DIT 709: DATA

COMMUNICATION AND
NETWORK
By
ENGR. DR. C. J. EZEOFOR

DEPARTMENT OF ELECTRICAL/ELECTRONIC
ENGINEERING
FACULTY OF ENGINEERING
UNIVERSITY OF PORT HARCOURT

April, 2023.
 COURSE OUTLINES

1.Introduction
2.IP Addressing
3.Network Model
4.Multiple Accesses
5.Switching
6.Network layer protocols
7.Network security
 PART 1: Introduction
We shall learn the following basics:
Understanding Computer Network and
Network Security
Uses of Computer Network
Network Topology
Network Media
Network transmission modes
Network Devices
Various types of Network
 1.1 Understanding Computer Network & Security
A Computer 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. Computers on
a network are called nodes. The
Internet itself can be considered a
computer network.
Network security is the practice of
preventing and protecting against
unauthorized intrusion into
corporate networks.
 1.2 Uses of Computer Network

Some uses are as follows:

Information and Resource Sharing: Programs, software and
hardware equipment can be accessed by other computers linked
to a network.
Retrieving Remote Information: Through computer networks,
users can retrieve remote information storage on the servers.
E-Commerce: Computer networks have paved way for a variety
of business and commercial transactions online, popularly
called e-commerce. Users and organizations can pool funds,
buy or sell items, pay bills, manage bank accounts, pay taxes,
transfer funds and handle investments electronically.
Communication Medium: A computer network can provide a
powerful communication medium among employees. Virtually
every company that has two or more computers now has e-mail
(electronic mail), which employees generally use for a great deal
of daily communication.
VoIP: Voice over Internet protocol has revolutionized
telecommunication systems. Through this, telephone calls are
made digitally using Internet Protocols instead of the regular
analog phone lines etc.
 1.3 Network Topology
Network Topology refers to physical shape or design layout of a network.
It determines how different nodes in a network are connected and how
these nodes communicate to each other.
There are five types of Network Topology namely Mesh, Star, Bus, Ring
and Hybrid.
Connection types
 Point-to-point connections: In a point-
to-point connection, a communication
link is established between two devices
with one wire or air (in the case of
wireless).
 Multipoint connections: Multiple devices
or machines are involved in a multipoint
connection. These devices mainly share
cabling but each device needs to have a
unique number to identify each other for
sending data between them. A good
example of a multipoint connection is
communication between groups of
computers in a network.
 Mesh Topology
A mesh topology is a point-to-point connection
where nodes are interconnected. In this form of
topology, data is transmitted via two
methods: routing and flooding. Routing is where
nodes use routing logic to work out the shortest
distance to the packet’s destination. In contrast
flooding, data is sent to all nodes within the
network. Flooding doesn’t require any form of
routing logic to work.

Advantages: 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 and 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.
 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 one 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: Less expensive because each device only needs one I/O
port and needs to be connected with hub with one link. Easier to
install and 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: 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.
 Bus Topology
In bus topology there is a main cable
and all the devices are connected to this
main cable through drop lines. There is
a device called tap that connects the
drop line to the main cable. Since all the
data is transmitted over the main cable,
there is a limit of drop lines and the
distance a main cable can have.

Advantages: Easy installation, each cable needs to be connected with

backbone cable. Less cables required than Mesh and star topology.

Disadvantages: Difficultly in detecting fault in the system. Not scalable as

there is a limit of how many nodes you can connect with backbone cable.
 Ring Topology
In ring topology each device is connected with
the two devices on either side of it. There are
two dedicated point to point links a device has
with the devices on the either side of it. This
structure forms a ring thus it is known as ring
topology. If a device wants to send data to
another device then it sends the data in one
direction, each device in ring topology has a
repeater, if the received data is intended for
other device then repeater forwards this data
until the intended device receives it.

Advantages: Easy to install. Managing is easier as to add or

remove a device from the topology only two links are required to
be changed.

Disadvantages: A link failure can fail the entire network as the

signal will not travel forward due to failure. Data traffic issues,
since all the data is circulating in a ring.
 Hybrid Topology

A combination of two or more

topology is known as hybrid
topology. For example a
combination of star, bus and ring
topology is known as hybrid
topology.

Advantages: Topology can be chosen based on the requirement, for

example, scalability is our concern then we can use star topology
instead of bus technology. Scalable as we can further connect other
computer networks with the existing networks with different topologies.

Disadvantages: Fault detection is difficult. Installation is difficult, design

is complex and so, maintenance is expensive.
 1.4 Network Media

Network media refers to the communication channels used to

interconnect nodes on a computer network. Typical examples
of network media include copper twisted pair cables, copper coaxial
cable, and optical fibre cables used in wired networks, and radio waves
used in wireless data communications networks. Two basic types are
guided and unguided network media.
 Guided Network Media

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. There are three (3) basic types namely Twisted Pair
Cable , Coaxial Cable and Optical Fibre Cable
Twisted Pair Cable: It consists of 2 separately
insulated conductor wires wound about each other.
Generally, several such pairs are bundled together in
a protective sheath. They are the most widely used
Unshielded twisted pair cable
Transmission Media. Twisted Pair is of two types:
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) and Shielded Twisted
Pair (STP)

Coaxial Cable : it has an outer plastic covering

containing 2 parallel conductors each having a Shielded twisted pair cable
separate insulated protection cover. Coaxial
cable transmits information in two modes:
Baseband mode (dedicated cable bandwidth)
and Broadband mode (cable bandwidth is split
into separate ranges). Cable TVs and analog
television networks widely use Coaxial cables.
Coaxial
Cable
 Guided Media Cont’d

Optical Fibre Cable : It uses the

concept of reflection of light
through a core made up of
glass or plastic. The core is
surrounded by a less dense
glass or plastic covering called
the cladding. It is used for
transmission of large volumes Optic fiber cable

of data.

Advantages: Increased capacity and bandwidth, Light weight, Less signal

attenuation, Immunity to electromagnetic interference, Resistance to
corrosive materials.

Disadvantages: Difficult to install and maintain, High cost, Fragile,

unidirectional, i.e, will need another fibre, if we need bidirectional
communication
 Unguided Media
It is also referred to as Wireless or Unbounded transmission media. No
physical medium is required for the transmission of electromagnetic
signals. There are 3 major types of Unguided Media namely: Radio
waves, Microwaves and Infrared

Radio Waves: These are easy to generate and can

penetrate through buildings. The sending and
receiving antennas need not be aligned. Frequency
Range: 3 KHz – 1GHz. AM and FM radios and
cordless phones use Radio waves for transmission.
Radio waves are further categorized into (i) Radio waves
Terrestrial (ii) Satellite.
Microwaves :It is a line of sight transmission
i.e. the sending and receiving antennas need
to be properly aligned with each other. The
distance covered by the signal is directly
proportional to the height of the antenna.
Frequency Range: 1GHz – 300GHz. These are
majorly used for mobile phone
communication and television distribution.
Microwave
 Unguided Media Cont’d
Infrared waves are used for very
short distance communication.
They cannot penetrate through
obstacles. This prevents
interference between systems.
Frequency Range: 300GHz –
400THz. It is used in TV remotes,
Infrared
wireless mouse, key board, printer,
etc.
 Computer Network Transmission modes

The data is transmitted from one

device to another device through
a transmission mode. The
transmission mode decides the
direction of data in which the data
needs to travel to reach the receiver
system or node. The transmission
mode is divided in three categories
simplex, half duplex and full duplex.
Simplex mode: In simplex mode the data transmits in one direction only,
from one system to another system. The sender device that sends data can
only send data and cannot receive it. On the other hand the receiver device
can only receive the data and cannot send it. Television is an example of
simplex mode transmission as the broadcast sends signals to our TV but
never receives signals back from our TV. This is a unidirectional
transmission.
 Computer Network Transmission modes Cont’d
Half-Duplex: In half duplex mode transmission can be done both ways
which means if two systems are connected with half-duplex mode of
transmission, they both can send and receive data but not at the same
time. If one device is sending data then other device cannot send data
until it receives the data which is already in transmission. You can say
that the communication is not simultaneous. The radio communication
device that our soldiers use at the battle fields are the examples of half
duplex mode transmission as they send message and then say over and
then the person on other hand send his message and this way they
communicate but not simultaneously like we used to do on mobile.
 Computer Network Transmission modes Cont’d
Full-Duplex: In full duplex mode both the connected devices can
send and receive data simultaneously. The mobile phone we use is
an example of full duplex mode where we can communicate
simultaneously.Both the devices can send and receive the data at the
same time. Example networked computers
 1.5 Network Devices
Network devices are components used to connect computers or other
electronic devices together in a network to enable them share files or
network resources like printers or fax machines. The devices are hubs,
bridges, switches, routers, modems, repeaters, Gateway, Brouters etc.
Network Hub is a networking device which is used to
connect multiple network hosts. A hub is not so secure
and safe. Moreover, copying the data packets on all the
interfaces or ports makes it slower and more congested
which led to the use of network switch.
Network Bridge: A bridge operates at data link layer. A
bridge is a repeater, with add on the functionality of
filtering content by reading the MAC addresses of source
and destination. It is also used for interconnecting two
LANs working on the same protocol. It has a single input
and single output port, thus making it a 2 port device.
Network Switch: Like a hub, a switch also works at the
layer of LAN (Local Area Network) but you can say that a
switch is more intelligent than a hub. While hub just
does the work of data forwarding, a switch does 'filter
and forwarding' which is a more intelligent way of
dealing with the data packets.
 Network Devices Cont’d

Network Modem: A modem stands for (Modulator +

Demodulator). That means it modulates and demodulates
the signal between the digital data of a computer and the
analog signal of a telephone line.

Network Router: A router is a network device which is

responsible for routing traffic from one to another
network. These two networks could be a private
company network to a public network. You can think
of a router as a traffic police who directs different
network traffic to different directions.

Network Repeater: A repeater is an electronic device

that amplifies the signal it receives. In other terms,
you can think of repeater as a device which receives a
signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher
power so that the signal can cover longer distances.
 Network Devices Cont’d
Gateway – A gateway, as the name suggests, is a
passage to connect two networks together that
may work upon different networking models. They
basically works as the messenger agents that take
data from one system, interpret it, and transfer it
to another system. Gateways are also called
protocol converters and can operate at any
network layer. Gateways are generally more
complex than switch or router.

Brouter – It is also known as bridging router is

a device which combines features of both
bridge and router. It can work either at data
link layer or at network layer. Working as
router, it is capable of routing packets across
networks and working as bridge, it is capable
of filtering local area network traffic.
 1.6 Various types of Network
There are many types of network today but few are discussed here and
they are PAN, LAN,WLAN, CAN, MAN,WAN, SAN, POLAN, EPN,VPN etc.

PAN: Personal Area Network: The smallest

and most basic type of network, a PAN is
made up of a wireless modem, a computer
or two, phones, printers, tablets, etc., and
revolves around one person in one building.
These types of networks are typically found
in small offices or residences, and are
managed by one person or organization
from a single device.
LAN: Local Area Network : LANs connect
groups of computers and low-voltage
devices together across short distances
(within a building or between a group of two
or three buildings in close proximity to each
other) to share information and resources.
Enterprises typically manage and maintain
LANs.
 Types of Network Cont’d

WLAN: Wireless Local Area: WLANs make use

of wireless network technology, such as WiFi.
Typically seen in the same types of
applications as LANs, these types of networks
don’t require that devices rely on physical
cables to connect to the network.

CAN: Campus Area Network: Larger than

LANs, but smaller than metropolitan area
networks (MANs), these types of networks are
typically seen in universities, large K-12
school districts or small businesses. They can
be spread across several buildings that are
fairly close to each other so users can share
resources.
 Types of Network Cont’d
MAN: Metropolitan Area Network
These types of networks are larger
than LANs but smaller than WANs –
and incorporate elements from both
types of networks. MANs span an
entire geographic area (typically a
town or city, but sometimes a
campus). Ownership and maintenance
is handled by either a single person or
company (a local council, a large
company, etc.).
WAN: Wide Area Network: a WAN connects
computers together across longer physical
distances. This allows computers and low-
voltage devices to be remotely connected to
each other over one large network to
communicate even when they’re miles apart.
The Internet is the most basic example of a
WAN, connecting all computers together
around the world.
 Types of Network Cont’d
SAN: Storage-Area Network: these
types of networks don’t rely on a LAN
or WAN. Instead, they move storage
resources away from the network and
place them into their own high-
performance network. SANs can be
accessed in the same fashion as a
drive attached to a server. Types of
storage-area networks include
converged, virtual and unified SANs.
POLAN:Passive Optical Local Area
Network A point-to-multipoint LAN
architecture, POLAN uses optical
splitters to split an optical signal from
one strand of single mode optical
fibre into multiple signals to serve
users and devices.
 Types of Network Cont’d

EPN: Enterprise Private Network :

These types of networks are built and
owned by businesses that want to
securely connect its various locations to
share computer resources.

VPN: Virtual Private Network

By extending a private network across
the Internet, a VPN lets its users send
and receive data as if their devices were
connected to the private network – even
if they’re not. Through a virtual point-
to-point connection, users can access a
private network remotely.
 Ethernet
Ethernet is a technology for connecting devices in a wired
local area network (LAN) or wide area network (WAN),
enabling them to communicate with each other via a
protocol -- a set of rules or common network language. ...
An Ethernet cable is the physical, encased wiring over which
the data travels.
 IEEE 802 Ethernet Standard
IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802 committee
defines and publishes standards for wired Ethernet Local Area Networks,
Metropolitan Area Networks (MAN), Wireless networks etc.
Ethernet is defined in a number of IEEE 802.3 standards. These standards
define the physical and data-link layer specifications for Ethernet. The
most important 802.3 standards are:
 10Base-T (IEEE 802.3) – 10 Mbps with category 3 unshielded twisted
pair (UTP) wiring, up to 100 meters long.
 100Base-TX (IEEE 802.3u) – known as Fast Ethernet, uses category 5,
5E, or 6 UTP wiring, up to 100 meters long.
 100Base-FX (IEEE 802.3u) – a version of Fast Ethernet that uses multi-
mode optical fiber. Up to 412 meters long.
 1000Base-CX (IEEE 802.3z) – uses copper twisted-pair cabling. Up to
25 meters long.
 1000Base-T (IEEE 802.3ab) – Gigabit Ethernet that uses Category 5
UTP wiring. Up to 100 meters long.
 1000Base-SX (IEEE 802.3z) – 1 Gigabit Ethernet running over
multimode fiber-optic cable.
 1000Base-LX (IEEE 802.3z) – 1 Gigabit Ethernet running over single-
mode fiber.
 10GBase-T (802.3.an) – 10 Gbps connections over category 5e, 6, and
7 UTP cables.
IEEE 802 Ethernet Standard Cont’d
The word base refers to baseband, meaning that the signals are
transmitted without modulation. The last part of the standard name refers
to the cabling used to carry signals. For example, 1000Base-T means that
the speed of the network is up to 1000 Mbps, baseband signaling is used,
and the twisted-pair cabling will be used (T stands for twisted-pair).
Standard Description Standard Description

802.1 Internetworking
802.3 Ethernet CSMA /CD (10 Mbps)
802.2 Logical link control

802.3 Ethernet 802.3u Fast Ethernet (100 Mbps)

802.4 Token bus

Gigabit Ethernet over fiber-optic cabling or
802.3z
802.5 Token ring coaxial cabling

802.6 Metropolitan area network (MAN)

802.3ab Gigabit Ethernet over twisted-pair cabling

802.7 Broadband technology

802.3ae 10-Gigabit Ethernet
802.8 Fiber-optic technology

802.9 Voice and data integration

802.10 Network security

802.11 Wireless networking

802.12 Demand priority networking