Computer Network and Internet

Computer Network tutorial provides basic and advanced

concepts of Data Communication & Networks (DCN). Our
Computer Networking Tutorial is designed for beginners and
professionals.

Our Computer Network tutorial includes all topics of

Computer Network such as introduction, features, types of
computer network, architecture, hardware, software, internet,
intranet, website, LAN, WAN, etc.

What is Computer Network?

A computer network is a set of devices connected through Major components of a computer network are:
links. A node can be computer, printer, or any other device
capable of sending or receiving the data. The links connecting NIC(National interface card)
the nodes are known as communication channels.

NIC is a device that helps the computer to communicate with

Computer Network uses distributed processing in which task
another device. The network interface card contains the
is divided among several computers. Instead, a single
hardware addresses, the data-link layer protocol use this
computer handles an entire task, each separate computer
address to identify the system on the network so that it
handles a subset.
transfers the data to the correct destination.
Following are the advantages of Distributed processing:
There are two types of NIC: wireless NIC and wired NIC.

 Security: It provides limited interaction that a user  Wireless NIC: All the modern laptops use the
can have with the entire system. For example, a bank wireless NIC. In Wireless NIC, a connection is made
allows the users to access their own accounts through using the antenna that employs the radio wave
an ATM without allowing them to access the bank's technology.
entire database.
 Wired NIC: Cables use the wired NIC to transfer
 Faster problem solving: Multiple computers can the data over the medium.
solve the problem faster than a single machine
working alone.
 Security through redundancy: Multiple computers Hub
running the same program at the same time can
provide the security through redundancy. For Hub is a central device that splits the network connection into
example, if four computers run the same program and multiple devices. When computer requests for information
any computer has a hardware error, then other from a computer, it sends the request to the Hub. Hub
computers can override it. distributes this request to all the interconnected computers.

What is a Computer Network? Switches

 Computer Network is a group of computers Switch is a networking device that groups all the devices over
connected with each other through wires, optical the network to transfer the data to another device. A switch is
fibres or optical links so that various devices can better than Hub as it does not broadcast the message over the
interact with each other through a network. network, i.e., it sends the message to the device for which it
 The aim of the computer network is the sharing of belongs to. Therefore, we can say that switch sends the
resources among various devices. message directly from source to the destination.
 In the case of computer network technology, there are
several types of networks that vary from simple to Cables and connectors
complex level.
Cable is a transmission media that transmits the
Components of Computer Network: communication signals. There are three types of cables:

 Twisted pair cable: It is a high-speed cable that

transmits the data over 1Gbps or more.
 Coaxial cable: Coaxial cable resembles like a TV
installation cable. Coaxial cable is more expensive
 than twisted pair cable, but it provides the high data Communication speed
transmission speed.
 Fibre optic cable: Fibre optic cable is a high-speed Network provides us to communicate over the network in a
cable that transmits the data using light beams. It fast and efficient manner. For example, we can do video
provides high data transmission speed as compared to conferencing, email messaging, etc. over the internet.
other cables. It is more expensive as compared to Therefore, the computer network is a great way to share our
other cables, so it is installed at the government level. knowledge and ideas.

Router File sharing

Router is a device that connects the LAN to the internet. The File sharing is one of the major advantages of the computer
router is mainly used to connect the distinct networks or network. Computer network provides us to share the files with
connect the internet to multiple computers. each other.

Modem Back up and Roll back is easy

Modem connects the computer to the internet over the existing Since the files are stored in the main server which is centrally
telephone line. A modem is not integrated with the computer located. Therefore, it is easy to take the back up from the main
motherboard. A modem is a separate part on the PC slot found server.
on the motherboard.
Software and Hardware sharing
Uses of Computer Network
We can install the applications on the main server; therefore,
 Resource sharing: Resource sharing is the sharing of the user can access the applications centrally. So, we do not
resources such as programs, printers, and data among need to install the software on every machine. Similarly,
the users on the network without the requirement of hardware can also be shared.
the physical location of the resource and user.
 Server-Client model: Computer networking is used
in the server-client model. A server is a central Security
computer used to store the information and
maintained by the system administrator. Clients are Network allows the security by ensuring that the user has the
the machines used to access the information stored in right to access the certain files and applications.
the server remotely.
 Communication medium: Computer network Scalability
behaves as a communication medium among the
users. For example, a company contains more than
Scalability means that we can add the new components on the
one computer has an email system which the
network. Network must be scalable so that we can extend the
employees use for daily communication.
network by adding new devices. But, it decreases the speed of
 E-commerce: Computer network is also important in the connection and data of the transmission speed also
businesses. We can do the business over the internet. decreases, this increases the chances of error occurring. This
For example, amazon.com is doing their business problem can be overcome by using the routing or switching
over the internet, i.e., they are doing their business devices.
over the internet.
Reliability
Features of Computer network
Computer network can use the alternative source for the data
A list Of Computer network features is given below.
communication in case of any hardware failure.

 Communication speed
Computer Network Architecture
 File sharing
 Back up and Roll back is easy
Computer Network Architecture is defined as the physical and
 Software and Hardware sharing
logical design of the software, hardware, protocols, and media
 Security of the transmission of data. Simply we can say that how
 Scalability computers are organized and how tasks are allocated to the
 Reliability computer.
The two types of network architectures are used: Client/Server Network

 Peer-To-Peer network  Client/Server network is a network model designed

 Client/Server network 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
Peer-To-Peer network server for the permission. The server sends the
response to the client 1 to initiate its communication
 Peer-To-Peer network is a network in which all the with the client 2.
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.

Advantages Of Client/Server network:

 A Client/Server network contains the centralized

system. Therefore we can back up the data easily.
 A Client/Server network has a dedicated server that
improves the overall performance of the whole
system.
 Security is better in Client/Server network as a single
server administers the shared resources.
 It also increases the speed of the sharing resources.

Advantages of Peer-To-Peer Network: Disadvantages of Client/Server network:

 It is less costly as it does not contain any dedicated  Client/Server network is expensive as it requires the
server. server with large memory.
 If one computer stops working but, other computers  A server has a Network Operating System(NOS) to
will not stop working. provide the resources to the clients, but the cost of
 It is easy to set up and maintain as each computer NOS is very high.
manages itself.  It requires a dedicated network administrator to
manage all the resources.
Disadvantages of Peer-To-Peer Network:
Computer Network Components
 In the case of Peer-To-Peer network, it does not
Computer network components are the major parts which are
contain the centralized system. Therefore, it cannot
needed to install the software. Some important network
back up the data as the data is different in different
components are NIC, switch, cable, hub, router, and
locations.
modem. Depending on the type of network that we need to
 It has a security issue as the device is managed itself.
install, some network components can also be removed. For Switch
example, the wireless network does not require a cable.
A switch is a hardware device that connects multiple devices
Following are the major components required to install a on a computer network. A Switch contains more advanced
network: features than Hub. The Switch contains the updated table that
decides where the data is transmitted or not. Switch delivers
NIC the message to the correct destination based on the physical
address present in the incoming message. A Switch does not
broadcast the message to the entire network like the Hub. It
 NIC stands for network interface card.
determines the device to whom the message is to be
 NIC is a hardware component used to connect a
transmitted. Therefore, we can say that switch provides a
computer with another computer onto a network
direct connection between the source and destination. It
 It can support a transfer rate of 10,100 to 1000 Mb/s. increases the speed of the network.
 The MAC address or physical address is encoded on
the network card chip which is assigned by the IEEE
Router
to identify a network card uniquely. The MAC
address is stored in the PROM (Programmable read-
only memory).  A router is a hardware device which is used to
connect a LAN with an internet connection. It is used
to receive, analyze and forward the incoming packets
There are two types of NIC:
to another network.
 A router works in a Layer 3 (Network layer) of the
OSI Reference model.
 A router forwards the packet based on the
information available in the routing table.
 It determines the best path from the available paths
for the transmission of the packet.

Advantages of Router:

 Security: The information which is transmitted to the

network will traverse the entire cable, but the only
1. Wired NIC specified device which has been addressed can read
2. Wireless NIC the data.
 Reliability: If the server has stopped functioning, the
Wired NIC: The Wired NIC is present inside the network goes down, but no other networks are
motherboard. Cables and connectors are used with wired NIC affected that are served by the router.
to transfer data.  Performance: Router enhances the overall
performance of the network. Suppose there are 24
Wireless NIC: The wireless NIC contains the antenna to workstations in a network generates a same amount
obtain the connection over the wireless network. For example, of traffic. This increases the traffic load on the
laptop computer contains the wireless NIC. network. Router splits the single network into two
networks of 12 workstations each, reduces the traffic
Hub load by half.
 Network range
A Hub is a hardware device that divides the network
connection among multiple devices. When computer requests Modem
for some information from a network, it first sends the request
to the Hub through cable. Hub will broadcast this request to  A modem is a hardware device that allows the
the entire network. All the devices will check whether the computer to connect to the internet over the existing
request belongs to them or not. If not, the request will be telephone line.
dropped.  A modem is not integrated with the motherboard
rather than it is installed on the PCI slot found on the
The process used by the Hub consumes more bandwidth and motherboard.
limits the amount of communication. Nowadays, the use of  It stands for Modulator/Demodulator. It converts the
hub is obsolete, and it is replaced by more advanced computer digital data into an analog signal over the telephone
network components such as Switches, Routers. lines.

Based on the differences in speed and transmission rate, a

modem can be classified in the following categories:
  Standard PC modem or Dial-up modem  Personal Area Network is a network arranged within
 Cellular Modem an individual person, typically within a range of 10
 Cable modem meters.
 Personal Area Network is used for connecting the
Cables and Connectors computer devices of personal use is known as
Personal Area Network.
 Thomas Zimmerman was the first research scientist
Cable is a transmission media used for transmitting a signal.
to bring the idea of the Personal Area Network.
 Personal Area Network covers an area of 30 feet.
There are three types of cables used in transmission:
 Personal computer devices that are used to develop
the personal area network are the laptop, mobile
 Twisted pair cable phones, media player and play stations.
 Coaxial cable
 Fibre-optic cable There are two types of Personal Area Network:

Computer Network Types  Wired Personal Area Network

 Wireless Personal Area Network
A computer network is a group of computers linked to each
other that enables the computer to communicate with another Wireless Personal Area Network: Wireless Personal Area
computer and share their resources, data, and applications. Network is developed by simply using wireless technologies
such as WiFi, Bluetooth. It is a low range network.
A computer network can be categorized by their size. A
computer network is mainly of four types: Wired Personal Area Network: Wired Personal Area
Network is created by using the USB.
 LAN(Local Area Network)
 PAN(Personal Area Network) Examples of Personal Area Network:
 MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
 WAN(Wide Area Network)
 Body Area Network: Body Area Network is a
network that moves with a person. For example, a
mobile network moves with a person. Suppose a
person establishes a network connection and then
creates a connection with another device to share the
information.
 Offline Network: An offline network can be created
inside the home, so it is also known as a home
network. A home network is designed to integrate
the devices such as printers, computer, television but
they are not connected to the internet.
 Small Home Office: It is used to connect a variety of
devices to the internet and to a corporate network
using a VPN
LAN(Local Area Network)

MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)

 Local Area Network is a group of computers
connected to each other in a small area such as
building, office.  A metropolitan area network is a network that covers
 LAN is used for connecting two or more personal a larger geographic area by interconnecting a
computers through a communication medium such as different LAN to form a larger network.
twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.  Government agencies use MAN to connect to the
 It is less costly as it is built with inexpensive citizens and private industries.
hardware such as hubs, network adapters, and  In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other
ethernet cables. through a telephone exchange line.
 The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in  The most widely used protocols in MAN are RS-232,
Local Area Network. Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN, OC-3, ADSL, etc.
 Local Area Network provides higher security.  It has a higher range than Local Area Network(LAN).

PAN(Personal Area Network)

  Global business: We can do the business over the
internet globally.
\Uses Of Metropolitan Area Network:  High bandwidth: If we use the leased lines for our
company then this gives the high bandwidth. The
 MAN is used in communication between the banks in high bandwidth increases the data transfer rate which
a city. in turn increases the productivity of our company.
 It can be used in an Airline Reservation.
 It can be used in a college within a city. Disadvantages of Wide Area Network:
 It can also be used for communication in the military.
The following are the disadvantages of the Wide Area
WAN(Wide Area Network) Network:

 A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over  Security issue: A WAN network has more security
a large geographical area such as states or countries. issues as compared to LAN and MAN network as all
 A Wide Area Network is quite bigger network than the technologies are combined together that creates
the LAN. the security problem.
 A Wide Area Network is not limited to a single  Needs Firewall & antivirus software: The data is
location, but it spans over a large geographical area transferred on the internet which can be changed or
through a telephone line, fibre optic cable or satellite hacked by the hackers, so the firewall needs to be
links. used. Some people can inject the virus in our system
 The internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world. so antivirus is needed to protect from such a virus.
 A Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of  High Setup cost: An installation cost of the WAN
Business, government, and education. network is high as it involves the purchasing of
routers, switches.
 Troubleshooting problems: It covers a large area so
Examples of Wide Area Network:
fixing the problem is difficult.

 Mobile Broadband: A 4G network is widely used Internetwork

across a region or country.
 Last mile: A telecom company is used to provide the
internet services to the customers in hundreds of  An internetwork is defined as two or more computer
cities by connecting their home with fiber. network LANs or WAN or computer network
segments are connected using devices, and they are
 Private network: A bank provides a private network
configured by a local addressing scheme. This
that connects the 44 offices. This network is made by
process is known as internetworking.
using the telephone leased line provided by the
telecom company.  An interconnection between public, private,
commercial, industrial, or government computer
networks can also be defined as internetworking.
Advantages of Wide Area Network:  An internetworking uses the internet protocol.
 The reference model used for internetworking is
Following are the advantages of the Wide Area Network: Open System Interconnection (OSI).

 Geographical area: A Wide Area Network provides Types of Internetwork:

a large geographical area. Suppose if the branch of
our office is in a different city then we can connect 1. Extranet: An extranet is a communication network based
with them through WAN. The internet provides a on the internet protocol such as Transmission Control
leased line through which we can connect with protocol and internet protocol. It is used for information
another branch. sharing. The access to the extranet is restricted to only those
 Centralized data: In case of WAN network, data is users who have login credentials. An extranet is the lowest
centralized. Therefore, we do not need to buy the level of internetworking. It can be categorized as MAN, WAN
emails, files or back up servers. or other computer networks. An extranet cannot have a single
 Get updated files: Software companies work on the LAN, at least it must have one connection to the external
live server. Therefore, the programmers get the network.
updated files within seconds.
 Exchange messages: In a WAN network, messages 2. Intranet: An intranet is a private network based on the
are transmitted fast. The web application like internet protocol such as Transmission Control protocol and
Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype allows you to internet protocol. An intranet belongs to an organization
communicate with friends. which is only accessible by the organization's employee or
 Sharing of software and resources: In WAN members. The main aim of the intranet is to share the
network, we can share the software and other information and resources among the organization employees.
resources like a hard drive, RAM.
An intranet provides the facility to work in groups and for problems that occur when two nodes send the messages
teleconferences. simultaneously.

Intranet advantages:  CSMA CD: CSMA CD (Collision detection) is an

access method used to detect the collision. Once the
 Communication: It provides a cheap and easy collision is detected, the sender will stop transmitting
communication. An employee of the organization can the data. Therefore, it works on "recovery after the
communicate with another employee through email, collision".
chat.  CSMA CA: CSMA CA (Collision Avoidance) is an
 Time-saving: Information on the intranet is shared in access method used to avoid the collision by
real time, so it is time-saving. checking whether the transmission media is busy or
 Collaboration: Collaboration is one of the most not. If busy, then the sender waits until the media
important advantages of the intranet. The information becomes idle. This technique effectively reduces the
is distributed among the employees of the possibility of the collision. It does not work on
organization and can only be accessed by the "recovery after the collision".
authorized user.
 Platform independency: It is a neutral architecture Advantages of Bus topology:
as the computer can be connected to another device
with different architecture.  Low-cost cable: In bus topology, nodes are directly
 Cost effective: People can see the data and connected to the cable without passing through a hub.
documents by using the browser and distributes the Therefore, the initial cost of installation is low.
duplicate copies over the intranet. This leads to a  Moderate data speeds: Coaxial or twisted pair
reduction in the cost. cables are mainly used in bus-based networks that
support upto 10 Mbps.
What is Topology?  Familiar technology: Bus topology is a familiar
technology as the installation and troubleshooting
Topology defines the structure of the network of how all the techniques are well known, and hardware
components are interconnected to each other. There are two components are easily available.
types of topology: physical and logical topology.  Limited failure: A failure in one node will not have
any effect on other nodes.
Physical topology is the geometric representation of all the
nodes in a network. Disadvantages of Bus topology:

Bus Topology  Extensive cabling: A bus topology is quite simpler,

but still it requires a lot of cabling.
 The bus topology is designed in such a way that all  Difficult troubleshooting: It requires specialized test
the stations are connected through a single cable equipment to determine the cable faults. If any fault
known as a backbone cable. occurs in the cable, then it would disrupt the
 Each node is either connected to the backbone cable communication for all the nodes.
by drop cable or directly connected to the backbone  Signal interference: If two nodes send the messages
cable. simultaneously, then the signals of both the nodes
 When a node wants to send a message over the collide with each other.
network, it puts a message over the network. All the  Reconfiguration difficult: Adding new devices to
stations available in the network will receive the the network would slow down the network.
message whether it has been addressed or not.  Attenuation: Attenuation is a loss of signal leads to
 The bus topology is mainly used in 802.3 (ethernet) communication issues. Repeaters are used to
and 802.4 standard networks. regenerate the signal.
 The configuration of a bus topology is quite simpler
as compared to other topologies. Ring Topology
 The backbone cable is considered as a "single lane"
through which the message is broadcast to all the  Ring topology is like a bus topology, but with
stations. connected ends.
 The most common access method of the bus  The node that receives the message from the previous
topologies is CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple computer will retransmit to the next node.
Access).  The data flows in one direction, i.e., it is
unidirectional.
CSMA: It is a media access control used to control the data  The data flows in a single loop continuously known
flow so that data integrity is maintained, i.e., the packets do as an endless loop.
not get lost. There are two alternative ways of handling the
  It has no terminated ends, i.e., each node is connected  The central computer is known as a server, and the
to other node and having no termination point. peripheral devices attached to the server are known
 The data in a ring topology flow in a clockwise as clients.
direction.  Coaxial cable or RJ-45 cables are used to connect the
 The most common access method of the ring computers.
topology is token passing.  Hubs or Switches are mainly used as connection
o Token passing: It is a network access devices in a physical star topology.
method in which token is passed from one  Star topology is the most popular topology in
node to another node. network implementation.
o Token: It is a frame that circulates around
the network. Advantages of Star topology

Working of Token passing

 Efficient troubleshooting: Troubleshooting is quite
efficient in a star topology as compared to bus
 A token moves around the network, and it is passed topology. In a bus topology, the manager has to
from computer to computer until it reaches the inspect the kilometers of cable. In a star topology, all
destination. the stations are connected to the centralized network.
 The sender modifies the token by putting the address Therefore, the network administrator has to go to the
along with the data. single station to troubleshoot the problem.
 The data is passed from one device to another device  Network control: Complex network control features
until the destination address matches. Once the token can be easily implemented in the star topology. Any
received by the destination device, then it sends the changes made in the star topology are automatically
acknowledgment to the sender. accommodated.
 In a ring topology, a token is used as a carrier.  Limited failure: As each station is connected to the
central hub with its own cable, therefore failure in
Advantages of Ring topology: one cable will not affect the entire network.
 Familiar technology: Star topology is a familiar
technology as its tools are cost-effective.
 Network Management: Faulty devices can be
 Easily expandable: It is easily expandable as new
removed from the network without bringing the
stations can be added to the open ports on the hub.
network down.
 Cost effective: Star topology networks are cost-
 Product availability: Many hardware and software
effective as it uses inexpensive coaxial cable.
tools for network operation and monitoring are
 High data speeds: It supports a bandwidth of approx
available.
100Mbps. Ethernet 100BaseT is one of the most
 Cost: Twisted pair cabling is inexpensive and easily
popular Star topology networks.
available. Therefore, the installation cost is very low.
 Reliable: It is a more reliable network because the
communication system is not dependent on the single Disadvantages of Star topology
host computer.
 A Central point of failure: If the central hub or
Disadvantages of Ring topology: switch goes down, then all the connected nodes will
not be able to communicate with each other.
 Cable: Sometimes cable routing becomes difficult
 Difficult troubleshooting: It requires specialized test
when a significant amount of routing is required.
equipment to determine the cable faults. If any fault
occurs in the cable, then it would disrupt the
communication for all the nodes. Tree topology
 Failure: The breakdown in one station leads to the
failure of the overall network.  Tree topology combines the characteristics of bus
 Reconfiguration difficult: Adding new devices to topology and star topology.
the network would slow down the network.  A tree topology is a type of structure in which all the
 Delay: Communication delay is directly proportional computers are connected with each other in
to the number of nodes. Adding new devices hierarchical fashion.
increases the communication delay.  The top-most node in tree topology is known as a
root node, and all other nodes are the descendants of
Star Topology the root node.
 There is only one path exists between two nodes for
the data transmission. Thus, it forms a parent-child
 Star topology is an arrangement of the network in
hierarchy.
which every node is connected to the central hub,
switch or a central computer.
Advantages of Tree topology

 Support for broadband transmission: Tree

topology is mainly used to provide broadband
transmission, i.e., signals are sent over long distances
without being attenuated.
 Easily expandable: We can add the new device to
the existing network. Therefore, we can say that tree
topology is easily expandable.  Full Mesh Topology: In a full mesh topology, each
 Easily manageable: In tree topology, the whole computer is connected to all the computers available
network is divided into segments known as star in the network.
networks which can be easily managed and  Partial Mesh Topology: In a partial mesh topology,
maintained. not all but certain computers are connected to those
 Error detection: Error detection and error correction computers with which they communicate frequently.
are very easy in a tree topology.
 Limited failure: The breakdown in one station does Advantages of Mesh topology:
not affect the entire network.
 Point-to-point wiring: It has point-to-point wiring Reliable: The mesh topology networks are very reliable as if
for individual segments. any link breakdown will not affect the communication
between connected computers.
Disadvantages of Tree topology
Fast Communication: Communication is very fast between
 Difficult troubleshooting: If any fault occurs in the the nodes.
node, then it becomes difficult to troubleshoot the
problem. Easier Reconfiguration: Adding new devices would not
 High cost: Devices required for broadband disrupt the communication between other devices.
transmission are very costly.
 Failure: A tree topology mainly relies on main bus Disadvantages of Mesh topology
cable and failure in main bus cable will damage the
overall network.
 Cost: A mesh topology contains a large number of
 Reconfiguration difficult: If new devices are added,
connected devices such as a router and more
then it becomes difficult to reconfigure.
transmission media than other topologies.
 Management: Mesh topology networks are very
Mesh topology large and very difficult to maintain and manage. If
the network is not monitored carefully, then the
 Mesh technology is an arrangement of the network in communication link failure goes undetected.
which computers are interconnected with each other  Efficiency: In this topology, redundant connections
through various redundant connections. are high that reduces the efficiency of the network.
 There are multiple paths from one computer to
another computer. Hybrid Topology
 It does not contain the switch, hub or any central
computer which acts as a central point of
 The combination of various different topologies is
communication.
known as Hybrid topology.
 The Internet is an example of the mesh topology.
 A Hybrid topology is a connection between different
 Mesh topology is mainly used for WAN links and nodes to transfer the data.
implementations where communication failures are a
 When two or more different topologies are combined
critical concern.
together is termed as Hybrid topology and if similar
 Mesh topology is mainly used for wireless networks. topologies are connected with each other will not
 Mesh topology can be formed by using the formula: result in Hybrid topology. For example, if there exist
Number of cables = (n*(n-1))/2; a ring topology in one branch of ICICI bank and bus
topology in another branch of ICICI bank, connecting
Where n is the number of nodes that represents the network. these two topologies will result in Hybrid topology.

Mesh topology is divided into two categories: Advantages of Hybrid Topology

 Fully connected mesh topology  Reliable: If a fault occurs in any part of the network
 Partially connected mesh topology will not affect the functioning of the rest of the
network.
  Scalable: Size of the network can be easily expanded  This transmission mode is not very popular as mainly
by adding new devices without affecting the communications require the two-way exchange of
functionality of the existing network. data. The simplex mode is used in the business field
 Flexible: This topology is very flexible as it can be as in sales that do not require any corresponding
designed according to the requirements of the reply.
organization.  The radio station is a simplex channel as it transmits
 Effective: Hybrid topology is very effective as it can the signal to the listeners but never allows them to
be designed in such a way that the strength of the transmit back.
network is maximized and weakness of the network  Keyboard and Monitor are the examples of the
is minimized. simplex mode as a keyboard can only accept the data
from the user and monitor can only be used to display
Disadvantages of Hybrid topology the data on the screen.
 The main advantage of the simplex mode is that the
full capacity of the communication channel can be
 Complex design: The major drawback of the Hybrid utilized during transmission.
topology is the design of the Hybrid network. It is
very difficult to design the architecture of the Hybrid
network. Advantage of Simplex mode:
 Costly Hub: The Hubs used in the Hybrid topology
are very expensive as these hubs are different from  In simplex mode, the station can utilize the entire
usual Hubs used in other topologies. bandwidth of the communication channel, so that
 Costly infrastructure: The infrastructure cost is more data can be transmitted at a time.
very high as a hybrid network requires a lot of
cabling, network devices, etc. Disadvantage of Simplex mode:

Transmission modes  Communication is unidirectional, so it has no inter-

communication between devices.
 The way in which data is transmitted from one device
to another device is known as transmission mode. Half-Duplex mode
 The transmission mode is also known as the
communication mode.
 In a Half-duplex channel, direction can be reversed,
 Each communication channel has a direction
i.e., the station can transmit and receive the data as
associated with it, and transmission media provide
well.
the direction. Therefore, the transmission mode is
 Messages flow in both the directions, but not at the
also known as a directional mode.
same time.
 The transmission mode is defined in the physical
 The entire bandwidth of the communication channel
layer.
is utilized in one direction at a time.
 In half-duplex mode, it is possible to perform the
The Transmission mode is divided into three categories: error detection, and if any error occurs, then the
receiver requests the sender to retransmit the data.
 Simplex mode  A Walkie-talkie is an example of the Half-duplex
 Half-duplex mode mode. In Walkie-talkie, one party speaks, and
 Full-duplex mode another party listens. After a pause, the other speaks
and first party listens. Speaking simultaneously will
create the distorted sound which cannot be
understood.

Advantage of Half-duplex mode:

 In half-duplex mode, both the devices can send and

receive the data and also can utilize the entire
bandwidth of the communication channel during the
Simplex mode transmission of data.

Disadvantage of Half-Duplex mode:

 In Simplex mode, the communication is
unidirectional, i.e., the data flow in one direction.
 A device can only send the data but cannot receive it  In half-duplex mode, when one device is sending the
or it can receive the data but cannot send the data. data, then another has to wait; this causes the delay in
sending the data at the right time.
Full-duplex mode and monitor.

 In Full duplex mode, the communication is bi-

directional, i.e., the data flow in both the directions.
 Both the stations can send and receive the message
simultaneously.
 Full-duplex mode has two simplex channels. One
channel has traffic moving in one direction, and
another channel has traffic flowing in the opposite
direction.
 The Full-duplex mode is the fastest mode of
communication between devices.
Computer Network Models
 The most common example of the full-duplex mode
is a telephone network. When two people are
communicating with each other by a telephone line, A communication subsystem is a complex piece of Hardware
both can talk and listen at the same time. and software. Early attempts for implementing the software
for such subsystems were based on a single, complex,
unstructured program with many interacting components. The
Advantage of Full-duplex mode: resultant software was very difficult to test and modify. To
overcome such problem, the ISO has developed a layered
 Both the stations can send and receive the data at the approach. In a layered approach, networking concept is
same time. divided into several layers, and each layer is assigned a
particular task. Therefore, we can say that networking tasks
Disadvantage of Full-duplex mode: depend upon the layers.

Layered Architecture
 If there is no dedicated path exists between the
devices, then the capacity of the communication
channel is divided into two parts.  The main aim of the layered architecture is to divide
the design into small pieces.
Differences b/w Simplex, Half-duplex and Full-duplex mode  Each lower layer adds its services to the higher layer
to provide a full set of services to manage
communications and run the applications.
Basis for Half-duplex
Simplex mode Full-duplex mode  It provides modularity and clear interfaces, i.e.,
comparison mode
provides interaction between subsystems.
 It ensures the independence between layers by
In half-duplex
In simplex mode, mode, the In full-duplex mode,
providing the services from lower to higher layer
Direction of without defining how the services are implemented.
the communication communication is the communication is
communication Therefore, any modification in a layer will not affect
is unidirectional. bidirectional, but bidirectional.
one at a time. the other layers.
 The number of layers, functions, contents of each
A device can only layer will vary from network to network. However,
send the data but Both the devices the purpose of each layer is to provide the service
Both the devices can
Send/Receive
cannot receive it or can send and
send and receive the
from lower to a higher layer and hiding the details
it can only receive receive the data, from the layers of how the services are implemented.
data simultaneously.
the data but cannot but one at a time.  The basic elements of layered architecture are
send it. services, protocols, and interfaces.
o Service: It is a set of actions that a layer
The Full-duplex provides to the higher layer.
mode has better
o Protocol: It defines a set of rules that a layer
performance among
The performance uses to exchange the information with peer
The performance simplex and half-
of half-duplex
of full-duplex
duplex mode as it
entity. These rules mainly concern about
Performance mode is better both the contents and order of the messages
mode is better than doubles the
than the half- used.
the simplex mode. utilization of the
duplex mode. o Interface: It is a way through which the
capacity of the
communication message is transferred from one layer to
channel. another layer.
 In a layer n architecture, layer n on one machine will
Examples of
Example of half- Example of the Full- have a communication with the layer n on another
Example
Simplex mode are
duplex is Walkie- duplex mode is a machine and the rules used in a conversation are
Talkies. telephone network. known as a layer-n protocol.
radio, keyboard,
Why do we require Layered architecture? hypertext environment where there are rapid jumps
from one document to another.
 Divide-and-conquer approach: Divide-and-conquer  SNMP: SNMP stands for Simple Network
approach makes a design process in such a way that Management Protocol. It is a framework used for
the unmanageable tasks are divided into small and managing the devices on the internet by using the
manageable tasks. In short, we can say that this TCP/IP protocol suite.
approach reduces the complexity of the design.  SMTP: SMTP stands for Simple mail transfer
 Modularity: Layered architecture is more modular. protocol. The TCP/IP protocol that supports the e-
Modularity provides the independence of layers, mail is known as a Simple mail transfer protocol.
which is easier to understand and implement. This protocol is used to send the data to another e-
 Easy to modify: It ensures the independence of mail address.
layers so that implementation in one layer can be  DNS: DNS stands for Domain Name System. An IP
changed without affecting other layers. address is used to identify the connection of a host to
 Easy to test: Each layer of the layered architecture the internet uniquely. But, people prefer to use the
can be analyzed and tested individually. names instead of addresses. Therefore, the system
that maps the name to the address is known as
Domain Name System.
Functions of the OSI Layers
 TELNET: It is an abbreviation for Terminal
Network. It establishes the connection between the
There are the seven OSI layers. Each layer has different local computer and remote computer in such a way
functions. A list of seven layers is given below: that the local terminal appears to be a terminal at the
remote system.
1. Physical Layer  FTP: FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a
2. Data-Link Layer standard internet protocol used for transmitting the
3. Network Layer files from one computer to another computer.
4. Transport Layer
5. Session Layer What is Transmission media?
6. Presentation Layer
7. Application Layer
 Transmission media is a communication channel that
carries the information from the sender to the
TCP/IP model
receiver. Data is transmitted through the
electromagnetic signals.
 The TCP/IP model was developed prior to the OSI  The main functionality of the transmission media is
model. to carry the information in the form of bits through
 The TCP/IP model is not exactly similar to the OSI LAN(Local Area Network).
model.  It is a physical path between transmitter and receiver
 The TCP/IP model consists of five layers: the in data communication.
application layer, transport layer, network layer, data  In a copper-based network, the bits in the form of
link layer and physical layer. electrical signals.
 The first four layers provide physical standards,  In a fibre based network, the bits in the form of light
network interface, internetworking, and transport pulses.
functions that correspond to the first four layers of  In OSI(Open System Interconnection) phase,
the OSI model and these four layers are represented transmission media supports the Layer 1. Therefore,
in TCP/IP model by a single layer called the it is considered to be as a Layer 1 component.
application layer.  The electrical signals can be sent through the copper
 TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol made up of wire, fibre optics, atmosphere, water, and vacuum.
interactive modules, and each of them provides  The characteristics and quality of data transmission
specific functionality. are determined by the characteristics of medium and
signal.
Here, hierarchical means that each upper-layer protocol is  Transmission media is of two types are wired media
supported by two or more lower-level protocols. and wireless media. In wired media, medium
characteristics are more important whereas, in
Following are the main protocols used in the application wireless media, signal characteristics are more
layer: important.
 Different transmission media have different
properties such as bandwidth, delay, cost and ease of
 HTTP: HTTP stands for Hypertext transfer protocol.
installation and maintenance.
This protocol allows us to access the data over the
 The transmission media is available in the lowest
World Wide Web. It transfers the data in the form of
layer of the OSI reference model, i.e., Physical layer.
plain text, audio, video. It is known as a Hypertext
transfer protocol as it has the efficiency to use in a
Some factors need to be considered for designing the Guided Media
transmission media:
It is defined as the physical medium through which the signals
 Bandwidth: All the factors are remaining constant, are transmitted. It is also known as Bounded media.
the greater the bandwidth of a medium, the higher the
data transmission rate of a signal. Types of Guided media:
 Transmission impairment: When the received
signal is not identical to the transmitted one due to Twisted pair:
the transmission impairment. The quality of the
signals will get destroyed due to transmission Twisted pair is a physical media made up of a pair of cables
impairment. twisted with each other. A twisted pair cable is cheap as
 Interference: Interference is defined as the process compared to other transmission media. Installation of the
of disrupting a signal when it travels over a twisted pair cable is easy, and it is a lightweight cable. The
communication medium on the addition of some frequency range for twisted pair cable is from 0 to 3.5KHz.
unwanted signal.
A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires arranged
Causes of Transmission Impairment: 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.

 Attenuation: Attenuation means the loss of energy, Types of Twisted pair:

i.e., the strength of the signal decreases with
increasing the distance which causes the loss of
energy.
 Distortion: Distortion occurs when there is a change
in the shape of the signal. This type of distortion is
examined from different signals having different
frequencies. Each frequency component has its own
propagation speed, so they reach at a different time
which leads to the delay distortion.
 Noise: When data is travelled over a transmission
medium, some unwanted signal is added to it which
Unshielded Twisted Pair:
creates the noise.

An unshielded twisted pair is widely used in

Classification of Transmission Media:
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.

Advantages of Unshielded Twisted Pair:

 Guided Transmission Media  It is cheap.

 UnGuided Transmission Media  Installation of the unshielded twisted pair is easy.
 It can be used for high-speed LAN.
Disadvantage:  The data can be transmitted at high speed.
 It has better shielding as compared to twisted pair
 This cable can only be used for shorter distances cable.
because of attenuation.  It provides higher bandwidth.

Shielded Twisted Pair Disadvantages Of Coaxial cable:

A shielded twisted pair is a cable that contains the mesh  It is more expensive as compared to twisted pair
surrounding the wire that allows the higher transmission rate. cable.
 If any fault occurs in the cable causes the failure in
Characteristics of Shielded Twisted Pair: the entire network.

 The cost of the shielded twisted pair cable is not very Fibre Optic
high and not very low.
 An installation of STP is easy.  Fibre optic cable is a cable that uses electrical signals
 It has higher capacity as compared to unshielded for communication.
twisted pair cable.  Fibre optic is a cable that holds the optical fibres
 It has a higher attenuation. coated in plastic that are used to send the data by
 It is shielded that provides the higher data pulses of light.
transmission rate.  The plastic coating protects the optical fibres from
heat, cold, electromagnetic interference from other
types of wiring.
Disadvantages
 Fibre optics provide faster data transmission than
copper wires.
 It is more expensive as compared to UTP and coaxial
cable.
Diagrammatic representation of fibre optic cable:
 It has a higher attenuation rate.

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 Basic elements of Fibre optic cable:
cable.
 The inner conductor of the coaxial cable is made up  Core: The optical fibre consists of a narrow strand of
of copper, and the outer conductor is made up of glass or plastic known as a core. A core is a light
copper mesh. The middle core is made up of non- transmission area of the fibre. The more the area of
conductive cover that separates the inner conductor the core, the more light will be transmitted into the
from the outer conductor. fibre.
 The middle core is responsible for the data  Cladding: The concentric layer of glass is known as
transferring whereas the copper mesh prevents from cladding. The main functionality of the cladding is to
 the EMI(Electromagnetic interference provide the lower refractive index at the core
interface as to cause the reflection within the core so
Coaxial cable is of two types: that the light waves are transmitted through the fibre.
 Jacket: The protective coating consisting of plastic is
1. Baseband transmission: It is defined as the process known as a jacket. The main purpose of a jacket is to
of transmitting a single signal at high speed. preserve the fibre strength, absorb shock and extra
2. Broadband transmission: It is defined as the fibre protection.
process of transmitting multiple signals
simultaneously. Following are the advantages of fibre optic cable over
copper:
Advantages of Coaxial cable:
 Greater Bandwidth: The fibre optic cable provides
 more bandwidth as compared copper. Therefore, the
 fibre optic carries more data as compared to copper
cable.
  Faster speed: Fibre optic cable carries the data in the  Radio transmission is mainly used for wide area
form of light. This allows the fibre optic cable to networks and mobile cellular phones.
carry the signals at a higher speed.  Radio waves cover a large area, and they can
 Longer distances: The fibre optic cable carries the penetrate the walls.
data at a longer distance as compared to copper cable.  Radio transmission provides a higher transmission
 Better reliability: The fibre optic cable is more rate.
reliable than the copper cable as it is immune to any
temperature changes while it can cause obstruct in Microwaves
the connectivity of copper cable.
 Thinner and Sturdier: Fibre optic cable is thinner Microwaves are of two types:
and lighter in weight so it can withstand more pull
pressure than copper cable.
 Terrestrial microwave
 Satellite microwave communication.
Unguided Transmission
Terrestrial Microwave Transmission
 An unguided transmission transmits the
electromagnetic waves without using any physical
medium. Therefore it is also known as wireless  Terrestrial Microwave transmission is a technology
transmission. that transmits the focused beam of a radio signal from
 In unguided media, air is the media through which one ground-based microwave transmission antenna to
the electromagnetic energy can flow easily. another.
 Microwaves are the electromagnetic waves having
Unguided transmission is broadly classified into three the frequency in the range from 1GHz to 1000 GHz.
categories:  Microwaves are unidirectional as the sending and
receiving antenna is to be aligned, i.e., the waves sent
by the sending antenna are narrowly focussed.
Radio waves
 In this case, antennas are mounted on the towers to
send a beam to another antenna which is km away.
 Radio waves are the electromagnetic waves that are  It works on the line of sight transmission, i.e., the
transmitted in all the directions of free space. antennas mounted on the towers are the direct sight
 Radio waves are omnidirectional, i.e., the signals are of each other.
propagated in all the directions.
 The range in frequencies of radio waves is from 3Khz
Characteristics of Microwave:
to 1 khz.
 In the case of radio waves, the sending and receiving
antenna are not aligned, i.e., the wave sent by the  Frequency range: The frequency range of terrestrial
sending antenna can be received by any receiving microwave is from 4-6 GHz to 21-23 GHz.
antenna.  Bandwidth: It supports the bandwidth from 1 to 10
 An example of the radio wave is FM radio. Mbps.
 Short distance: It is inexpensive for short distance.
 Long distance: It is expensive as it requires a higher
tower for a longer distance.
 Attenuation: Attenuation means loss of signal. It is
affected by environmental conditions and antenna
size.

Advantages of Microwave:

 Microwave transmission is cheaper than using cables.

 It is free from land acquisition as it does not require
Applications of Radio waves: any land for the installation of cables.
 Microwave transmission provides an easy
 A Radio wave is useful for multicasting when there is communication in terrains as the installation of cable
one sender and many receivers. in terrain is quite a difficult task.
 An FM radio, television, cordless phones are  Communication over oceans can be achieved by
examples of a radio wave. using microwave transmission.

Advantages of Radio transmission: Disadvantages of Microwave transmission:

  Eavesdropping: An eavesdropping creates insecure operation, data transfer between a computer and cell
communication. Any malicious user can catch the phone resides in the same closed area.
signal in the air by using its own antenna.
 Out of phase signal: A signal can be moved out of Characteristics of Infrared:
phase by using microwave transmission.
 Susceptible to weather condition: A microwave  It supports high bandwidth, and hence the data rate
transmission is susceptible to weather condition. This will be very high.
means that any environmental change such as rain,  Infrared waves cannot penetrate the walls. Therefore,
wind can distort the signal. the infrared communication in one room cannot be
 Bandwidth limited: Allocation of bandwidth is interrupted by the nearby rooms.
limited in the case of microwave transmission.  An infrared communication provides better security
with minimum interference.
Satellite Microwave Communication  Infrared communication is unreliable outside the
building because the sun rays will interfere with the
 A satellite is a physical object that revolves around infrared waves.
the earth at a known height.
 Satellite communication is more reliable nowadays as What is Multiplexing?
it offers more flexibility than cable and fibre optic
systems. Multiplexing is a technique used to combine and send the
 We can communicate with any point on the globe by multiple data streams over a single medium. The process of
using satellite communication. combining the data streams is known as multiplexing and
hardware used for multiplexing is known as a multiplexer.
How Does Satellite work?
Multiplexing is achieved by using a device called Multiplexer
The satellite accepts the signal that is transmitted from the (MUX) that combines n input lines to generate a single output
earth station, and it amplifies the signal. The amplified signal line. Multiplexing follows many-to-one, i.e., n input lines and
is retransmitted to another earth station. one output line.

Advantages of Satellite Microwave Communication: Demultiplexing is achieved by using a device called

Demultiplexer (DEMUX) available at the receiving end.
 The coverage area of a satellite microwave is more DEMUX separates a signal into its component signals (one
than the terrestrial microwave.
 The transmission cost of the satellite is independent
of the distance from the centre of the coverage area.
 Satellite communication is used in mobile and
wireless communication applications.
 It is easy to install.
input and n outputs). Therefore, we can say that
 It is used in a wide variety of applications such as
demultiplexing follows the one-to-many approach.
weather forecasting, radio/TV signal broadcasting,
mobile communication, etc.
Why Multiplexing?
Disadvantages of Satellite Microwave Communication:
 The transmission medium is used to send the signal
from sender to receiver. The medium can only have
 Satellite designing and development requires more
one signal at a time.
time and higher cost.
 If there are multiple signals to share one medium,
 The Satellite needs to be monitored and controlled on
then the medium must be divided in such a way that
regular periods so that it remains in orbit.
each signal is given some portion of the available
 The life of the satellite is about 12-15 years. Due to bandwidth. For example: If there are 10 signals and
this reason, another launch of the satellite has to be bandwidth of medium is100 units, then the 10 unit is
planned before it becomes non-functional. shared by each signal.
 When multiple signals share the common medium,
Infrared there is a possibility of collision. Multiplexing
concept is used to avoid such collision.
 An infrared transmission is a wireless technology  Transmission services are very expensive.
used for communication over short ranges.
 The frequency of the infrared in the range from 300
GHz to 400 THz.
 It is used for short-range communication such as data
transfer between two cell phones, TV remote
History of Multiplexing Optical signals from different source are combined to form a
wider band of light with the help of multiplexer.
 Multiplexing technique is widely used in
telecommunications in which several telephone calls At the receiving end, demultiplexer separates the signals to
are carried through a single wire. transmit them to their respective destinations.
 Multiplexing originated in telegraphy in the early
1870s and is now widely used in communication. Multiplexing and Demultiplexing can be achieved by using a
 George Owen Squier developed the telephone prism.
carrier multiplexing in 1910.
Time Division Multiplexing
Concept of Multiplexing
 It is a digital technique.
 The 'n' input lines are transmitted through a  In Frequency Division Multiplexing Technique, all
multiplexer and multiplexer combines the signals to signals operate at the same time with different
form a composite signal. frequency, but in case of Time Division Multiplexing
 The composite signal is passed through a technique, all signals operate at the same frequency
Demultiplexer and demultiplexer separates a signal to with different time.
component signals and transfers them to their  In Time Division Multiplexing technique, the total
respective destinations. time available in the channel is distributed among
different users. Therefore, each user is allocated with
different time interval known as a Time slot at which
Advantages of Multiplexing:
data is to be transmitted by the sender.
 A user takes control of the channel for a fixed
 More than one signal can be sent over a single amount of time.
medium.
 The bandwidth of a medium can be utilized
INTERNET PRACTICAL
effectively.
1) Research methods
Multiplexing Techniques
2) Business plan
3) Emails
Frequency-division Multiplexing (FDM)
4) Download and upload
 It is an analog technique. 5) E-citizen( all the e-citizen services)
 Frequency Division Multiplexing is a technique in 6) Kra pin
which the available bandwidth of a single 7) Nhif
transmission medium is subdivided into several 8) Nssf
channels. 9) Tsc
10) Ghris
Applications of FDM: 11) Nemis
12) Niims
 FDM is commonly used in TV networks. 13) Nca
 It is used in FM and IS broadcasting. Each FM radio 14) Helb
station has different frequencies, and they are
15) Tims
multiplexed to form a composite signal. The
multiplexed signal is transmitted in the air. 16) Ntsa
17) Nita
Wavelength Division Multiplexing (WDM) 18) Kuccps
19) E-commerce
Wavelength Division Multiplexing is same as FDM except 20) Bloggers
that the optical signals are transmitted through the fibre optic 21) Twitter
cable. 22) Facebook
23) Histogram
WDM is used on fibre optics to increase the capacity of a
24) E-medical healthy
single fibre.
25) Knec
It is used to utilize the high data rate capability of fibre optic 26) what app web
cable. 27) SMO
28) SEO
It is an analog multiplexing technique.