LECTURE SIX

COMMUNICATION AND COMPUTER

NETWORK
DATA COMMUNICATION

Data transmission is the movement of

information using some standard methods.
These methods include:
Electrical signals carried along a conductor.
Optical signals along an optical fibers
Electromagnetic areas.
The modern form of communication like e-
mail and Internet is possible only because of
computer networking.
THE DIFFERENCE BETWEEN DATA AND INFORMATION
Basic Elements of a Communication System

 The following are the basic requirements for working of a

communication system.
 A sender (source) which creates the message to be
transmitted.
 A medium that carries the message.
 A receiver (sink) which receives the message.
 In data communication four basic terms are frequently
used:
 Data: A collection of facts in raw forms that become
information after processing.
 Signals: Electric or electromagnetic encoding of data.
 Signaling: Propagation of signals across a communication
medium.
 Transmission: Communication of data achieved by the
processing of signals.
Communication Protocols
Data communication software is the software
that enables us to communicate with other
systems.
The data communication software instructs
computer systems and devices as to how
exactly data is to be transferred from one
place to another.
The procedure of data transformation in the
form of software is commonly called
protocol.
Communication Protocols cont …..
The data transmission software or protocols
perform the following functions for the efficient
and error free transmission of data.
 Data sequencing: A long message to be transmitted
is broken into smaller packets of fixed size for error
free data transmission.
 Data Routing: It is the process of finding the most
efficient route between source and destination
before sending the data.
 Flow control: All machines are not equally efficient
in terms of speed. Hence the flow control regulates
the process of sending data between fast sender and
slow receiver.
 Error Control: Error detecting and recovering is
the one of the main function of communication
software. It ensures that data are transmitted
without any error.
Data Transmission Modes
There are three ways for transmitting data
from one point to another
 Simplex: In simplex mode the communication can
take place in one direction. The receiver receives the
signal from the transmitting device, In this mode the
flow of information is Uni.-directional. Hence it is
rarely used for data communication.
 Half-duplex: In half-duplex mode the communication
channel is used in both directions, but only in one
direction at a time. Thus a half-duplex line can
alternately send and receive data.
 Full-duplex: In full duplex the communication
channel is used in both directions at the same
time. Use of full-duplex line improves the efficiency
as the line turn-around time required in half-duplex
arrangement is eliminated. Example of this mode of
transmission is the telephone line.
Data Transmission Modes Diagram
Digital and Analog Transmission
 Data is transmitted from one point to another point by means
of electrical signals that may be in digital and analog form.
The fundamental difference between analog and
digital signals.
 In analog signal the transmission power varies over a
continuous range with respect to sound, light and radio
waves while a digital signal may assume only discrete set of
values within a given range.
 Analog signal is measured in Volts and its frequency in
Hertz (Hz) where by digital signal is a sequence of voltage
represented in binary form.
 When digital data are to be sent over an analog form the digital
signal must be converted to analog form.
 The technique by which a digital signal is converted to
analog form is known as modulation.
 The conversion of analog signal to its digital form is known
as demodulation.
 The device, which converts digital signal into analog, and
the reverse, is known as modem.
Analog Signal Digital Signal
Asynchronous and Synchronous Transmission

 Data transmission through a medium can be either

asynchronous or synchronous.
 Asynchronous transmission data is transmitted character
by character as you go on typing on a keyboard.
 Hence there is irregular gaps between characters. However, it
is cheaper to implement, as you do not have to save the data
before sending.
 Synchronous transmission data the saved data is
transmitted block by block.
 Each block can contain many characters.
 Synchronous transmission is well suited for remote
communication between a computer and related devices like
card reader and printers.
Major Communication Devices
 Wire Pairs:
 Wire pairs are commonly used in local telephone
communication and for short distance digital data
communication.
 They are usually made up of copper and the pair of wires is
twisted together.
 Data transmission speed is normally 9600 bits per second in
a distance of 100 meter.
 Coaxial Cables:
 Coaxial cable is groups of specially wrapped and insulted wires
that are able to transfer data at higher rate.
 They consist of a central copper wire surrounded by an
insulation over which copper mesh is placed.
 They are used for long distance telephone lines and local area
network for their noise immunity and faster data transfer.
Major Communication Devices Cont ….
 Microwave:
 Microwave system uses very high frequency radio signals to
transmit data through space.
 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.
 Communication Satellite:
 The problem of line-sight and repeaters are overcome by using satellites
which are the most widely used data transmission media in modern days.
 A communication satellite is a microwave relay station placed in outer
space.
 INSAT-1B is such a satellite that can be accessible from anywhere in India.
 Satellite communication, microwave signal is transmitted from a
transmitter on earth to the satellite at space.
 The satellite amplifies the weak signal and transmits it back to the receiver.
 The main advantage of satellite communication is that it is a single
microwave relay station visible from any point of a very large area.
 In microwave the data transmission rate is 16 giga bits per second.
 They are mostly used to link big metropolitan cities.
COMPUTER NETWORK
 A computer network is an interconnection of various computer
systems located at different places.
 In computer network two or more computers are linked together
with a medium and data communication devices for the purpose of
communicating data and sharing resources.
 The computer that provides resources to other computers on a
network is known as server.
 In the network the individual computers, which access shared
network resources, are known as workstations or nodes.
 Computer Networks may be classified on the basis of geographical
area in two broad categories.
 Local Area Network (LAN)
 Wide Area Network (WAN)
Local Area Network
 Networks used to interconnect computers in a single room, rooms
within a building or buildings on one site are called Local Area
Network (LAN).
 LAN transmits data with a speed of several megabits per second
(106 bits per second).
 The transmission medium is normally coaxial cables.
Major Characteristics of LAN
 Every computer has the potential to communicate with any other
computers of the network
 High degree of interconnection between computers
 Easy physical connection of computers in a network
 Inexpensive medium of data transmission
 High data transmission rate
Local Area Network
Advantages
 The reliability of network is high because the failure of one computer
in the network does not effect the functioning for other computers.
 Addition of new computer to network is easy.
 High rate of data transmission is possible.
 Peripheral devices like magnetic disk and printer can be shared by
other computers.

Disadvantages
 If the communication line fails, the entire network system breaks
down.

Use of LAN
Followings are the major areas where LAN is normally used
 File transfers and Access
 Word and text processing
 Electronic message handling
 Remote database access
 Personal computing
 Digital voice transmission and storage
Wide Area Network
 Wide Area Network (WAN) is used to describe a computer
network spanning a regional, national or global area.
 For example, for a large company the head quarters might be at Dar
and regional branches at Mwanza, Kagera, Singida and Kigoma.
 Here regional centers are connected to head quarters through
WAN.
 The distance between computers connected to WAN is larger.
 Therefore the transmission medium used are normally telephone
lines, microwaves and satellite links.
Wide Area Network
Characteristics of WAN
 Communication Facility:
 For a big company spanning over different parts of the country the
employees can save long distance phone calls and it overcomes the
time lag in overseas communications.
 Computer conferencing is another use of WAN where users
communicate with each other through their computer system.
 Remote Data Entry:
 Remote data entry is possible in WAN. It means sitting at any location
you can enter data, update data and query other information of any
computer attached to the WAN but located in other cities. For example,
suppose you are sitting at Madras and want to see some data of a
computer located at Delhi, you can do it through WAN.
 Centralized Information:
 In modern computerized environment you will find that big
organizations go for centralized data storage.
 This means if the organization is spread over many cities, they keep
their important business data in a single place.
 As the data are generated at different sites, WAN permits collection of
this data from different sites and save at a single site.
WAN Cont ….
Examples of WAN
Ethernet:
 Ethernet developed by Xerox Corporation is a famous
example of WAN.
 This network uses coaxial cables for data transmission.
Special integrated circuit chips called controllers are
used to connect equipment to the cable.
Aparnet:
 The Aparnet is another example of WAN.
 It was developed at Advanced Research Projects Agency
of U. S. Department.
 This Network connects more than 40 universities and
institutions throughout USA and Europe.
Difference between LAN and WAN

 LAN is restricted to limited geographical area of few kilometers,

but WAN covers great distance and operate nationwide or even
worldwide.
 In LAN, the computer terminals and peripheral devices are
connected with wires and coaxial cables, in WAN there is no
physical connection. Communication is done through telephone
lines and satellite links.
 Cost of data transmission in LAN is less because the
transmission medium is owned by a single organization, in case
of WAN the cost of data transmission is very high because the
transmission medium used are hired, either telephone lines or
satellite links.
 The speed of data transmission is much higher in LAN than in
WAN. The transmission speed in LAN varies from 0.1 to 100
megabits per second. In case of WAN the speed ranges from
1800 to 9600 bits per second (bps).
 Few data transmission errors occur in LAN compared to WAN.
 It is because in LAN the distance covered is negligible.
NETWORK TOPOLOGY
Topology refers to the way the computers or
workstations in the network are linked
together.
Three major types of network topology are:
Star topology
Bus topology
Ring topology.
Star topology
 In star topology a number of workstations
(or nodes) are directly linked to a central
node.
 Any communication between stations on a
star LAN must pass through the central
node.
 There is bi-directional communication
between various nodes.
 The central node controls all the activities
of the nodes.

The advantages of the star topology are:

 It offers flexibility of adding or deleting of
workstations from the network.
 Breakdown of one station does not affect
any other device on the network.
The major disadvantage of star topology
 Failure of the central node disables
communication throughout the whole
network.
Bus Topology
 In bus topology all workstations
are connected to a single
communication line called bus.
 In this type of network topology
there is no central node as in star
topology.
 Transmission from any station
travels the length of the bus in
both directions and can be
received by all workstations.

The advantage of the bus

topology
 It is quite easy to set up.
 If one station of the topology fails it
does not affect the entire system.
The disadvantage of bus topology
 Any break in the bus is difficult to
identify.
Ring Topology
 In ring topology each station is
attached nearby stations on a
point to point basis so that the
entire system is in the form of a
ring.
 In this topology data is
transmitted in one direction only.
 Thus the data packets circulate
along the ring in either clockwise
or anti-clockwise direction.
The advantage of this topology
 Any signal transmitted on the
network passes through all the
LAN stations.
The disadvantage of ring network
 The breakdown of any one station
on the ring can disable the entire
system.
 INTERNET
 The Internet is a network of networks. Millions of computers all
over the world are connected through the Internet. Computer
users on the Internet can contact one another anywhere in the
world. You can gather information and distribute your data.
 It is very much similar to the telephone connection where you
can talk with any person anywhere in the world.
 In Internet a huge resource of information is accessible to
people across the world. Information in every field starting from
education, science, health, medicine, history, and geography to
business, news, etc. can be retrieved through Internet.
 You can also download programs and software packages from
anywhere in the world.
 Due to the tremendous information resources the Internet can
provide, it is now indispensable to every organization.
Origin of Internet
 In 1969 Department of Defence (DOD) of USA started a network called
ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects Administration Network) with one
computer at California and three at Utah.
 Later on other universities and R & D institutions were allowed to connect
to the Network.
 APARNET quickly grew to encompass the entire American continent and
became a huge success.
 Every university in the country wanted to become a part of ARPANET.
 So the network was broken into two smaller parts MILNET for managing
military sites and ARPANET (smaller) for managing non-military sites.
 Around 1980, NSFNET (National Science Foundation Network) was
created wiith the advancement of modern communication facilities, other
computers were also allowed to be linked up with any computer of
NSFNET.
 By 1990 many computers were looking up to NSFNET giving birth to
Internet.
How Internet functions
 Internet is not a governmental organization.
 The ultimate authority of the Internet is the Internet Society.
 This is a voluntary membership organization whose purpose is to
promote global information exchange.
 Internet has more than one million computers attached to it.
E-mail
 E-mail stands for electronic mail.
 This is one of the most widely used features of Internet.
 Mails are regularly used today where with the help of postage
stamp we can transfer mails anywhere in the world.
 With electronic mail the service is similar.
 But here data are transmitted through Internet and therefore
within minutes the message reaches the destination may it be
anywhere in the world.
 Therefore the mailing system is excessively fast and is being used
widely for mail transfer.