DATA

COMMUNICATION
AND NETWOKS
UNIT 1 - DATA COMMUNICATION
Part 2

Likhitha M M
Assistant Professor
DoS in Computer Science
Mahajana PG Wing, Mysore
Contents

Networks –
• Network Criteria

Physical Structures

Types of connection

Physical Topology
 NETWORKS

A network is defined as a set of devices interconnected by
communication-links.

This interconnection among computers facilitates information
sharing among them.

Computers may connect to each other by either wired or wireless
media.

Often, devices are referred to as nodes.

A node can be any device capable of sending/receiving data in
the network.

For example: Computer & Printer

The best-known computer network is the Internet.
 NETWORKS

Distributed Processing
Most networks use distributed processing, in which a task is divided
among multiple computers. Instead of one single large machine
being responsible for all aspects of a process, separate computers
(usually a personal computer or workstation) handle a subset.
 Network Criteria

A network must be able to meet a certain number of criteria. The

most important of these are performance, reliability, and security
Performance
can be measured in many ways, including transit time and response time.

Transit time is the amount of time required for a message to travel
from one device to another.

Response time is the elapsed time between an inquiry and a
response.
The performance of a network depends on a number of factors,
including
1. the number of users
2. the type of transmission medium
3. the capabilities of the connected hardware and
4. the efficiency of the software

Performance is often evaluated by two networking metrics:
throughput and delay.

We often need more throughput and less delay.

However, these two criteria are often contradictory.

If we try to send more data to the network, we may increase
throughput but we increase the delay because of traffic
congestion in the network.

Good performance can be obtained by achieving higher
throughput and smaller delay times
Reliability
Reliability is measured by
 frequency of network-failure
 time taken to recover from a network-failure
 network's robustness in a disaster
More the failures are, less is the network's reliability.
Security
 Security refers to the protection of data from the unauthorized
access or damage.
 It also involves implementing policies for recovery from data-
losses.
 Physical Structures

Before discussing networks, we need to define some network

attributes.
Type of Connection


A network is two or more devices connected through links.

A link is a communications pathway that transfers data from
one device to another.

For visualization purposes, it is simplest to imagine any link as
a line drawn between two points.

For communication to occur, two devices must be connected in
some way to the same link at the same time.

There are two possible types of connections: point-to-point and
multipoint.
Type of Connection

Point-to-Point
 Only two devices are connected by a dedicated-link.
 Entire-capacity of the link is reserved for transmission
between those two devices.
 For example: Point-to-Point connection b/w remote-
control & TV for changing the channels.
Multipoint (Multi-Drop)

 Three or more devices share a single link.

 The capacity of the channel is shared, either spatially or
temporally.
1. If link is used simultaneously by many devices, then it is
spatially shared connection.
2. If user takes turns while using the link, then it is time shared
connection.
Types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint
 Physical Topology


The term physical topology refers to the way in which a
network is laid out physically.

Two or more devices connect to a link; two or more links form
a topology.

The topology of a network is the geometric representation of
the relationship of all the links and linking devices (usually
called nodes) to one another.
 Physical Topology

There are four basic topologies possible:

1) Mesh
2) Star
3) Bus and
4) Ring
Physical Topology

Categories of topology
 Mesh Topology

A fully connected mesh topology (five devices)

Mesh Topology


All the devices are connected to each other.

There exists a dedicated point-to-point link between all
devices.

There are n(n-1) physical channels to link n devices.

Every device not only sends its own data but also relays data
from other nodes.

For ‘n’ nodes,
→ there are n(n-1) physical-links
→ there are n(n-1)/2 duplex-mode links

Every device must have (n–1) I/O ports to be connected to the
other (n-1) devices.
• Advantages of Mesh Topology:

1)Congestion reduced: Each connection can carry its own data

load.
2)Robustness: If one link fails, it does not affect the entire
system.
3)Security: When a data travels on a dedicated-line, only
intended-receiver can see the data.
4)Easy fault identification & fault isolation: Traffic can be re-
routed to avoid problematic links.
• Disadvantages of Mesh Topology :

1)Difficult installation and reconfiguration.

2)Bulk of wiring occupies more space than available space.
3)Very expensive: as there are many redundant connections.
4)Not mostly used in computer networks. It is commonly used in
wireless networks.
5)High redundancy of the network-connections.
 Star Topology

A star topology connecting four stations

Star Topology


All the devices are connected to a central controller called a
hub.

There exists a dedicated point-to-point link between a device
& a hub.

The devices are not directly linked to one another.

Thus, there is no direct traffic between devices.

The hub acts as a junction:

If device-1 wants to send data to device-2, the device-1 sends
the data to the hub, then the hub relays the data to the device2.
• Advantages of Star Topology:

1) Less expensive: Each device needs only one link & one I/O
port to connect it to any devices.
2) Easy installation & reconfiguration: Nodes can be
added/removed w/o affecting the network.
3) Robustness: If one link fails, it does not affect the entire
system.
4) Easy to detect and troubleshoot fault.
5) Centralized management: The hub manages and controls the
whole network
• Disadvantages of Star Topology :

1)Single point of failure: If the hub goes down, the whole

network is dead.
2)Cable length required is the more compared to bus/ring
topologies.
3)Number of nodes in network depends on capacity of hub.
 Bus Topology

A bus topology connecting three stations

Bus Topology


All the devices are connected to the single cable called bus.

Every device communicates with the other device through this
bus.

A data from the source is broadcasted to all devices connected
to the bus.

Only the intended-receiver, whose physical-address matches,
accepts the data.

Devices are connected to the bus by drop-lines and taps.

A drop-line is a connection running between the device and the
bus.

A tap is a connector that links to the bus
• Advantages of Bus Topology:

1)Easy installation.
2)Cable required is the least compared to mesh/star topologies.
3)Redundancy is eliminated.
4)Costs less (Compared to mesh/star topologies).
5)Mostly used in small networks. Good for LAN.
• Disadvantages of Bus Topology :

1)Difficult to detect and troubleshoot fault.

2)Signal reflection at the taps can cause degradation in quality.
3)A fault/break in the cable stops all transmission.
4)There is a limit on
i)Cable length
ii)Number of nodes that can be connected.
i) Security is very low because all the devices receive the data
sent from the source.
 Ring Topology

A ring topology connecting six stations

Ring Topology


Each device is connected to the next, forming a ring.

There are only two neighbors for each device.

Data travels around the network in one direction till the
destination is reached.

Sending and receiving of data takes place by the help of token.

Each device has a repeater.

A repeater
→ receives a signal on transmission-medium &
→ regenerates & passes the signal to next device
Advantages of Ring Topology:

1) Easy installation and reconfiguration.

To add/delete a device, requires changing only 2 connections.
2) Fault isolation is simplified.
If one device does not receive a signal within a specified
period, it can issue an alarm.
The alarm alerts the network-operator to the problem and its
location.
3) Congestion reduced: Because all the traffic flows in only one
direction.
• Disadvantages of Ring Topology :

1)Unidirectional traffic.
2)A fault in the ring/device stops all transmission.
The above 2 drawbacks can be overcome by using dual ring.
3)There is a limit on
i)Cable length &
ii)Number of nodes that can be connected.
4)Slower: Each data must pass through all the devices between
source and destination.
 Hybrid Topology

A hybrid topology: a star backbone with three bus networks

Hybrid Topology

A network can be hybrid. For example, we can have a main star

topology with each branch connecting several stations in a bus
topology as shown in Figure.
Thankyou

Likhitha M M
Assistant Professor
DoS in Computer
Science