COMPUTER NETWORKING

Submitted by:

Tala Alajmi

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ACKNOWLEGMENT
ABSTRACT
TABLE OF CONTENTS
1. INTRODUCTION
2. TYPES OF COMPUTER NETWORK
3. NETWORK LAN TECHNOLOGIES
4. NETWORKING TOPOLOGY
5. COMPUTER NETWORKING MODEL
6. COMPUTER NETWORKING SECURITY
7. PHYSICAL LAYER INTRODUCTION
8. DIGITAL TRANSMISSION
9. TRANSMISSION MEDIA
10. CLIENT SERVER MODEL
11. NETWORKING SERVICES
12. CONCLUATION
13. REFERENCES

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 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT

• I would like to take the opportunity to express my gratitude to those peoplewithout

whom this project report would not have seen the glory of success.

• I would like to thank my Technical Report Writing Lab teachers. They gave me the
liberty to choose a topic on my own and also the confidence to make a report .

• I would also like to thank my Institution and faculty members of the ECE department
for helping me throughout. I would also like to extend my gratitude to my family and
well-wishers.

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 ABSTRACT
• A computer network is a group of computer systems and other
computing hardware devices that are linked together through
communication channels to facilitate communication and
resource- sharing among a wide range of users. Networks are
commonly categorized based on their characteristics.

• The concept of a network began in 1962 when a server at the

Massachusetts Institute of Technology was connected to a server
in Santa Monica, California. Since that time the proliferation of
computers and computer networks has increased significantly. One
of the most significant challenges to networks is attacks on their
resources caused by inadequate network security.

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 Computer Networking
1. Introduction

Computer Networks have become an essential tool in many aspects:

human communication, gathering, exchange and sharing of
information, distributed work environments, access to remote
resources (data and computing power) and many more

This paper will give an introduction to the underlying ideas and

technologies. It will concentrate on the most commonly used network
technology today and give an introduction to the communication
mechanisms used.

Also it covers identification of devices in network and different types of

internet protocols and brief idea of network troubleshooting.

Classification of Computer Networks

Computer networks are classified based on various factors. They include:

• Geographical span
• Inter-connectivity
• Administration
• Architecture

Geographical Span
Geographically a network can be seen in one of the following categories:

• It may be spanned across your table, among Bluetooth

enabled devices,Ranging not more than few meters.
• It may be spanned across a whole building, including
intermediate devices toconnect all floors.
• It may be spanned across a whole city.
• It may be spanned across multiple cities or provinces.
• It may be one network covering whole world.

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Inter-Connectivity
Components of a network can be connected to each other differently in some fashion.By
connectedness we mean either logically, physically, or both ways.

• Every single device can be connected to every other device on

network, makingthe network mesh.
• All devices can be connected to a single medium but
geographicallydisconnected, created bus-like structure.
• Each device is connected to its left and right peers only,
creating linearstructure.

Administration
From an administrator’s point of view, a network can be private network which
belongs a single autonomous system and cannot be accessed outside its physical or
logical domain. A network can be public, which is accessed by all.

Network Architecture
Computer networks can be discriminated into various types such as Client-Server,
peer-to-peer or hybrid, depending upon its architecture.
• There can be one or more systems acting as Server. Other being
Client, requests the Server to serve requests. Server takes and
processes request onbehalf of Clients.
• Two systems can be connected Point-to-Point, or in back-to-back
fashion. Theyboth reside at the same level and called peers.
• There can be hybrid network which involves network architecture
of both the above types.

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 Network Applications
Computer systems and peripherals are connected to form a network. They provide
numerous advantages:

• Resource sharing such as printers and storage devices

• Exchange of information by means of e-Mails and FTP
• Information sharing by using Web or Internet
• Interaction with other users using dynamic web pages
• IP phones
• Video conferences
• Parallel computing
• Instant messaging

NETWORK COMPONENTS

Computer networks share common devices, functions, and features including servers, clients,
transmission media, shared data, shared printers and other hardware and software resources,
network interface card(NIC), local operating system(LOS), and the network operating system
(NOS).
Servers - Servers are computers that hold shared files, programs, and the network operating
system. Servers provide access to network resources to all the users of the network. There
are many different kinds of servers, and one server can provide several functions. For
example, there are file servers, print servers, mail servers, communication servers, database
servers, fax servers and web servers, to name a few.
Clients - Clients are computers that access and use the network and shared network
resources. Client computers are basically the customers(users) of the network, as they
request and receive services from the servers.
Transmission Media - Transmission media are the facilities used to interconnect
computers in a network, such as twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, and optical fiber cable.
Transmission media are sometimes called channels, links or lines.
Shared data - Shared data are data that file servers provide to clients such as data
files, printer access programs and e-mail.
Shared printers and other peripherals - Shared printers and peripherals are hardware
resources provided to the users of the network by servers. Resources provided include
data files, printers, software, or any other items used by clients on the network.
Network Interface Card - Each computer in a network has a special expansion card called
a network interface card (NIC). The NIC prepares(formats) and sends data, receives data,
and controls data flow between the computer and the network. On the transmit side, the NIC
passes frames of data on to the physical layer, which transmits the data to the physical link.
On the receiver's side, the NIC processes bits received from the physical layer and processes
the message based on its contents.
Local Operating System - A local operating system allows personal computers to access
files, print to a local printer, and have and use one or more disk and CD drives that are located
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on the computer. Examples are MS-DOS, Unix, Linux, Windows 2000, Windows 98, Windows
XP etc.
Network Operating System - The network operating system is a program that runs on
computers and servers, and allows the computers to communicate over the network.
Hub - Hub is a device that splits a network connection into multiple computers. It is like a
distribution center. When a computer requests information from a network or a specific
computer, it sends the request to the hub through a cable. The hub will receive the request
and transmit it to the entire network. Each computer in the network should then figure out
whether the broadcast data is for them or not.
Switch - Switch is a telecommunication device grouped as one of computer network
components. Switch is like a Hub but built in with advanced features. It uses physical device
addresses in each incoming messages so that it can deliver the message to the right
destination or port.
Router - When we talk about computer network components, the other device that used to
connect a LAN with an internet connection is called Router. When you have two distinct
networks (LANs) or want to share a single internet connection to multiple computers, we use
a Router. In most cases, recent routers also include a switch which in other words can be
used as a switch.
LAN Cable A local area Network cable is also known as data cable or Ethernet cable which
is a wired cable used to connect a device to the internet or to other devices like other
computer, printers, etc.

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 2. Types of Computer Networking:

Generally, networks are distinguished based on their geographical span. A network

can be as small as distance between your mobile phone and its Bluetooth headphone
and as large as the internet itself, covering the whole geographical world.

PersonalArea Network
A Personal Area Network (PAN) is smallest network which is very personal to a user.
This may include Bluetooth enabled devices or infra-red enabled devices. PAN has
connectivity range up to 10 meters. PAN may include wireless computer keyboard
and mouse, Bluetooth enabled headphones, wireless printers, and TV remotes.

For example, Piconet is Bluetooth-enabled Personal Area Network which

may contain up to 8 devices connected together in a master-slave
fashion.

Local Area Network

A computer network spanned inside a building and operated under single

administrative system is generally termed as Local Area Network (LAN). Usually, LAN
covers an organization offices, schools, colleges or universities. Number of systems
connected in LAN may vary from as least as two to as much as 16 million

LAN provides a useful way of sharing the resources between end users. The resources
such as printers, file servers, scanners, and internet are easily sharable among
computers.

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LANs are composed of inexpensive networking and routing equipment. It may
contains local servers serving file storage and other locally shared applications. It
mostly operates on private IP addresses and does not involve heavy routing. LAN
works under its own local domain and controlled centrally.

LAN uses either Ethernet or Token-ring technology. Ethernet is most widely employed
LAN technology and uses Star topology, while Token-ring is rarely seen.

LAN can be wired, wireless, or in both forms at once.

Metropolitan Area Network

The Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) generally expands throughout a city such as
cable TV network. It can be in the form of Ethernet, Token-ring, ATM, or Fiber
Distributed Data Interface (FDDI).

Metro Ethernet is a service which is provided by ISPs. This service enables its users
to expand their Local Area Networks. For example, MAN can help an organization to
connect all of its offices in a city.

Backbone of MAN is high-capacity and high-speed fiber optics. MAN works in between
Local Area Network and Wide Area Network. MAN provides uplink for LANs to WANs
or internet.

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Wide Area Network

As the name suggests, the Wide Area Network (WAN) covers a wide area which may
span across provinces and even a whole country. Generally, telecommunication
networks are Wide Area Network. These networks provide connectivity to MANs and
LANs. Since they are equipped with very high speed backbone, WANs use very
expensive network equipment.

WAN may use advanced technologies such as Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM),
Frame Relay, and Synchronous Optical Network (SONET). WAN may be managed by
multiple administration.

Internetwork

A network of networks is called an internetwork, or simply the internet. It is the

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largest network in existence on this planet. The internet hugely connects all WANs
and it can have connection to LANs and Home networks. Internet uses TCP/IP
protocol suite and uses IP as its addressing protocol. Present day, Internet is widely
implemented using IPv4. Because of shortage of address spaces, it is gradually
migrating from IPv4 to IPv6.

Internet enables its users to share and access enormous amount of information
worldwide. It uses WWW, FTP, email services, audio, and video streaming etc. At
huge level, internet works on Client-Server model.

Internet uses very high speed backbone of fiber optics. To inter-connect various
continents, fibers are laid under sea known to us as submarine communication cable.

Internet is widely deployed on World Wide Web services using HTML linked pages
and is accessible by client software known as Web Browsers. When a user requests
a page using some web browser located on some Web Server anywhere in the world,
the Web Server responds with the proper HTML page. The communication delay is
very low.

Internet is serving many proposes and is involved in many aspects of life. Some of
them are:

• Web sites
• E-mail
• Instant Messaging
• Blogging
• Social Media
• Marketing
• Networking
• Resource Sharing
• Audio and Video Streaming

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 3. NETWORK LAN TECHNOLOGIES

Ethernet

Ethernet is a widely deployed LAN technology. This technology was invented by Bob
Metcalfe and D.R. Boggs in the year 1970. It was standardized in IEEE 802.3 in 1980.

Ethernet shares media. Network which uses shared media has high probability of data
collision. Ethernet uses Carrier Sense Multi Access/Collision Detection (CSMA/CD)
technology to detect collisions. On the occurrence of collision in Ethernet,all its hosts
roll back, wait for some random amount of time, and then re-transmit the data.

Ethernet connector is network interface card equipped with 48-bits MAC address. This
helps other Ethernet devices to identify and communicate with remote devices in
Ethernet.

Traditional Ethernet uses 10BASE-T specifications. The number 10 depicts 10MBPS

speed, BASE stands for baseband, and T stands for Thick Ethernet. 10BASE-T
Ethernet provides transmission speed up to 10MBPS and uses coaxial cable or Cat-5
twisted pair cable with RJ-5 connector. Ethernet follows Star topology with segment
length up to 100 meters. All devices are connected to a hub/switch in a star fashion.

Fast-Ethernet

To encompass need of fast emerging software and hardware technologies, Ethernet

extends itself as Fast-Ethernet. It can run on UTP, Optical Fiber, and wirelessly too.
It can provide speed up to 100MBPS. This standard is named as 100BASE-T in IEEE
803.2 using Cat-5 twisted pair cable. It uses CSMA/CD technique for wired media
sharing among the Ethernet hosts and CSMA/CA (CA stands for Collision Avoidance)
technique for wireless Ethernet LAN.

Fast Ethernet on fiber is defined under 100BASE-FX standard which provides speed
up to 100MBPS on fiber. Ethernet over fiber can be extended up to 100 meters in
half-duplex mode and can reach maximum of 2000 meters in full-duplex over
multimode fibers.

Giga-Ethernet

After being introduced in 1995, Fast-Ethernet retained its high speed status only for
three years till Giga-Ethernet introduced. Giga-Ethernet provides speed up to 1000
mbits/seconds. IEEE802.3ab standardizes Giga-Ethernet over UTP using Cat-5, Cat-
5e and Cat-6 cables. IEEE802.3ah defines Giga-Ethernet over Fiber.

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Virtual LAN

LAN uses Ethernet which in turn works on shared media. Shared media in Ethernet
create one single Broadcast domain and one single Collision domain. Introduction of
switches to Ethernet has removed single collision domain issue and each device
connected to switch works in its separate collision domain. But even Switches cannot
divide a network into separate Broadcast domains.

Virtual LAN is a solution to divide a single Broadcast domain into multiple Broadcast
domains. Host in one VLAN cannot speak to a host in another. By default, all hosts
are placed into the same VLAN.

In this diagram, different VLANs are depicted in different color codes. Hosts in one
VLAN, even if connected on the same Switch cannot see or speak to other hosts in
different VLANs. VLAN is Layer-2 technology which works closely on Ethernet. To
route packets between two different VLANs, a Layer-3 device such as Router is
required.

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 4. Networking Topology

Network Topology
A Network Topology is the arrangement with which computer systems or network
devices are connected to each other. Topologies may define both physical and logical
aspect of the network. Both logical and physical topologies could be same or different
in a same network.

Point-to-Point

Point-to-point networks contains exactly two hosts such as computer, switches,

routers, or servers connected back to back using a single piece of cable. Often, the
receiving end of one host is connected to sending end of the other and vice versa.

If the hosts are connected point-to-point logically, then may have multiple
intermediate devices. But the end hosts are unaware of underlying network and see
each other as if they are connected directly.

Bus Topology

In case of Bus topology, all devices share single communication line or cable. Bus
topology may have problem while multiple hosts sending data at the same time.
Therefore, Bus topology either uses CSMA/CD technology or recognizes one host as
Bus Master to solve the issue. It is one of the simple forms of networking where a
failure of a device does not affect the other devices. But failure of the shared
communication line can make all other devices stop functioning.

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Both ends of the shared channel have line terminator. The data is sent in only one
direction and as soon as it reaches the extreme end, the terminator removes the data
from the li

Star Topology

All hosts in Star topology are connected to a central device, known as hub device,
using a point-to-point connection. That is, there exists a point to point connection
between hosts and hub. The hub device can be any of the following:

• Layer-1 device such as hub or repeater

• Layer-2 device such as switch or bridge
• Layer-3 device such as router or gateway

As in Bus topology, hub acts as single point of failure. If hub fails, connectivity of all
hosts to all other hosts fails. Every communication between hosts takes place through
only the hub. Star topology is not expensive as to connect one more host, only one
cable is required and configuration is simple.

Ring Topology

In ring topology, each host machine connects to exactly two other machines, creating
a circular network structure. When one host tries to communicate or send message
to a host which is not adjacent to it, the data travels through all intermediate hosts.
To connect one more host in the existing structure, the administrator may need only
one more extra cable.
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Mesh Topology

In this type of topology, a host is connected to one or multiple hosts. This topology
has hosts in point-to-point connection with every other host or may also have hosts
which are in point-to-point connection with few hosts only.

Hosts in Mesh topology also work as relay for other hosts which do not
have direct point-to-point links. Mesh technology comes into two types:

• Full Mesh: All hosts have a point-to-point connection to every

other host in the network. Thus for every new host n(n-1)/2
connections are required. It provides the most reliable network
structure among all network topologies.
• Partially Mesh: Not all hosts have point-to-point connection to
every other host. Hosts connect to each other in some arbitrarily
fashion. This topology exists where we need to provide reliability
to some hosts out of all.

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Tree Topology

Also known as Hierarchical Topology, this is the most common form of network
topology in use presently. This topology imitates as extended Star topology and
inherits properties of Bus topology.

This topology divides the network into multiple levels/layers of network. Mainly in
LANs, a network is bifurcated into three types of network devices. The lowermost is
access-layer where computers are attached. The middle layer is known as distribution
layer, which works as mediator between upper layer and lower layer. The highest
layer is known as core layer, and is central point of the network, i.e. root of the tree
from which all nodes fork.

All neighboring hosts have point-to-point connection between them. Similar to the
Bus topology, if the root goes down, then the entire network suffers even though it
is not the single point of failure. Every connection serves as point of failure, failing of
which divides the network into unreachable segment.

Daisy Chain

This topology connects all the hosts in a linear fashion. Similar to Ring topology, all
hosts are connected to two hosts only, except the end hosts. Means, if the end hosts
in daisy chain are connected then it represents Ring topology.

Each link in daisy chain topology represents single point of failure. Every link failure
splits the network into two segments. Every intermediate host works as relay for its
immediate hosts.

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Hybrid Topology

A network structure whose design contains more than one topology is said to be
hybrid topology. Hybrid topology inherits merits and demerits of all the incorporating
topologies.

The above picture represents an arbitrarily hybrid topology. The combining topologies
may contain attributes of Star, Ring, Bus, and Daisy-chain topologies. Most WANs are
connected by means of Dual-Ring topology and networks connected to them are
mostly Star topology networks. Internet is the best example of largest Hybrid
topology.

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 5. COMPUTER NETWORK MODEL

Network engineering is a complicated task, which involves software, firmware, chip

level engineering, hardware, and electric pulses. To ease network engineering, the
whole networking concept is divided into multiple layers. Each layer is involved in
some particular task and is independent of all other layers. But as a whole, almost
all networking tasks depend on all of these layers. Layers share data between them
and they depend on each other only to take input and send output.

Layered Tasks

In layered architecture of Network Model, one whole network process is divided into
small tasks. Each small task is then assigned to a particular layer which works
dedicatedly to process the task only. Every layer does only specific work.

In layered communication system, one layer of a host deals with the task done by or
to be done by its peer layer at the same level on the remote host. The task is either
initiated by layer at the lowest level or at the top most level. If the task is initiated
by the topmost layer, it is passed on to the layer below it for further processing. The
lower layer does the same thing, it processes the task and passes on to lower layer.
If the task is initiated by lowermost layer, then the reverse path is taken.

Every layer clubs together all procedures, protocols, and methods which it requires
to execute its piece of task. All layers identify their counterparts by means of
encapsulation header and tail.

OSI Model

Open System Interconnect is an open standard for all communication systems. OSI
model is established by International Standard Organization (ISO). This model has
seven layers:

Application Layer: This layer is responsible for providing interface to the application
user. This layer encompasses protocols which directly interact withthe 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 inthat 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 uniquelyaddressing hosts
in a network.
Data Link Layer: This layer is responsible for reading and writing data fromand onto
the line. Link errors are detected at this layer.
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Physical Layer: This layer defines the hardware, cabling, wiring, poweroutput,
pulse rate etc.

Internet Model

Internet uses TCP/IP protocol suite, also known as Internet suite. This defines
Internet Model which contains four layered architecture. OSI Model is general
communication model but Internet Model is what the internet uses for all its
communication. The internet is independent of its underlying network architecture so
is its Model. This model has the following layers:

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Application Layer: This layer defines the protocol which enables user to interact
with the network. For example, FTP, HTTP etc.
Transport Layer: This layer defines how data should flow between hosts. Major
protocol at this layer is Transmission Control Protocol (TCP). This layer ensures data
delivered between hosts is in-order and is responsible for end- to-end delivery.
Internet Layer: Internet Protocol (IP) works on this layer. This layer facilitates host
addressing and recognition. This layer defines routing.
Link Layer: This layer provides mechanism of sending and receiving actual data.
Unlike its OSI Model counterpart, this layer is independent of underlying network
architecture and hardware.

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 6. COMPUTER NETWORK SECURITY

During initial days of internet, its use was limited to military and universities for
research and development purpose. Later when all networks merged together and
formed internet, the data used to travel through public transit network.
All security threats are intentional i.e. they occur only if intentionally triggered.
Security threats can be divided into the following categories:

Interruption
Interruption is a security threat in which availability of resources is attacked. For
example, a user is unable to access its web-server or the web-server is hijacked.

Privacy-Breach
In this threat, the privacy of a user is compromised. Someone, who is not the
authorized person is accessing or intercepting data sent or received by the original
authenticated user.

Integrity
This type of threat includes any alteration or modification in the original context of
communication. The attacker intercepts and receives the data sent by the sender and
the attacker then either modifies or generates false data and sends to the receiver.
The receiver receives the data assuming that it is being sent by the original Sender.

Authenticity
This threat occurs when an attacker or a security violator poses as a genuine person
and accesses the resources or communicates with other genuine users.

No technique in the present world can provide 100% security. But steps can be taken
to secure data while it travels in unsecured network or internet. The most widely used
technique is Cryptography.

Cryptography is a technique to encrypt the plain-text data which makes it difficult to

understand and interpret.

There are several cryptographic algorithms available present day as described below:

• Secret Key
• Public Key
• Message Digest

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 7. 7. PHYSICAL LAYER INTRODUCTION

Physical layer in the OSI model plays the role of interacting with actual hardware and
signaling mechanism. Physical layer is the only layer of OSI network model which
actually deals with the physical connectivity of two different stations. This layer
defines the hardware equipment, cabling, wiring, frequencies, pulses used to
represent binary signals etc.

Physical layer provides its services to Data-link layer. Data-link layer hands over
frames to physical layer. Physical layer converts them to electrical pulses, which
represent binary data. The binary data is then sent over the wired or wireless media.

Signals
When data is sent over physical medium, it needs to be first converted into
electromagnetic signals. Data itself can be analog such as human voice, or digital
such as file on the disk. Both analog and digital data can be represented in digital or
analog signals.

Digital Signals
Digital signals are discrete in nature and represent sequence of voltage pulses. Digital
signals are used within the circuitry of a computer system.

Analog Signals
Analog signals are in continuous wave form in nature and represented by continuous
electromagnetic waves.

Transmission Impairment
When signals travel through the medium, they tend to deteriorate. This may have
many reasons as given:

Attenuation
For the receiver to interpret the data accurately, the signal must be sufficiently
strong. When the signal passes through the medium, it tends to get weaker. As it
covers distance, it loses strength.

Dispersion
As signal travels through the media, it tends to spread and overlaps. The amount of
dispersion depends upon the frequency used.

Delay distortion
Signals are sent over media with pre-defined speed and frequency. If the signal speed
and frequency do not match, there are possibilities that signal reaches destination in

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arbitrary fashion. In digital media, this is very critical that some bits reach earlier
than the previously sent ones.

Noise
Random disturbance or fluctuation in analog or digital signal is said to be Noise in
signal, which may distort the actual information being carried. Noise can be
characterized in one of the following class:

Thermal Noise

Heat agitates the electronic conductors of a medium which may introduce noise in
the media. Up to a certain level, thermal noise is unavoidable.

Intermodulation

When multiple frequencies share a medium, their interference can cause noise in the
medium. Intermodulation noise occurs if two different frequencies are sharing a
medium and one of them has excessive strength or the component itself is not
functioning properly, then the resultant frequency may not be delivered as expected.

Crosstalk

This sort of noise happens when a foreign signal enters into the media. This is because
signal in one medium affects the signal of second medium.

Impulse

This noise is introduced because of irregular disturbances such as lightening,

electricity, short-circuit, or faulty components. Digital data is mostly affected by this
sort of noise.

Transmission Media
The media over which the information between two computer systems is sent, called
transmission media. Transmission media comes in two forms.

Guided Media
All communication wires/cables are guided media, such as UTP, coaxial cables, and
fiber Optics. In this media, the sender and receiver are directly connected and the
information is send (guided) through it.

Unguided Media
Wireless or open air space is said to be unguided media, because there is no
connectivity between the sender and receiver. Information is spread over the air, and
anyone including the actual recipient may collect the information.

Channel Capacity
The speed of transmission of information is said to be the channel capacity. We count
it as data rate in digital world. It depends on numerous factors such as:

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 • Bandwidth: The physical limitation of underlying media.
• Error-rate: Incorrect reception of information because of noise.
• Encoding: The number of levels used for signaling.

Multiplexing
Multiplexing is a technique to mix and send multiple data streams over a single
medium. This technique requires system hardware called multiplexer (MUX) for
multiplexing the streams and sending them on a medium, and de-multiplexer (DMUX)
which takes information from the medium and distributes to different destinations.

Switching
Switching is a mechanism by which data/information sent from source towards
destination which are not directly connected. Networks have interconnecting devices,
which receives data from directly connected sources, stores data, analyze it and then
forwards to the next interconnecting device closest to the destination.

Switching can be categorized as:

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 8. DIGITAL TRANSMISSION

Data or information can be stored in two ways, analog and digital. For a computer to
use the data, it must be in discrete digital form. Similar to data, signals can also be
in analog and digital form. To transmit data digitally, it needs to be first converted to
digital form.

Digital-to-Digital Conversion
This section explains how to convert digital data into digital signals. It can be done
in two ways, line coding and block coding. For all communications, line coding is
necessary whereas block coding is optional.

Line Coding
The process for converting digital data into digital signal is said to be Line Coding.
Digital data is found in binary format. It is represented (stored) internally as series
of 1s and 0s.

Digital signal is denoted by discreet signal, which represents digital data. There are
three types of line coding schemes available:

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 Unipolar Encoding
Unipolar encoding schemes use single voltage level to represent data. In this case,
to represent binary 1, high voltage is transmitted and to represent 0, no voltage is
transmitted. It is also called Unipolar-Non-return-to-zero, because there is no rest
condition i.e. it either represents 1 or 0.

Polar Encoding
Polar encoding scheme uses multiple voltage levels to represent binary values. Polar
encodings is available in four types:

Polar Non Return to Zero (Polar NRZ)

It uses two different voltage levels to represent binary values. Generally, positive
voltage represents 1 and negative value represents 0. It is also NRZ because there
is no rest condition.

NRZ scheme has two variants: NRZ-L and NRZ-I.

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 NRZ-L changes voltage level at when a different bit is encountered whereas NRZ-I
changes voltage when a 1 is encountered.

Return to Zero (RZ)

Problem with NRZ is that the receiver cannot conclude when a bit ended and when
the next bit is started, in case when sender and receiver’s clock are not synchronized.

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RZ uses three voltage levels, positive voltage to represent 1, negative voltage to
represent 0 and zero voltage for none. Signals change during bits not between bits.

Manchester
This encoding scheme is a combination of RZ and NRZ-L. Bit time is divided into two
halves. It transits in the middle of the bit and changes phase when a different bit is
encountered.

Differential Manchester
This encoding scheme is a combination of RZ and NRZ-I. It also transits at the middle
of the bit but changes phase only when 1 is encountered.

Bipolar Encoding
Bipolar encoding uses three voltage levels, positive, negative, and zero. Zero voltage
represents binary 0 and bit 1 is represented by altering positive and negative
voltages.

Block Coding
To ensure accuracy of the received data frame, redundant bits are used. For example,
in even-parity, one parity bit is added to make the count of 1s in the frame even.
This way the original number of bits is increased. It is called Block Coding.

Block coding is represented by slash notation, mB/nB. Means, m-bit block is

substituted with n-bit block where n > m. Block coding involves three steps:

1. Division
2. Substitution
3. Combination.

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Analog-to-Digital Conversion
Microphones create analog voice and camera creates analog videos, which are treated
is analog data. To transmit this analog data over digital signals, we need analog to
digital conversion.

Analog data is a continuous stream of data in the wave form whereas digital data is
discrete. To convert analog wave into digital data, we use Pulse Code Modulation
(PCM).

PCM is one of the most commonly used method to convert analog data into digital
form. It involves three steps:

• Sampling
• Quantization
• Encoding.

Sampling

The analog signal is sampled every T interval. Most important factor in sampling is
the rate at which analog signal is sampled. According to Nyquist Theorem, the
sampling rate must be at least two times of the highest frequency of the signal.

Quantization

Sampling yields discrete form of continuous analog signal. Every discrete pattern
shows the amplitude of the analog signal at that instance. The quantization is done

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between the maximum amplitude value and the minimum amplitude value.
Quantization is approximation of the instantaneous analog value.

Encoding

In encoding, each approximated value is then converted into binary format.

Transmission Modes
The transmission mode decides how data is transmitted between two computers. The
binary data in the form of 1s and 0s can be sent in two different modes: Parallel and
Serial.

Parallel Transmission

The binary bits are organized into groups of fixed length. Both sender and receiver
are connected in parallel with the equal number of data lines. Both computers
distinguish between high order and low order data lines. The sender sends all the bits
at once on all lines. Because the data lines are equal to the number of bits in a group

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 or data frame, a complete group of bits (data frame) is sent in one go.
Advantage ofParallel transmission is high speed and disadvantage is the
cost of wires, as it is equalto the number of bits sent in parallel.

Serial Transmission
In serial transmission, bits are sent one after another in a queue
manner. Serial transmission requires only one communication channel.

Serial transmission can be either asynchronous or synchronous.

Asynchronous Serial Transmission

It is named so because there is no importance of timing. Data-bits have

specific pattern and they help receiver recognize the start and end data
bits. For example, a0 is prefixed on every data byte and one or more 1s
are added at the end.

Two continuous data-frames (bytes) may have a gap between them.

Synchronous Serial Transmission

Timing in synchronous transmission has importance as there is no

mechanism followed to recognize start and end data bits. There is no
pattern or prefix/suffix method. Data bits are sent in burst mode without
maintaining gap between bytes (8-bits). Single burst of data bits may
contain a number of bytes. Therefore, timing becomes very important.

It is up to the receiver to recognize and separate bits into bytes. The

advantage of synchronous transmission is high speed, and it has no
overhead of extra header and footer bits as in asynchronous
transmission.

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 9. TRANSMISSION MEDIA

The transmission media is nothing but the physical media over which communication
takes place in computer networks.

Magnetic Media

One of the most convenient ways to transfer data from one computer to another, even
before the birth of networking, was to save it on some storage media and transfer
physical from one station to another. Though it may seem old-fashion way in today’s
world of high-speed internet, but when the size of data is huge, the magnetic media
comes into play.

For example, a bank has to handle and transfer huge data of its customer, which
stores a backup of it at some geographically far-away place for security reasons and
to keep it from uncertain calamities. If the bank needs to store its huge backup data,
then its transfer through internet is not feasible. The WAN links may not support such
high speed. Even if they do; the cost is too high to afford.

In these cases, data backup is stored onto magnetic tapes or magnetic discs, and
then shifted physically at remote places.

Twisted Pair Cable

A twisted pair cable is made of two plastic insulated copper wires twisted together to
form a single media. Out of these two wires, only one carries actual signal and another
is used for ground reference. The twists between wires are helpful in reducingnoise
(electro-magnetic interference) and crosstalk.

There are two types of twisted pair cables:

• Shielded Twisted Pair (STP) Cable

• Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP) Cable

STP cables comes with twisted wire pair covered in metal foil. This makes it more
indifferent to noise and crosstalk.

UTP has seven categories, each suitable for specific use. In computer networks, Cat-

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5, Cat-5e, and Cat-6 cables are mostly used. UTP cables are connected by RJ45
connectors.

Coaxial Cable

Coaxial cable has two wires of copper. The core wire lies in the center and it is made
of solid conductor. The core is enclosed in an insulating sheath. The second wire is
wrapped around over the sheath and that too in turn encased by insulator sheath.
This all is covered by plastic cover.

Because of its structure, the coax cable is capable of carrying high frequency signals
than that of twisted pair cable. The wrapped structure provides it a good shield
against noise and cross talk. Coaxial cables provide high bandwidth rates of up to
450 mbps.

There are three categories of coax cables namely, RG-59 (Cable TV), RG-58 (Thin
Ethernet), and RG-11 (Thick Ethernet). RG stands for Radio Government.

Cables are connected using BNC connector and BNC-T. BNC terminator is used to
terminate the wire at the far ends.

Power Lines

Power Line communication (PLC) is Layer-1 (Physical Layer) technology which uses
power cables to transmit data signals. In PLC, modulated data is sent over the cables.
The receiver on the other end de-modulates and interprets the data.

Because power lines are widely deployed, PLC can make all powered devices
controlled and monitored. PLC works in half-duplex.

There are two types of PLCs:

• Narrow band PLC

• Broad band PLC
Narrow band PLC provides lower data rates up to 100s of kbps, as they work at lower
frequencies (3-5000 kHz). They can be spread over several kilometers.

Broadband PLC provides higher data rates up to 100s of Mbps and works at higher
frequencies (1.8 – 250 MHz). They cannot be as much extended as Narrowband PLC.

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Fiber Optics

Fiber Optic works on the properties of light. When light ray hits at critical angle, it
tends to refracts at 90 degree. This property has been used in fiber optic. The core
of fiber optic cable is made of high quality glass or plastic. From one end of it light is
emitted, it travels through it and at the other end light detector detects light stream
and converts it to electric data.

Fiber Optic provides the highest mode of speed. It comes in two modes, one is single
mode fiber and second is multimode fiber. Single mode fiber can carry a single ray
of light whereas multimode is capable of carrying multiple beams of light.

Fiber Optic also comes in unidirectional and bidirectional capabilities. To connect and
access fiber optic special type of connectors are used. These can be Subscriber
Channel (SC), Straight Tip (ST), or MT-RJ.

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 10. CLIENT-SERVER MODEL

Two remote application processes can communicate mainly in two different fashions:

1. Peer-to-peer

2. Client-Server

Peer-to-peer: Both remote processes are executing at same level and they
exchange data using some shared resource.
Client-Server: One remote process acts as a Client and requests some resource
from another application process acting as Server.

In client-server model, any process can act as Server or Client. Itis not the type of
machine, size of the machine, or its computing power which makes it server; it is the
ability of serving request that makes a machine a server.

A system can act as Server and Client simultaneously. That is, one process is acting
as Server and another is acting as a client. This may also happen that both client and
server processes reside on the same machine.

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Communication
Two processes in client-server model can interact in various ways:

• Sockets
• Remote Procedure Calls (RPC)
Sockets
In this paradigm, the process acting as Server opens a socket using a well-known (or
known by client) port and waits until some client request comes. The second process
acting as a Client also opens a socket; but instead of waiting for an incoming request,
the client processes ‘requests first’.

When the request is reached to server, it is served. It can either be an information

sharing or resource request.

Remote Procedure Call

This is a mechanism where one process interacts with another by means of procedure
calls. One process (client) calls the procedure lying on remote host. The process on
remote host is said to be Server. Both processes are allocated stubs. This
communication happens in the following way:

• The client process calls the client stub. It passes all the
parameters pertainingto program local to it.
• All parameters are then packed (marshalled) and a system call is
made to sendthem to other side of the network.
• Kernel sends the data over the network and the other end receives it.
• The remote host passes data to the server stub where it is unmarshalled.
• The parameters are passed to the procedure and the
procedure is the

39
40
 1 1 . NETWORK SERVICES

Computer systems and computerized systems help human beings to work efficiently
and explore the unthinkable. When these devices are connected together to form a
network, the capabilities are enhanced multiple times. Some basic services computer
network can offer are:

Directory Services
These services are mapping between name and its value, which can be variable value
or fixed. This software system helps to store the information, organize it, and
provides various means of accessing it.

Accounting
In an organization, a number of users have their user names and passwords mapped
to them. Directory Services provide means of storing this information in cryptic form
and make available when requested.

Authentication and Authorization

User credentials are checked to authenticate a user at the time of login and/or
periodically. User accounts can be set into hierarchical structure and their access to
resources can be controlled using authorization schemes.

Domain Name Services

DNS is widely used and one of the essential services on which internet works. This
system maps IP addresses to domain names, which are easier to remember and recall
than IP addresses. Because network operates with the help of IP addresses and
humans tend to remember website names, the DNS provides website’s IP address
which is mapped to its name from the back-end on the request of a website name
from the user.

File Services
File services include sharing and transferring files over the network.

File Sharing
One of the reasons which gave birth to networking was file sharing. File sharing
enables its users to share their data with other users.

File Transfer

This is an activity to copy or move file from one computer to another computer or to
multiple computers, with help of underlying network. Network enables its user to
locate other users in the network and transfers files.

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Communication Services
Email
Electronic mail is a communication method and something a computer user cannot
work without. This is the basis of today’s internet features. Email system has one or
more email servers. All its users are provided with unique IDs. When a user sends
email to other user, it is actually transferred between users with help of email server.

Social Networking
Recent technologies have made technical life social. The computer savvy peoples,
can find other known peoples or friends, can connect with them, and can share
thoughts, pictures, and videos.

Internet Chat
Internet chat provides instant text transfer services between two hosts. Two or more
people can communicate with each other using text based Internet Relay Chat
services. These days, voice chat and video chat are very common.

Discussion Boards
Discussion boards provide a mechanism to connect multiple peoples with same
interests. It enables the users to put queries, questions, suggestions etc. which can
be seen by all other users. Other may respond as well.

Remote Access
This service enables user to access the data residing on the remote computer. This
feature is known as Remote desktop. This can be done via some remote device, e.g.
mobile phone or home computer.

Application Services

These are nothing but providing network-based services to the users such as web
services, database managing, and resource sharing.

Resource Sharing
To use resources efficiently and economically, network provides a mean to share
them. This may include Servers, Printers, and Storage Media etc.
Databases
This application service is one of the most important services. It stores data and
information, processes it, and enables the users to retrieve it efficiently by using
queries. Databases help organizations to make decisions based on statistics

Web Services
World Wide Web has become the synonym for internet. It is used to connect to the
internet, and access files and information services provided by the internet servers.

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 12. CONCLUSIOS

In conclusion, a network is two or more computers connected together using a

telecommunication system for the purpose of communicating and sharing resources. Without
having a network, Companies would not be able to share resources and increase productivity
more effectively. The WAN network allowed companies to use the Internet over large areas.
This provided the company to have meetings overseas by video conferencing and sharing data
over the network. As you can see, Networks have many benefits to the end user. Weather your
Network is Wired or Wireless, Networks are an important part of technology.

Network security is an important field that is getting more and more attention as the internet
expands. The security threats and internet protocol should be analyzed to determine the
necessary security technology. The security technology consists of mostly software based,
as well as various hardware devices. In addition network Security consists of the provisions
made in an underlying computer network infrastructure, policies adopted by the network
administrator to protect the network and the network-accessible resources from
unauthorized access and the effectiveness (or lack) of these measures combined together.

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 13. REFERENCES

Goleniewski, L. (2006) Telecommunications Essentials, Addison Wesley

Professional. (Order from amazon, order from Barnes and Noble , compare at
bigwords , compare at CampusBooks4Less , order from Chegg , or search eFollett
)

Ogletree, T.W. and M.E. Soper (2006) Upgrading and Repairing Networks, Que.
(Order from amazon, order from Barnes and Noble, compare at bigwords,
compare at CampusBooks4Less, order from Chegg, or search eFollett )

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