UNIT I:

Introduction: Network Types, LAN, MAN, WAN, Network Topologies Reference

models- The OSI Reference Model- the TCP/IP Reference Model - A Comparison of
the OSI and TCP/IP Reference Models, OSI Vs TCP/IP, Lack of OSI models success,
Internet History.
Physical Layer –Introduction to Guided Media- Twisted-pair cable, Coaxial cable
and Fiber optic cable and unguided media: Wireless-Radio waves, microwaves,
infrared.
COMPUTER NETWORK
• A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes) connected by
communication links.
• A node can be a computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending
and/or receiving data generated by other nodes on the network.
• Eg: Computer, Server, Printer, Security camera, Manymore(switches, bridges,
routers…)
Communication links:
• The link carries the information.
• A communication link can be wired or wireless
Eg:
Wired link-It carries the information through cable
Wireless-It carries the information through air
Five components of data communication

Message: It is the data or information which needs to be transferred from one device
to another device over a computer network.
Sender: Sender is the device that has the data and needs to send the data to other
device connected to the network.

Receiver: A receiver is the device which is expecting the data from other device on
the network.
Transmission medium: In order to transfer data from one device to another device
we need a transmission media such as wires, cables, radio waves etc.
Protocol: A protocol is a set of rules that are agreed by both sender and receiver,
without a protocol two devices can be connected to each other but they cannot
communicate. In order to establish a reliable communication or data sharing between
two different devices we need set of rules that are called protocol.
Transmission modes/Data Flow
 The way in which data is transmitted from one device to another device is
known as transmission mode.
• The transmission mode is also known as the communication mode.
• Each communication channel has a direction associated with it, and
transmission media provide the direction. Therefore, the transmission mode is
also known as a directional mode.
• The transmission mode is defined in the physical layer.
• The Transmission mode is divided into three categories:
1. Simplex mode
2. Half-duplex mode
3. Full-duplex mode
1. Simplex mode
• In Simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, i.e., the data flow in
one direction.
• A device can only send the data but cannot receive it or it can receive the data
but cannot send the data.
2. Half-duplex mode
• In a Half-duplex channel, direction can be reversed, i.e., the station can
transmit and receive the data as well.
• Messages flow in both the directions, but not at the same time.

3. Full-duplex mode
• In Full duplex mode, the communication is bi-directional, i.e., the data flow in
both the directions.
• Both the stations can send and receive the message simultaneously.

Uses of Computer Network

The computers can be used in the following categories
1. Business applications
2. Home applications
3. Mobile users
4. Social issues
Business applications
Following are some business applications of computer networks:
1. Resource sharing
The goal is to make all programs, equipment’s (like printers,
faxmachines,etc), and especially data, available to anyone on the network
without regard to the physical location of the resource and the user.
2. Network called VPN’s
It may be used to join the individual networks at different sites into one
extended network.
3. Client-server model
One can imagine a company's information system as consisting of one or
more databases and some employees who need to access it remotely. In this
model, the data is stored on powerful computers called Servers. Often these
are centrally housed and maintained by a system administrator. In contrast,
the employees have simple machines, called Clients, on their desks, using
which they access remote data.

4. Communication medium
A computer network can provide a powerful communication medium
among employees.
1.Email-Virtually every company that has two or more computers now has
email (electronic mail), which employees generally use for a great deal of
daily communication
2.IP telephony or Voice over IP (VoIP)- Telephone calls between
employees may be carried by the computer network instead of by the phone
company when Internet technology is used.
3. Desktop sharing- lets remote workers see and interact with a graphical
computer screen. This makes it easy for two or more people who work far
apart to read and write a shared blackboard or write a report together. When
one worker makes a change to an online document, the others can see the
change immediately, instead of waiting several days for a letter.
4.E-commerce (electronic commerce)- many companies is doing business
electronically, especially with customers and suppliers Airlines, bookstores,
 and other retailers have discovered that many customers like the
convenience of shopping from home. Consequently, many companies
provide catalogs of their goods and services online and take orders online.
Manufacturers of automobiles, aircraft, and computers, among others, buy
subsystems from a variety of suppliers and then assemble the parts

Home applications
• Access to internet- Internet access provides home users with connectivity to
remote computers. As with companies, home users can access information,
communicate with other people, and buy products and services with e-
commerce. The main benefit now comes from connecting outside of the home.
• News papers- Many newspapers have gone online and can be personalized.
For example, it is sometimes possible to tell a newspaper that you want
everything about corrupt politicians, big fires, scandals involving celebrities,
and epidemics, but no football, thank you.
• Online digital library- Many professional organizations, such as the ACM
(www.acm.org) and the IEEE Computer Society (www.computer.org), already
have all their journals and conference proceedings online. Electronic book
readers and online libraries may make printed books obsolete.
• Peer to Peer communication-In this form, individuals who form a loose group
can communicate with others in the group, as shown in Fig. 1-3. Peer-to-peer
communication is often used to share music and ideos.Every person can, in
principle, communicate with one or more other people; there is no fixed
division into clients and servers
 • Person to person communication-It allows the interactions between a person
to person.
• Gmail-Allows people to communicate with each other by sending emails.
Instant messaging- Allows two people to type messages at each other in real
time.
Twitter- Service that lets people send short text messages called ‘‘tweets’’ to
their circle of friends or other willing audiences
Facebook- It lets people update their personal profiles and shares the updates
with other people who they have declared to be their friends
Wikipedia-Groups of people can work together to create content. A wiki, for
example, is a collaborative Web site that the members of a community edit.
• Home shopping- It is popular and enables users to inspect the online catalogs
of thousands of companies. Some of these catalogs are interactive, showing
products from different viewpoints and in configurations that can be
personalize.

Mobile users
Mobile computers, such as laptop and handheld computers are one of the fastest-
growing segments of the computer industry. Their sales have already overtaken those
of desktop computers. People on the go often want to use their mobile devices to read
and send email, tweet, watch movies, download music, play games, or simply to surf
the Web for information. They want to do all of the things they do at home and in the
office.
1. Connectivity to the Internet- enables many of these mobile uses. Since
having a wired connection is impossible in cars, boats, and airplanes, there is a
lot of interest in wireless networks
2. Wireless hotspot-It allows used to share internet
3. Text messaging- It lets a mobile phone user type a short message that is then
delivered by the cellular network to another mobile subscriber.
4. GPS (Global Positioning System) -Mobile maps and directions are an obvious
candidate as your GPS-enabled phone and car probably have a better idea of
 where you are than you do. So, too, are searches for a nearby bookstore or
Chinese restaurant, or a local weather forecast
5. Geo-tagging-It records location, such as annotating photos and videos with the
place at which they were made.
6. M-commerce (mobile-commerce)- Short text messages from the mobile are
used to authorize payments for food in vending machines, movie tickets, and
other small items instead of cash and credit cards.
7. Wearable computers- Smart watches with radios have been part of our mental
space since their appearance in the Dick Tracy comic strip in 1946; now you
can buy them. Other such devices may be implanted, such as pacemakers and
insulin pumps. Some of these can be controlled over a wireless network. This
lets doctors test and reconfigure them more easily
Line Configuration in Computer Networks
A Network is nothing but a connection made through connection links between two or
more devices. Devices can be a computer, printer or any other device that is capable to
send and receive data. There are two ways to connect the devices :

1. Point-to-Point connection

2. Multipoint connection

Point-To-Point Connection

It is a protocol which is used as a communication link between two devices. It is

simple to establish. The most common example for Point-to-Point connection (PPP) is
a computer connected by telephone line. We can connect the two devices by means of
a pair of wires or using a microwave or satellite link.

Example: Point-to-Point connection between remote control and Television for

changing the channels.
Multipoint Connection

It is also called Multi-drop configuration. In this connection two or more devices share
a single link.

There are two kinds of Multipoint Connections:

 If the links are used simultaneously between many devices, then it is spatially
shared line configuration.

 If user takes turns while using the link, then it is time shared (temporal) line
configuration
Network topology
• Topology defines the structure of the network of how all the components are
interconnected to each other.
• Geometric representation of how the computers are connected to each other is
known as topology.
• It can be viewed as
1. Physical topology-It deals with Placement of various nodes.
2. Logical topology-It Deals with the data flow in the network.

Types of network topologies

• Bus topology
• Ring topology
• Star topology
• Mesh topology
• Hybrid topology
Bus topology
• The bus topology is designed in such a way that all the stations are connected
through a single cable known as a backbone cable.
• Each node is either connected to the backbone cable by drop cable or directly
connected to the backbone cable.
• When a node wants to send a message over the network, it puts a message over
the network. All the stations available in the network will receive the message
whether it has been addressed or not.
• The bus topology is mainly used in 802.3 (Ethernet) and 802.4 standard
networks.

Advantages
• Easy to install and connect a new device to the network
• Requires less cable length, so inexpensive
• Failure of a single node does not affect the network
Disadvantages
• Failure in the cable shuts the entire network
• In case of network shutdown, difficult to identify problem
• As the number of nodes increases, speed slows down
• No security.
Ring topology
• In a ring topology, the nodes are connected to each other in the shape of a
closed loop.
• All nodes are connected to each other, so that every node is connected directly
to nodes on either side of it.
• In this, a message travel through the ring in a circular fashion in the same
direction.
• In this, each device acts as a repeater to keep the signal strong as it travels.
• A node receives the data or message from any of its adjacent nodes, then it
checks the destination address.
• If the message address is attached to any of the node then it accepts the data
otherwise it just regenerates the signal and passes it to next node in sequence.

Advantages
• Performance better than bus topology
• Best suited for networks that do not have a hub.
• More reliable, easy to install, can span over larger distances
Disadvantages
• Causes delay in communication
• Unidirectional- if one node fails, the entire network is shut down
• Difficult to add or remove nodes from the network
• No security.
Star topology
• In star topology each device in the network is connected to a central device
called hub.
• Unlike Mesh topology, star topology doesn’t allow direct communication
between devices, a device must have to communicate through hub.
• If o ne device wants to send data to other device, it has to first send the data to
hub and then the hub transmit that data to the designated device.

Advantages of Star topology

• Less expensive because each device only needs one I/O port and needs to be
connected with hub with one link.
• Easier to install
• Less amount of cables required because each device needs to be connected with
the hub only.
• Robust, if one link fails, other links will work just fine.
• Easy fault detection because the link can be easily identified.
Disadvantages of Star topology
• If hub goes down everything goes down, none of the devices can work without
hub.
• Hub requires more resources and regular maintenance because it is the central
system of star topology.
Mesh topology
• Mesh technology is an arrangement of the network in which computers are
interconnected with each other through various redundant connections.
• There are multiple paths from one computer to another computer.
• It does not contain the switch, hub or any central computer which acts as a
central point of communication.
• The Internet is an example of the mesh topology.
• Mesh topology is mainly used for WAN implementations where
communication failures are a critical concern.
• Mesh topology is mainly used for wireless networks.
• Mesh topology can be formed by using the formula:
Number of cables = (n*(n-1))/2;
Where n is the number of nodes that represents the network

Advantages
• No data traffic issues as there is a dedicated link between two devices which
means the link is only available for those two devices.
• Mesh topology is reliable and robust as failure of one link doesn’t affect other
links and the communication between other devices on the network.
• Mesh topology is secure because there is a point to point link thus unauthorized
access is not possible.
• Fault detection is easy.
Disadvantages
• Amount of wires required to connected each system is tedious and headache.
• Since each device needs to be connected with other devices, number of I/O
ports required must be huge.
• Scalability issues because a device cannot be connected with large number of
devices with a dedicated point to point link.
Hybrid topology
• A hybrid topology is a type of network topology that uses two or more
differing network topologies.
• These topologies can include a mix of bus topology, mesh topology, ring
topology, star topology, and tree topology.
• A Hybrid topology is a connection between different links and nodes to transfer
the data.
Eg: Hybrid Ring and Star topology

Hybrid Bus and Star topology

Advantages of hybrid topology
• We can choose the topology based on the requirement.
• Scalable as we can further connect other computer networks with the existing
networks with different topologies.
Disadvantages of Hybrid topology
• Fault detection is difficult.
• Installation is difficult.
• Design is complex so maintenance is high thus expensive.
Types of Network
• A computer network can be categorized by their size.
• A computer network is mainly of four types:
 PAN(Personal Area Network)
 LAN(Local Area Network)
 MAN(Metropolitan Area Network
 WAN(Wide Area Network)
1. PAN(Personal Area Network)
• PANs (Personal Area Networks) let devices communicate over the range of a
person.
• Personal Area Network is a network arranged within an individual person,
typically within a range of 10 meters.
• Personal Area Network is used for connecting the computer devices of personal
use is known as Personal Area Network.
• Thomas Zimmerman was the first research scientist to bring the idea of the
Personal Area Network.
• Personal Area Network covers an area of 30 feet.
• Personal computer devices that are used to develop the personal area network
are the laptop, mobile phones, media player and play stations.

2. LAN(Local Area Network)

• Local Area Network is a group of computers connected to each other in a small

area such as building, office.
• LAN is used for connecting two or more personal computers through a
communication medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.
• LANs are widely used to connect personal computers and consumer electronics
to let them share resources (e.g., printers) and exchange information.
• The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in Local Area Network.
• Local Area Network provides higher security.

LAN DEVICES

• Wired LAN-Ethernet-HUB,SWITCH
• Wireless LAN-WIFI
3. MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
• A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger geographic area
by interconnecting a different LAN to form a larger network.
• Government agencies use MAN to connect to the citizens and private
industries.
• In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other through a telephone
exchange line.
• The most widely used protocols in MAN are RS-232, Frame Relay, ATM,
ISDN, OC-3, ADSL, etc.
• It has a higher range than Local Area Network(LAN).
MAN Devices
• Switch/hub
• Routers/bridges
Uses of Metropolitan Area Network:

o MAN is used in communication between the banks in a city.

o It can be used in an Airline Reservation.
o It can be used in a college within a city.
o It can also be used for communication in the military.

4. WAN(Wide Area Network)

• A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large geographical area
such as states or countries.
• A Wide Area Network is quite bigger network than the LAN.
• A Wide Area Network is not limited to a single location, but it spans over a
large geographical area through a telephone line, fibre optic cable or satellite
links.
• The internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.
• A Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of Business, government, and
education.
Examples of Wide Area Network:

o Mobile Broadband: A 4G network is widely used across a region or country.

o Last mile: A telecom company is used to provide the internet services to the
customers in hundreds of cities by connecting their home with fiber.
o Private network: A bank provides a private network that connects the 44
offices. This network is made by using the telephone leased line provided by
the telecom company.

Advantages of Wide Area Network

Following are the advantages of the Wide Area Network:

o Geographical area: A Wide Area Network provides a large geographical area.

Suppose if the branch of our office is in a different city then we can connect
with them through WAN. The internet provides a leased line through which we
can connect with another branch.
o Centralized data: In case of WAN network, data is centralized. Therefore, we
do not need to buy the emails, files or back up servers.
o Get updated files: Software companies work on the live server. Therefore, the
programmers get the updated files within seconds.
o Exchange messages: In a WAN network, messages are transmitted fast. The
web application like Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype allows you to communicate
with friends.
o Sharing of software and resources: In WAN network, we can share the
software and other resources like a hard drive, RAM.
 o Global business: We can do the business over the internet globally.
o High bandwidth: If we use the leased lines for our company then this gives
the high bandwidth. The high bandwidth increases the data transfer rate which
in turn increases the productivity of our company.

Layering
• Layer-it mean decomposing the problem into more manageable
components(layers)
ISO-OSI REFERENCE MODEL
• OSI stands for Open Systems Interconnection.
• It has been developed by ISO – ‘International Organization of
Standardization‘, in the year 1984.
• OSI is a reference model that describes how information from
a software application in one computer moves through a physical medium to
the software application in another computer.
• It is a 7 layer architecture with each layer having specific functionality to
perform.
• All these 7 layers work collaboratively to transmit the data from one person to
another across the globe.
Example
• Application-animal-aditya@123
• Presentation-pet -sdahjertyi
• Session-sasi’s-sdahjertyi
• Transport-touch-TL sdahjertyi
• Network-not-NL TL sdahjertyi
• Datalink-do-DL NL TL sdahjertyi
• Physical-please-010010010010100010….

Physical layer
o The main functionality of the physical layer is to transmit the individual bits
from one node to another node.
o It is the lowest layer of the OSI model.
o It establishes, maintains and deactivates the physical connection.
o It specifies the mechanical, electrical and procedural network interface
specifications.

Functions of a Physical layer:

o Line Configuration: It defines the way how two or more devices can be
connected physically.
o Data Transmission: It defines the transmission mode whether it is simplex,
half-duplex or full-duplex mode between the two devices on the network.
 o Topology: It defines the way how network devices are arranged.
o Signals: It determines the type of the signal used for transmitting the
information.

Devices used in physical layer

Hub, Repeater, Modem, Cables are Physical Layer devices.

Data-link layer
o This layer is responsible for the error-free transfer of data frames.
o It defines the format of the data on the network.
o It provides a reliable and efficient communication between two or more
devices.
o It is mainly responsible for the unique identification of each device that resides
on a local network.
o Packet in Data Link layer is referred as Frame.
o Devices of data link layer: switch & Bridge are Data Link Layer devices.

Functions of the Data-link layer

o Framing: The data link layer translates the physical's raw bit stream into
packets known as Frames. The Data link layer adds the header and trailer to the
frame. The header which is added to the frame contains the hardware
destination and source address.

o Physical Addressing: The Data link layer adds a header to the frame that
contains a destination address. The frame is transmitted to the destination
address mentioned in the header.
o Flow Control: Flow control is the main functionality of the Data-link layer. It
is the technique through which the constant data rate is maintained on both the
sides so that no data get corrupted. It ensures that the transmitting station such
as a server with higher processing speed does not exceed the receiving station,
with lower processing speed.
o Error Control: Error control is achieved by adding a calculated value CRC
(Cyclic Redundancy Check) that is placed to the Data link layer's trailer which
is added to the message frame before it is sent to the physical layer. If any error
seems to occurr, then the receiver sends the acknowledgment for the
retransmission of the corrupted frames.
o Access Control: When two or more devices are connected to the same
communication channel, then the data link layer protocols are used to
determine which device has control over the link at a given time.
Network Layer

o It is a layer 3 that manages device addressing, tracks the location of devices on

the network.
o It determines the best path to move data from source to the destination based on
the network conditions, the priority of service, and other factors.
o The Network link layer is responsible for routing and forwarding the packets.
o Routers are the layer 3 devices, they are specified in this layer and used to
provide the routing services within an internetwork.
o The sender & receiver’s IP address are placed in the header by the network
layer.
o Segment in Network layer is referred as Packet.
o Network layer is implemented by networking devices such as Routers.

The functions of the Network layer

1. Routing: The network layer protocols determine which route is suitable from
source to destination. This function of network layer is known as routing.
2. Logical Addressing: In order to identify each device on internetwork uniquely,
network layer defines an addressing scheme. The sender & receiver’s IP address
are placed in the header by network layer. Such an address distinguishes each
device uniquely and universally.
Transport layer

o The Transport layer is a Layer 4 ensures that messages are transmitted in the
order in which they are sent and there is no duplication of data.
o The main responsibility of the transport layer is to transfer the data completely.
o It receives the data from the upper layer and converts them into smaller units
known as segments.
o This layer can be termed as an end-to-end layer as it provides a point-to-point
connection between source and destination to deliver the data reliably.
o The transport layer also provides the acknowledgement of the successful data
transmission and re-transmits the data if an error is found.

Functions of Transport Layer:

o Service-point addressing: Computers run several programs simultaneously
due to this reason, the transmission of data from source to the destination not
only from one computer to another computer but also from one process to
another process. The transport layer adds the header that contains the address
known as a service-point address or port address. The responsibility of the
network layer is to transmit the data from one computer to another computer
and the responsibility of the transport layer is to transmit the message to the
correct process.
 o Segmentation and reassembly: When the transport layer receives the message
from the upper layer, it divides the message into multiple segments, and each
segment is assigned with a sequence number that uniquely identifies each
segment. When the message has arrived at the destination, then the transport
layer reassembles the message based on their sequence numbers.
o Connection control: Transport layer provides two services Connection-
oriented service and connectionless service. A connectionless service treats
each segment as an individual packet, and they all travel in different routes to
reach the destination. A connection-oriented service makes a connection with
the transport layer at the destination machine before delivering the packets. In
connection-oriented service, all the packets travel in the single route.
o Flow control: The transport layer also responsible for flow control but it is
performed end-to-end rather than across a single link.
o Error control: The transport layer is also responsible for Error control. Error
control is performed end-to-end rather than across the single link. The sender
transport layer ensures that message reach at the destination without any error.

Session layer

o It is a layer 3 in the OSI model.

o The Session layer is used to establish, maintain and synchronizes the
interaction between communicating devices.

Functions of Session layer:

o Dialog control: Session layer acts as a dialog controller that creates a dialog
between two processes or we can say that it allows the communication between
two processes which can be either half-duplex or full-duplex.
o Synchronization: Session layer adds some checkpoints when transmitting the
data in a sequence. If some error occurs in the middle of the transmission of
data, then the transmission will take place again from the checkpoint. This
process is known as Synchronization and recovery.

Presentation layer:
o It is concerned with the syntax and semantics of the information exchanged
between two systems.
o This layer is a part of the operating system that converts the data from one
presentation format to another format.
o The Presentation layer is also known as the syntax layer.

Syntax- It refers the structure or format of the message that is being sent.

Semantics-It refers to the meaning of the message of each section.

Functions of Presentation layer:
o Translation: The processes in two systems exchange the information in the
form of character strings, numbers and so on. Different computers use different
encoding methods, the presentation layer handles the interoperability between
the different encoding methods. It converts the data from sender-dependent
format into a common format and changes the common format into receiver-
dependent format at the receiving end.
o Encryption: Encryption is needed to maintain privacy. Encryption is a process
of converting the sender-transmitted information into another form and sends
the resulting message over the network.
o Compression: Data compression is a process of compressing the data, i.e., it
reduces the number of bits to be transmitted. Data compression is very
important in multimedia such as text, audio, video.

Application layer

o An application layer serves as a window for users and application processes to

access network service.
o It handles issues such as network transparency, resource allocation, etc.
o An application layer is not an application, but it performs the application layer
functions.
o This layer provides the network services to the end-users.

Functions of Application layer:

o File transfer, access, and management (FTAM): An application layer allows
a user to access the files in a remote computer, to retrieve the files from a
computer and to manage the files in a remote computer.
o Mail services: An application layer provides the facility for email forwarding
and storage.
o Directory services: An application provides the distributed database sources
and is used to provide that global information about various objects.

TCP/IP model
o The TCP/IP model was developed prior to the OSI model.
o The TCP/IP model is not exactly similar to the OSI model.
o The TCP/IP model consists of five layers: the application layer, transport layer,
network layer, data link layer and physical layer.
o The first four layers provide physical standards, network interface,
internetworking, and transport functions that correspond to the first four layers
of the OSI model and these four layers are represented in TCP/IP model by a
single layer called the application layer.
o TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules, and each of
them provides specific functionality.
Here, hierarchical means that each upper-layer protocol is supported by two or more
lower-level protocols.

Network Access Layer

o A network layer is the lowest layer of the TCP/IP model.
o A network layer is the combination of the Physical layer and Data Link layer
defined in the OSI reference model.
o It defines how the data should be sent physically through the network.
o This layer is mainly responsible for the transmission of the data between two
devices on the same network.
o The functions carried out by this layer are encapsulating the IP datagram into
frames transmitted by the network and mapping of IP addresses into physical
addresses.
o The protocols used by this layer are ethernet, token ring, FDDI, X.25, frame
relay.

Internet Layer
o An internet layer is the second layer of the TCP/IP model.
o An internet layer is also known as the network layer.
o The main responsibility of the internet layer is to send the packets from any
network, and they arrive at the destination irrespective of the route they take.
Following are the protocols used in this layer are:

1. IP Protocol: IP protocol is used in this layer, and it is the most

significant part of the entire TCP/IP suite.

Following are the responsibilities of this protocol:

o IP Addressing: This protocol implements logical host addresses known

as IP addresses. The IP addresses are used by the internet and higher
layers to identify the device and to provide internetwork routing.
o Host-to-host communication: It determines the path through which the
data is to be transmitted.
o Data Encapsulation and Formatting: An IP protocol accepts the data
from the transport layer protocol. An IP protocol ensures that the data is
sent and received securely, it encapsulates the data into message known
as IP datagram.
o Fragmentation and Reassembly: The limit imposed on the size of the
IP datagram by data link layer protocol is known as Maximum
Transmission unit (MTU). If the size of IP datagram is greater than the
MTU unit, then the IP protocol splits the datagram into smaller units so
that they can travel over the local network. Fragmentation can be done
by the sender or intermediate router. At the receiver side, all the
fragments are reassembled to form an original message.
o Routing: When IP datagram is sent over the same local network such as
LAN, MAN, WAN, it is known as direct delivery. When source and
destination are on the distant network, then the IP datagram is sent
indirectly. This can be accomplished by routing the IP datagram through
various devices such as routers.

2. ARP Protocol

o ARP stands for Address Resolution Protocol.

o ARP is a network layer protocol which is used to find the physical
address from the IP address.
o The two terms are mainly associated with the ARP Protocol:
o ARP request: When a sender wants to know the physical address
of the device, it broadcasts the ARP request to the network.
o ARP reply: Every device attached to the network will accept the
ARP request and process the request, but only recipient recognize
the IP address and sends back its physical address in the form of
ARP reply. The recipient adds the physical address both to its
cache memory and to the datagram header
 3. ICMP Protocol

o ICMP stands for Internet Control Message Protocol.

o It is a mechanism used by the hosts or routers to send notifications
regarding datagram problems back to the sender.
o A datagram travels from router-to-router until it reaches its destination.
If a router is unable to route the data because of some unusual conditions
such as disabled links, a device is on fire or network congestion, then
the ICMP protocol is used to inform the sender that the datagram is
undeliverable.
o An ICMP protocol mainly uses two terms:
o ICMP Test: ICMP Test is used to test whether the destination is
reachable or not.
o ICMP Reply: ICMP Reply is used to check whether the
destination device is responding or not.
o The core responsibility of the ICMP protocol is to report the problems,
not correct them. The responsibility of the correction lies with the
sender.
o ICMP can send the messages only to the source, but not to the
intermediate routers because the IP datagram carries the addresses of the
source and destination but not of the router that it is passed to.

Transport Layer

 The transport layer is responsible for the reliability, flow control, and
correction of data which is being sent over the network.

 The two protocols used in the transport layer are User Datagram protocol and
Transmission control protocol.

1. User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

o It provides connectionless service and end-to-end delivery of

transmission.
o It is an unreliable protocol as it discovers the errors but not specify the
error.
o User Datagram Protocol discovers the error, and ICMP protocol reports
the error to the sender that user datagram has been damaged.
o UDP consists of the following fields:
Source port address: The source port address is the address of the
application program that has created the message.
Destination port address: The destination port address is the address of
the application program that receives the message.
Total length: It defines the total number of bytes of the user datagram
 in bytes.
Checksum: The checksum is a 16-bit field used in error detection.
o UDP does not specify which packet is lost. UDP contains only
checksum; it does not contain any ID of a data segment.

2. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

o It provides a full transport layer services to applications.

o It creates a virtual circuit between the sender and receiver, and it is
active for the duration of the transmission.
o TCP is a reliable protocol as it detects the error and retransmits the
damaged frames. Therefore, it ensures all the segments must be received
and acknowledged before the transmission is considered to be completed
and a virtual circuit is discarded.
o At the sending end, TCP divides the whole message into smaller units
known as segment, and each segment contains a sequence number
which is required for reordering the frames to form an original message.
o At the receiving end, TCP collects all the segments and reorders them
based on sequence numbers.

Application Layer
o An application layer is the topmost layer in the TCP/IP model.
o It is responsible for handling high-level protocols, issues of representation.
o This layer allows the user to interact with the application.
o When one application layer protocol wants to communicate with another
application layer, it forwards its data to the transport layer.
o There is an ambiguity occurs in the application layer. Every application cannot
be placed inside the application layer except those who interact with the
communication system. For example: text editor cannot be considered in
application layer while web browser using HTTP protocol to interact with the
network where HTTP protocol is an application layer protocol.

Following are the main protocols used in the application layer:

o HTTP: HTTP stands for Hypertext transfer protocol. This protocol allows us
to access the data over the world wide web. It transfers the data in the form of
plain text, audio, video. It is known as a Hypertext transfer protocol as it has
the efficiency to use in a hypertext environment where there are rapid jumps
from one document to another.
o SNMP: SNMP stands for Simple Network Management Protocol. It is a
framework used for managing the devices on the internet by using the TCP/IP
protocol suite.
 o SMTP: SMTP stands for Simple mail transfer protocol. The TCP/IP protocol
that supports the e-mail is known as a Simple mail transfer protocol. This
protocol is used to send the data to another e-mail address.
o DNS: DNS stands for Domain Name System. An IP address is used to identify
the connection of a host to the internet uniquely. But, people prefer to use the
names instead of addresses. Therefore, the system that maps the name to the
address is known as Domain Name System.
o TELNET: It is an abbreviation for Terminal Network. It establishes the
connection between the local computer and remote computer in such a way that
the local terminal appears to be a terminal at the remote system.
o FTP: FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a standard internet protocol
used for transmitting the files from one computer to another computer.

Differences between OSI and TCP/IP

OSI Model TCP/IP Model

It stands for Open System It stands for Transmission Control
Interconnection. Protocol.
OSI model has been developed by It was developed by ARPANET
ISO (International Standard (Advanced Research Project Agency
Organization). Network).
OSI is a reference model around TCP/IP model is, in a way
which the networks are built. implementation of the OSI model.
Generally it is used as a guidance tool.
OSI is a generic, protocol independent TCP/IP model is based on standard
standard, acting as a communication protocols around which the Internet
gateway between the network and end has developed. It is a communication
user. protocol, which allows connection of
hosts over a network.
It consists of 7 layers. It consists of 4 layers.
In OSI model the transport layer In TCP/IP model the transport layer
guarantees the delivery of packets. does not guarantees delivery of
packets. Still the TCP/IP model is
more reliable.
OSI model has a separate Presentation TCP/IP does not have a separate
layer and Session layer. Presentation layer or Session layer.
Transport Layer is Connection Transport Layer is both Connection
Oriented. Oriented and Connection less.
Network Layer is both Connection Network Layer is Connection less.
Oriented and Connection less.
Physical Layer
 The lowest layer of the OSI reference model is the physical layer.
 It is responsible for the actual physical connection between the devices. The
physical layer contains information in the form of bits.
 It is responsible for transmitting individual bits from one node to the next.
 When receiving data, this layer will get the signal received and convert it into
0s and 1s and send them to the Data Link layer, which will put the frame back
together.
Networking devices
 Hardware devices that are used to connect computers, printers, fax machines
and other electronic devices to a network are called network devices.
 These devices transfer data in a fast, secure and correct way over same or
different networks. Network devices may be inter-network or intra-network.
 Some devices are installed on the device, like NIC card or RJ45 connector,
whereas some are part of the network, like router, switch, etc.
 The networking devices are
1. Modem
2. Repeater
3. Hub
4. Switch
5. Router
6. Bridge
Modem
 A modem is a hardware device that allows the computer to connect to the
internet over the existing telephone line.
 The data stored on the computer is digital whereas a telephone line or cable
wire can transmit only analog data.
 The main function of the modem is to convert digital signal into analog and
vice versa.
 Modem is a combination of two devices − modulator and demodulator.
 The modulator converts digital data into analog data when the data is being
sent by the computer.
 The demodulator converts analog data signals into digital data when it is being
received by the computer.
Ethernet Card
 Ethernet card, also known as network interface card (NIC), is a hardware
component used by computers to connect to Ethernet LAN and communicate
with other devices on the LAN.
 The earliest Ethernet cards were external to the system and needed to be
installed manually.
 In modern computer systems, it is an internal hardware component.
 Ethernet card speeds may vary depending upon the protocols it supports.
 Old Ethernet cards had maximum speed of 10 Mbps.
 However, modern cards support fast Ethernets up to a speed of 100 Mbps.
 Some cards even have capacity of 1 Gbps.
Repeater
 Repeater is a layer 1 device.
 It just regenerates the signal in the single device.

Hub
 Hub works at physical layer of the OSI model.
 It is a networking device used to setup a LAN.
 It has multiple ports.
 It is used to star topology.
 When a packet arrives at one port, it is copied to the other ports so that all
segments of the LAN can sell all packets.
 It does broadcasting.
Switch
 A switch is a networking hardware that connects devices on a computer
network to establish a local area network.
 Switch has memory i.e., used to store the MAC address table.
 It is used in layer 2 of the OSI reference model.
 It does unicasting,broadcasting,multicasting.

Routers
 A router is a networking device that forwards data packet between computer
networks.
 A router is connected to at least two networks commonly between two LAN’s
or WAN’s or a LAN and its ISP’s network.
 It identifies the devices with IP address.
 It is a layer 3 device.
 Stores routing table.
Bridge
 It is a repeater and having additional functionality of reading MAC address.
 It is a layer 2 device.
 It is also used for interconnecting two LAN’s on same protocol.
 It is having only two ports.
RJ45 Connector
 RJ45 is the acronym for Registered Jack 45. RJ45 connector is an 8-pin jack
used by devices to physically connect to Ethernet based local area networks
(LANs).
 Ethernet is a technology that defines protocols for establishing a LAN.
 The cable used for Ethernet LANs are twisted pair ones and have RJ45
connector pins at both ends.
 These pins go into the corresponding socket on devices and connect the device
to the network.

Some factors need to be considered for designing the transmission media:

1. Bandwidth
2. Distance to be covered.
3. Cost
4. Ease of installation and maintenance
5. Efficiency of transmission.
Guided and Unguided Transmission Media
 The purpose of the physical layer is to transport bits from one machine to
another.
 Various physical media can be used for the actual transmission.
 Each one has its own niche in terms of bandwidth, delay, cost, and ease of
installation and maintenance.
 Media are roughly grouped into guided media, such as copper wire and fiber
optics, and unguided media, such as terrestrial wireless, satellite, and lasers
through the air.
Guided Media: (cable)
 It is also referred to as Wired or Bounded transmission media.
 Signals being transmitted are directed and confined in a narrow pathway by
using physical links.
Features:
 High Speed
 Secure
 Used for comparatively shorter distances
Unguided Media: (air)
 It is also referred to as Wireless or Unbounded transmission media.
 No physical medium is required for the transmission of electromagnetic
signals.
Features
 The signal is broadcasted through air
 Less Secure
 Used for larger distances
Magnetic Media
 One of the most common ways to transport data from one computer to another
is to write them onto magnetic tape or removable media (e.g., recordable
DVDs), physically transport the tape or disks to the destination machine, and
read them back in again.
 Although this method is not as sophisticated as using a geosynchronous
communication satellite, it is often more cost effective, especially for
applications in which high bandwidth or cost per bit transported is the key
factor.
 The effective bandwidth of this transmission is 6400 terabits/86,400 sec, or a
bit over 70 Gbps.
Twisted pair cable
 A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires, typically about 1 mm
thick.
 The wires are twisted together in a helical form, just like a DNA molecule.
Twisting is done because two parallel wires constitute a fine antenna. When the
wires are twisted, the waves from different twists cancel out, so the wire
radiates less effectively.
 A signal is usually carried as the difference in voltage between the two wires
in the pair.
 This provides better immunity to external noise because the noise tends to
affect both wires the same, leaving the differential unchanged.
 The most common application of the twisted pair is the telephone system.
Nearly all telephones are connected to the telephone company (telcom) office
by a twisted pair.
 Both telephone calls and ADSL Internet access run over these lines. Twisted
pairs can run several kilo meters without amplification, but for longer distances
the signal becomes too attenuated and repeaters are needed.
 When many twisted pairs run in parallel for a substantial distance, such as all
the wires coming from an apartment building to the telephone company office,
they are bundled together and encased in a protective sheath. Twisted pairs can
be used for transmitting either analog or digital information.
 There are two types of twisted pair cables.
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP):
 This type of cable has the ability to block interference and does not depend on
a physical shield for this purpose.
 It is used for telephonic applications.
Advantages:
1. Least expensive
2. Easy to install
3. High-speed capacity
4. Susceptible to external interference
5. Lower capacity and performance in comparison to STP
6. Short distance transmission due to attenuation
Shielded Twisted Pair (STP):
 A shielded twisted pair is a cable that contains the mesh surrounding the wire
that allows the higher transmission rate.
 This type of cable consists of a special jacket to block external interference. It
is used in fast-data-rate Ethernet and in voice and data channels of telephone
lines.
Advantages:
1. Better performance at a higher data rate in comparison to UTP
2. Eliminates crosstalk
3. Comparatively faster
4. Comparatively difficult to install and manufacture
5. More expensive
6. Bulky
Coaxial cable
 It has better shielding and greater bandwidth than unshielded twisted pairs, so
it can span longer distances at98 THE PHYSICAL LAYER CHAP. 2 higher
speeds.
 Two kinds of coaxial cable are widely used. One kind, 50-ohm cable, is
commonly used when it is intended for digital transmission from the start. The
other kind, 75-ohm cable, is commonly used for analog transmission and cable
television.
 A coaxial cable consists of a stiff copper wire as the core, surrounded by an
insulating material.
 The insulator is encased by a cylindrical conductor, often as a closely woven
braided mesh. The outer conductor is covered in a protective plastic sheath.
 Coaxial cable is of two types:
1. Baseband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting a single
signal at high speed.
2.Broadband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting
multiple signals simultaneously

Advantages Of Coaxial cable

 The data can be transmitted at high speed.
 It has better shielding as compared to twisted pair cable.
 It provides higher bandwidth.
 Disadvantages Of Coaxial cable:
 It is more expensive as compared to twisted pair cable.
 If any fault occurs in the cable causes the failure in the entire network.
Fiber Optic Cable
 Fiber optic cabling consists of a center glass core surrounded by several layers
of protective materials.
 It transmits light rather than electronic signals eliminating the problem of
electrical interference. This makes it ideal for certain environments that contain
a large amount of electrical interference.
 It has also made it the standard for connecting networks between buildings, due
to its immunity to the effects of moisture and lighting.
 Fiber optic cable has the ability to transmit signals over much longer distances
than coaxial and twisted pair.
 Fiber optic cable has the ability to transmit signals over mush longer distances
than coaxial and twisted pair.
 It also has the capability to carry information at vastly greater speeds. This
capacity broadens communication possibilities to include services such as
video conferencing and interactive services.
 The cost of fiber optic cabling is comparable to copper cabling; however it is
more difficult to install and modify. 10BaseF refers to the specifications for
fiber optic cable carrying Ethernet signals.
Basic elements of Fibre optic cable:
1. Core: The optical fibre consists of a narrow strand of glass or plastic known as
a core. A core is a light transmission area of the fibre. The more the area of the
core, the more light will be transmitted into the fibre.
2. Cladding: The concentric layer of glass is known as cladding. The main
functionality of the cladding is to provide the lower refractive index at the core
interface as to cause the reflection within the core so that the light waves are
transmitted through the fibre.
3. Jacket: The protective coating consisting of plastic is known as a jacket. The
main purpose of a jacket is to preserve the fibre strength, absorb shock and
extra fibre protection.

Unguided Transmission Media

  Unguided transmission media is data signals that flow through the air.
 They are not guided or bound to a channel to follow.
 Unguided media transport electromagnetic waves without using a physical
conductor.
 This type of communication is often referred to as wireless communication.
 Signals are normally broadcast through free space and thus are available to
anyone who has a device receiving them.
 Unguided signals can travel from the source to destination in several ways:
ground propagation, sky propagation, and line-of-sight propagation.
Ground Propagation
 In ground propagation, radio waves travel through the lowest portion of
the atmosphere, hugging the earth.
 These low-frequency signals emanate in all directions from the
transmitting antenna and follow the curvature of the planet.
 Distance depends on the amount of power in the signal: The greater the
power, the greater the distance.
 Ground waves have carrier frequencies up to 2 MHz. AM radio is an
example of ground wave propagation.

Sky propagation
 In sky propagation, higher frequency radio waves radiate upward into the
ionosphere (the layer of atmosphere where the particles exist as ions) where
they are reflected back to the earth.
 This type of transmission allows for greater distances with lower output power.
It is sometimes called double hop propagation.
 It operates in the frequency range of 30 – 85 MHz. Because it depends on the
earth’s ionosphere, it changes with the weather and time of day.
 The signal bounces off of the ionosphere and back to the earth. Ham radios
operate in this range. Other books called this Ionospheric propagation
Line of Sight Propagation
 In line-of-sight propagation, very high-frequency signals are transmitted in
straight lines directly from antenna to antenna.
 Antennas must be directional, facing each other and either tall enough or close
enough together not to be affected by the curvature the earth.
 Line-ofsight propagation is tricky because radio transmission cannot be
completely focussed.
 It is sometimes called space waves or tropospheric propagation.
 It is limited by the curvature of the earth for ground-based stations (100 km,
from horizon to horizon). Reflected waves can cause promlems. Axamples are:
FM radio, microwave and satellite.

Radio Waves
 Electromagnetic waves ranging in frequencies between 3 kHz and 1 GHz are
normally called radio waves. Radio waves are omnidirectional.
 When antenna transmits radio waves, they are propagated in all directions. This
means that the sending and receiving antennas do not have to be aligned.
 A sending antenna sends waves that can be received by any receiving antenna.
The omnidirectional property has a disadvantage too.
 The radio waves transmitted by one antenna are susceptible to interference by
another antenna that may send signals using the same frequency or band.
  Radio waves, particularly those of low and medium frequencies, can penetrate
walls.
Applications Of Radio waves
• A Radio wave is useful for multicasting when there is one sender and many
receivers.
• An FM radio, television, cordless phones are examples of a radio wave.
Advantages Of Radio transmission
• Radio transmission is mainly used for wide area networks and mobile cellular
phones.
• Radio waves cover a large area, and they can penetrate the walls.
• Radio transmission provides a higher transmission rate.
Disadvantages Of Radio transmission
 It is a disadvantage because we cannot isolate a communication to just inside or
outside a building.
Microwaves
 Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between 1 and 300 GHz are called
microwaves.
 Microwaves are unidirectional. When an antenna transmits microwave waves,
they can be narrowly focused. This means that the sending and receiving
antennas need to be aligned.
 The unidirectional property has an obvious advantage.
 A pair of antennas can be aligned without interfering with another pair of
aligned antennas. The following describes some characteristics of microwave
propagation:
 Microwave propagation is line-of-sight. Since towers with the mounted
antennas need to be in direct sight of each other.
Characteristics of Microwave:
• Frequency range: The frequency range of terrestrial microwave is from 4-6
GHz to 21-23 GHz.
• Bandwidth: It supports the bandwidth from 1 to 10 Mbps.
• Short distance: It is inexpensive for short distance.
• Long distance: It is expensive as it requires a higher tower for a longer
distance.
• Attenuation: Attenuation means loss of signal. It is affected by environmental
conditions and antenna size.
Infrared Waves
 Infrared waves, with frequencies from 300 GHz to 400 THz (wavelengths from
1 mm to 770 mm), can be used for short-range communication. Infrared waves,
having high frequencies, cannot penetrate walls.
  This advantageous characteristic prevents interference between one system and
another; a short-range communication system in one room cannot be affected
by another system in the next room.
 When we use our infrared remote control, we do notinterfere with the use of
the remote of our neighbors. However, this same characteristic makes infrared
signals useless for long-range communication.
 In addition, we cannot use infrared waves outside a building because the sun’s
rays contain infrared waves that can interfere with the communication.
Satellite
 Satellites are transponders (units that receive on one frequency and retransmit
on another) that are set in geostationary orbits directly over the equator.
 These geostationary orbits are 36, 000 km from the Earths’s surface.
 At this point, the gravitational pull of the Earth and the centrifugal force of
Earth’s rotation are balanced and cancel each other out.
 Centrifugal force is the rotational force placed on the satellite that wants to
fling it out into the space.
How Does Satellite work?
 The satellite accepts the signal that is transmitted from the earth station, and it
amplifies the signal. The amplified signal is retransmitted to another earth
station.
Advantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:
 The coverage area of a satellite microwave is more than the terrestrial
microwave.
 The transmission cost of the satellite is independent of the distance from the
centre of the coverage area.
 Satellite communication is used in mobile and wireless communication
applications.
 It is easy to install.
 It is used in a wide variety of applications such as weather forecasting,
radio/TV signal broadcasting, mobile communication, etc.
Disadvantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:
 Satellite designing and development requires more time and higher cost.
 The Satellite needs to be monitored and controlled on regular periods so that it
remains in orbit.
 The life of the satellite is about 12-15 years. Due to this reason, another launch
of the satellite has to be planned before it becomes non-functional.