Unit I

Introduction to Computer
Networks
Computer Network
• A computer network is a set of devices connected through links. A node can be
computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending or receiving the data.

• The links connecting the nodes are known as communication channels.

• Computer Network uses distributed processing in which task is divided among

several computers. Instead, a single computer handles an entire task, each
separate computer handles a subset.
Types of Networks
• A computer network can be categorized by their size. A computer network is
mainly of four types:
LAN(Local Area Network)

• Local Area Network is a group of computers

connected to each other in a small area such
as building, office.
• LAN is used for connecting two or more
personal computers through a
communication medium such as twisted pair,
coaxial cable, etc.
• It is less costly as it is built with inexpensive
hardware such as hubs, network adapters,
and ethernet cables.
• The data is transferred at an extremely faster
rate in Local Area Network.
• Local Area Network provides higher security.
MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)

• A metropolitan area network is a network

that covers a larger geographic area by
interconnecting a different LAN to form a
larger network.

• Government agencies use MAN to connect

to the citizens and private industries.

• In MAN, various LANs are connected to

each other through a telephone exchange
line.

• It has a higher range than Local Area

Network(LAN).
WAN(Wide Area Network)
• A Wide Area Network is a network
that extends over a large geographical
area such as states or countries.
• A Wide Area Network is quite bigger
network than the LAN.
• A Wide Area Network is not limited to
a single location, but it spans over a
large geographical area through a
telephone line, fibre optic cable or
satellite links.
• The internet is one of the biggest
WAN in the world.
Wireless Networks

• Computer networks that are not connected by cables are called wireless networks.
They generally use radio waves for communication between the network nodes.

• Types of Wireless Networks

• Wireless LANs − Connects two or more network devices using wireless
distribution techniques.
• Wireless MANs − Connects two or more wireless LANs spreading over a
metropolitan area.
• Wireless WANs − Connects large areas comprising LANs, MANs and
personal networks.
Network Software

• Network software encompasses a broad range of software used for design,

implementation, and operation and monitoring of computer networks.

• Traditional networks were hardware based with software embedded.

Cont..
• Functions of Network Software
• Helps to set up and install computer networks
• Enables users to have access to network resources in a seamless manner
• Allows administrations to add or remove users from the network
• Helps to define locations of data storage and allows users to access that data
• Helps administrators and security system to protect the network from data
breaches, unauthorized access and attacks on a network
• Enables network virtualizations
SDN Framework

• The Software Defined Networking framework has three layers

Cont..
• The goal of SDN is to allow network engineers and administrators to respond
quickly to changing business requirements.
• In a software-defined network, a network administrator can shape traffic from a
centralized control console without having to touch individual switches, and can
deliver services to wherever they are needed in the network, without regard to
what specific devices a server or other hardware components are connected to.
Cont..
• APPLICATION LAYER
SDN applications reside in the Application Layer. The applications convey their needs
for resources and services to the control layer through APIs.
• CONTROL LAYER
The Network Control Software, bundled into the Network Operating System, lies in
this layer. It provides an abstract view of the underlying network infrastructure. It
receives the requirements of the SDN applications and relays them to the network
components.
• INFRASTRUCTURE LAYER
Also called the Data Plane Layer, this layer contains the actual network components.
The network devices reside in this layer that shows their network capabilities through
the Control to data-Plane Interface.
Design Issues for Network Layer
• Network layer is majorly focused on getting packets from the source to the destination, routing
error handling and congestion control.
1. Store and Forward packet switching:
The host sends the packet to the nearest router. This packet is stored there until it has fully
arrived once the link is fully processed by verifying the checksum then it is forwarded to the
next router till it reaches the destination. This mechanism is called “Store and Forward packet
switching.”
2. Services to Transport Layer
• The network layer provides service its immediate upper layer, namely transport layer, through the network
− transport layer interface. The two types of services provided are −
• Connection − Oriented Service − In this service, a path is setup between the source and the destination,
and all the data packets belonging to a message are routed along this path.
• Connectionless Service − In this service, each packet of the message is considered as an independent
entity and is individually routed from the source to the destination.
Cont..
3. Implementation of Connectionless Service:
Packet are termed as “datagrams” and corresponding subnet as “datagram
subnets”. When the message size that has to be transmitted is 4 times the size
of the packet, then the network layer divides into 4 packets and transmits each
packet to router via. a few protocol. Each data packet has destination address
and is routed independently irrespective of the packets.
4. Implementation of Connection Oriented service:
To use a connection-oriented service, first we establishes a connection, use it
and then release it. In connection-oriented services, the data packets are
delivered to the receiver in the same order in which they have been sent by the
sender.
Network Models
• There are many ways to describe and analyze data communications
networks. All networks provide the same basic functions to transfer a
message from sender to receiver, but each network can use different
network hardware and software to provide these functions. All of these
hardware and software products have to work together to successfully
transfer a message.
• One way to accomplish this is to break the entire set of communications
functions into a series of layers, each of which can be defined separately.
• The two most important network models are the OSI Reference model and
the TCP/IP model.
OSI Reference Model
• OSI is an open standard for all communication systems. OSI model is
established by International Standard Organization (ISO). This model has
seven layers:
Cont..
• Application Layer: This layer is responsible for providing interface to the application user. This
layer encompasses protocols which directly interact with the user.
• Presentation Layer: This layer defines how data in the native format of remote host should be
presented in the native format of host.
• Session Layer: This layer maintains sessions between remote hosts. For example, once
user/password authentication is done, the remote host maintains this session for a while and does
not ask for authentication again in that time span.
• Transport Layer: This layer is responsible for end-to-end delivery between hosts.
• Network Layer: This layer is responsible for address assignment and uniquely addressing hosts in
a network.
• Data Link Layer: This layer is responsible for reading and writing data from and onto the line.
Link errors are detected at this layer.
• Physical Layer: This layer defines the hardware, cabling wiring, power output, pulse rate etc.
Layer 1: The Physical Layer :
• It is the lowest layer of the OSI Model.
• It activates, maintains and deactivates the physical connection.
• It is responsible for transmission and reception of the unstructured raw data over network.
• Voltages and data rates needed for transmission is defined in the physical layer.
• It converts the digital/analog bits into electrical signal or optical signals.
• Data encoding is also done in this layer
2: Data Link Layer :
• Data link layer synchronizes the information which is to be transmitted over the physical layer.
• The main function of this layer is to make sure data transfer is error free from one node to
another, over the physical layer.
• Transmitting and receiving data frames sequentially is managed by this layer.
• This layer sends and expects acknowledgements for frames received and sent respectively.
• Resending of non acknowledgement received frames is also handled by this layer.
• This layer establishes a logical layer between two nodes and also manages the Frame traffic
control over the network. It signals the transmitting node to stop, when the frame buffers are full
Layer 3: The Network Layer :
• It routes the signal through different channels from one node to other.
• It acts as a network controller. It manages the Subnet traffic.
• It decides by which route data should take.
• It divides the outgoing messages into packets and assembles the incoming packets into messages
for higher levels
Layer 4: Transport Layer :
• It decides if data transmission should be on parallel path or single path.
• Functions such as Multiplexing, Segmenting or Splitting on the data are done by this layer
• It receives messages from the Session layer above it, convert the message into smaller units and
passes it on to the Network layer.
• Transport layer can be very complex, depending upon the network requirements.
• Transport layer breaks the message (data) into small units so that they are handled more efficiently
by the network layer.
Layer 5: The Session Layer :
• Session layer manages and synchronize the conversation between two different applications.
• Transfer of data from source to destination session layer streams of data are marked and are
resynchronized properly, so that the ends of the messages are not cut prematurely and data loss is
avoided
Layer 6: The Presentation Layer :
• Presentation layer takes care that the data is sent in such a way that the receiver will understand the
information (data) and will be able to use the data.
• While receiving the data, presentation layer transforms the data to be ready for the application
layer.
• Languages(syntax) can be different of the two communicating systems. Under this condition
presentation layer plays a role of translator.
• It perfroms Data compression, Data encryption, Data conversion etc
Layer 7: Application Layer :
• It is the topmost layer.
• Transferring of files disturbing the results to the user is also done in this layer. Mail services,
directory services, network resource etc are services provided by application layer.
• This layer mainly holds application programs to act upon the received and to be sent data
Example
Merits of OSI reference model:
• OSI model distinguishes well between the services, interfaces and protocols.

• Protocols of OSI model are very well hidden.

• Protocols can be replaced by new protocols as technology changes.

• Supports connection oriented services as well as connectionless service

Demerits of OSI reference model:
• Model was devised before the invention of protocols.

• Fitting of protocols is tedious task.

• It is just used as a reference model

 TCP/IP Model
• The TCP/IP model is a concise version of the OSI model. It contains four
layers, unlike seven layers in the OSI model. The layers are:
Cont..
1. Network Access Layer –This layer corresponds to the combination of Data Link Layer and Physical
Layer of the OSI model. It looks out for hardware addressing and the protocols present in this layer allows
for the physical transmission of data.

2. Internet Layer –This layer parallels the functions of OSI’s Network layer. It defines the protocols
which are responsible for logical transmission of data over the entire network. The main protocols residing
at this layer are
• IP – stands for Internet Protocol and it is responsible for delivering packets from the source host to
the destination host by looking at the IP addresses in the packet headers. IP has 2 versions:
IPv4 and IPv6. IPv4 is the one that most of the websites are using currently. But IPv6 is growing as
the number of IPv4 addresses are limited in number when compared to the number of users.
• ICMP – stands for Internet Control Message Protocol. It is encapsulated within IP datagrams and is
responsible for providing hosts with information about network problems.
• ARP – stands for Address Resolution Protocol. Its job is to find the hardware address of a host
from a known IP address. ARP has several types: Reverse ARP, Proxy ARP.
Cont..

3. Transport Layer –This layer is analogous to the transport layer of the OSI model. It is
responsible for end-to-end communication and error-free delivery of data. It shields the upper-
layer applications from the complexities of data. The two main protocols present in this layer are :
• Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) – It is known to provide reliable and error-free communication between
end systems. It performs sequencing and segmentation of data. It also has acknowledgment feature and
controls the flow of the data through flow control mechanism. It is a very effective protocol but has a lot of
overhead due to such features. Increased overhead leads to increased cost.

• User Datagram Protocol (UDP) – On the other hand does not provide any such features. It is the go-to protocol
if your application does not require reliable transport as it is very cost-effective. Unlike TCP, which is
connection-oriented protocol, UDP is connectionless.
Cont..

4. Application Layer
This layer performs the functions of top three layers of the OSI model:
Application, Presentation and Session Layer. It is responsible for node-to-node
communication and controls user-interface specifications. Some of the protocols
present in this layer are: HTTP, HTTPS, FTP, Telnet, SMTP, SNMP, DNS,
DHCP.
 Network Topologies
• Topology defines the structure of the network of how all the components are
interconnected to each other. There are two types of topology: physical and
logical topology.
• Physical topology is the geometric representation of all the nodes in a network.
Bus Topology
• The bus topology is designed in such a way
that all the stations are connected through a
single cable known as a backbone cable.
• When a node wants to send a message over
the network, it puts a message over the
network. All the stations available in the
network will receive the message whether it
has been addressed or not.
• The most common access method of the bus
topologies is CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple
Access).
• CSMA: It is a media access control used to
control the data flow so that data integrity is
maintained, i.e., the packets do not get lost.
Ring Topology

• Ring topology is like a bus topology, but with

connected ends.
• The node that receives the message from the
previous computer will retransmit to the next node.
• The data flows in one direction, i.e., it is
unidirectional.
• The data in a ring topology flow in a clockwise
direction.
• The most common access method of the ring
topology is token passing.
• Token passing: It is a network access method in
which token is passed from one node to another
node.
• Token: It is a frame that circulates around the
network.
Cont..
Working of Token passing
• A token moves around the network, and it is passed from computer to computer
until it reaches the destination.
• The sender modifies the token by putting the address along with the data.
• The data is passed from one device to another device until the destination
address matches. Once the token received by the destination device, then it
sends the acknowledgment to the sender.
• In a ring topology, a token is used as a carrier.
Star Topology

• Star topology is an arrangement of

the network in which every node is
connected to the central hub, switch
or a central computer.
• The central computer is known as
a server, and the peripheral devices
attached to the server are known
as clients.
• Hubs or Switches are mainly used as
connection devices in a physical star
topology.
Tree topology

• Tree topology combines the

characteristics of bus topology and
star topology.
• A tree topology is a type of structure
in which all the computers are
connected with each other in
hierarchical fashion.
• The top-most node in tree topology
is known as a root node, and all other
nodes are the descendants of the root
node.
Mesh topology

• Mesh topology is an arrangement of

the network in which computers are
interconnected with each other
through various redundant
connections.
• There are multiple paths from one
computer to another computer.
• It does not contain the switch, hub or
any central computer which acts as a
central point of communication.
Types of Transmission Medium
• Transmission medium is a physical path between the transmitter and the
receiver i.e. it is the channel through which data is sent from one place to
another. Transmission Media is broadly classified into the following types:
Cont..
• Twisted pair:
• Twisted pair is a physical media made up of a
pair of cables twisted with each other.
• twisted pair consists of two insulated copper
wires arranged in a regular spiral pattern.
• The degree of reduction in noise interference
is determined by the number of turns per foot.
Increasing the number of turns per foot
decreases noise interference.
Cont..
• Types of Twisted pair:
1. Unshielded Twisted Pair:
• An unshielded twisted pair is widely used in telecommunication. Following are the categories
of the unshielded twisted pair cable:
• Category 1: Category 1 is used for telephone lines that have low-speed data.
• Category 2: It can support upto 4Mbps.
• Category 3: It can support upto 16Mbps.
• Category 4: It can support upto 20Mbps. Therefore, it can be used for long-distance
communication.
• Category 5: It can support upto 200Mbps.
2. Shielded Twisted Pair
• A shielded twisted pair is a cable that contains the mesh surrounding the wire that allows the
higher transmission rate
Cont..
• Coaxial Cable
• Coaxial cable is very commonly used
transmission media, for example, TV wire is
usually a coaxial cable.
• The name of the cable is coaxial as it contains
two conductors parallel to each other.
• It has a higher frequency as compared to
Twisted pair cable.
• The inner conductor of the coaxial cable is
made up of copper, and the outer conductor is
made up of copper mesh. The middle core is
made up of non-conductive cover that
separates the inner conductor from the outer
conductor.
• The middle core is responsible for the data
transferring whereas the copper mesh prevents
from the EMI(Electromagnetic interference).
Cont..
• Fibre Optic
• Fibre optic cable is a cable that uses
electrical signals for communication.
• Fibre optic is a cable that holds the
optical fibres coated in plastic that are
used to send the data by pulses of
light.
• The plastic coating protects the
optical fibres from heat, cold,
electromagnetic interference from
other types of wiring.
• Fibre optics provide faster data
transmission than copper wires.
Cont..
• Core: The optical fibre consists of a narrow strand of glass or plastic known as
a core. A core is a light transmission area of the fibre. The more the area of the
core, the more light will be transmitted into the fibre.
• Cladding: The concentric layer of glass is known as cladding. The main
functionality of the cladding is to provide the lower refractive index at the core
interface as to cause the reflection within the core so that the light waves are
transmitted through the fibre.
• Jacket: The protective coating consisting of plastic is known as a jacket. The
main purpose of a jacket is to preserve the fibre strength, absorb shock and
extra fibre protection.
Network Architecture

• The two types of network architectures are used:

• Peer-To-Peer network
• Client/Server network
Peer-To-Peer network

• Peer-To-Peer network is a network in

which all the computers are linked together
with equal privilege and responsibilities for
processing the data.
• Peer-To-Peer network is useful for small
environments, usually up to 10 computers.
• Peer-To-Peer network has no dedicated
server.
• Special permissions are assigned to each
computer for sharing the resources, but this
can lead to a problem if the computer with
the resource is down.
Client/Server Network
• Client/Server network is a network model designed
for the end users called clients, to access the
resources such as songs, video, etc. from a central
computer known as Server.
• The central controller is known as a server while all
other computers in the network are called clients.
• A server performs all the major operations such as
security and network management.
• A server is responsible for managing all the
resources such as files, directories, printer, etc.
• All the clients communicate with each other
through a server. For example, if client1 wants to
send some data to client 2, then it first sends the
request to the server for the permission. The server
sends the response to the client 1 to initiate its
communication with the client 2.
Network Devices
1. Bridge
• A bridge operates at the 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.
• Types of Bridges
• Transparent Bridges:- These are the bridge in which the stations are completely unaware of
the bridge’s existence i.e. whether or not a bridge is added or deleted from the network,
reconfiguration of the stations is unnecessary.
• Source Routing Bridges:- In these bridges, routing operation is performed by the source
station and the frame specifies which route to follow. The host can discover the frame by
sending a special frame called the discovery frame, which spreads through the entire network
using all possible paths to the destination.
2. Switch
• A network switch is a computer networking device that connects devices
together on a computer network by using packet switching to receive, process,
and forward data to the destination device.
• Unlike less advanced network hubs, a network switch forwards data only to the
devices that need to receive it, rather than broadcasting the same data out of
each of its ports.
• It uses Ethernet (MAC Address) address.
3. Routers
• A router is a device like a switch that routes data packets based on their IP
addresses.

• The router is mainly a Network Layer device.

• Routers examine incoming packets to determine the appropriate destination IP

address and then forward the packet to that destination.

• routers maintain and use routing tables that contain route information, such as IP
addresses and interfaces.
4. Gateway
• A gateway is a network node that connects discrete networks or systems that
use different protocols, enabling data to flow between the networks.
• Gateways use multiple protocols and translate an incoming packet's
information and protocol to make it compatible with the destination
environment.
• They basically work as the messenger agents that take data from one system,
interpret it, and transfer it to another system.
• Gateway is also called a protocol converter.
5. Access Point
• An access point (AP) is a device that sends and receives data wirelessly over
radio frequencies
• An Ethernet cable physically connects the AP to a router or switch in a wired
LAN, which provides the AP with access to the internet and the rest of the
network.
• APs operate at Layer 2 of the OSI model -- the data link layer.
Line Coding Schemes
• Line coding refers to the process of converting digital data into digital
signals.
• Whenever we transmit data it is in the form of digital signals, so with
the help of line coding, we can convert a sequence to bits (or encoding)
into a digital signal which then again converted into bits by the receiver.
• For all this to happen we need line coding schemes which could also be
able to avoid overlapping and distortion of signals.
Manchester Encoding
• Manchester encoding is a synchronous clock encoding technique used by
the physical layer of the Open System Interconnection
• Different encoding techniques are used in data communication to ensure
data security and transmission speed. Manchester encoding is an
example of digital encoding.
• Instead of using three values of voltages we use only two, here logical 1
is represented in two halves, the first half consists of a negative voltage
and the second-half is represented as positive voltage, and logical 0 is
also represented in two halves, the first half consists of a positive voltage
and the second-half is represented as negative voltage.
Manchester Encoding
Differential Manchester Encoding
• In Differential Manchester Encoding the Bit 0 represent Inversion
whereas 1 represents no inversion.
• we have plotted Differential Manchester Encoding for the data 101101.
• For 1 the signal is from high to low.
• As 0 so there will be a transition as shown in the figure.
• for 1 there is no transition.
• As 1 there is no transition.
• for 0 there is a transition.
• for 1 there is no transition.
Differential Manchester Encoding
Frequency Hoping Spread Spectrum
• Spread spectrum is a form of wireless communications in which the
frequency of the transmitted signal is varied. This results in a much
greater bandwidth than the signal.
• This is frequency hopping technique, where the users are made to change
the frequencies of usage, from one to another in a specified time interval,
hence called as frequency hopping.
• For example, a frequency was allotted to sender 1 for a particular period
of time. Now, after a while, sender 1 hops to the other frequency and
sender 2 uses the first frequency, which was previously used by sender 1.
This is called as frequency reuse.
Direct Sequence Spread Spectrum
• Whenever a user wants to send data using this DSSS technique, each and
every bit of the user data is multiplied by a secret code, called
as chipping code.

• This chipping code is nothing but the spreading code which is multiplied
with the original message and transmitted. The receiver uses the same
code to retrieve the original message.