Chapter 4: Computer networks and Data communications

Outline
4.1. Introduction to computer networking and data
communication
4.2. Types of networks
4.3. Introduction
4.1. Introduction to the Internet
to computer networking and data communication
4.1.1 Data Communication
 Communication: is exchange of information between different
objects.
 Data communication is the exchange of data between two devices
through wired or wireless transmission medium

 For effective data communication, the following three fundamental

characteristics should be considered:
 Delivery: The system must deliver data to the correct destination.
 Accuracy: The system must deliver data accurately (error free).
 Timeliness: The system must deliver data timely without time lags.
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Introduction cont’d…….
4.1.2. Data Communication Components
 There are five basic components in data communication system:
 Message: it is the information that to be communicated/exchanged.
 Sender: is the device that sends the message.
 Receiver: is the device that receives the message
 Transmission medium: is the physical path that transfers the
message from sender to receiver.
 Protocol: is a set of rules that coordinates the exchange of
information.
 Both sender & receiver should follow the same protocol to
exchange data.
SENDER RECIEVER

Medium Message

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Introduction cont’d…….
4.1.3. Types of data transmission (Channel Organization)
 Data may be transmitted between two points in two different ways.
 Serial: Each bit is sent over a single wire, one after the after.
 Parallel: Each bit uses a separate wire and sent all at once.

 Asynchronous and synchronous data transmission

 Asynchronous transmission uses start and stop bits to indicate the
beginning bit. This allows the receiver to recognize when the second
packet of information is being sent.

 Synchronous transmission uses no start and stop bits but instead

synchronizes transmission speeds at both the receiving and sending
end of the transmission using clock signals built into each component.

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Introduction cont’d…….
4.1.4. Data Transmission Mode
 It refers to the direction of signal flow between two connected
devices.

 There are three types of transmission modes: simplex, half-duplex,

and full–duplex.
a. Simplex: transmission is uni-directional (one directional).
 Only one of the communicating devices transmits information, the
other can only receive it.
 Example: Television transmission, only satellite transmits the data
to the television, vice versa is not possible.
SENDER RECIEVER

b. Half-duplex: here each communicating device can receive and transmit

information, but not at the same time.
 Example: wireless handsets
SENDER (used by military personnel)
RECIEVER

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Introduction cont’d…….
c. Full-duplex: is also called duplex mode, allows both communicating
devices to transmit and receive data simultaneously.
 Example: the telephone network, where two people communicate
over a telephone line; both can talk as well as listen at the same time.
SENDER RECIEVER

4.1.5. Transmission Media

 It refers to the physical through which communication signals (data
and information) are transmitted.
 Two broad categories: guided media and unguided media.
a. Guided media
 This media use a cabling system that guide the data signals along a
specific path.
 There are four basic types of guided media. These are
i. Open wire iii. Coaxial cable
ii. Twisted pair iv. Optical fiber
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Introduction cont’d…….
i. Open wire: Traditionally used to describe the electrical power
transmission wire strung along power pole.
 No shielding or protection from noise interface.

ii. Twisted Pair: here pair of wires are twisted together which are
surrounded by insulating material and outer layer called Jacket.
 The wires are twisted in order to reduce noise (unwanted signal).
 Used in short distance communication (<=100 meters).

 There are two forms of Twisted Pair: Unshielded Twisted Pair, and
Shielded Twisted Pair
a. Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP):
 It is the most common type of telecommunication medium in use
today and have a maximum transmission speed of up to 9600 bps.
Fig: UTP

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Introduction cont’d…….
b. Shielded Twisted Pair (STP): has a metal foil that covers each pair of
insulated conductor to prevent infiltration of electromagnetic noise.

Fig: STP
iii. Coaxial cable: Has a single central conductor, which is made up of solid
wire (usually copper) and surrounded by insulator.
 It is very strong and is commonly used in cable TV network.

iv. Optical fiber: optical fiber carry information in the form of visible
light.
 But both twisted pair and coaxial cable transmit data in the form of
current
 Optical fiber has three parts, i.e. Core, cladding/layer, and jacket

Fig: Optical fiber

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Introduction cont’d…….
B. Unguided media: is data signals, that flow through air.
 They are not bounded to a fixed channel to follow.
 Example: radio frequency propagation, Microwave and Satellite.

4.2. COMPUTER NETWORK

 Network is a group of inter-connected computers that allows people to
share information.

4.2.1. Types of Computer Networks

 Based on Geographical span computer networks can be classified into
three major groups: Local Area Network (LAN)
Metropolitan Area network (MAN)
Wide Area Network (WAN)

i. Local Area network (LAN): is a computer network that spans only a

small geographical area; such as in office, home or building.
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Computer network cont’d…….
ii. Metropolitan Area network (MAN): is a network of computers spread
over a “Metropolitan” area such as a city and its suburbs.

 It may be a single network such as a cable television network or

 it may be a means of connecting a number of LANs in several
organization in the same city.

iii. Wide Area Network (WAN): is a way of interconnecting many

computers over a large geographical area such as cities,
states, countries or even the whole world.

 These kinds of networks use telephone lines, satellite links, and other
long-rang communications technologies to connect.

 Such networks are designed to serve an area of hundreds or thousands

of miles.
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Computer network cont’d…….
4.2.2. NETWORK TOPOLOGIES
 The term topology refers to the way a network is laid out, either
physically or logically.
 There are four basic topologies: Bus, Ring, Star, and Mesh.
i. Bus Topology
 Bus topology uses a common bus (a single cable) to connect all
devices with terminators at both ends.

 Advantages of Bus Topology

 Connecting a computer or peripheral to a linear bus is easy.
 requires least amount of cabling to connect the computers and
 therefore, less expensive than other cabling arrangement.
 easy to extend a bus since two cables can be joined into longer
cable with a connector.
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Computer network cont’d…….
 Disadvantages of Bus Topology
 Heavy traffic can slow down a bus, because computers on such
networks do not coordinate with each other.
 Entire network shuts down, if there is a failure on the common bus
ii. Ring Topology
 In ring topology, computers are placed on a circle of cable without
any terminated ends since there are no unconnected ends.
 Every node has exactly two neighbors for communication purposes.
 Advantage of Ring Topology
 It is easy to install and reconfigure.
 Every computer is given equal access to the ring.
 No single computer can monopolize the network.
 Disadvantages of Ring Topology
 Failure in any cable or node breaks the loop & take down entire
network
 Maximum ring length and number of nodes are limited.
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Computer network cont’d…….
iii. Star Topology
 In star topology, devices are not directly linked to each other but they
are connected via a centralized network component known as hub or
concentrator.

 Advantages of Star Topology

 Star topology is easy to install and wire.
 The network is not disrupted even if a node fails or is removed.
 Fault detection and removal of faulty parts is easier in star topology.

 Disadvantages of Star Topology

 It requires a longer length of cable.
 If the hub fails, nodes attached to hub are disabled.
 The cost of the hub makes the network expensive.
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Computer network cont’d…….
iv. Mesh Topology
 In this topology, every node has a dedicated point-to-point link to
every other node.
 A fully connected mesh network has n(n-1)/2 physical links to link n
devices.

 Advantages of Mesh Topology

 The use of large number of links eliminates network overcrowding.
 If one link becomes unusable, it does not disable the entire system.
 Disadvantages of Mesh Topology
 The amount of required cabling is very large.
 As every node is connected to the other, installation and
reconfiguration is very difficult.
 The amount of hardware required in this type of topology can make
it expensive to implement.
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 4.3. Introduction to the Internet
4.3.1. BASIC INTERNET TERMS
 Now let we try to familiarize ourselves with some basic Internet terms
 Web page: is an electronic document on the WWW that written in a
computer language called HTML and it can include text, pictures etc.

 These pages are linked together through a system of connection called

hyperlinks or links, Which enable the user to jump from one web
page to another by clicking on a link.
 Web Site: is a set of related web pages that published by an
organization or individual.
 It is an area on the web which accessed by its own address called
URL

 Home page: is the starting point or a doorway to the web site.

 Note: Home page is also known as the index or index page.
 Browser: is a computer program that accesses web pages and displays
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Internet cont’d…….
 Uniform resource locator (URL): is a unique address, that identifies
location of each web page on the Internet.
 Example, http://www.xyz.com/tutor/start/main.htm.
 For instance, in http://www.xyz.com/tutor/start/main.htm, the file
main.htm is located in start, which is a subdirectory of tutor.
 Hypertext: is refers to the text that connects to other documents.
 These texts are known as hypertext link, hyperlink, hotlink or
links.
 Internet service provider (ISP): is an organization that provides the
required software that used to connect to the Internet.
 Web server: is a computer equipped with server software, that
answers requests from user’s/client’s computers.
 Download: refers to the activity of ‘pulling’ information from the
Internet to one’s own computer.
 Upload: is just the opposite of download.
 Online and : is referred as ‘connected to the Internet live’.
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
Introduction cont’d…….
4.3.2. INTERNET APPLICATIONS
 The Internet has grown from a small project to today’s biggest network of
computers.
 Some of the important services provided by the Interest are briefed below.
World Wide Web (WWW): is a subset of the internet and presents text, images,
animation, video, sound, and other multimedia in a single interface.
 It is one of the most popular services available on Internet.
Electronic mail (E-mail): is a fast, easy, and inexpensive way to communicate
with other Internet users around the world.
 It is used to send documents, images, audio, video, etc. as an attachment
along with the mail.
Internet Relay Chat (IRC): is a service on the Internet that allows people to
communicate in real time and carry on conversations via the networked
computer with one or more people.
Video Conferencing: uses the same technology as IRC, but also provides sound
and video pictures and enables face-to face communication across networks.
Commerce through internet: also called E-commerce refers to buying and
selling goods and services online using internet. 16
 Chapter 4 - Computer security
Part II
Outline
4.1. Introduction to computer security
4.2. Computer Security threats
4.3. Countermeasures
4.1 Introduction to computer security
What is Security?
Security: refers to something that provides a sense of protection against
loss, attack, or harm.
 Safety means protection against attack.

 Some e.g. of Security include; personal security, information security,

national security, loans security, travel and transportation security,
property security, and so on.
What is Risk?
Risk: opposite to security, it refers to the danger that damage or loss will
occur. 17
What is Computer security?
 It is about policies to protect information and property from theft,
corruption, or natural disaster

 It also about a policies that allow the information and property to be

accessible and productive to its authorized users.

 How this protection can be done? Ans.: using software copyright

What is copyright?

 Copyright is the legal right that control the use and copying of the
others works without the permission of the owner.

 Copyright also relates to the ownership of an original work.

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 There are three issues in Computer Security:
 Availability: services must be accessible and available to properly
authorized user.
 Confidentiality: only sender intended receiver should understand
message contents.
 Integrity: sender and receiver want to insure massages are not
altered without detection.
 Authentication: limiting access to only authorized user.

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 4.2 Computer Security threats
General computer hazards
 Computer hazards range from the destruction of the computer
hardware to loss of data.
 Generally, hazards to the computers can be categorized into three.
i. Physical hazards: is a damages to the computer’s hardware that
can be caused due to the number of reasons
ii. Malicious programs: are a programs written to disrupt the
computer system, which include computer virus, worm, Trojan
horse, logic bomb,…..etc.

iii. Intruders: are individuals or organizations the make different

types of security threats by stealing, reading, modifying and
protection communication between sender and receiver.

iv. Hackers and Crackers: are individuals who are well versed in
computing and are engaged in various kinds of criminal activities
ranging from writing virus programs to the data and identity theft.
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 4.3 Countermeasures
 There are various ways that we can use to help protect our computer’s
hardware, software and data from numerous possible hazards

A. Back up is the most important security mechanism of all since

computer systems can fail in number of ways.

B. Antivirus software is computer programs that attempt to identify,

neutralize or eliminate malicious software.

C. Fire wall is a device or a software that blocks unauthorized access to

the single or network linked computers based on a set of rules and other
criteria.

D. Use of password and authentication methods: is way to limit the

use of computers and data files to approved persons.

E. Encryption: a technique to protect confidential information. 21

THE END

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