 Another closely related goal is to increase the systems performance as the work load
increases by just adding more processors. With central mainframes, when the system
is full, it must be replaced by a larger one, usually at great expense and with even
greater disruption to the users.
 Computer networks provide a powerful communication medium. A file that was
updated or modified on a network can be seen by the other users on the network
immediately.
 Standards and protocols should be supported to allow many types of equipment from
different vendors to share the network (Interoperatability).

1.5 Classification of Networks

Depending on the transmission technology there are two types of networks:
• Broadcast networks.
• Point-to-point or Switched networks.

Broadcast
Broadcast networks have a single communication channel that is shared by all the machines
on the network. In this type of network, short messages sent by any machine are received by
all the machines on the network. The packet contains an address field, which specifies for
whom the packet is intended. All the machines, upon receiving a packet check for the address
field, if the packet is intended for itself, it processes it and if not the packet is just ignored.
Using Broadcast networks, we can generally address a packet to all destinations (machines)
by using a special code in the address field. Such packets are received and processed by all
machines on the network. This mode of operation is known as “Broadcasting”. Some
Broadcast networks also support transmission to a subset of machines and this is known as
“Multicasting”. One possible way to achieve Multicasting is to reserve one bit to indicate
multicasting and the remaining (n-1) address bits contain group number. Each machine can
subscribe to any or all of the groups.
Broadcast networks are easily configured for geographically localised networks. Broadcast
networks may be Static or dynamic, depending on how the channel is allocated.
In Static allocation, time is divided into discrete intervals and using round robin method, each
machine is allowed to broadcast only when its time slot comes up. This method is inefficient
because the channel capacity is wasted when a machine has nothing to broadcast during its
allocated slot.
Dynamic allocation may be centralised or decentralised. In centralised allocation method,
there is a single entity, for example, a bus arbitration unit which determine who goes next and
this is achieved by using some internal algorithm. In Decentralised channel allocation
method, there is no central entity, here, each machine decides for itself whether or not to
transmit.

1.6 Network topology

Types of Network Topology

Network Topology is the schematic description of a network arrangement, connecting various
nodes (sender and receiver) through lines of connection.

BUS Topology
Bus topology is a network type in which every computer and network device is connected to
single cable. The bus topology connects workstations using a single cable. Each workstation
is connected to the next workstation in a point-to-point fashion. All workstations connect to
the same cable. Figure 5 shows computers connected using Bus Topology.
In this type of topology, if one workstation goes faulty all workstations may be affected as all
workstations share the same cable for the sending and receiving of information. The cabling
cost of bus systems is the least of all the different topologies. Each end of the cable is
terminated using a special terminator.
The common implementation of this topology is Ethernet. Here, message transmitted by one
workstation is heard by all the other workstations.
 Figure 5 : Bus Topology

Features of Bus Topology

1. It transmits data only in one direction.

2. Every device is connected to a single cable

Advantages of Bus Topology

1. It is cost effective.
2. Cable required is least compared to other network topology.
3. Used in small networks.
4. It is easy to understand.
5. Easy to expand joining two cables together.

Disadvantages of Bus Topology

1. Cables fails then whole network fails.

2. If network traffic is heavy or nodes are more the performance of the network decreases.
3. Cable has a limited length.
4. It is slower than the ring topology.

STAR Topology
In this type of topology all the computers are connected to a single hub through a cable. Star
topology uses a central hub through which, all components are connected. In a Star topology,
the central hub is the host computer, and at the end of each connection is a terminal as shown
in Figure 6.

Nodes communicate across the network by passing data through the hub. A star network uses
a significant amount of cable as each terminal is wired back to the central hub, even if two
terminals are side by side but several hundred meters away from the host. The central hub
makes all routing decisions, and all other workstations can be simple.
An advantage of the star topology is, that failure, in one of the terminals does not affect any
other terminal; however, failure of the central hub affects all terminals.
This type of topology is frequently used to connect terminals to a large time-sharing host
computer.

Figure 6 : Star Topology

Features of Star Topology

1. Every node has its own dedicated connection to the hub.

2. Hub acts as a repeater for data flow.
3. Can be used with twisted pair, Optical Fibre or coaxial cable.

Advantages of Star Topology

1. Fast performance with few nodes and low network traffic.

2. Hub can be upgraded easily.
3. Easy to troubleshoot.
4. Easy to setup and modify.
5. Only that node is affected which has failed, rest of the nodes can work smoothly.

Disadvantages of Star Topology

1. Cost of installation is high.

2. Expensive to use.
3. If the hub fails then the whole network is stopped because all the nodes depend on the
hub.
4. Performance is based on the hub that is it depends on its capacity
RING Topology
It is called ring topology because it forms a ring as each computer is connected to another
computer, with the last one connected to the first. Exactly two neighbours for each device.
In Ring Topology all devices are connected to one another in the shape of a closed loop, so
that each device is connected directly to two other devices, one on either side of it, i.e., the
ring topology connects workstations in a closed loop, which is depicted in Figure 7. Each
terminal is connected to two other terminals (the next and the previous), with the last terminal
being connected to the first. Data is transmitted around the ring in one direction only; each
station passing on the data to the next station till it reaches its destination.
Information travels around the ring from one workstation to the next. Each packet of data sent
on the ring is prefixed by the address of the station to which it is being sent. When a packet of
data arrives, the workstation checks to see if the packet address is the same as its own, if it is,
it grabs the data in the packet. If the packet does not belong to it, it sends the packet to the
next workstation in the ring.
Faulty workstations can be isolated from the ring. When the workstation is powered on, it
connects itself to the ring. When power is off, it disconnects itself from the ring and allows
the information to bypass the workstation.
The common implementation of this topology is token ring. A break in the ring causes the
entire network to fail. Individual workstations can be isolated from the ring.

Figure 7 : Ring Topology

Features of Ring Topology

1. A number of repeaters are used for Ring topology with large number of nodes, because if
someone wants to send some data to the last node in the ring topology with 100 nodes,
then the data will have to pass through 99 nodes to reach the 100th node. Hence to
prevent data loss repeaters are used in the network.
2. The transmission is unidirectional, but it can be made bidirectional by having 2
connections between each Network Node, it is called Dual Ring Topology.
3. In Dual Ring Topology, two ring networks are formed, and data flow is in opposite
direction in them. Also, if one ring fails, the second ring can act as a backup, to keep the
network up.
4. Data is transferred in a sequential manner that is bit by bit. Data transmitted, has to pass
through each node of the network, till the destination node.

Advantages of Ring Topology

1. Transmitting network is not affected by high traffic or by adding more nodes, as only the
nodes having tokens can transmit data.
2. Cheap to install and expand

Disadvantages of Ring Topology

1. Troubleshooting is difficult in ring topology.

2. Adding or deleting the computers disturbs the network activity.
3. Failure of one computer disturbs the whole network.

TREE Topology
It has a root node and all other nodes are connected to it forming a hierarchy. It is also called
hierarchical topology. It should at least have three levels to the hierarchy.
Tree topology is a LAN topology in which only one route exists between any two nodes on
the network. The pattern of connection resembles a tree in which all branches spring from
one root. Figure 8 shows computers connected using Tree Topology. Tree topology is a
hybrid topology, it is similar to the star topology but the nodes are connected to the
secondary hub, which in turn is connected to the central hub. In this topology groups of
star-configured networks are connected to a linear bus backbone.

Figure 8 : Tree Topology

Features of Tree Topology

1. Ideal if workstations are located in groups.

2. Used in Wide Area Network.

Advantages of Tree Topology

1. Extension of bus and star topologies.

2. Expansion of nodes is possible and easy.
3. Easily managed and maintained.
4. Error detection is easily done.

Disadvantages of Tree Topology

1. Heavily cabled.
2. Costly.
3. If more nodes are added maintenance is difficult.
4. Central hub fails, network fails.

MESH Topology
It is a point-to-point connection to other nodes or devices. All the network nodes are
connected to each other. Devices are connected with many redundant interconnections
between network nodes. In a well-connected topology, every node has a connection to every
other node in the network. The cable requirements are high, but there are redundant paths
built in. Failure in one of the computers does not cause the network to break down, as they
have alternative paths to other computers.

Mesh topologies are used in critical connection of host computers (typically telephone
exchanges). Alternate paths allow each computer to balance the load to other computer
systems in the network by using more than one of the connection paths available. A fully
connected mesh network therefore has n (n-1)/2 physical channels to link n devices. To
accommodate these, every device on the network must have (n-1) input/output ports.
There are two techniques to transmit data over the Mesh topology, they are :

1. Routing
2. Flooding
Routing
In routing, the nodes have a routing logic, as per the network requirements. Like routing logic
to direct the data to reach the destination using the shortest distance. Or, routing logic which
has information about the broken links, and it avoids those node etc. We can even have
routing logic, to re-configure the failed nodes.
Flooding
In flooding, the same data is transmitted to all the network nodes, hence no routing logic is
required. The network is robust, and the its very unlikely to lose the data. But it leads to
unwanted load over the network.

Figure 9 : Mesh Topology

Types of Mesh Topology

1. Partial Mesh Topology : In this topology some of the systems are connected in the same
fashion as mesh topology but some devices are only connected to two or three devices.
2. Full Mesh Topology : Each and every nodes or devices are connected to each other.

Features of Mesh Topology

1. Fully connected.
2. Robust.
3. Not flexible.

Advantages of Mesh Topology

1. Each connection can carry its own data load.

2. It is robust.
3. Fault is diagnosed easily.
4. Provides security and privacy.
Disadvantages of Mesh Topology

1. Installation and configuration is difficult.

2. Cabling cost is more.
3. Bulk wiring is required.

Cellular Topology

Cellular topology, divides the area being serviced into cells. In wireless media each point
transmits in a certain geographical area called a cell, each cell represents a portion of the total
network area. Figure 7 shows computers using Cellular Topology. Devices that are present
within the cell, communicate through a central hub. Hubs in different cells are interconnected
and hubs are responsible for routing data across the network. They provide a complete
network infrastructure. Cellular topology is applicable only in case of wireless media that
does not require cable connection.

Figure 10 : Cellular Topology

Advantages of Cellular Topology

• If the hubs maintain a point-to-point link with devices, trouble shooting is easy.
• Hub-to-hub fault tracking is more complicated, but allows simple fault isolation.

Disadvantages of Cellular Topology

• When a hub fails, all devices serviced by the hub lose service (are affected).

1.7 Applications of Network

Computer network applications are network software applications that utilize the Internet
or other network hardware infrastructure to perform useful functions for example file
transfers within a network. They help us to transfer data from one point to another within the
network.
These are applications created to be used in networks. Such applications have a separate and
distinct user interface that users must learn for instance: -

1. Email programs
They allow users to type messages at their local nodes and then send to someone on the
network. It is a fast and easy way of transferring mail from one computer to another.
Examples of electronic mail programs (Clients) are: -
 Outlook express
 Eudora Windows mail
 Yahoo
 Gmail
2. File transfer protocol (FTP)
This application facilitates transfer of files from one computer to another e.g. from a client to
a server. There are 2 common processes involved in FTP
Downloading: - This is the process of obtaining files from a server to a workstation or a
client (for example when you download programs and music from a server).
Uploading:- This is obtaining of files from a workstation to a server (for instance when you
attach documents and upload them to a server, a good example being when you upload
photos to Facebook).
Examples of FTP programs are:-
 FTP in Unix
 FTP in Linux or
 FTP in Windows
File Transfer Protocol Process

Figure 11 : File transfer protocol process

3. Terminal Emulation (TELNET)

It allows a workstation to access the server for an application program. This enables you to
control the server and communicate with other servers on the network. The workstation
appears as a down terminal that is directly attached to the server. The user feels like he/she is
using the server directly. TELNET enables PCs and workstations to function as dumb
terminals in sessions with hosts on inter-networks.
4. Groupware
These applications are used to automate the administration functions of a modern office for
instance video conferencing and chatting. They facilitate the work of groups and improve
on their productivity; they can be used to communicate, co-operate, coordinate, solve
problems, compete, negotiate among others.
(i) Video Conferencing
This is the process of conducting a conference between two or more participants at different
sites by using computer networks to transmit audio and video data. For example, a point-to-
point (two-person) video conferencing system works much like a video telephone.
Each participant has a video camera, microphone, and speakers mounted on his or her
computer. As the two participants speak to one another, their voices are carried over the
network and delivered to the others speakers, and whatever images appear in front of the
video camera appear in a window on the other participant’s monitor.
(ii) Chatting
It is a real-time communication between two users via computer. Once a chat has been
initiated, either user can enter text by typing on the keyboard and the entered text will appear
on the other user’s monitor. The two must be online for a chat to be initiated. Most networks
and online services offer a chat feature which enables computer users to chat as they go on
with their work.
1.8 Network Model
Most of the networks today are organised as a series of stacked layers with each layer stacked
over another layer below it. This is done in order to divide the workload and to simplify the
systems design. The architecture is considered scalable if it is able to accommodate a number
of layers in either large or small scales. For example, a computer that runs an Internet
application may require all of the layers that were defined for the architectural model.
Similarly, a computer that acts as a router may not need all these layers. Systems design is
furthermore simplified because with a layered architecture, the design has to only concern the
layer in question and not worry about the architecture in a macro sense.
The depth and functionality of this stack differs from network to network. However,
regardless of the differences among all networks, the purpose of each layer is to provide
certain services (job responsibilities) to the layer above it, shielding the upper layers from the
intricate details of how the services offered are implemented.

Every computer in a network possesses within it a generic stack. A logical communication

may exist between any two computers through the layers of the same “level”. Layer-n on one
computer may converse with layer-n on another computer. There are rules and conventions
used in the communication at any given layers, which are known collectively as the layer-n
protocol for the nth layer.
 Figure 12 : Layered network architecture

Data are not directly transferred from layer-n on one computer to layer-n on another
computer. Rather, each layer passes data and control information to the layer directly below
until the lowest layer is reached. Below layer-1 (the bottom layer), is the physical medium
(the hardware) through which the actual transaction takes place. In Figure 12 logical
communication is shown by a broken-line arrow and physical communication by a solid-line
arrow.
Between every pair of adjacent layers is an interface. The interface is a specification that
determines how the data should be passed between the layers. It defines what primitive
operations and services the lower layer should offer to the upper layer. One of the most
important considerations when designing a network is to design clean-cut interfaces between
the layers. To create such an interface between the layers would require each layer to perform
a specific collection of well-understood functions. A clean-cut interface makes it easier to
replace the implementation of one layer with another implementation because all that is
required of the new implementation is that, it offers, exactly the same set of services to its
neighbouring layer above as the old implementation did.
OSI Reference Model

Figure 13 : Layers of OSI reference model

The OSI reference model is the primary model for network communications. The early 1980s
saw tremendous increases in the number and sizes of networks. As companies realized that
they could save money and gain productivity by using networking technology, they added
networks and expanded existing networks as rapidly as new network technologies and
products were introduced.

By the mid-1980s, companies began to experience difficulties from all the expansions they
had made. It became more difficult for networks using different specifications and
implementations to communicate with each other. The companies realized that they needed to
move away from proprietary networking systems, those systems that are privately developed,
owned, and controlled.
To address the problem of networks being incompatible and unable to communicate with
each other, the ISO researched different network schemes. As a result of this research, the
ISO created a model that would help vendors create networks that would be compatible
with, and operate with, other networks.
The OSI reference model, released in 1984, was the descriptive scheme that the ISO
created. It provided vendors with a set of standards that ensured greater compatibility and
interoperability between the various types of network technologies produced by companies
around the world. Although other models exist, most network vendors today relate their
products to the OSI reference model, especially when they want to educate customers on
the use of their products. The OSI model is considered the best tool available for teaching
people about sending and receiving data on a network.
The OSI reference model has seven layers, as shown in Figure 13, each illustrating a
particular network function. This separation of networking functions is called layering. The
OSI reference model defines the network functions that occur at each layer. More
importantly, the OSI reference model facilitates an understanding of how information
travels throughout a network. In addition, the OSI reference model describes how data
travels from application programs (for example, spreadsheets), through a network medium,
to an application program located in another computer, even if the sender and receiver are
connected using different network media.

Dividing the network into these seven layers provides these advantages:
■ Reduces complexity: It breaks network communication into smaller, simpler parts.
■ Standardizes interfaces: It standardizes network components to allow multiple vendor
development and support.
■ Facilitates modular engineering: It allows different types of network hardware and
software to communicate with each other.
■ Ensures interoperable technology: It prevents changes in one layer from affecting the
other layers, allowing for quicker development.
■ Accelerates evolution: It provides for effective updates and improvements to individual
components without affecting other components or having to rewrite the
entire protocol.
■ Simplifies teaching and learning: It breaks network communication into smaller
components to make learning easier.

The following are the seven layers of the Open System Interconnection (OSI) reference
model:
• Layer 7 — Application layer
• Layer 6 — Presentation layer
• Layer 5 — Session layer
• Layer 4 — Transport layer
• Layer 3 — Network layer
• Layer 2 — Data Link layer
• Layer 1 — Physical layer

Application layer (Layer 7)

The Application layer is probably the most easily misunderstood layer of the model. This top
layer defines the language and syntax that programs use to communicate with other
programs. The application layer represents the purpose of communicating in the first place.
For example, a program in a client workstation uses commands to request data from a
program in the server. Common functions at this layer are opening, closing, reading and
writing files, transferring files and e-mail messages, executing remote jobs and obtaining
directory information about network resources etc.

Presentation layer (Layer 6)

The Presentation layer performs code conversion and data reformatting (syntax translation). It
is the translator of the network; it makes sure the data is in the correct form for the receiving
application.
When data are transmitted between different types of computer systems, the presentation
layer negotiates and manages the way data are represented and encoded. For example, it
provides a common denominator between ASCII and EBCDIC machines as well as between
different floating point and binary formats. Sun’s XDR and OSI’s ASN.1 are two protocols
used for this purpose. This layer is also used for encryption and decryption. It also provides
security features through encryption and decryption.

Session layer (Layer 5)

The Session layer decides when to turn communication on and off between two computers. It
provides the mechanism that controls the data-exchange process and coordinates the
interaction (communication) between them in an orderly manner.
It sets up and clears communication channels between two communicating components. It
determines one-way or two-way communications and manages the dialogue between both
parties; for example, making sure that the previous request has been fulfilled before the next
one is sent. It also marks significant parts of the transmitted data with checkpoints to allow
for fast recovery in the event of a connection failure.

Transport layer (Layer 4)

The transport layer is responsible for overall end-to-end validity and integrity of the
transmission i.e., it ensures that data is successfully sent and received between two computers.
The lower data link layer (layer 2) is only responsible for delivering packets from one node to
another. Thus, if a packet gets lost in a router somewhere in the enterprise Internet, the transport
layer will detect that. It ensures that if a 12MB file is sent, the full 12MB is received. If data is
sent incorrectly, this layer has the responsibility of asking for retransmission of the data.
Specifically, it provides a network-independent, reliable message-independent, reliable
message-interchange service to the top three application-oriented layers. This layer acts as an
interface between the bottom and top three layers. By providing the session layer (layer 5) with
a reliable message transfer service, it hides the detailed operation of the underlying network
from the session layer.

Network layer (Layer 3)

The network layer establishes the route between the sending and receiving stations. The unit
of data at the network layer is called a packet. It provides network routing and flow and
congestion functions across computer-network interface.

It makes a decision as to where to route the packet based on information and calculations
from other routers, or according to static entries in the routing table.

It examines network addresses in the data instead of physical addresses seen in the Data Link
layer.

The Network layer establishes, maintains, and terminates logical and/or physical connections.

The network layer is responsible for translating logical addresses, or names, into physical
addresses.

The main device found at the Network layer is a router.

Data link layer (Layer 2)

The data link layer groups the bits that we see on the Physical layer into Frames. It is
primarily responsible for error-free delivery of data on a hop. The Data link layer is split into
two sub-layers i.e., the Logical Link Control (LLC) and Media Access Control (MAC).
The Data-Link layer handles the physical transfer, framing (the assembly of data into a single
unit or block), flow control and error-control functions (and retransmission in the event of an
error) over a single transmission link; it is responsible for getting the data packaged and onto
the network cable. The data link layer provides the network layer (layer 3) reliable
information-transfer capabilities.

The main network device found at the data link layer is a bridge. This device works at a
higher layer than the repeater and therefore is a more complex device. It has some
understanding of the data it receives and can make a decision based on the frames it receives
as to whether it needs to let the information pass, or can remove the information from the
network. This means that the amount of traffic on the medium can be reduced and therefore,
the usable bandwidth can be increased.

Physical layer (Layer 1)

The data units on this layer are called bits. This layer defines the mechanical and electrical
definition of the network medium (cable) and network hardware. This includes how data is
impressed onto the cable and retrieved from it.

The physical layer is responsible for passing bits onto and receiving them from the connecting
medium. This layer gives the data-link layer (layer 2) its ability to transport a stream of serial
data bits between two communicating systems; it conveys the bits that moves along the cable.
It is responsible for ensuring that the raw bits get from one place to another, no matter what
shape they are in, and deals with the mechanical and electrical characteristics of the cable.

This layer has no understanding of the meaning of the bits, but deals with the electrical and
mechanical characteristics of the signals and signalling methods.
The main network device found the Physical layer is a repeater. The purpose of a repeater
(as the name suggests) is simply to receive the digital signal, reform it, and retransmit the
signal. This has the effect of increasing the maximum length of a network, which would not
be possible due to signal deterioration if, a repeater were not available. The repeater, simply
regenerates cleaner digital signal so it doesn’t have to understand anything about the
information it is transmitting, and processing on the repeater is non-existent.
An example of the Physical layer is RS-232.

Working of OSI Model

 Figure 14 : Working of OSI Model

Information being transferred from a software application in one computer system to software
application in another must pass through each of the OSI layers. Each layer communicates
with three other OSI layers i.e., the layer directly above it, the layer directly below it, and its
peer layer in other networked systems. If, for example, in Figure 14, a software application
in Host A System has information to transmit to a software application in Host B, the
application program in Host A will pass its information to the application layer (Layer 7) of
Host A. The application layer then passes the information to the presentation layer (Layer 6);
the presentation layer reformats the data if required such that B can understand it. The
formatted data is passed to the session layer (Layer 5), which in turn requests for connection
establishment between session layers of A and B, it then passes the data to the transport layer.
The transport layer breaks the data into smaller units called segments and sends them to the
Network layer. The Network layer selects the route for transmission and if, required breaks
the data packets further. These data packets are then sent to the Data link layer that is
responsible for encapsulating the data packets into data frames. The Data link layer also adds
source and destination addresses with error checks to each frame, for the hop.
The data frames are finally transmitted to the physical layer. In the physical layer, the data is
in the form of a stream of bits and this is placed on the physical network medium and is sent
across the medium to Host B.
B receives the bits at its physical layer and passes them on to the Data link layer, which
verifies that no error has occurred. The Network layer ensures that the route selected for
transmission is reliable, and passes the data to the Transport layer. The function of the
Transport layer is to reassemble the data packets into the file being transferred and then, pass
it on to the session layer. The session layer confirms that the transfer is complete, and if so,
the session is terminated.
The data is then passed to the Presentation layer, which may or may not reformat it to suit the
environment of B and sends it to the Application layer. Finally the Application layer of Host
B passes the information to the recipient Application program to complete the
communication process.
Interaction between different layers of OSI model
A given layer in the OSI layers generally communicates with three other OSI layers: the layer
directly above it, the layer directly below it, and its peer layer in another networked computer
system. The data link layer in System A, for example, communicates with the network layer of
System A, the physical layer of System A, and the data link layer in System B.

TCP/IP Reference Model

Figure 15: TCP/IP Reference Model

The TCP/IP suite is a layered model similar to the OSI reference model. Its name is actually a
combination of two individual protocols, Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) and Internet
Protocol (IP). It is divided into layers, each of which performs specific functions in the data
communication process.
Both the OSI model and the TCP/IP stack were developed by different organizations at
approximately the same time as a means to organize and communicate the components that
guide the transmission of data.
The TCP/IP protocol stack has four layers. Note that although some of the layers in the
TCP/IP protocol stack have the same names as layers in the OSI reference model, the layers
have different functions in each model, as is described in the following list:
■ Application layer: The top layer of the protocol stack is the application layer. It refers to
the programs that initiate communication in the first place. TCP/IP includes several
application layer protocols for mail, file transfer, remote access, authentication and name
resolution. These protocols are embodied in programs that operate at the top layer just as any
custom-made or packaged client/server application would.
There are many Application Layer protocols and new protocols are always being developed.
The most widely known Application Layer protocols are those used for the exchange of user
information, some of them are:
• The HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is used to transfer files that make up the Web
pages of the World Wide Web.
• The File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is used for interactive file transfer.
• The Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP) is used for the transfer of mail messages and
attachments.
• Telnet, is a terminal emulation protocol, and, is used for remote login to network hosts.
Other Application Layer protocols that help in the management of TCP/IP networks are:
• The Domain Name System (DNS), which, is used to resolve a host name to an IP address.
• The Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) which is used between network
management consoles and network devices (routers, bridges, and intelligent hubs) to
collect and exchange network management information.

■ Transport layer: Transport Layer is the third layer of the four layer TCP/IP model. The
position of the Transport layer is between Application layer and Internet layer. The purpose
of Transport layer is to permit devices on the source and destination hosts to carry on a
conversation. Transport layer defines the level of service and status of the connection used
when transporting data.

The main protocols included at Transport layer are TCP (Transmission Control
Protocol) and UDP (User Datagram Protocol).

• TCP: TCP provides a one-to-one, connection-oriented, reliable communications service.

TCP is responsible for the establishment of a TCP connection, the sequencing and
acknowledgment of packets sent, and the recovery of packets lost during transmission.

• UDP: UDP provides a one-to-one or one-to-many, connectionless,

unreliable communications service. UDP is used when the amount of data to be transferred is
small (such as the data that would fit into a single packet), when the overhead of
establishing a TCP connection is not desired, or when the applications or upper layer
protocols provide reliable delivery.

The Transport Layer encompasses the responsibilities of the OSI Transport Layer and some
of the responsibilities of the OSI Session Layer.

■ Internet layer: Internet Layer is the second layer of the four layer TCP/IP model. The
position of Internet layer is between Network Access Layer and Transport layer. Internet
layer pack data into data packets known as IP datagrams, which contain source and destination
address (logical address or IP address) information that is used to forward the datagrams
between hosts and across networks. The Internet layer is also responsible for routing of IP
datagrams.

Packet switching network depends upon a connectionless internetwork layer. This layer is
known as Internet layer. Its job is to allow hosts to insert packets into any network and have
them to deliver independently to the destination. At the destination side data packets may
appear in a different order than they were sent. It is the job of the higher layers to rearrange
them in order to deliver them to proper network applications operating at the Application layer.
The main protocols included at Internet layer are IP (Internet Protocol), ICMP (Internet
Control Message Protocol), ARP (Address Resolution Protocol) and IGMP (Internet Group
Management Protocol).

 The Internet Protocol (IP) is a routable protocol responsible for IP addressing and
the fragmentation and reassembly of packets.
 The Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) is responsible for the resolution of the
Internet Layer address to the Network Interface Layer address, such as a hardware
address.
 The Internet Control Message Protocol (ICMP) is responsible for providing
diagnostic functions and reporting errors or conditions regarding the delivery of IP
packets.
 The Internet Group Management Protocol (IGMP) is responsible for the
management of IP multicast groups.

The Internet Layer is analogous to the Network layer of the OSI model.

■ Network access layer: The name of this layer is broad and somewhat confusing. It is
also called the host-to-network layer. It includes the LAN and WAN protocols and all
the details in the OSI physical and data link layers.

Network Access Layer is the first layer of the four layer TCP/IP model. Network Access
Layer defines details of how data is physically sent through the network, including how bits
are electrically or optically signaled by hardware devices that interface directly with a network
medium, such as coaxial cable, optical fiber, or twisted pair copper wire.

The protocols included in Network Access Layer are Ethernet, Token Ring, FDDI, X.25,
Frame Relay etc.

The most popular LAN architecture among those listed above is Ethernet. Ethernet uses
an Access Method called CSMA/CD (Carrier Sense Multiple Access/Collision Detection) to
access the media, when Ethernet operates in a shared media. An Access Method determines
how a host will place data on the medium.

IN CSMA/CD Access Method, every host has equal access to the medium and can place data
on the wire when the wire is free from network traffic. When a host wants to place data on the
wire, it will check the wire to find whether another host is already using the medium. If there
is traffic already in the medium, the host will wait and if there is no traffic, it will place the data
in the medium. But, if two systems place data on the medium at the same instance, they will
collide with each other, destroying the data. If the data is destroyed during transmission, the
data will need to be retransmitted. After collision, each host will wait for a small interval of
time and again the data will be retransmitted

Comparison between OSI and TCP/IP reference model

Following are some major differences between OSI Reference Model and TCP/IP Reference
Model, with diagrammatic comparison below.
OSI(Open System Interconnection) TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol / Internet
Protocol)

1. OSI is a generic, protocol independent 1. TCP/IP model is based on standard protocols around
standard, acting as a communication which the Internet has developed. It is a communication
gateway between the network and end user. protocol, which allows connection of hosts over a
network.

2. In OSI model the transport layer 2. In TCP/IP model the transport layer does not
guarantees the delivery of packets. guarantees delivery of packets. Still the TCP/IP model is
more reliable.

3. Follows vertical approach. 3. Follows horizontal approach.

4. OSI model has a separate Presentation 4. TCP/IP does not have a separate Presentation layer or
layer and Session layer. Session layer.

5. OSI is a reference model around which 5. TCP/IP model is, in a way implementation of the OSI
the networks are built. Generally it is used as model.
a guidance tool.

6. Network layer of OSI model provides 6. The Network layer in TCP/IP model provides
both connection oriented and connectionless connectionless service.
service.

7. OSI model has a problem of fitting the 7. TCP/IP model does not fit any protocol
protocols into the model.

8. Protocols are hidden in OSI model and are 8. In TCP/IP replacing protocol is not easy.
easily replaced as the technology changes.

9. OSI model defines services, interfaces and 9. In TCP/IP, services, interfaces and protocols are not
protocols very clearly and makes clear clearly separated. It is also protocol dependent.
distinction between them. It is protocol
independent.
10. It has 7 layers 10. It has 4 layers

Diagrammatic Comparison between OSI Reference Model and TCP/IP Reference Model

Figure 16 : OSI Reference Model and TCP/IP Reference Model

Some of the drawbacks of OSI reference model are:
• All layers are not roughly, of equal size and complexity. In practise, the session layer and
presentation layer are absent from many existing architectures.
• Some functions like addressing, flow control, retransmission are duplicated at each layer,
resulting in deteriorated performance.
• The initial specification of the OSI model ignored the connectionless model, thus, leaving
much of the LANs behind.

Some of the drawbacks of TCP/IP model are:

• TCP/IP model does not clearly distinguish between the concepts of service, interface, and
protocol.
• TCP/IP model is not a general model and therefore it cannot be used to describe any
protocol other than TCP/IP.
• TCP/IP model does not distinguish or even mention the Physical or the Data link layer. A
proper model should include both these layers as separate.

1.9 NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

Depending on the architecture used Networks can be classified as Client/Server or Peer-to-
Peer Networks.
Client/Server Architecture

Figure 17 : Client/Server Architecture

Client/Server Architecture The client/server architecture significantly decreases network

traffic by providing a query response rather than total file transfer. It allows multi-user updating
through a GUI front end to a shared database. Remote Procedure Calls (RPCs) or standard
query language (SQL) statements are typically used to communicate between the client and
server.
The following are the examples of client/server architectures.

1) Two tier architectures A two-tier architecture is where a client talks directly to a server,
with no intervening server. It is typically used in small environments(less than 50 users).

In two tier client/server architectures, the user interface is placed at user's desktop environment
and the database management system services are usually in a server that is a more powerful
machine that provides services to the many clients. Information processing is split between the
user system interface environment and the database management server environment.
2) Three tier architectures The three tier architecture is introduced to overcome the
drawbacks of the two tier architecture. In the three tier architecture, a middleware is used
between the user system interface client environment and the database management server
environment.
These middleware are implemented in a variety of ways such as transaction processing
monitors, message servers or application servers. The middleware perform the function of
queuing, application execution and database staging. In addition the middleware adds
scheduling and prioritization for work in progress.
The three tier client/server architecture is used to improve performance for large number of
users and also improves flexibility when compared to the two tier approach.
The drawback of three tier architectures is that the development environment is more difficult
to use than the development of two tier applications.
The widespread use of the term 3-tier architecture also denotes the following architectures:
• Application sharing between a client, middleware and enterprise server
• Application sharing between a client, application server and enterprise database server.

i) Three tier with message server. In this architecture, messages are processed and prioritized
asynchronously. Messages have headers that include priority information, address and
identification number. The message server links to the relational DBMS and other data sources.
Messaging systems are alternative for wireless infrastructures.
ii) Three tier with an application server This architecture allows the main body of an
application to run on a shared host rather than in the user system interface client environment.
The application server shares business logic, computations and a data retrieval engine. In this
architecture applications are more scalable and installation costs are less on a single server than
maintaining each on a desktop client.

3-tier architecture provides

• A greater degree of flexibility
• Increased security, as security can be defined for each service, and at each level
• Increased performance, as tasks are shared between servers

The basic characteristics of client/server architectures are:

1) Combination of a client or front-end portion that interacts with the user, and a server
or back-end portion that interacts with the shared resource. The client process
contains solution-specific logic and provides the interface between the user and the rest of the
application system. The server process acts as a software engine that manages shared
resources such as databases, printers, modems, or high powered processors.
2) The front-end task and back-end task have fundamentally different requirements for
computing resources such as processor speeds, memory, disk speeds and capacities, and
input/output devices.
3) The environment is typically heterogeneous and multivendor. The hardware platform
and operating system of client and server are not usually the same. Client and server processes
communicate through a well-defined set of standard application program interfaces (API's) and
RPC's.
4) An important characteristic of client-server systems is scalability. They can be scaled
horizontally or vertically. Horizontal scaling means adding or removing client workstations
with only a slight performance impact. Vertical scaling means migrating to a larger and faster
server machine or multiservers.
Peer-to-Peer Architecture

Figure 18 : Peer-to-Peer Architecture

A type of network in which each workstation has equal capabilities and responsibilities is
called peer-to-peer network. Figure 18 shows the arrangement of computers in a peer-to-peer
environment. Here each workstation acts as both a client and a server. There is no central
repository for information and there is no central server to maintain. Data and resources are
distributed throughout the network, and each user is responsible for sharing data and
resources connected to their system. This differs from client/server architectures, in which
some computers are dedicated to serving the others. Peer-to-peer networks are generally
simpler and less expensive, but they usually do not offer the same performance under heavy
loads. A peer-to-peer network is also known as a Distributed network.

1.10 NETWORK EXAMPLES

Computers are extensively used in almost every field nowadays. There are different types of
networks. Some of them are public networks, research networks, and co-operative networks,
commercial or corporate networks. These networks can be distinguished on the basis of their
history, administration, facilities offered, technical design and the users. Example of some of
the popular networks are Novell NetWare, ARPANET, Internet, ATM network etc.

Novell Netware

Novell NetWare is the most popular network system in the PC world. Novell NetWare
contains the protocols that are necessary to allow communication between different types of
PC’s and devices. There are several versions of NetWare. The earlier versions NetWare 286
version 2.X was written to run on 286 machines. NetWare 386 versions 3.X were written to
run on 386 and 486 machines. The most recent version NetWare 4.X can probably run on
almost any type of machine.

Novell Networks are based on the client/server model in which at least one computer
functions as a network file server, which runs all of the NetWare protocols and maintains the
networks shared data on one or more disk drives. File servers generally allow users on other
PC’s to access application software or data files i.e., it provides services to other network
computers called clients.

There are two types of file servers:

• Dedicated file servers.
• Non-dedicated file servers.

Dedicated File Servers: Dedicated file server runs only NetWare and do not run any other
software, such as Windows application. Dedicated file servers are mostly used in large
networks, because, in large networks, one extra client is less significant and a dedicated
server can handle a larger number of requests more efficiently. In large networks security is
one of the major concerns and providing a clear distinction between client and server
hardware provides greater security.
Non-dedicated File Server: Non-dedicated file server can run both applications and
NetWare. It is useful in small networks because it allows the server to also act as a client and
thus, increase the number of clients in the network by one.
There are many other servers within a Novell NetWare such as, Print server, Message server,
Database server etc.

ARPANET

ARPANET was the network that became the basis for the Internet. Based on a concept first
published in 1967, ARPANET was developed under the direction of the U.S. Advanced
Research Projects Agency (ARPA). In 1969, the idea became a modest reality with the
interconnection of four university computers. The initial purpose was to communicate with
and share computer resources among mainly scientific users at the connected institutions.
ARPANET took advantage of the new idea of sending information in small units
called packets that could be routed on different paths and reconstructed at their destination.
The development of the TCP/IP protocols in the 1970s made it possible to expand the size of
the network, which now had become a network of networks, in an orderly way.

In the 1980s, ARPANET was handed over to a separate new military network, the Defense
Data Network, and NSFNet, a network of scientific and academic computers funded by the
National Science Foundation. In 1995, NSFNet in turn began a phased withdrawal to turn
the backbone of the Internet (called vBNS) over to a consortium of commercial backbone
providers (PSINet, UUNET,ANS/AOL, Sprint, MCI, and AGIS-Net99).
Because ARPA's name was changed to Defense Advanced Research Projects Agency
(DARPA) in 1971, ARPANET is sometimes referred to as DARPANET. (DARPA was
changed back to ARPA in 1993 and back to DARPA again in 1996.)

Internet

The Internet is a worldwide telecommunications system that provides connectivity for

millions of other, smaller networks; therefore, the Internet is often referred to as a network of
networks. It allows computer users to communicate with each other across distance and
computer platforms.

The Internet began in 1969 as the U.S. Department of Defense's Advanced Research Project
Agency (ARPA) to provide immediate communication within the Department in case of war.
Computers were then installed at U.S. universities with defense related projects. As scholars
began to go online, this network changed from military use to scientific use. As ARPAnet
grew, administration of the system became distributed to a number of organizations,
including the National Science Foundation (NSF). This shift of responsibility began the
transformation of the science oriented ARPAnet into the commercially minded and funded
Internet used by millions today.

The Internet acts as a pipeline to transport electronic messages from one network to another
network. At the heart of most networks is a server, a fast computer with large amounts of
memory and storage space. The server controls the communication of information between
the devices attached to a network, such as computers, printers, or other servers.

An Internet Service Provider (ISP) allows the user access to the Internet through their server.
Many teachers use a connection through a local university as their ISP because it is free.
Other ISPs, such as America Online, telephone companies, or cable companies provide
Internet access for their members.

You can connect to the Internet through telephone lines, cable modems, cellphones and other
mobile devices.

The rapid growth of Internet may also be due to several important factors:
1) Easy-to-use software - graphical browsers
2) Improved telecommunications connections
3) Rapid spread of automatic data processing, including electronic mail, bank ransfers, etc.
4) The Information Superhighway projects.
The Internet Society maintains a list of Internet service providers providing connections all
over the world. There is one “universal” aspect of all computers connect to the Internet i.e.,
they all run the TCP/IP family of protocols.
The Internet Protocol (IP) gives the physical 32-bit address, which uniquely identifies an
individual computer connected to the Internet, while Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) is
a connection-oriented protocol, which takes care of the delivery and order of the packages.
TCP also provides the port numbers for individual services within a computer.

The major information services provided by the Internet are (with the protocol in
parentheses): electronic mail (SMTP), remote file copying (FTP), remote login, terminal
connections (TELNET), menu-based file access (GOPHER), wide area information servers
(WAIS, Z39.50), the World Wide Web (HTTP), and the Packet Internet Groper (PING).

There are three major ways to connect your computer to the Internet:
• dial up modem access to a computer connected to Internet,
• dial-up networking, and
• leased lines (usually from a local telephone company).

Dial up modem access

Refers to connecting a device to a network via a modem and a public telephone network.
Dial-up access is really just like a phone connection, except that the parties at the two ends
are computer devices rather than people. Because dial-up access uses normal telephone lines,
the quality of the connection is not always good and data rates are limited. In the past, the
maximum data rate with dial-up access was 56 Kbps (56,000 bits per second), but new
technologies such as ISDN are providing faster rates.
An alternative way to connect two computers is through a leased line, which is a permanent
connection between two devices. Leased lines provide faster throughput and better quality
connections, but they are also more expensive.

Leased lines

A leased line, also known as a dedicated line, connects two locations for private voice and/or
data telecommunication service. A leased line is not a dedicated cable; a leased line is
actually a reserved circuit between two points.

Leased lines can span short or long distances. They maintain a single open circuit at all times,
as opposed to traditional telephone services that reuse the same lines for many different
conversations through a process called "switching."

Leased lines are most commonly rented by businesses to connect branch offices of the
organization. Leased lines guarantee bandwidth for network traffic between locations.

ATM Network

Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) is a switching technique used by telecommunication

networks that uses asynchronous time-division multiplexing to encode data into small, fixed-
sized cells. This is different from Ethernet or Internet, which use variable packet sizes for
data or frames. ATM is the core protocol used over the synchronous optical network
(SONET) backbone of the integrated digital services network (ISDN).
Asynchronous transfer mode was designed with cells in mind. This is because voice data is
converted to packets and is forced to share a network with burst data (large packet data)
passing through the same medium. So, no matter how small the voice packets are, they
always encounter full-sized data packets, and could experience maximum queuing delays.
This is why all data packets should be of the same size. The fixed cell structure of ATM
means it can be easily switched by hardware without the delays introduced by routed frames
and software switching. This is why some people believe that ATM is the key to the Internet
bandwidth problem. ATM creates fixed routes between two points before data transfer
begins, which differs from TCP/IP, where data is divided into packets, each of which takes a
different route to get to its destination. This makes it easier to bill data usage. However, an
ATM network is less adaptable to a sudden network traffic surge.
The ATM provides data link layer services that run on the OSI's Layer 1 physical links. It
functions much like small-packet switched and circuit-switched networks, which makes it
ideal for real-rime, low-latency data such as VoIP and video, as well as for high-throughput
data traffic like file transfers. A virtual circuit or connection must be established before the
two end points can actually exchange data.
ATM services generally have four different bit rate choices:

 Available Bit Rate: Provides a guaranteed minimum capacity but data can be bursted
to higher capacities when network traffic is minimal.
 Constant Bit Rate: Specifies a fixed bit rate so that data is sent in a steady stream.
This is analogous to a leased line.
 Unspecified Bit Rate: Doesn’t guarantee any throughput level and is used for
applications such as file transfers that can tolerate delays.
 Variable Bit Rate (VBR): Provides a specified throughput, but data is not sent evenly.
This makes it a even popular choice for voice and videoconferencing.

Advantages of ATM

• Flexible bandwidth allocation.

• Simple routing due to connection oriented technology.

• High bandwidth utilisation due to statistical multiplexing.

• Potential QOS (Quality Of Service) guarantees.

Disadvantages of ATM

• Overhead of cell header (5 bytes per cell).

• Complex mechanisms for achieving Quality of Service.

• Congestion may cause cell losses.

• It is costly compared to IP.

1.11 TYPES OF NETWORK
Computer Networks are mostly classified on the basis of the geographical area that the
network covers, the topology used, the transmission media used and the computing model
used.
Based on the geographical area covered the networks may be LAN, MAN, WAN.

LAN (Local Area Network)

A Local Area Network is a privately owned computer network covering a small Networks
geographical area, like a home, office, or groups of buildings e.g. a school Network. A LAN
is used to connect the computers and other network devices so that the devices can
communicate with each other to share the resources. The resources to be shared can be a
hardware device like printer, software like an application program or data. The size of LAN is
usually small. The various devices in LAN are connected to central devices called Hub or
Switch using a cable.
Now-a-days LANs are being installed using wireless technologies. Such a system makes use
of access point or APs to transmit and receive data. One of the computers in a network can
become a server serving all the remaining computers called Clients.
For example, a library will have a wired or wireless LAN Network for users to interconnect
local networking devices e.g., printers and servers to connect to the internet.
LAN offers high speed communication of data rates of 4 to 16 megabits per second
(Mbps). IEEE has projects investigating the standardization of 100 Gbit/s, and possibly 40
Gbit/s. LANs Network may have connections with other LANs Network via leased lines,
leased services.

Types of LAN
There are basically two types of Local Area Networks namely: ARCnet and Ethernet.

ARCNET (Attached Resource Computer NETwork)

ARCNET is one of the oldest, simplest, and least expensive types of Local-
Area Network protocol, similar in purpose to Ethernet or Token Ring. ARCNET was the first
widely available networking system for microcomputers and became popular in the 1980s for
office automation tasks. ARCnet was introduced by Datapoint Corporation in 1977.
A special advantage of ARCNET is that it permits various types of transmission media -
twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, and fiber optic cable - to be mixed on the same network. The
specification is ANSI 878.1. It can have up to 255 nodes per network.
A new specification, called ARCnet Plus, will support data rates of 20 Mbps
Ethernet is a family of computer networking technologies for local area networks
commercially introduced in 1980. Standardized in IEEE 802.3, Ethernet has largely replaced
competing wired local area network technologies. Ethernet uses a bus or star topology Network
and supports data transfer rates of 10 Mbps.
Ethernet Network uses the CSMA/CD access method to handle simultaneous demands. It is
one of the most widely implemented LAN standards. A newer version of Ethernet Network,
called 100Base-T (or Fast Ethernet), supports data transfer rates of 100 Mbps.
And the newest version, Gigabit Ethernet supports data rates of 1 gigabit (1,000 megabits) per
second. Ethernet is a physical and data link layer technology for local area networks (LANs).
Ethernet Network was invented by engineer Robert Metcalfe.

MAN (Metropolitan Area Networks)

MAN stands for Metropolitan Area Networks is one of a number of types of networks. A MAN
is a relatively new class of network. MAN is larger than a local area network and as its name
implies, covers the area of a single city. MANs rarely extend beyond 100 KM and frequently
comprise a combination of different hardware and transmission media. It can be single network
such as a cable TV network, or it is a means of connecting a number of LANs into a larger
network so that resources can be shared LAN to LAN as well as device to device.

A MAN can be created as a single network such as Cable TV Network, covering the entire city
or a group of several Local Area Networks (LANs). It this way resource can be shared from
LAN to LAN and from computer to computer also. MANs are usually owned by large
organizations to interconnect its various branches across a city.
MAN is based on IEEE 802.6 standard known as DQDB (Distributed Queue Dual Bus). DQDB
uses two unidirectional cables (buses) and all the computers are connected to these two buses.
Each bus has a specialized device that initiates the transmission activity. This device is called
head end. Data that is to be sent to the computer on the right hand side of the sender is
transmitted on upper bus. Data that is to be sent to the left hand side of the sender is transmitted
on lower bus.
The two most important components of MANs are security and standardization. Security is
important because information is being shared between dissimilar systems. Standardization is
necessary to ensure reliable data communication.
A MAN usually interconnects a number of local area networks using a high-capacity backbone
technology, such as fiber-optical links, and provides up-link services to wide area networks
and the Internet.
The Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN) protocols are mostly at the data link level (layer 2 in
the OSI model), which are defined by IEEE, ITU-T, etc.

WAN (Wide Area Networks)

A wide area network (WAN) is a telecommunication network. A wide area network is simply
a LAN of LANs or Network of Networks. WANs connect LANs that may be on opposite sides
of a building, across the country or around the world. WANS are characterized by the slowest
data communication rates and the largest distances. WANs can be of two types: an enterprise
WAN and Global WAN.
Computers connected to a Wide Area Networks are often connected through public networks,
such as the telephone system. They can also be connected through leased lines or satellites. The
largest WAN in existence is the Internet. Some segments of the Internet, like VPN based
extranets, are also WANs in themselves. Finally, many WANs are corporate or research
networks that utilize leased lines.
Numerous WANs have been constructed, including public packet networks, large corporate
networks, military networks, banking networks, stock brokerage networks, and airline
reservation networks.
Organizations supporting WANs using the Internet Protocol are known as Network Service
Providers (NSPs). These form the core of the Internet.
By connecting the NSP WANs together using links at Internet Packet Interchanges (sometimes
called "peering points") a global communication infrastructure is formed.
WANs (wide area networks) generally utilize different and much more expensive networking
equipment than do LANs (Local Area Networks). Key technologies often found in WANs
(wide area networks) include SONET, Frame Relay, and ATM.

Clarify Enterprise WANs.

An enterprise WAN (wide area networks) connects an entire organization including all LANs
(Local Area Networks) at various sites. This term is used for large, widespread organizations
such as corporations, universities and governments.

Clarify Global WANs.

Global WANs (wide area networks) also span the world but they do not have to connect
LANS (Local Area Networks) within a single organization. The Internet is an example of a
global WAN. It connects diverse locations, organizations and institutions throughout the world.
Global WANS (wide area networks) can be public or private. Private WANs (wide area
networks) are called Intranet which belongs to an organization. Public WANs (wide area
networks) are open to everybody so that anybody can connect and use the resources and
services available.
WLANs - Wireless Local Area Networks
WLANs (Wireless Local Area Networks or sometimes referred to as LAWN, for local area
wireless network) provide wireless network communication over short distances using radio or
infrared signals instead of traditional network cabling.WLANs (Wireless Local Area
Networks) is one in which a mobile user can connect to a local area network (LAN) through a
wireless (radio) connection
Norman Abramson, a professor at the University of Hawaii, developed the world’s first
wireless computer communication network,
A WLAN typically extends an existing wired local area network. WLANs (Wireless Local
Area Networks) are built by attaching a device called the access point (AP) to the edge of the
wired network. Clients communicate with the AP using a wireless network adapter similar in
function to a traditional Ethernet adapter.
Network security remains an important issue for WLANs (Wireless Local Area Networks).
Random wireless clients must usually be prohibited from joining the WLAN. Technologies
like WEP raise the level of security on wireless networks to rival that of traditional wired
networks.
The IEEE 802.11 group of standards specify the technologies for wireless LANs. 802.11
standards use the Ethernet
WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networks) hardware was initially so expensive that it was only
used as an alternative to cabled LAN in places where cabling was difficult or impossible.
All components that can connect into a wireless medium in a network are referred to as stations.
All stations are equipped with wireless network interface controllers (WNICs). Wireless
stations fall into one of two categories: access points, and clients. Access points (APs),
normally routers, are base stations for the wireless network.
They transmit and receive radio frequencies for wireless enabled devices to communicate with.
Wireless clients can be mobile devices such as laptops, personal digital assistants, IP phones
and other smartphones, or fixed devices such as desktops and workstations that are equipped
with a wireless network interface.

WLAN (Wireless Local Area Networks) types

Private home or small business WLAN
Commonly, a home or business WLAN employs one or two access points to broadcast a signal
around a 100- to 200-foot radius. You can find equipment for installing a home WLAN in many
retail stores.
With few exceptions, hardware in this category subscribes to the 802.11a, b, or g standards
(also known as Wi-Fi); some home and office WLANs now adhere to the new 802.11n
standard. Also, because of security concerns, many home and office WLANs adhere to the Wi-
Fi Protected Access 2 (WPA2) standard.

Enterprise class WLAN

An enterprise class WLAN employs a large number of individual access points to broadcast
the signal to a wide area. The access points have more features than home or small office
WLAN equipment, such as better security, authentication, remote management, and tools to
help integrate with existing networks. These access points have a larger coverage area than
home or small office equipment, and are designed to work together to cover a much larger area.
This equipment can adhere to the 802.11a, b, g, or n standard, or to security-refining standards,
such as 802.1x and WPA2.
Examples:
For WLANs that connect to the Internet, Wireless Application Protocol (WAP) technology
allows Web content to be more easily downloaded to a WLAN and rendered on wireless clients
like cell phones and PDAs.
1.12 Advantages and disadvantages of Networks

With computers wirelessly linked together through a network, computer networking has been
an essential means of sharing information. It is a practice widely used in the modern world, as
it provides a multitude of benefits to individuals and businesses alike. However, it does not
come without any drawbacks. Here are the advantages and disadvantages of computer
networking:
List of Advantages of Computer Networking

1. It offers convenient resource sharing.

This technology is very important, especially for large businesses that need to produce huge
numbers of resources to share to all the people. Since all processes are computer based, you
can assure yourself that all resources will be delivered to users as long as you have reliable
connectivity.
2. It allows easy sharing of files.
This is a core benefit of computer networking—it provides people with access to share their
files easily. This greatly helps with saving time and effort, which they can then spend on
other tasks, whether it is for personal or business purposes.
3. It provides the benefit of flexibility.
Computer networking is known to offer high flexibility in a sense that you are given the
chance to explore everything about a certain type of software without affecting its
functionality. You will have the accessibility to all information that you need.
4. Its system is inexpensive to operate.
Installing computer networking software would typically not cost a lot, and mostly, they are
dependable when it comes to helping you share information on a network or the web.
Moreover, you do not need to entirely change software as you just need to install updates,
unless the need arises.
5. It increases storage capacity.
Since you are sharing resources and files to others, it is just normal that you should be able to
sufficiently store all the data and files. With this technology, it is a must that you should have
storage capacity that can accommodate all that you need to keep your activities and
operations up and running.

List of Disadvantages of Computer Networking

1. It comes with the risk of security issues.

Considering the large number of people using a computer network and sharing files and
resources, your security would normally be at risk. As you can see, there are illegal activities
on a network, especially on the web, which you need to be aware and careful of.
2. It encourages people to become dependent on computers.
Since this technology’s process mostly involves the use of computers, people have been
relying on these machines rather than exerting some physical effort, which can be bad health
wise.
3. It opens up a doorway for computer viruses and malware.
There will be cases where you would unwittingly store some corrupted files into your
computer that can destroy your entire operating system. Nevertheless, you can always use
anti-virus software to keep this situation from happening.
Generally, computer networking provides fast and convenient means to share and transfer
information, but you need to make sure you are always aware of the consequences that this
technology brings.

1.13 Summary
In this unit, we have learnt about the basic concepts of Networking. We have seen the
different types of networks and the difference between them. Computer networks LAN,
MAN, WAN has also discussed depending on the geographical distance covered and
depending on the various ways of interconnecting computers in a network (network topology)
like Star, Bus, Ring, Tree, Mesh and cellular topologies.
We have seen the immense benefits that the computer networks provide in the form of
excellent sharing of computational resources, computational load, increased level of
reliability, economy and efficient person-to-person communication. Here we have briefly
explained some of the network protocols which define a common set of rules and signals that
computers on the network use to communicate with each other.
We have discussed Standard network architecture for meaningful communication between
end systems. Two most widely used reference models i.e., the OSI reference model and the
TCP/IP reference model has also been discussed. we have learnt about some of the popular
networks such as Novell NetWare, ARPANET, Internet, ATM network.

1.14 Questions for Exercise

1) Explain the difference between Client/Server and Peer-to-peer architecture.
2) Briefly describe about NCP and IPX of Novell NetWare reference model.
3) List the important aspects that should be kept in mind while designing a network?
4) Differentiate between Broadcast and Point-to-Point Networks.
5) List the basic equipment required to connect a computer to the Internet.
6) What are advantages of having small fixed size cells in ATM?
7) What are the various types of networks? Compare Tree topology with Star topology.

8) Explain the OSI reference model in detail.

9) Explain the TCP/IP reference model in detail.

10) What are the basic goals that a Computer network should perform?

11) Discuss the basic characteristics of client/server architectures.

Suggested Readings:

1. Computer Networks, Andrew S. Tenenbaum, PHI, New Delhi.

2. Data and Computer Communication, William Stalling, PHI, New Delhi
References :
1. http://ecomputernotes.com/computernetworkingnotes/network-
technologies/what-is-client-server-architecture
2. https://www.techopedia.com/definition/5339/asynchronous-transfer-mode-atm
3. http://ecomputernotes.com/computernetworkingnotes/computer-network/how-
many-type-of-computer-networking
4. http://futureofworking.com/8-advantages-and-disadvantages-of-computer-
networking
5. https://www.tutorialspoint.com