INTRODUCTION TO COMPUTER NETWORKS

TYPES OF COMPUTER NETWORK

• Local area Network(LAN)
• Metropolitan area network(MAN)
• Wide area Network(WAN)
• Storage area network(SAN)
• Personal area Network(PAN)
Local area Network(LAN)
• Local area network is a computer network that spans a relatively small
geographical area like in one building or school.
• LAN connect personal computers and server computers on a small network.
• A server computer is the computer dedicated to servicing requests for resources
from other computers (workstations) on a network.
• Local area networks enables many users to share expensive devices, such as laser
printers, as well as data.
• Computers (stations) on local area network are configured in such a way to have
their own central processing units to execute programs.
Metropolitan area network
• This network covers a metropolitan are like a town or city.
• The metropolitan area network size typically to cover a radius of
between 5 to 50km.
• MAN infrastructure may be owned by single company that has offices
across a metropolitan area or by service provider who provides
network services to subscribers in the area.
Wide area network
• WAN is larger than a metropolitan area network and covers a large geographical
area such as county, continent or whole world.
• Example of such network is Internet, it is sometimes referred to as global area
network.
• It consists of many local area networks and metropolitan area network connected
together to form one large network.
Storage area network (SAN)
• This is an online storage where processing power, data and programs
are located either on a local computer or server to cloud computer.
• In cloud computing, processing power, data and programs can be
located somewhere on a network of powerful computers and simply
accessed by users.
• These networks of powerful computers that have powerful
processors, huge memories and data storage capacities can be
accessed anywhere using computers, mobile phone, tablets, laptops
etc.
Personal area Network
• PAN is the small network at an average home .. Connecting a personal
computer, laptop, mobile phone, smartphone, tablet, hifi system etc.
• These devices come with technologies that make it possible to
interconnect them at home.
• One such technology is Bluetooth which can interconnect a laptop to
a mobile phone and tablet in order to exchange data like pictures,
music etc.
Network topologies
• Topology refers to the way in which computer and other devices have been
arranged or how data is passed from one computer to another in the network.
Types of network topology
1. Logical topology
2. Physical topology
Logical topology
• Logical topology also called signal topology which deals with the way
data passes from one device to the next on the network.
Examples of logical topology
• Ethernet
• Token ring
Logical topology
• Ethernet topology
• In this topology, all computers listen to network media and can only send when
none of the others is sending.
• Sending of data uses broadcasting technology
• However, the data has the address of the recipient and only computers with the
same address can pick the message from the bus.
Logical topology
• Token ring topology
• In this topology, a special package for data called a token goes around the
network in unidirectional manner.
• The token can only be taken up by the computer whose address is on the data
held in the token.
• After taking it, the computer read the data and then release the token.
• The token can then be captured by another computer which needs to transmit
data.
Physical topology
• This refers the physical layout or arrangement of components on the network.
Examples of physical topology
• Star
• Bus
• Ring
• Mesh
• tree/hierarchical topology.
Star topology
• In star topology all devices are connected to a central hub.
• Nodes communicate across the network by passing data through the hub.
• When the hub receives data from a transmitting computer, it broadcasts the
message to all the other nodes on the network.
Star topology
Advantages of star topology
• It allow centralization of key networking services like concentrators and servers.
• It gives the network administrator a focal point for network management. When
something goes wrong with the network, the administrator can troubleshoot it
from one place, usually a wiring closet, but possibly from remote management
thermal.
• Star networks are easy to configure.
Disadvantages of star topology
• The star-based network is costly because it requires one complete cable per
computer.
• If the central hub fails, the entire network will be down.
• Installation time consuming because each node forms a segment
Bus topology
• All devices are connected to central cable called the bus or backbone
• The sharing of the transmission media (or bus) has several problems.
• Most importantly, it means that the cable can carry only one message at a time
and workstation on the network must be capable of knowing when it can and
cannot transmit using this shared medium.
 Bus topology
• A terminator is attached to each end of the cable to avoid signal
from bouncing back and forth on the cable causing signal
distortion.
• Each computer uses network address on local area network called
medium access control (MAC) address
Bus topology
Advantages of bus topology
• It is easy to install
• It is less costly. Does not require a complete cable length per computer.
Disadvantages of bus topology

• A cable break in any section brings down the whole network

• Troubleshooting a cable fault is difficult because the fault could be anywhere.
• The bus topology limits the number of computers that can be connected to the
cable because each computer listen to the cable in order to transmit.
Ring topology
• In ring topology, all devices are connected to one another in shape of a closed
loop.
• Each station is responsible for regenerating and retransmitting signals around the
network to its neighbor.
• A token is used to exchange data from one station to another.
• Token can be viewed as an envelop or a bag where data is placed for transmission
and carried around the network.
Ring topology
Advantages of ring topology
• They use a short length cable
• Ring topology is simple to install
Disadvantages of ring topology
• Modification may be difficult because adding or removing a device can disrupt
the entire network.
• Troubleshooting can be difficult.
• One device or media breakdown may affect the entire network. However this is
not the case with IBM token ring where a device called multi station Access unit
(MSAU) is used for station bypass in the event a station fails.
Mesh topology
• This is the most common type of topology used in wide area network where
there are many paths between different locations.
• Devices are connected with many redundant interconnections between the
nodes.
• In a true mesh topology every node has a connection to every other node in the
network.
Mesh topology
Advantage of mesh topology
• The network can still operate even when node breaks down or a connection
breaks.
• The network is reliable
• Point to point connections optimize the output of data.
Disadvantages of mesh topology
• It is expensive on cable due to redundant links
• Administration of the network is difficult because of the peer to peer
Tree/hierarchical topology
• This is a hybrid topology.
• Groups of star-configured networks are connected to a linear bus backbone.
Tree/hierarchical topology
Network software
Types of Network software
1. Network operating systems
2. Network protocols
Network operating systems
• These are operating systems specifically designed to optimize the networked
computers ability to respond to services.
• Servers run on a network operating system. In addition to the functions of normal
operating system, this software performs the following functions;
1. Provide access to the network resources e.g. printer and folders
 Network operating systems
2. Enables nodes on the network to communicate with each other
more efficiently.
3. Supports inter-process communication i.e. enables various
processes on the network to communicate with one another.
4. Respond to requests from application programs running on the
network.
5. Supporting network services like network card drivers and
protocols.
6. Implementing network security features.
 Network protocols
• Protocols are set of rules and procedures that govern
communication between two different devices or people.
• In computer networking, protocols refers to the rules and
technical procedures that govern communication between
different computers.
• The transmission process over the network has to be broken
down into discrete systematic steps.
• At each step, a certain action take place.
• To avoid protocols that conflict, a reference model for all
developers was developed to give guidance to all developers
worldwide.
• That is how the open systems interconnection(OSI) reference
model was developed by the international standard organisation
(ISO)
Network protocols
OSI reference model

Layer Function
7 Application layer User applications run here and generate requests for data
transmission or open received information
6 Presentation layer Formats data for transmission e.g ASCII, tif etc; encrypts or
decrypts data
5 Session layer Sets up transmission sessions between communicating devices
for synchronized data exchange.
4 Transport layer Manages data transfer over the network to ensure reliability.

3 Network layer Address information is added to the packets and internetwork

routing to destination.
2 Data link layer Packs data into frames; adds error checking information; sends
to physical network. All this is called data link control(DLC)

1 Physical Data encoding; attach to physical medium; transmit bits in

voltage levels format.
Difference between network and internetwork

• Network is the local area network that have homogeneous

protocols.
• Network simply rely on the unique MAC address that comes with
every network interface card to exchange data.
• Internetworks span a large geographical region and are likely to
have different protocols hence, internetwork requires special
routing and inter-protocol conversions.
• Internetworking requires routable addressing
Difference between network and internetwork
• Network devices can be divided into two:
1 network devices
2 internetworking devices
• Protocols can also be divided into two:
1 networking protocol
2 internetworking protocol
• All protocols at level 1 and 2 of OSI are networking protocols and
can be installed and used in networking devices
• All protocols from 3 to 7 are internetworking protocols and can be
installed to run on internetworking devices.
 Classification of networking and internetworking devices on OSI model
OSI Layer Level of operation
7 Gateway
6
Internetworking
5
devices
4
3 Router
2 Network Switch, Bridge, NIC card
Networking
1 Repeater, Hub
devices
Classification of networking and
internetworking devices on OSI model
• Repeater: this extends the length of the network by receiving weak corrupted
signals, regenerating them then sending them to other part of the network. It
works at the physical layer.
• Hub; provides connectivity at the physical layer too. It has no packet filtering or
data addressing capabilities
• Switch; it works at the data link layer. It has to know the MAC address of the
source and destination of data for effective switching.
Classification of networking and
internetworking devices on OSI model
• Bridge: it works at the data link layer. It has to know the MAC address of the data
in order for it to perform packet filtering on network segments.
• NIC card: it works at data link layer too since it has to know and send data to the
right MAC address on the network.
• A router: is an internetworking device. It operates at the network layer and runs
routing protocols like internet protocol (IP) which enables routing of data beyond
the local network.
Classification of networking and
internetworking devices on OSI model
• Gateway: It is the most powerful internetworking device. It operates at all levels
of the OSI model and has capability to perform inter-protocol conversions
OSI layers and data transfer on the
network
• The user create a message to be sent over the network using an
application program running at level 7(application layer)
• The user press SEND button, the message is passed to the
application layer whose protocols fixed an application header
(AH) to the message.
• The massage is passed down to the stack all the way to the
physical layer. Each layer fixes its header to the message
• On the receiving end, the message undergo reverse process. i.e.
each layer rips off its header.
OSI layers and data transfer on the network
Examples of protocols at each layer of
OSI
Level 7: Application
 Simple mail Transfer protocol(SMTP)
 File Transfer protocol(FTP)
Level 6: presentation
 ASCLL/EBCDIC/JPEG/TIP/GIF/MPEG/PKI.etc. these protocols
format the data ready for transmission.
Level 5: session
 Remote procedure call (RPC)
 Point to Point Tunneling Protocol (PPTP)
 OSI session Layer Protocol(OSI-SP)
 SQL
Examples of protocols at each layer of
OSI
Level 4: Transport
 Transport Control protocol (TCP)
 User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
 Sequenced Packet Exchange (SPX)
Level 3: Network
 Internet protocol (IP)
 Internetworking Packet Exchange(IPX)
 Internet control Message Protocol (ICMP)
 Open Shortest Path First (OSPF)
Examples of protocols at each layer of
OSI
Level 2: Data link
 Ethernet
 Token ring
 Point to Point Protocol (PPP)
 Wireless Access Protocol (WAP)
 Serial Line Internet Protocol (SLIP)
Level 1: Physical
 No protocol just encoding techniques, bit streaming, transmission
technique e.g. Baseband or Broadband.
Application protocol work at the highest level
of the OSI model
1. SMTP: The simple mail transfer protocol is the internet standard
for electronic mail.
2. FTP: The file transfer protocol enables a person to transfer files on
the internet.
 Transport protocol work at the transport layer
3. TCP: The transport control protocol ensures reliable transfer of data from source
to destination. It breaks down the data into packets and assigns them with
sequence numbers so that the message can be reconstructed at the destination.
4. UDP: The User Datagram Protocol is an unreliable data transfer protocol and is
used to transfer non-user data like control signs etc.
5. SPX: Sequential Packet Exchange (SPX) is part of Novell’s internetwork packet
exchange/sequential packet exchange (IPX/SPX) for sequenced data.
NETBEUI: Initially we had network basic input output system
(NetBIOS). This was extended by IBM to create a local area network
protocol which was adapted by Microsoft for its windows NT platform
and renamed NetBIOS to Extended User Interface (NetBEUI)
Network Protocol
• IP: Internet Protocol does packet forwarding and routing using the
addressing system on internetwork has a unique IP address.
• OSPF: The Shortest path first protocol helps in efficient routing of
data on the internetworks i.e. it analyses all the next available routs
or hops and chooses the one with the least cost to transfer the
packets.
The TCP/IP protocol
• This protocol was developed in 1978 long before the OSI reference
model came into being.
• It was developed to enable internetworking on the internet.
• It combines the transport control protocol(TCP) and internet
protocol(IP) into one.
• Its layered structure is similar to OSI only that it has four layers.
The TCP/IP protocol
4. The application layer
3. The transport layer
2. The internet layer
1. The network interface layer
The TCP/IP protocol
Comparing OSI model TCP/IP protocol
Similarities
• They have similar architecture i.e. they have a layered design
• They share a common application layer
• The network layer in OSI and internet layer TCP/IP perform same
functions
• Both models support packet switching and routing on the networks.
Comparing OSI model TCP/IP protocol
Differences
1. OSI has seven layers which TCP/IP has four
2. The session, presentation and data link layer present in OSI are
missing in TCP/IP although they are amalgamated in the four
somehow.
The internet and Intranet
• Internet is the global public network of computer networks
interconnected using TCP/IP protocol
• Intranet is the restricted network belonging to an organization or
agency interconnected using TCP/IP protocol.
Methods of internet access
• Internet web pages are accessed using a special software called a
browser. Brower load content on the internet servers
1. Connecting via telephone line.
• Telephone line uses dial up connections(circuit switched
connections)
• It needs modem(modulator-demodulator) between the computer
and line.
• Digital leased line this do not need a modem but just a codec to
control how bits are send/received by the computer. The
connection is always up you don’t need to dial up for connection.
1. Connecting via mobile telephone networks
• Mobile phone carry both data and voice. Through wireless mobile
phones can be tethered to computers
Types of Mobile networks
• Global system for mobile communications (GSM)
• Code Division Multiple Access (CDMA) networks
Internet on GSM network
Generation Technology Indicative speeds
2G General packet radio service 71 Kbits/s
2.5G Enhanced data rates for GSM Evolution (EDGE) 384 Kbits/s
3G Universal Mobile Telecom System (UMTS) 2Mbites/s
3.5G High Speed Downlink Packet Access (HSDPA) 10Mbits/s
4G Long Term evolution (LTE) 299Mbits/s
Internet on CDMA networks
• CDMA has also evolved through stages too and the highest speed on
3G is known as Evolution Data(EV DO ) with speed up to 2Mbits/s
Accessing internet via fiber links
• This is the latest and fastest methods of accessing the internet vial
fiber optic cables
• Fiber cable caries huge bandwidth
• A subscriber applies to service provider who comes and connects the
fiber networks
•
Wireless access using Wimax and Wifi
• Wimax stand for worldwide interoperability for Microwave.
• Small microwave transceivers are used to transmit and receive data
signals both at the service providers and the customer across
distances of up 30 – 50km
• Wifi is wireless radio technology that is used to provide access to the
internet.
• Connection is via wireless access point which create a radius of access
called a wifi hotspot. That covers small radii like bus , hall, park,
airport launch and street.
Addressing system on computer networks
• All the networks that are connected to the internet have a unique
network number called internet protocol(IP) number.
Two types of IP addresses
• IP version 4 (IPv4)
• IP version 6 (IPv6)
IPv4
• This is the most common IP addressing system because it was the first
to be created and adopted widely.
• Each address is made up of 32bits. Periods separate the bits into
group of eight.
• Each group of eight bits can be converted to its decimal equivalent to
created dotted decimal nation that is easy to read.
• The internet address has tower structure. The leading part of the
address is called the network Number or prefix and is unique
worldwide.
Structure of an IP address
• The remaining portion of the address is the host number on the local
network.
Network Number Host Number

Network Prefix Host Number or

Classfull IP addressing
• Internet address is divided into classes, for easily identification and
routing the length of the network number can be varied to
differentiate them into classes.
• The address can be classified as either class A, B, C, D, E depending on
the number of bits used for Network ID
Classful IP addressing
• Class A; The first bit (highest order bit) of the address is set at o and
the network number is made up of the first eight (8) bits.
• It means 24 bits are used to identify hosts on the network

01 7 8 31
0

Network number host number

• Class B ; The first two highest bits start with 1o and the network
number is made up of the first 16 bits. The host number is also made
of sixteen bits

10 0 2 15 16 31

Network Number Host Number

• Class C ; the first three highest bits start with 110 and the network number is made
up of the first 16 bits.

03 23 24 31
110
Network Number Host Number

Note: these first three classes are called the primary classes and are the ones in
commercial use all over. The class D has its first bits set at 1110 and is reserved for IP
multicasting. Class E has the first 5 bits set at 1111 and is reserved for research
purpose.
 Interpreting IP numbers
• The lowest possible IP number is :
Binary notation: 00000000.00000000.00000000.00000000
Decimal notation: 0 . 0 . 0 . 0

And therefore the highest is:

Binary notation: 1111111.11111111.11111111.11111111
Decimal notation: 255 . 255 . 255 . 255
i.e. between 00000000 and 1111111 there are 256 numbers or 2n =28
=256. we write 255 in decimal notation because we are counting from o
i.e. when you count from zero then it becomes 2n -1=255
• Classful addressing has limited number of unique network numbers
that could be generated i.e 232 =4,294,967,296.
Examples of IP address and Class range
Class Range of addresses Examples
Class A 1.xxx.xxx.xxx to 126.xxx.xxx.xxx 10.10.01.1
Class B 128.0.XXX.XXX to 191.255.XXX.XXX 128.28.0.1
Class C 192.0.0.XXX to 223.255.255.XXX 192.28.0.1
Classless IP addressing
• This is called classless Inter-Domain routing (CIDR).
• Instead of having fixed boundaries between the octets(after every 8
bits), IP addresses can be assigned with the boundary of the network
number and host number placed anywhere within 32 bit address.
• Routers can be told where the network number ends by including a/x
at the end of the IP address. e.g 98.168.100.0/24 means the network
number is 24 bits long.
Address Number of addresses per IP
192.168.100.0/24 28 =255
192.168.100.0/22 210 = 1024
Difference between classful and classless
addressing
 In classful address, there is strict address layout specification for
the network number and host number for various classes.In
classless, the number of bits used for network number and host
number for an address varies according to size of the network.
 In class addressing the class of the address (A, B, C ) determines
the number of bits for the network number and host number. In
classless we use front slash followed by the number of bits that
represent the network.
• Classful addressing bring order in the way network numbers are
allocated. Classless addressing is not orderly because network and
host bits can take on an arbitrary number depending on the size of
the network hence increasing routing cost.
IP version 6
• Internet protocol version 6(IPv6 ) is a new generation internet
addressing architecture designed to succeed IPv4.
• It uses 128bit addresses, hence it has a far much bigger address space
i.e 2128
• The IPv6 address consists of 8 groups of hexadecimal digits ranging
from 0- F separated by a colon for example:
2002:2c0:2001:2:213:123:249:22
• Only leading zeroes are omitted, trailing ones are not. The above
number is 2002:02c0:2001:0002:0213:0123:0249:0022
• The numbers have the following characteristics
1. It uses 16 bit hexadecimal nymbers
2. Numbers are separated by full colons (:)
3. Abbreviations are possible e.g. leading zeroes in contiguous blocks
are represented by double colons (::) e.g.
2002:2c0:0000:0000:2:3c:3b:33 is equivalent to 2002:2c0::2:3c:3b:33
Specifying the network and host numbers
• We use the CIDR prefix representation i.e. a slash followed by length
of the network number written after the IPv6 number e.g.
2002:bd6:12::/46 means the first 48 bits are for the network number.
The last two (::) here indicate that all the remaining numbers are
zeroes.
Comparison between IPv4 and IPv6
1. IPv6 has large address space (2128 ) as compared to IPv4 whose
space is facing exhaustion(232 )
2. We use the dotted decimal notation to write IPv4 address but
when it comes to IPv6 we use hexadecimal numbers separated by
colons.
3. IPv6 was designed with modern internet and gadgets technologies
in mind hence it is more flexible and extensible i.e. it caters for
wired and wireless devices efficiently.
IP configuration on Network.
• To configure network follow the following steps
1. Open control panel
2. Click the network and sharing center (NSC) link.
3. In the NSC dialog box, you can see all the available
connections for which you can configure their IP.
4. On the left pane, click the change adapter settings link to view all
available network connections whether active or not.
5. Right click the one you wish to configure then select properties
command. The properties dialog box appears
• 6. click on the internet protocol version 4 (TCP/IPv4) as shown to
select it then click the properties button to see the dialog below of
TCP/IP properties.