ELEC S332

Computer Networks
(Free Courseware)
© The Open University of Hong Kong

This work is licensed under a Creative Commons-ShareAlike 4.0 International License

Contents
Chapter 1 Introduction to Computer Networks ........................................................1
1.1 About this module ..............................................................................................................1
1.2 Introduction ........................................................................................................................2
1.3 Importance of computer networks ..................................................................................3
1.4 Data communications basics ............................................................................................4
Reading .............................................................................................................................4
1.4.1 Activity 1.1 ................................................................................................................6
1.4.2 Self-test 1.1...............................................................................................................7
1.4.2.1 Self-test 1.1 feedback ..................................................................................7

1.5 Network basics....................................................................................................................8

nodes .................................................................................................................................8
links ...................................................................................................................................8
1.5.1 Distributed processing..........................................................................................10
1.5.2 Network criteria.....................................................................................................11
transit time .............................................................................................................11
response time ........................................................................................................11
bandwidth ...............................................................................................................11
delay ........................................................................................................................12
1.5.3 Physical topologies................................................................................................12
1.5.3.1 Mesh topology ............................................................................................12
1.5.3.2 Star topology ..............................................................................................13
1.5.3.3 Bus topology ...............................................................................................14
1.5.3.4 Ring topology ..............................................................................................14
1.5.4 Categories of network ..........................................................................................15
local area networks (LANs) ...................................................................................16
metropolitan area networks (MANs) ...................................................................16
wide area networks (WANs) .................................................................................16
Reading ...................................................................................................................17

1.6 Conclusion ........................................................................................................................18

1

Chapter 1 Introduction to Computer

Networks
1.1 About this module
Available under Creative Commons-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).

Welcome to this free courseware module 'Introduction to computer networks'!

This module is taken from the OUHK course ELEC S332 Computer Networks (http://www.
ouhk.edu.hk/wcsprd/Satellite?pagename=OUHK/tcGenericPage2010&lang=eng&
ncode=ELEC%20S332&shopping=Y&TYPE=CI&CODE=CT332), a ten-credit, higher-level
course that forms the core of a number of degree programmes (Computing and
Networking, Communications Technology, Communications Technology with
Management; and Computer Engineering) offered by the School of Science and
Technology (http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/wcsprd/Satellite?pagename=OUHK/tcSubWeb&
l=C_ST&lid=191133000200&lang=eng) of the OUHK. ELEC S332 is designed to provide a
step-by-step approach to grasping the basic concepts of computer networks and their
applications in everyday life. The course adopts the 5-layer Internet model and makes
use of the widely used Internet-related protocols to explain the different layers of
practical computer networks.

ELEC S332 is mainly presented in printed format and comprises 10 study units. Each
unit contains study content, activities, self-tests, assigned readings, etc for students'
self-learning. This module (The materials for this module, taken from the print-based
course ELEC S332, have been specially adapted to make them more suitable for
studying online, and multimedia elements have been added where appropriate. In
addition to this topic on 'Introduction to computer networks', which is an extract from
Unit 1 of the course, the original Unit 1 also includes the topic 'Protocols and
standards', 'Layered tasks', 'Brief history and present status of the Internet' and
'Overview of the five-layer Internet model and the seven-layer OSI model'.) retains
most of these elements, so you can have a taste of what an OUHK course is like.
Please note that no credits can be earned on completion of this module. If you would
like to pursue it further, you are welcome to enrol in ELEC S332 Computer Networks
(http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/wcsprd/Satellite?pagename=OUHK/tcGenericPage2010&
lang=eng&ncode=ELEC%20S332&shopping=Y&TYPE=CI&CODE=CT332).

This module will take you about eight hours to complete, including the time for
completing the activities and self-tests (but not including the time for assigned
readings). Owing to copyright issues, textbook and assigned readings are not included
in the free courseware.

Good luck, and enjoy your study!

 2

1.2 Introduction
Available under Creative Commons-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).

Welcome to ELEC S332 Computer Networks.

Nowadays, everyone is using the Internet. We have hooked our computers to the
Internet, where we can access information and transmit messages. The Internet is a
very large computer network. Computer networks are so important in our daily life
that they have become indispensable to us.

The closest cousin of a computer network is a transportation network, but computer

networks are now taking work away from the transportation networks. Transportation
networks — like traffic engineering — had a body of knowledge that could readily be
applied to computer networks. For example, we used to rely on sending letters to
communicate with friends and relatives living far away. All these letters needed to use
transportation vehicles such as trucks, ships or aeroplanes. Now, many letters have
been replaced by electronic mail (e-mail). Computer networks deliver e-mails, thereby
reducing the work of physically delivering letters through the transportation network.

Computer systems, including both hardware and software, emerged as big machines
called mainframe computers. In the 1960s, mainframe computers were
accommodated inside a computer room. Cables ran from this room to connect to the
terminals of the end users. In the late 1970s, mini computers became affordable. They
challenged the mainframe computer. In the early 1980s, affordable personal
computers (PCs) also came onto the market, challenging both mainframe and mini
computers. PCs allowed end users to get the benefits of tremendous computing
power at an affordable price.

During the initial adoption of PCs, data transfer between personal computers was
done through 5¼-inch floppy disks. People then saw the need to connect all these
mini and personal computers together. Physical cables were used to link them. The
connected computers, together with the cable links, formed a network, though the
distance between these connected computers was usually relatively short. The
computers were ‘local’ to a particular office location, and hence this type of
configuration was called a local area network (LAN). LANs were originally targeted to
meet the data transfer requirements for PCs within a private company, and also
originally used for data, not voice traffic. Hence, there was little motivation to connect
the LAN to a public telephone or telecom network.

The need for distributed computing arose after more end users had been educated in
using a personal computer. The proliferation of the Internet pushed to break through
this private network ‘barrier’ to allow connection of every computer through the
standard Internet interface. With the advancement of Internet technologies, networks
can now support various services including e-mail, Web browsing, multimedia
communication, real-time voice communication and video streaming.

But what is a network, exactly? How does it really work? In this module, we will discuss
about the importance and the basic concepts of computer networks.
3

1.3 Importance of computer networks

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Both computers and computer networks are indispensable to us now. All workplaces
contain computers, and they are invariably interconnected. If they are connected via a
LAN, they can communicate with other computers. In most residential flats,
computers are connected to the Internet through dial-up or broadband connections
for e-mail, Web browsing, and the like.

Apart from at home and in the office, computer networks are present in all mass
transport systems for the smooth operation of ticketing systems, carriage signalling,
and safety protection and performance analysis. Doing business requires computer
networks as well. When we eat or shop, computer networks come in to connect the
ordering, inventory and payment systems.

The administration of a country or a city also needs computers and computer

networks. For example, computer networks are required to allow access to
information, including citizen and business registration information, at different
government offices. Computer networks are required to support checking our identity
at border control points, and for operating traffic lights

Computer networks have the following three goals:

• Overcoming geographic separation

Computer networks overcome geographical separation in a city and across
countries. Computers that need to communicate with other computers are often
located in different parts of the world, and they need computer networks to pass
information across long distances to overcome that geographical separation.
• Allowing information sharing
Computer networks allow information sharing by allowing connected people or
computers to access information on databases distributed in different locations.
There are databases hosted on many computers. People or computers may need
to access the data in these databases. Without a computer network, it would take
a long time to select and transport the required data from the database to the
requiring users. With computer networks, we can conveniently access the
databases to retrieve data.
• Supporting distributed processing
Computer networks support processing distributed in different locations. These
different locations can be physically close together inside a single computer
room, or they can be separated by a long distance across mountains and oceans.
Physical transportation of the intermediately processed data is impractical.
Hence, a computer network becomes indispensable in distributed processing. It
allows timely passing of semi-processed data between computers located in
distributed locations.

Computer networks have indeed become indispensable now. Hence we need to study
computer networks in terms of their basic components, their architecture and how
 4

they support the Internet applications in a typical enterprise. All of these affect our
daily life.

1.4 Data communications basics

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creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).

In a transportation network, we transport goods. In a computer network, we transport

data, so we study data communications, and how data are transmitted from one
computer and received by another.

In a transportation network, traffic can move in two directions between a sender and
a receiver. In Hong Kong, most roads carry two-way traffic, but there are some roads
that allow only one-way traffic. If there is roadwork in progress, a single lane may be
shared between up and down traffic.

Similarly, in regard to data communications in computer networks, in general data can

flow in both directions:

• If a link allows only a single direction of data flow, we call this simplex
communication.
• If a link allows two-way data flow simultaneously, we call this full-duplex
communication.
• If it allows two-way data flow, in one direction at a time but not simultaneously, we
call this half-duplex (or semi-duplex) communication.

You will get an overview of data communications and networking in your first reading.
You will learn about the five key components of data communication first. Then you
will learn about data representation such as text, numbers, audio, and video. Lastly,
you will learn more about simplex, half-duplex and full-duplex data flows.

At the end of the reading, you should be able to explain the importance of computer
networks in the modern information society. You should be able to discuss what
constitutes effective data communication, and match the conceptual components of
data communication and data representation with those in practical implementation.

Reading
Read section 1.1, pp. 3–7, in Forouzan (your textbook).

You should now understand the five components of data communication, namely
message, sender, receiver, medium and protocol. In short, the sender sends a message
to the receiver over a medium using a communication protocol between the sender
and receiver. The protocol is essential to ensure consistent interpretation of the
message on the sender and receiver sides. The message can include different data
representations, e.g. text, images, audio, and video to name a few.

Data flow can be categorized into simplex, half-duplex, or full-duplex, as shown in Figure
1.1.
5

Fig. 1.1: Data flow (simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex) (Forouzan 2007, 6)

An analogy between a transportation network and a computer network is summarized

in Table 1.1.

Transportation network Computer network

Computer, sender or
Cities, sender or receiver
receiver

Letter, goods Message, data

Physical roads (pathways) Medium (channels)

Agreed packing and unpacking

Protocol
method

One-way traffic Simplex

Time-shared single lane for both

Half-duplex
traffic directions

Both traffic directions allowed

Full-duplex
simultaneously

Table 1.1: Analogy between a transportation network and a

computer network
 6

Now please try Activity 1.1 (Page 6) to learn more about data communication.

1.4.1 Activity 1.1

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1. Common communication and information devices that we use daily are listed in
the table below. Identify their attributes in the following table.

Network
connected:
fixed
Message Data flow:
telephone/
Communication content: simplex/
mobile
or information text/video/ half-
telephone/
devices audio/ duplex/
coaxial
image full-duplex
network/
wireless
broadcast

Telephone

Fax

Mobile voice

Personal digital
assistant with
wireless access

Personal
computer

Television
broadcasting

Radio
broadcasting

pager
7

1.4.2 Self-test 1.1

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creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).
1. Draw a diagram to capture all the five components of data communication.
Explain the relationships among them.
2. Explain the importance and the functioning of protocols in data communications.
3. Explain the relationship between computer and network, and the effect of this
relationship with the advent of distributed processing.
4. Match the following three pairs.

A. Simplex 1. internet access

B. Half-duplex 2. Sending stock information to pager

C. Full-duplex 3. Push-to-talk walkie-talkie

1.4.2.1 Self-test 1.1 feedback

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1. The sender sends a message to the receiver over a medium, using a common
agreed-upon protocol for the interpretation of the message content.

2. Protocol is important to data communications as the sender and the receiver

should know the correct format in which to send the message via the medium,
and should know how to interpret the message content. Protocols are present in
the telephone network, in data communication, and on the Internet.
3. Computers are used to build modern networks, and the network is used to serve
the computer by linking up the computer servers and the computer terminals.
This is a vicious cycle. The advent of distributed processing deepens this vicious
cycle. Before the advent of distributed processing, a computer network was used
mainly to connect a mainframe computer to its terminals, or to link up big
computers for data exchange. With the advent of distributed processing,
intermediate processed data are passed between hosts on the computer
network.
4.
 8

A. Simplex 2. Sending stock information to pager

B. Half-duplex 3. Push-to-talk walkie-talkie

C. Full-duplex 1. Internet access

1.5 Network basics

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As discussed earlier, networks are used to connect communication parties — the

senders and the receivers. The communication relationships among these parties are
different in different scenarios. In a broadcast network, there is one sender, but there
are many receivers. The communication is one-way — that is, it's a simplex
transmission. In most data communication sessions, there is one sender and one
receiver. In a telephone conference call, there is a group of people who are both
senders and receivers. In the following, we will focus on the common case of one-to-
one communication.

A network is made of components of nodes and links. Let's explore some properties
of the transportation network and the computer network.

nodes
A node is the device where two or more links are terminated (or
'originate'). A node serves to switch from an incoming link to an
outgoing link. The nodes are sometimes referred to
asswitching or routing hubs.

links
A link is a connection between two nodes. The two nodes so
connected become adjacent nodes. A link serves to connect, or to link
up, the two nodes when there is a need for data flow between the two
nodes. The links are sometimes referred to astransmission
links or channels.

The need for network

• Transportation network
Using a transportation network as an example, if there were only isolated villages,
each of which was self-sufficient, there would only be a need for small paths
within each village. There would be a limited need for roads to connect a village to
the outside world. With the development of the economy with specialization and
division of labour, some villages grow into cities with more people and business
activities. We begin to need roads to carry raw material, goods and people
around between cities and villages.
9

• Computer network
The same is true for computer networks. If there were no demand for data
transfer between computers, there would be no computer networks. But we have
big computers that need connections to other computers or terminals. Hence,
there is a need for a computer network. With more specialization of processing in
different computers, the need for a computer network grows. The processing of
data is distributed among different computers, and semi-processed data are
passed between computers. This is called distributed processing, which has
become common nowadays.

Network criteria

• Transportation network
A transportation network has criteria of performance. For example, one key
performance parameter of a highway is the time a car takes to travel between the
two connected cities. Of course, it depends on the length of the road, the speed
limit allowed, and other factors like traffic conditions. A transportation network
has other criteria such as reliability and security. A highway is reliable if there is no
failure or breakdown, and drivers can use its service under all circumstances,
even during extreme weather conditions. A highway is secure if external
unauthorized access can be denied and, if there is an accident, it will be quickly
identified, isolated, and controlled so as not to affect normal traffic flow.
• Computer network
Similarly, a computer network has criteria of performance, reliability and security.
One key performance parameter is the transit time between the two connected
computers. This depends on the speed of the transmission medium and other
factors like the number of simultaneous users. A computer network has the other
criteria of reliability and security too. A computer network is reliable if it is
available whenever the users want service. This means there is no breakdown,
and even if there is a breakdown, it should be able to recover from the
breakdown within the shortest time. Computer security covers a wide range of
aspects, including prevention of unauthorized access and data privacy. Security
will be discussed in greater detail in Unit 9.

Connection and physical structure

• Transportation network
A transportation network has different types of connection and different types of
physical structure. Connecting roads can be point-to-point highways or multi-
entry and multi-exit highways. Physical structures can be a mesh-connected (i.e.
fully-connected) network with roads linking each pair of cities. This is complicated
when there are many cities. Physical structures can take the form of a star, with
roads radiating from a central big city to connect to the adjacent cities. They can
take the form of big roads with side-ways, or ring-roads around the outer part of
the city.
• Computer network
Computer networks similarly have different types of connection. They have point-
to-point and multi-point (also called multi-drop) connections. Likewise, they have
 10

different types of physical topology. Physical topology can take the form
of mesh, star, bus and ring.

Categorization

• Transportation network
Transportation networks can be categorized into within a city (metropolitan),
intercity, interstate or international.
• Computer network
Similarly, computer networks can be categorized into local area networks (LAN)
for a network within the same office, metropolitan-area networks (MAN) for a
network within the same metropolitan area, and wide-area networks (WAN) for a
network linking computers spread far apart.

In the following sections, we will discuss about the above basic concepets of network
in more detail.

1.5.1 Distributed processing

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Historically, and to some extent even today, mainframe computer systems were used
to run a number of applications that serve many users. Mainframe computers were
housed in a central location called a data centre. They were connected to the terminals
of different user departments. These terminals had little processing power when
compared to the personal computers of today, and were often referred to as dumb
terminals.

A single mainframe computer was used to serve many different departmental users. It
had a number of central processing units, each of which could execute programs
independently. The users ran their applications on the mainframe on a time-sharing
basis. At a particular instant, a number of applications of different departments were
run on a single mainframe computer with a number of computer processing units.

The development of such programs is very structural, as the impact of application

bugs and/or operating procedures could cause problems on a very wide scale. They
could affect the operation of many different departments. In most companies, there
was only one mainframe computer for the whole company. Hence, mainframe
systems needed very stringent application development and operational control.

Some modern software applications (not networks) use distributed processing, in

which a task is divided among multiple processes residing on different computers,
called servers or hosts. There could be many servers in a company. They may still
reside in a single data room. During the design of an application, the processing is
distributed among different programs, which are to be hosted on different hardware
servers. This provides flexibility in design. Since the applications for different
departments are scattered in different servers, distributed processing also offers
flexibility. Computer networks are used to interconnect servers, which need to work
together like an integrated application.
11

PCs can contribute to the distributed processing as well. The powerful PC improves
user interfaces in data input and output data presentation. Computer networks serve
a critical role in distributed processing. They can link the servers and end-user PC
terminals, and help in passing data around in a timely manner. For multi-location
enterprises and big companies operating across national boundaries, distributed
processing is essential. Even in a local company, a properly designed distributed
processing application provides flexibility for design, future upgrades and
maintenance. There may well be cost advantages from using distributed processing.

A mainframe computer does have distinct advantages in some cases. Mainframes are
still widely used in banks and governments in which centralized intensive processing
and centralized secure storage are required. Super mainframes are used in weather
forecasting, which requires lots of speedy but tedious numerical computations.
Computer networks in these cases still have their roles, however: they are used to
connect the mainframe to the terminals.

1.5.2 Network criteria

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As briefly mentioned earlier in this unit, a network needs to meet certain

requirements, or criteria, to serve a particular situation. There are many different
dimensions for such requirements.

Performance is the most important criterion as it affects users constantly. There are
many parameters related to performance. From a single end user's perspective,
transit time and response time are key performance parameters.

transit time
The transit time is the time a message needs to travel from the
originating end of the network to the intended destination in the
network.

response time
The response time of a network is the time between a user making a
request for a network service and the network responding to this
request.

For massive data transfers between network links, bandwidth and delay are key
performance parameters.

bandwidth
The bandwidth limits the maximum data rate at which a user can
send data across a network.
 12

delay
The delay is the time measured from the time when the data first
enter the network to the time the data finally exit the network to
reach the intended destination.

The technology used in the computer network also affects the set of parameters.
Performance depends on various factors; e.g. the number of simultaneous users, the
number of connected computers — and their traffic profiles. Given these factors, we
can design a network to meet the performance criteria. If network traffic increases
beyond the designed capacity, performance will deteriorate.

Reliability is another key criterion of a network. Since computers and computer

networks support our daily life, network reliability is an important criterion to ensure
normalcy.

Computer networks are widespread and the Internet has made them conveniently
accessible. Company data including customer profiles and financial information are
extremely valuable to a company. Personal data are sensitive, and various
governments including the Hong Kong SAR Government have data protection
regulations. Inside a company, network security has become important to ensure
proper access. With the advent of the Internet in the last decade, there has been a lot
of concern and discussion about information security. Hence, a computer network
needs to meet certain security criteria as well. You will learn more about network
security in Unit 9.

1.5.3 Physical topologies

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Physical topologies can be summarized into the following four types:

• Mesh topology (Page 12)

• Star topology (Page 13)
• Bus topology (Page 14)
• Ring topology (Page 14)

1.5.3.1 Mesh topology

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The mesh topology, as shown in Figure 1.2, is the most robust topology, but it is
impractical for connecting a large number of computers together. For a network with

N nodes, the number of links is . Therefore, for a large network with many
nodes, a mesh topology is simply not practical. Mesh does have its applications,
however. A mesh network is used to connect local telephone switches in busy
commercial areas (e.g. Central and Wanchai), because the business users form a close
community with heavy traffic between them. The traffic between any pairs of switches
13

in the business area justifies the mesh connection routing as the primary routing
algorithm. There are overflow routes from these local switches to the transit switches.

Fig. 1.2: A fully connected mesh topology (Forouzan 2007, 10)

The mesh topology is also used to interconnect switches at the higher level of the
switch architecture, where connectivity and reliability among a manageable number of
switches are essential.

1.5.3.2 Star topology

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Star topology, as shown in Figure 1.3, is a very common topology. Local telephone
networks use star topology from the telephone socket at home to the telephone
switch in the telephone building. The local telephone switches are invariably star-
connected to several transit switches, which belong to the next higher level of the
switch architecture.

Fig. 1.3: A star topology connecting four stations (Forouzan 2007, 11)

Old local area networks (LAN) using bus topology have changed to star topology. The
role of the central hub varies: it can passively repeat all data to all links, or it can
screen the data and pass data only to selected links.
 14

1.5.3.3 Bus topology

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Bus topology, as shown in Figure 1.4, is used for end-point devices. For example, bus
topology is used to chain a printer with a less critical device at the tail. It allows ad hoc
modification of a network's structure. In the early 1990s, bus topology was common
for connecting PCs to a LAN server using shielded coaxial cable. Details of coaxial
cable will be discussed in Unit 2. But nowadays, most PC and LAN connections use star
topology. Bus topology is used in cable TV distribution in residential blocks.

Fig. 1.4: A bus topology connecting three stations (Forouzan 2007, 11)

1.5.3.4 Ring topology

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Ring topology, as shown in Figure 1.5, is robust, while it does not have the complexity
of the full mesh topology. Hence it is used in core transmission backbone networks.

Fig. 1.5: A ring topology connecting six stations (Forouzan 2007, 12)

A comparison of the different physical topologies is summarized in Table 1.2.

15

Mesh Star Bus Ring

Ease of
Less costly
installation,
Robust, than mesh, Better
cost-
Advantages data easier fault reliability
effective for
privacy identification than bus
long line of
and isolation
devices

Difficult
fault
Path break
Complex isolation,
Hub failure does not
and costly path break
causing total cause
Disadvantages for a large causing
network isolation
number of isolation
breakdown into a dual
devices into two
ring
groups of
devices

Long haul
Switching
Coaxial transmission
backbone Local area
Application cable TV in backbone
connecting network in
examples households network
the main offices
or buildings connecting
computers
cities

Table 1.2: A comparison of different physical topologies

1.5.4 Categories of network

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Computer networks can be categorized in different ways. Distance is one key

categorization parameter. Using distance as our criterion, we can categorize networks
into local area networks (LANs), metropolitan area networks (MANs) and wide area
networks (WANs).
 16

local area networks (LANs)

The word local in local area network means that the connected
computers are in close proximity, usually on the same floor or within
the same premises. They are usually privately-owned networks.
LANs can be distinguished from the other two kinds of networks by
three characteristics: their size, their transmissiontechnology and
their topology. LANs are restricted in geographic coverage. They are
commonly used in offices and factories nowadays. Some people who
have more than one PC may set up a LAN at home.

The physical topology of a LAN can take the form of mesh, star, bus,
or ring. Bus was a very common LAN topology 20 years ago. Star
topology is very common nowadays, together with its associated
technical standard called Ethernet. Ring received interest for a time,
but it is less common as the token ring standard has lost ground to
the Ethernet standard in the past 20 years. You will learn about
Ethernet and token ring LANs in Unit 4.

metropolitan area networks (MANs)

MANs have wider coverage than LANs. A MAN is usually a public
network. It is used to connect computers and LANs in different
locations of the city. The LANs residing in different buildings of a city
can be inter-connected by a MAN. The Cable television network is a
typical example of a MAN.

wide area networks (WANs)

A WAN has an even wider geographical coverage, across countries or
even continents. Most WANs use the telephone network
transmission lines and equipment as building blocks. The MANs in
different cities or countries can be interconnected by a WAN.

As an additional remark, networks can be divided into different categories. For

example, we have narrowband versus broadband networks, wire versus wireless
networks, among others. These different dimensions of categorization cut across one
another. So there is wireless LAN, wireless WAN, and so on. As a concluding remark on
network basics, an analogy between transportation networks and computer networks
is summarized in Table 1.3.

Transportation network Computer network

City Node

Table 1.3: An analogy between transportation and computer

networks on network basics
17

Transportation network Computer network

Inter-city road Link

Manufacturing with
specialization and hence
Distributed processing
distributed among different
cites

Transportation network Computer network criteria of

criteria of performance performance, reliability and
reliability and security security

Computer connections of
Road connections of point-to-
point-to-point, and
point highway, and multi-
multipoint (also called
entry and multi-exit highway
multi-drop)

Physical road topology of Physical road topology of

mesh, star, bus and ring mesh, star, bus and ring

Table 1.3: An analogy between transportation and computer

networks on network basics

The above analogy helps to relate computer networks to your daily experience in
transportation. You will learn more about distributed processing, network criteria,
physical topologies and network classifications in the next reading. At the end of this
reading, you should be able to differentiate point-to-point from point-to-multipoint
communication; and differentiate and explain the different physical topologies of
mesh, star, bus and ring topologies. You should be able to differentiate and explain the
various types of network (including LAN, MAN and WAN).

Reading
Read section 1.2, pp. 7–16, in Forouzan.

You should now have a basic understanding of the network basics, the importance of
distributed processing, network criteria, the different physical topologies and network
categorization.
 18

1.6 Conclusion
Available under Creative Commons-ShareAlike 4.0 International License (http://
creativecommons.org/licenses/by-sa/4.0/).

In this module, we went through the historical development of computers and

computer networks. You should now understand the following:

1. the five basic components of data communications — namely sender, receiver,

message, medium, and protocol
2. the different physical topologies — namely mesh, star, bus, and ring.

We hope you have enjoyed this introduction to computer networks. Understanding

how such networks really work gives you insights into many of the most exciting and
interesting developments in communications technology.

If you would like to learn more on this subject, you are welcome to enrol in ELEC S332
Computer Networks (http://www.ouhk.edu.hk/wcsprd/Satellite?pagename=OUHK/
tcGenericPage2010&lang=eng&ncode=ELEC%20S332&shopping=Y&TYPE=CI&
CODE=CT332) offered by the School of Science and Technology (http://www.ouhk.edu.
hk/wcsprd/Satellite?pagename=OUHK/tcSubWeb&l=C_ST&lid=191133000200&
lang=eng) of the OUHK.