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Module 02 Computer and Network Technology

GRACE D. BULAWIT, MIT

Faculty
@
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Objective
At the end of the chapter the student should be able to:
 Identify what is a network;
 Identify the different types of network;
 Assess the difference between wire and wireless connections; and
 Identify the different Wireless Networks

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Introduction
• A computer Network is a system in which a number of
independent computers are linked together to share data and
peripherals, such as files and printers.
• In the modern world, computer networks have become
almost indispensable.
• All major businesses and governmental and educational
institutions make use of computer networks to such an extent
that it is now difficult to imagine a world without them.

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What is a Network?

A network consists of two or more computers that are

linked in order to share resources (such as printers and
CDs), exchange files, or allow electronic
communications. The computers on a network may be
linked through cables, telephone lines, radio waves,
satellites, or infrared light beams.

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Types of Networks
PAN
• PAN is the acronym for Personal Area
Network. PAN is the interconnection
between devices within the range of a
person’s private space, typically
within a range of 10 metres. If you
have transferred images or songs
from your laptop to mobile or from
mobile to your friend’s mobile using
Bluetooth, you have set up and used
a personal area network.
• A person can connect her laptop, smart phone, personal digital
assistant and portable printer in a network at home. This network
could be fully Wi-Fi or a combination of wired and wireless.

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Types of Networks
LAN
LAN or Local Area Network is a wired
network spread over a single site like an
office, building or manufacturing unit. LAN
is set up to when team members need to
share software and hardware resources
with each other but not with the outside
world like documents, user manuals,
employee handbook, etc. Hardware
resources that can be easily shared over
the network include printer, fax machines,
modems, memory space, etc. This
decreases infrastructure costs for the
organization drastically.
• A LAN may be set up using wired or wireless connections. A LAN that
is completely wireless is called Wireless LAN or WLAN.
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Types of Networks
MAN
MAN is the acronym for Metropolitan Area Network. It is a network spread
over a city, college campus or a small region. MAN is larger than a LAN
and typically spread over several kilometres. Objective of MAN is to share
hardware and software resources, thereby decreasing infrastructure
costs. MAN can be built by connecting several LANs.

• The most common example of MAN is cable TV network.

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Types of Networks
WAN
WAN or Wide Area
Network is spread over a
country or many countries.
WAN is typically a network
of many LANs, MANs and
WANs. Network is set up
using wired or wireless
connections, depending on
availability and reliability.

• The most common example of WAN is the Internet.

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Advantages of Installing a Network

•User access control.
Modern networks almost always have one or more servers which allows centralized
management for users and for network resources to which they have access. User credentials
on a privately-owned and operated network may be as simple as a user name and password,
but with ever-increasing attention to computing security issues, these servers are critical to
ensuring that sensitive information is only available to authorized users.
- Information storing and sharing.
-Computers allow users to create and manipulate information. Information takes on
a life of its own on a network. The network provides both a place to store the
information and mechanisms to share that information with other network users.

•Connections.
Administrators, instructors, and even students and guests can be connected using the campus
network.

•Services.
The school can provide services, such as registration, school directories, course schedules,
access to research, and email accounts, and many others. (Remember, network services are
generally provided by servers).
• 
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Advantages of Installing a Network

•Internet.
The school can provide network users with access to the internet, via an internet gateway.

•Computing resources.
The school can provide access to special purpose computing devices which individual
users would not normally own. For example, a school network might have high-speed high
quality printers strategically located around a campus for instructor or student use.
 
•Flexible Access.
School networks allow students to access their information from connected devices
throughout the school. Students can begin an assignment in their classroom, save part of
it on a public access area of the network, then go to the media center after school to finish
their work. Students can also work cooperatively through the network.
 
•Workgroup Computing.
Collaborative software allows many users to work on a document or project concurrently.
For example, educators located at various schools within a county could simultaneously
contribute their ideas about new curriculum standards to the same document,
spreadsheets, or website.
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Transmission Media
For any networking to be effective, raw stream of data is to be transported
from one device to other over some medium. Various transmission media
can be used for transfer of data. These transmission media may be of two
types −

•Guided (WIRED) − In guided media, transmitted data travels through

cabling system that has a fixed path. For example, copper wires, fibre
optic wires, etc.
•Unguided (WIRELESS)− In unguided media, transmitted data travels
through free space in form of electromagnetic signal. For example, radio
waves, lasers, etc.

Each transmission media has its own advantages and disadvantages in terms
of bandwidth, speed, delay, cost per bit, ease of installation and maintenance,
etc. Let’s discuss some of the most commonly used media in detail.

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Guide/Wired Media
Twisted Pair Cable
• Copper wires are the most common wires
used for transmitting signals because of
good performance at low costs. They are
most commonly used in telephone lines.
However, if two or more wires are lying
together, they can interfere with each
other’s signals. To reduce this
electromagnetic interference, pair of copper
wires are twisted together in helical shape
like a DNA molecule. Such twisted copper
wires are called twisted pair. To reduce
interference between nearby twisted pairs,
the twist rates are different for each pair.

Up to 25 twisted pair are put together in a protective covering to form twisted

pair cables that are the backbone of telephone systems and Ethernet
networks.
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Guide/Wired Media
Advantages of twisted pair cable

Twisted pair cable are the oldest and most

popular cables all over the world. This is due to
the many advantages that they offer −

• Trained personnel easily available due to

shallow learning curve

• Can be used for both analog and digital

transmissions

• Least expensive for short distances

• Entire network does not go down if a part of

network is damaged

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Guide/Wired Media
Disadvantages of twisted pair cable

• With its many advantages, twisted pair

cables offer some disadvantages too −

• Signal cannot travel long distances without

repeaters

• High error rate for distances greater than

100m

• Very thin and hence breaks easily

• Not suitable for broadband connections

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Guide/Wired Media
Shielding twisted pair cable
To counter the tendency of twisted pair cables to
pick up noise signals, wires are shielded in the
following three ways −

• Such twisted pairs are called shielded

twisted pair (STP) cables. The wires that are
not shielded but simply bundled together in a
protective sheath are called unshielded
twisted pair (UTP) cables. These cables can
have maximum length of 100 metres.

• Shielding makes the cable bulky, so UTP are

more popular than STP. UTP cables are used
as the last mile network connection in homes
and offices

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Guide/Wired Media
Coaxial Cable
Coaxial cables are copper cables with better shielding
than twisted pair cables, so that transmitted signals
may travel longer distances at higher speeds. A coaxial
cable consists of these layers, starting from the
innermost −

• Stiff copper wire as core

• Insulating material surrounding the core

• Closely woven braided mesh of conducting material

surrounding the insulator

• Protective plastic sheath encasing the wire

• Coaxial cables are widely used for cable TV

connections and LANs.

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Guide/Wired Media
Advantages of Coaxial Cables
These are the advantages of coaxial cables −
• Excellent noise immunity
• Signals can travel longer distances at higher
speeds, e.g. 1 to 2 Gbps for 1 Km cable
• Can be used for both analog and digital
signals
• Inexpensive as compared to fibre optic
cables
• Easy to install and maintain

Disadvantages of Coaxial Cables

These are some of the disadvantages of coaxial cables −

• Expensive as compared to twisted pair cables

• Not compatible with twisted pair cables
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Guide/Wired Media
Optical Fibre
• Thin glass or plastic threads used to transmit data using
light waves are called optical fibre. Light Emitting
Diodes (LEDs) or Laser Diodes (LDs) emit light waves at
the source, which is read by a detector at the other
end. Optical fibre cable has a bundle of such threads or
fibres bundled together in a protective covering. Each
fibre is made up of these three layers, starting with the
innermost layer −
• Core made of high quality silica glass or plastic
• Cladding made of high quality silica glass or plastic, with a lower
refractive index than the core
• Protective outer covering called buffer
• Note that both core and cladding are made of similar
material. However, as refractive index of the cladding is
lower, any stray light wave trying to escape the core is
reflected back due to total internal reflection.

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Guide/Wired Media
Optical Fiber
• Optical fiber is rapidly replacing copper wires in
telephone lines, internet communication and even cable
TV connections because transmitted data can travel very
long distances without weakening. Single node fiber optic
cable can have maximum segment length of 2 kms and
bandwidth of up to 100 Mbps. Multi-node fiber optic cable
can have maximum segment length of 100 kms and
bandwidth up to 2 Gbps.

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Guide/Wired Media
• Advantages of Optical Fibre
Optical fibre is fast replacing copper wires because of
these advantages that it offers −
• High bandwidth
• Immune to electromagnetic interference
• Suitable for industrial and noisy areas
• Signals carrying data can travel long distances without weakening.
Disadvantages of Optical Fibre
• Despite long segment lengths and high bandwidth, using optical fibre
may not be a viable option for every one due to these disadvantages −
• Optical fibre cables are expensive
• Sophisticated technology required for manufacturing, installing and
maintaining optical fibre cables
• Light waves are unidirectional, so two frequencies are required for full
duplex transmission

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Unguided/Wireless Media
• A wireless network enables people to communicate and access
applications and information without wires. This provides freedom of
movement and the ability to extend applications to different parts of a
building, city, or nearly anywhere in the world. Wireless networks allow
people to interact with e-mail or browse the Internet from a location that
they prefer.

Wireless networking - is the new face of networking. Wireless networking have

been around for many years. Cell phones are also a type of wireless
communication and are popular today for people talking to each other
worldwide.

Wireless networking are not only less expensive than more traditional wired
networking but also much easier to install. An important goal of this site is to
provide you adequate knowledge for installing a wireless network and get
certified in wireless networks as well as.

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Unguided/Wireless Media
Infrared
• Low frequency infrared waves are used for very short distance
communication like TV remote, wireless speakers, automatic doors, hand
held devices etc. Infrared signals can propagate within a room but cannot
penetrate walls. However, due to such short range, it is considered to be
one of the most secure transmission modes.

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Unguided/Wireless Media
Radio Wave
Transmission of data using radio frequencies is called radio-wave
transmission. We all are familiar with radio channels that broadcast
entertainment programs. Radio stations transmit radio waves using
transmitters, which are received by the receiver installed in our devices.

Both transmitters and receivers use antennas to radiate or capture radio

signals. These radio frequencies can also be used for direct voice
communication within the allocated range. This range is usually 10 miles.

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Unguided/Wireless Media
Advantages of Radio Wave
These are some of the advantages of radio wave transmissions −

• Inexpensive mode of information exchange

• No land needs to be acquired for laying cables
• Installation and maintenance of devices is cheap
Disadvantages of Radio Wave
These are some of the disadvantages of radio
wave transmissions −

• Insecure communication medium

• Prone to weather changes like rain,
• thunderstorms, etc.

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Unguided/Wireless Media
Bluetooth
It is a low-cost, low power, short range wireless communication technology
used in. networking, mobile phones and other portable device. Bluetooth wireless
technology also enables devices to communicate with each other as soon as-they
come within range; no need to connect, plug into, install, enable or configure
anything.

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Unguided/Wireless Media
Wifi
Wireless Fidelity refers to the technology surrounding the radio transmission of
internet protocol data from an internet connection wirelessly to a host computer.
Most often the internet connection is a higher speed one such as satellite, DSL or
cable rather than slower dial-up connections.

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Unguided/Wireless Media
Terrestrial Microwave
It uses Earth-based transmitter and receiver. The equipment looks similar to
satellite dishes. Microwave antennas are usually placed on top of buildings, towers, hills,
and mountain peaks.
The transmitter and receiver of a microwave system should be in line-of-sight
because the radio signal cannot bend. With microwave very long distance transmission is
not possible. In order to overcome the problem of line of sight and power amplification
of weak signal, repeaters are used at intervals of 25 to 30 kilometers between the
transmitting and receiving end as shown on figure below.

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Unguided/Wireless Media
Communication Satellites
The satellites use microwave radio signals as their telecommunications
medium which are not deflected by the Earth’s atmosphere. The satellites are
stationed in space, typically 35,400 km above the equator as shown on figure
below.

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ASSIGNMENT
• Identify and cite the different benefits
of computer networks

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