Unit : 2 introduction to Computer Networks

Network:-
The collection of interconnected computing devices is called a network. Two computing
devices are said to be interconnected if they are capable of sharing and exchanging
information.

Benefits of Network: -
(1) Resource Sharing: Resource Sharing means to make the
applications/programs, data(files) and peripherals available to anyone on the
network irrespective of the physical location of the resources and the user.
(2) Reliability: Reliability means to keep the copy of a file on two or more different
machines, so if one of them is unavailable (due to some hardware crash or any
other) them its other copy can be used.
(3) Cost Factor: Cost factor means it greatly reduces the cost since the resources can
be shared. For example a Printer or a Scanner can be shared among many
computers in an office/Lab.
(4) Communication Medium: Communication Medium means one can send and
receive messages. Whatever the changes at one end are done, can be
immediately noticed at another.
EVOLUTION OF NETWORKING
ARPANET (1969) – US Government formed an agency named ARPANET( Advanced
Research Project Agency Network) to connect computers at various universities and defence
agencies to share data/information efficiently among all of them.
NSFNET (1985) - National Science Foundation Network was a program of coordinated,
evolving projects sponsored by the National Science Foundation (NSF) from 1985 to 1995 to
promote advanced research and education networking in the United States. The program
created several nationwide backbone computer networks in support of these initiatives.
Initially created to link researchers to the NSF-funded supercomputing centers, through
further public funding and private industry partnerships it developed into a major part of
the Internet backbone.
INTERNET (1990)- INTER-connection NETwork , The worldwide network of networks.
Data communication terminologies:
Concept of communication: Communication is the act of sending and receiving data from
one device to another device or vice-versa. Data can be of any form i.e. text, image, audio,
video and multimedia files.
Components of Data communication:
Sender: A device that can send data over a network i.e. computer, laptop, smart phone etc.
Receiver: A device can receive data over a network i.e. computer, laptop, smart phone etc.
The sender and receivers are basically called nodes.
Message: It is the data/information that needs to be shared between the sender and
receiver.
Communication media: It is the medium through which the data/information is travelled
between the
sender and receiver. These may be wired or wireless.
Protocols: A network protocol is an established set of rules that determine how data is
transmitted between different devices in the same network. Essentially, it allows connected
devices to communicate with each other, regardless of any differencesin their internal
processes, structure or design.
Measuring Capacity of Communication Media: In data communication, the transmission
medium is also known as channel. The capacity of a channel is the maximum amount of signals
or traffic that a channel can carry. It is measured in terms of bandwidth and data transfer rate
as described below:
Bandwidth
Bandwidth of a channel is the range of frequencies available for transmission of data
through that channel.
Higher the bandwidth, higher the data transfer rate.
Normally, bandwidth is the difference of maximum and minimum frequency contained in the
composite signals.
Bandwidth is measured in Hertz (Hz). 1
KHz = 1000 Hz, 1 MHz =1000
Data Transfer Rate
Data travels in the form of signals over a channel. One signal carries one or more bits over the
channel. Data transfer rate is the number of bits transmitted between source and destination
in one second. It is also known as bit rate. It is measured in terms of bits per second (bps).
The higher units for data transfer rates are:
1 Kbps=1024 bps
1 Mbps=1024 Kbps
1 Gbps=1024 Mbps
IP Address:
An IP address is a unique address that identifies a device on the internet or a local network.
IP stands for "Internet Protocol," which is the set of rules governing the format of data sent
via the internet or local network.
Switching techniques:
In large networks, there may be more than one path for transmitting data from sender to
receiver. Selecting a path that data must take out of the available options is called switching.
There are two popular switching techniques – circuit switching and packet switching.
Circuit switching: Circuit switching is a type of network configuration in which a physical
path is obtained and dedicated to a single connection between two endpoints in the network
for the duration of a dedicated connection. Ordinary landline telephone service uses
circuit switching.
Packet switching: Packet switching is the method by which the internet works; it features
delivery of packets of data between devices over a shared network. For example the school
web server is sending you a webpage over the internet or you sending an email to a friend.
Transmission Media: Transmission media is a communication channel that carries the
information from the sender to the receiver. All the computers or communicating devices in
the network must be connected to each other by a Transmission Media or channel.
 A Transmission medium is a medium of data transfer over a network.
 The selection of Media depends on the cost, data transfer speed, bandwidth and
distance. Transmission media may be classified as

Transmission Media: Guided (Wired)

Twisted Pair Cable: Twisted pair or Ethernet cable is most common type of media which
consists four insulated pairs of wires twisted around each other. It is low-cost, low-weight and
easy to install flexible cables. It can transfer data up to 1Gbps speed covering 100 meters
distance. It uses RJ-45 Connector for connecting computers and network devices. Co-axial
Cable: This type of cable consists a solid insulated wire surrounded by wire mesh, each
separated by some kind of foil or insulator. The inner core carries the signal and mesh
provides the ground. Co-axial Cable or Coax, is most common in Cable TV transmission. It
can carry data up to 500 meters.
Fiber Optic Cable: Optical fiber consists of thin glass or glass like material and carries light
signals instead of electric current. Signal are modulated and transmitted in the form of light
pulses from source using Light Emitting Diode (LED) or LASER beam. Optical fibers offer
secure and high-speed transmission up to a long distance.
Transmission Media: Unguided (Wireless)
Infrared Wave: It used for short-range (approx. 5 meters) communication using wireless
signals. It is mostly used in Remote operated devices like TV, Toys, Cordless phones etc.
Radio waves: Radio wave uses Radio frequencies (3KHz-3 GHz) to make broadcast
network like AM/FM network within city. Radio wave propagates in Omni direction
(surrounding) and penetrate solid walls/buildings.
Microwaves: Microwave are high energy radio waves, used for line of sight communication
using Parabolic antenna aligned with each other. It is high speed wave and can cover
distance up to 100 km).
Network Devices: Hardware device that are used to connect computers, printers, fax
machines and other electronic devices to a network are called network device. There are
many types of network devices used in networking and some of them are described below:
MODEM (Modulator Demodulator): It is a device that converts digital signal to analog
signal (modulator) at the sender’s site and converts back analog signal to digital signal
(demodulator) at the receiver’s end, in order to make communication possible via telephone
lines. It enables a computer to transmit data over telephone or cable lines.
There are two types of MODEM, which are as follows
(i) Internal Modem Fixed within a computer.
(ii) External Modem Connected externally to a computer.
Ethernet card: An Ethernet card in your computer serves one basic function: to transmit data
from the network to your computer. Ethernet cards are physical expansion cards that insert
into a PCI expansion slot on a computer.
RJ45: RJ45 connectors are commonly seen with Ethernet network cables. Ethernet cables
with RJ45 connectors are also called RJ45 cables. These RJ45 cables feature a small plastic plug
on each end, and the plugs are inserted into RJ45 jacks of Ethernet devices.
Hub: A Hub is a connecting device which connects multiple computers together to form a
Local Area Network (LAN). Hubs make broadcast type Network and do not manage traffic
over the network channel. Signal entering any port is broadcast out on all other ports. It
broadcast the signals to all computers connected in the network. It provides various RJ-45
ports to connect Twisted Pair cable in STAR topology, making them act as a single network
segment. Now days, Switch is used in place of Hubs.
Types of Hub:
 Active Hub: Amplifies the signal when required and works as a Repeater.
 Passive Hub: It simply passes the signal without any change.
Switch: A switch is a hardware device, which is used to connect several nodes to form a
Network. It redirects the received signals only to the intended Node i.e. controls Network
traffic.It is also used to segment a big network into different Sub networks (Subnet) to
control the network traffic and security. It can also use to combine various small network
segments to form a big Network (as in Tree topology).
Hub V/s Switch: There is a vast difference between switch and hub. A hub forwards each
incoming packet (data) to all the hub ports, while a switch forwards each incoming packet to
the specified recipient.
Repeater: Repeater is a hardware device, which is used to amplify the signals when they are
transported over a long distance. The basic function of a repeater is to amplify the incoming
signal and retransmit it, to the other device.
Router: A router is used to connect different networks together. i.e. for two or more LANs to
be interconnected, you need a router
 The basic role of Routers in a network is to determine the best possible route
(shortest path) for the data packets to be transmitted. In a large network (WAN),
multiple routers works to facilitate speedy delivery of data packets.
 Router maintains a table of addresses (called routing table) that keeps a track of
paths connected to it.
Gateway:
 A gateway is a device, which is used to connect dissimilar networks. The gateway
establishes an intelligent connection between a local network and external
networks, which are completely different in structure.
 Gateway is also called protocol converter that convert data packets from one protocol to
other and connects two dissimilar networks.
 A gateway can be implemented in hardware, software or both, but they are usually
implemented by software installed within a router.
 A LAN gets connected to Internet (WAN) using a gateway.
Network Topologies:
Topology: Topology refers to the way in which the
device/computer/workstations attached to the network
are interconnected.
The layout of interconnection of devices in a network is
called Topology.
Different Topologies are: Star, Bus, Tree, Mesh.
BUS Topology: - The bus topology uses a common
single cable (backbone cable) to connect all the workstations. Each computer performs its
task of sending messages without the help of the central server. However, only one
workstation can transmit a message at a particular time in the bus topology.
Advantages:
(i) Easy to connect and install.
(ii) Involves a low cost of installation time.
(iii) Can be easily extended.
Disadvantages:-
(i) The entire network shuts down if there is a failure in the central cable.
(ii) Only a single message can travel at a particular time.
(iii) Difficult to troubleshoot an error.

STAR Topology: -In Star topology, each node is directly connected to a central device like Hub
or Switch. It is most popular topology to form Local Area Networks (LAN).
Advantages:
(i) Easy to troubleshoot
(ii) A single node failure does not affects the entire network.
(iii) Fault detection and removal of faulty parts is easier.
(iv) In case a workstation fails, the network is not affected.
Disadvantages: -
(i) Difficult to expand.
(ii) Longer cable is required.
(iii) The cost of the hub and the longer cables makes it expensive
over others.
(iv) All nodes are dependent on central node. if the central device (Switch) goes down
then entire network breaks down.

TREE Topology: - The tree topology combines the characteristics of the linear bus and the
star topologies. It consists of groups of star – configured workstations connected to a bus
backbone cable.
Advantages:
(i) Eliminates network congestion.
(ii) The network can be easily extended.
(iii) Faulty nodes can easily be isolated from the rest of the
network.
Disadvantages:
 Uses large cable length.
 Requires a large amount of hardware components and
hence is expensive.
 Installation and reconfiguration are very difficult.
Types of Computer Network:
A computer network may be small or big as per number of computers and other network
devices linked together. A computer network may contain devices ranging from handheld
devices (like mobile phones, tablets, laptops) connected through Wi-Fi or Bluetooth within a
single room to the millions of computers spread across the globe. Based on the size, coverage
area, data transfer speed and complexity, a computer network may be classified as:
LAN (Local Area Network): A Local Area Network (LAN) is a network that is limited to a
small area. It is generally limited to a geographic area such as within lab, school or building.
It is generally privately-owned networks over a distance up to a few kilometers. Now-a-days,
we also have WLAN (Wireless LAN) which is based on wireless network.
MAN (Metropolitan Area Network): MAN is the networks cover a group of nearby
corporate offices or a city and might be either private or public. Cable TV network or cable
based broadband internet services are examples of MAN.

WAN (Wide Area Network):These are the networks spread over large distances, say across
countries or even continents through cabling or satellite uplinks are called WAN. Typically, a
WAN combines multiple LANs that are geographically separated. It is a network of network.
The world’s most popular WAN is the Internet.
PAN (Personal Area Network): A Personal Area Network is computer network organized
around an individual person. It generally covers a range of less than 10 meters. Personal Area
Networks can be constructed with cables or wirelessly.

Comparison between PAN, LAN, MAN and WAN: -

Parameter PAN LAN MAN WAN

Area covered Small Area (upto A building or A city (upto 100 Entire country,
10m radius) campus (upto Km radius) Continent or
1 km) Globe
Networking Negligible inexpensive expensive Very expensive
Cost
Transmission Speed High High speed Moderate speed Low speed
speed
Error Rate Lowest Lowest Moderate Highest
Network WLAN, USB LAN/WLAN, Router, Gateway Router, Gateway
Devices used Dongle, Blutooth HUB/Switch,
Repeater,
Modem
Technology/ infrared, Ethernet, Wi- Optical fiber, Microwave,
Media used Bluetooth Fi Radio wave, Satellite
Microwave

Network Protocols:

HTTP (Hyper Text Transfer Protocol) :

 The Hyper Text Transfer Protocol is a set of rules which is used to access/retrieve
linked web pages across the web using web browser program.
 The more secure and advanced version is HTTP is HTTPS (HTTP Secure), which
controls the transfer of information in encrypted form to provide more security
and privacy.
 Other protocols like File Transfer Protocol (FTP) and Telnet can also be used with
URL. FTP is used to transfer files from web server to web client or vice-versa.
  Telnet is protocol which used for login on remote computer to access/transfer
files or trouble shooting.
FTP (File Transfer Protocol) is a network protocol for transmitting files between
computers over Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP) connections.
Point-to-Point Protocol (PPP) is a TCP/IP protocol that is used to connect one computer
system to another. Computers use PPP to communicate over the telephone network or the
Internet. A PPP connection exists when two systems physically connect through a telephone
line.

TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol and is a suite of

communication protocols used to interconnect network devices on the internet. TCP/IP is
also used as a communications protocol in a private computer network.
TELNET is commonly used by terminal emulation programs that allow you to log into a
remote host. However, TELNET can also be used for terminal-to-terminal communication
and interprocess communication. TELNET is also used by other protocols (for example, FTP)
for establishing a protocol control channel.
E-Mail (Electronic Mail):
Email is the short form of electronic mail. It is one of the ways of sending and receiving
message(s) using the Internet. An email can be sent anytime to any number of recipients at
anywhere. The message can be either text entered directly onto the email application or an
attached file (text, image, audio, video, etc.) stored on a secondary storage. An existing file
can be sent as an attachment with the email.
E-Mail Protocols:
Email are handled and exchanged through various mail servers in order to deliver email to
mail client. The mail client and mail servers exchange information with each other using
some protocols. The followings are commonly used protocols for email handling-
SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol): This protocol is used to send emails from
sender to recipient’s mail server.
IMAP (Internet Message Access Protocol): This is a standard client/server protocol for accessing e-
mails from local e-mail server.
POP3 (Post Office Protocol 3): This protocol facilitates users to access mailboxes and
download messages to their computer.
Voice over Internet Protocol (VoIP):
 Voice over Internet Protocol or VoIP, allows voice call (telephone service) over the
Internet. VoIP offers voice transmission over a computer network (IP) rather than
through the regular telephone network. It is also known as Internet Telephony or
Broadband Telephony. Examples of VoIP:- WhatsApp, Skype, Google Chat etc.
 VoIP works on the principle of converting the analogue voice signals into digital
and then transmitting them over the broadband line.
 These services are either free or very economical. That is why these days
international calls are being made using VoIP.

Overview of Internet:
 Internet is a network of networks that consists of millions of private, public,
academic, business, and government networks, that are linked by various wired,
wireless, and optical networking technologies.
 The Internet is a global system of interconnected computer networks that use the
standard Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to serve several billion users
worldwide.
  The modern Internet is an extension of ARPANET (Advance Research Project
Agency Network), created in1969 by the American Department of Defense.
 In 1990 the British Programmer Tim Berners-Lee developed Hypertext and HTML
to create World Wide Web (WWW).
 The Internet carries an extensive range of information resources and services,
such as the inter-linked hypertext documents of the World Wide Web (WWW), the
communicational infrastructure to support mail, chat and transfer of Text, Images,
Audio, Video etc.

Introduction to web services:

World Wide Web (WWW):

World Wide Web, which is also known as a Web, is a collection of websites or web pages
stored in web servers and connected to local computers through the internet. These
websites contain text pages, digital images, audios, videos, etc. Users can access the content of
these sites from any part of the world over the internet using their devices such as computers,
laptops, cell phones, etc. The WWW, along with internet, enables the retrieval and display of
text and media to your device.
There sources of the Web (HTML pages) are transferred via the Hypertext Transfer Protocol
(HTTP), may be accessed by users by a software application called a web browser, and are
published by a software application called a web server.
Tim Berners-Lee—a British computer scientist invented the revolutionary World Wide Web
in 1990 by defining three fundamental technologies that lead to creation of www: HTML
,URL, HTTP.

HTML(Hyper Text Markup Language):

Hyper Text Markup Language (HTML) is a language which is used to design standardized
Web Pages, so that the Web contents can be read and under stood from any computer using
web browser.
Basic structure of every web page is designed using HTML. HTML uses tags to define the way
page content should be displayed by the web browser. Web pages are stored as .html or .htm
files.
Extensible Markup Language (XML): Extensible Markup Language is a markup language
and file format for storing, transmitting, and reconstructing arbitrary data. It defines a set of
rules for encoding documents in a format that is both human-readable and machine-
readable.

Domain Name: A domain name is a unique, easy-to-remember address used to access

websites, such as 'google.com', and 'facebook.com'.

URL(Uniform Resource Locator):

URL—Uniform Resource Locator is a unique address of web resources located on the web. It
provides the location and mechanism (protocol) to access the resource. URL is sometimes
also called a web address.
A URL contains protocol, domain, sub domain and name of web page along with directory.

In the above URL, http is the protocol name, it can be https, http, FTP, Telnet, etc. www is a
sub domain. ncert.nic.in is the domain name. Textbook is directory and textbook.htm is
webpage.
The complete unique address of the page on a website is called URL (Uniform Resource
Locator) e.g. http://www.cbse.nic.in/welcome.html
Since computers on the network are identified by its IP addresses, so it is required to convert
a Domain name or URL typed in the Browser, in to its corresponding IP address. This
process is called Domain Name Resolution. This resolution is done by the designated servers
called DNS servers, provided by the Internet Service Providers (ISP) like BSNL, Airtel, Jio etc.
Website:
 Website is a collection of related web pages that may contain text, images, audio
and video. The first page of a website is called home page. Each website has
specific internet address (URL) that you need to enter in your browser to access a
website.
 A website is a collection of web pages related through hyperlinks, and saved on a
web server. A visitor can navigate pages by clicking on hyperlinks.
 The main purpose of website is to make the information available to people at
large. For example, a company may advertise or sell its products, a government
organization may publish circulars, float tenders, invite applications for
recruitments etc.
 A website can be accessed by providing the address of the website (URL) in the
browser. The main page of website (Home page) will be open when it is opened
on the browser.
Web Page:
 A web page is a document on the WWW that is viewed in a web browser. Basic
structure of a web page is created using HTML (Hyper Text Markup Language).
 To make web pages more attractive, various styling CSS (Cascading Style Sheets)
and formatting are applied on a web page.
 Further, program codes called scripts also used to make webpage interactive and
define different actions and behavior. JavaScript, PHP and Python are commonly
used script language.
 The first page of the website is called a home page which contains Menus and
Hyperlinks for other web pages.
 A web page is usually a part of a website and may contain information in different
forms, such as: text, images, audio & video, Hyperlinks, interactive contents (chat
etc.)
A web page can be of two types: Static Web Page and Dynamic Web Page

Web Browsers:
 A web browser or simply ‘browser’ is a software application used to access
information on the World Wide Web. When a user requests some information, the
web browser fetches the data from a web server and then displays the webpage
on the user’s screen.
 The popular web browsers are Google Chrome, Mozilla Firefox, Internet Explorer,
Opera, Safari, Lynx and Netscape Navigator, Microsoft Edge etc.
 A web browser essentially displays the HTML documents which may include text,
images, audio, video and hyperlinks that help to navigate from one web page to
another. The modern browsers allow a wide range of visual effects, use encryption
for advanced security and also have cookies that can store the browser settings
and data.
Web Server:
 A web server is used to store and deliver the contents of a website to web clients
such as a browser.
 A Computer stores web server software and a website's contents (HTML pages,
images, CSS style sheets, and JavaScript files). The server needs to be connected to the
Internet so that its contents can be made accessible to others.
 Web server as a software, is a specialized program that understands URLs or web
addresses coming as requests from browsers, and responds to those requests.
 The server is assigned a unique domain name so that it can be accessed from
anywhere using Internet. The web browser from the client computer sends a HTTP
request for a page containing the desired data or service. The web server then accepts
request, interprets, searches and responds (HTTP response) against request of the
web browser. The requested web page is then displayed in the browser of the client. If
the requested web page is not found, web server generates “Error: 404 Not found” as
a response.
Web Hosting:
 A web hosting service is a type of Internet hosting service that allows individuals and
organisations to make their website accessible via the World Wide Web. In Simple,
uploading of website on Web Server is known as hoisting. To upload the website, we
need some web space on server to upload website. This space is available on some
nominal charges.
 All web servers are assigned a unique numeric address called IP address when
connected to the Internet. This IP address needs to be mapped/changed to domain name
(Textual name) of the website using DNS (Domain Name Service). Thus, user can access
website by providing domain name through a browser (URL). The domain name has to
be registered (purchased) with an authorized agency i.e. Registrar Domain Names.