CHAPTER :

NETWORKING
NETWORK : A Network is an inter-connected collection of
Computers that can share and exchange data and Resources.
ADVANTAGES OF NETWORKING :
1. Enables sharing of data, common hardware and
software resources between multiple users.
2. Reduces Cost, as the Resources are shared.
3. Enables fast exchange of information.
4. Provides data security through login names and
passwords
5. Ensures Reliability ( multiple copies of the same file can
be stored on different machines in a network )
6. Provides easy communication over long distances.
EVOLUTION OF NETWORKING :
ARPANET
Advanced Research Projects Agency Network
(ARPANET) was the first network designed by the
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) and
US Department of Defence (DoD) in 1969.
Its role was to connect computers at different
Universities with the Defence Department of
USA.
 NSFNET (National Science Foundation Network)
was created in 1980s as a high speed network
which was more powerful than the ARPANET, to
promote advanced Research and Education networking
in the US.
INTERNET In 1990s, the interlinking of ARPANET,
NSFNET and some other private Networks
resulted in the emergence of INTERNET, a much
more capable and wide network.
 TYPES OF NETWORK :
On the basis of geographical spread, a network
can be divided into following types :
1. Local Area Network ( LAN)
2. Metropolitan Area Network ( MAN )
3. Wide Area Network ( WAN )
4. Personal Area Network ( PAN )
1. Local Area Network ( LAN) : is a network
spread over a small area such as a room or a
building or between multiple units ( upto 10
km.)
2. Metropolitan Area Network ( MAN) : is a
network spread over a city ( upto 100 kms.)
3. Wide Area Network ( WAN) : is a network
spread over a large area ( between cities and
countries )
4. Personal Area Network ( PAN) : is a network
used for communication within the range of
an individual person( upto 10m )
Example: Connection through Bluetooth,
InfraRed, USB cable
 NETWORK TOPOLOGIES
The pattern of inter-connection of Nodes in a
Network is called Network Topology.
The different Topologies are :-
1. Star Topology
2. Bus Topology
3. Ring Topology
4. Tree Topology
1. Star Topology : In this various Nodes are
directly connected to the Server or the
Central Computer called the hub of the star
through cables.

Is the most
Preferred topology
In LANs today.
Merits :
1. Easy to detect and isolate a faulty Node.
2. Failure of a Node does not affect the entire Network
3. Easy to extend/ add new Nodes
4. High speed of data transfer
Demerits :
1. Requires large amount of Cables
2. High Expansion Cost
3. Completely dependent on the Central Computer/
Hub
2. Bus / Linear Topology : In this various
devices in a Network are connected through a
single continuous cable called a Bus.
Merits :
1. Less Cable requirement
2. Cost of Expansion is low
3. Easy to extend/ add new Nodes
4. Failure of one Node doesn’t affect others.
Demerits :
1. Slower because one computer transmits at a time.
2. Low Reliability as a short circuit or break in the bus
(backbone cable ) may halt the entire network.
3. Low security because all the computers receive the
signal sent from the source.
3. Ring Topology : In this each Node is
connected to two neighbouring Nodes. Data is
transmitted from one Node to another along the
ring which is a large circular cable.
 Merits :
1. Less Cable requirement
2. No chances of data collision as only one Node can
transmit data at a time.
3. High Speed and Better performance.
4. Low cost
Demerits :
1. Difficult to detect a faulty Node.
2. Failure of one Node causes failure of entire Network
3. Difficult to add or remove Nodes.
4. Tree Topology : It is a variation of Bus
topology where the original Bus is split into a
number of branches. It integrates characteristics
of Star and Bus
Topologies.
 Merits :
1. Easy to add new Nodes
2. Suitable for applications requiring hierarchical flow
of data.
3. Easy maintenance and fault identification.
Demerits :
1. Completely dependent on the Central root Computer
2. Failure of an intermediate Node causes failure of all
Nodes after it.
3. Difficult to configure.
 DATA COMMUNICATION
Communication is defined as a process in which more than one computer
transfers information, instructions to each other and for sharing resources.
Or in other words, communication is a process or act in which we can send or
receive data.
Components of Data Communication :
A communication system is made up of the following components:
1.Message: A message is a piece of information that is to be
transmitted from one person to another. It could be a text file, an
audio file, a video file, etc.
2. Sender: It is simply a device that sends data messages. It can be a
computer, mobile, telephone, laptop, video camera, or workstation,
etc.
3. Receiver: It is a device that receives messages. It can be a computer,
telephone mobile, workstation, etc.
4. Transmission Medium / Communication Channels: Communication
channels are the medium that connect two or more workstations. Workstations
can be connected by either wired media or wireless media.
5. Set of rules (Protocol): When someone sends the data (The sender), it
should be understandable to the receiver also otherwise it is meaningless. For
example, Sonali sends a message to Chetan in Hindi and Chetan cannot
understand Hindi, it is a meaningless conversation.
Therefore, there are some set of rules (protocols) that is followed by every
computer connected to the internet
DATA COMMUNICATION TERMINOLOGIES
Communication Channel :
Refers to the path or medium used for transmitting
data in a Network. Ex. Optical Fibre, Bluetooth,
Satellite etc.
Data Transfer Rate :
Refers to the amount of data transmitted by a
Communication Channel per second.
It is measured in bps or baud.
bps ( bits per second ) :
is a unit used to measure Data Transfer Rate.
The different units are :
bps – bits per second
Bps – Bytes per second (Note capital B)
kbps – kilo bits per second
Kbps – Kilo bytes per second (Note capital K)
mbps – mega bits per second
Mbps – Mega bytes per second (Note capital M)
gbps – giga bits per second
 Gbps – Giga bytes per second (Note capital G)
tbps – Terra bits per second
Tbps - Terra bytes per second (Note capital T)
Baud : is a unit used to measure Data Transfer rate.
1 baud = 1 bps
Bandwidth: is the range of frequencies for a
communication channel. It refers to the amount of data
that can be transmitted by a communication channel
per unit of time(more the bandwidth of a communication
system more will be the data transfer rate )
On this basis, communication channels are
classified as :
(i) NarrowBand – Low speed , varies between 45 to
300 Baud.
(ii) Voice-band- Speed ranges up to 9600 Baud,
generally used in the ordinary
telephone voice communication.
(iii) Broadband – Speed ranges up to 1 million Baud
or more. Used for large volume of data transfer at
high rate like Broadcast television, microwave and
satellite.
 COMMUNICATION CHANNELS /
TRANSMISSION MEDIA
These are broadly divided into two types :−
• Guided Media • UnGuided Media
Guided Media − These provide a physical channel
from one point to another in a Network ( as cables ),
and include the following :
(i) Twisted Pair Cables
(ii) Coaxial cables
(iii) Optical fibers
 Twisted Pair Cables : These consist of two
insulated copper wires twisted around each other,
used for short and medium range communication.
Applications of Twisted
Pair Cables -
1. In telephone lines
2. In DSL lines
3. In LANs
Merits :
1. Easy to install and maintain
2. Flexible and have low weight
3. Least expensive for short distances
Demerits :
1. Low Bandwidth
2. Not durable ( break easily )
3. Data transmission performance is not good
 Coaxial Cables : These consist of a single solid
copper wire surrounded by a protective covering.
Mostly used for long distance telephone and
television transmission.
Applications of Coaxial
Cables -
1. In Cable TV connections
2. In Telephone lines
3. In LANs
Merits :
1. Easy to install and maintain
2. Provide cheap means for carrying multi-channel TV
signals
3. Signals can travel longer distances at higher speeds (
Higher Bandwidth )
Demerits :
1. Not flexible
2. More expensive than Twisted Pair cables
3. Are prone to signal leakage and noise interference
Optical Fiber: These consist of thin glass or
plastic threads used to transmit data using light
waves.
Applications -
1. High Speed Internet
2. Telephone and LANs
3. Medicine & Research
4. Automative Industry
5. Military & Space
Applications
Merits :
1. Very High Bandwidth
2. Very Durable and Secure
3. Immune to electromagnetic interference
4. Light weight and less signal degradation

Demerits :
1. Expensive
2. Difficult to install
3. More fragile and require special skills
 UnGuided Media − These provide wireless
communication where data is transmitted in the
form of electromagnetic signals without any
physical conductor.

These include the following :

(i) RadioWaves (ii) Microwaves
(iii) Satellite (iv) InfraRed
(v) Bluetooth
Radio Wave Transmission: Here Data is transmitted
using radio frequencies. These can be used for direct
voice communication between transmitters and
receivers within the allocated range. ( 10 miles )

These are ElectroMagnetic waves ranging in

frequencies 3 KHz and 1 Ghz and are omnidirectional,
useful for multicasting in which there is 1 sender
but many receivers.
Examples :
AM & FM radio, Television, Maritime Radio,
Cordless phones and paging

Note :
Radiowaves are preferred when we need reasonably
high speed connectivity in areas where wired
connectivity is not feasible
Merits :
1. Offers ease of communication over difficult terrain.
2. Provide cheaper means of transmission
3. Used for long distance communication
4. No land needs to be acquired for laying cables.
Demerits :
1. Lack of Security
2. May suffer interference from weather disturbances
like Rain, thunderstorms etc
3. Limited spectrum of frequency
Micro Wave Transmission:
➢ Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between
1 and 300 GHz are called Microwaves.
➢ They are unidirectional, thus sending and receiving
antennas must be aligned.
➢ It is line-of-sight transmission ( towers with mounted
antennas need to be in direct sight of each other)
Microwaves are useful when unicast ( one-to-one )
communication is needed between sender and receiver.
They are used in Cellular phones, Radar signals and
wireless LANs
Merits :
1. Used for long distance communication
2. High bandwidth
3. Have ability to communicate over oceans
4. No land needs to be acquired for laying cables.
Demerits :
1. High installation and maintenance cost
2. Signals may be distorted due to barriers or obstacles like
buildings, hills, trees etc in the path. ( need clear line of
sight )
3. Signal absorption by the atmosphere, hence suffer from
attenuation due to atmospheric conditions.
Satellite Transmission:
➢ This is a Microwave relay station placed in outer
space.
Satellites are used for very long distance
communication with very high speed connectivity.

Communications satellites are used for

television, telephone, radio, internet, and
military applications.
Merits :
1. Covers large areas
2. Very high speed data transmission
3. Laying and maintenance of inter-continental cables is difficult
and expensive, this is where satellite proves to be the best
alternative.
Demerits :
1. Maintaining and installing satellites is very expensive.
2. Prone to weather changes like rain, thunderstorms, etc.
3. Satellites are not easy to repair and maintain.
4. Technological limitations preventing setting of large
antennas for Satellites
Infrared Waves:
➢ Low frequency infrared waves are used for very
short distance communication like TV remote,
wireless speakers, automatic doors, hand held
devices etc.
➢ Infrared signals can propagate within a room but
cannot penetrate walls.
➢ Due to such short range, it is considered to be one
of the most secure transmission modes.
Merits :
1. Suitable for short distance communication
2. No problem of security
3. No cabling required

Demerits :
1. Can’t be used for long distance communication
2. Lower rate of data transmission compared to wired
transmission.
3. The transceiver ( transmitter and receiver )must be in line
of sight
 NETWORK DEVICES
MODEM :
A modem (modulator–demodulator) is used to
communicate with other devices in a network
through telephone lines.
It converts digital signals to analog for transmission
over telephone lines ( called modulation ) and analog
signals back to digital for reception by Computer
( called demodulation )
RJ45 CONNECTOR
( stands for Registered Jack 45 ) is a physical connector for network cables.
Ethernet cables have an RJ45 connector on each end. The connector has
eight pins.
RJ45 is mainly used for ethernet networking
to connect different types of devices like a
switch, hub, PC, router, firewall to each other.
ETHERNET CARD
Also called a "network interface card" (NIC), an Ethernet adapter is a
card that plugs into a slot on the motherboard and enables a computer to
access an Ethernet network (LAN).
All new computers have Ethernet built in.
 ROUTER
A router is a networking device that forwards data packets between
computer networks. It can handle different protocols.
For ex. A router can link Ethernet ( LAN ) with any other type of network.
Repeater : Is a network device used to
amplify or regenerate an incoming signal
before retransmitting it over a network.
They are used to amplify the transmitted
signals as they become weak over long
network lines ( generally 70 m ). They are
also known as signal boosters.
Hub :
A hub is a networking device which is used to
connect multiple devices in a network. They
are generally used to connect computers in a
LAN.
A hub has many ports in it. A computer which
intends to be connected to the network is
plugged in to one of these ports
 SWITCH
A switch is a device in a computer network that connects other devices
together.
Multiple data cables are plugged into a switch to enable communication
between different networked devices.
• It is a high-speed device that receives incoming data packets and
redirects them to their destination on a LAN
• It is also called switching HUB
Difference between Hub and Switch:

S.NO HUB SWITCH

Hub is a broadcast type
1. transmission. It shares
While switch provides
the available bandwidth
dedicated bandwidth.
among all connected
devices.

While switch can have

2. Hubs have 4/12 ports.
24 to 48 ports.

3. Hub is not an intelligent

While switch is an
device that sends
intelligent device that
message to all ports.
sends message to
selected destination.
It checks the destination
address before
transmitting a signal and
then sends it to desired
destination only.
It is comparatively
4. inexpensive. It is expensive.
 Hub cannot be used as a While switch can be
5.
repeater. used as a repeater.
In hub, Packet filtering is While in switch, Packet
6.
not provided. filtering is provided.
Hub is simply old type of While switch is more
7. device and is not efficient device and
generally used. widely used.

GATEWAY
A gateway is a network device that
connects dissimilar networks.
It establishes an intelligent connection
between a local network and external
networks with completely different
sturctures.
It acts as a "gate" between two
networks. It may be a router, firewall,
proxy server, or other device that
enables traffic to flow in and out of the
network.
 WiFi CARD
Wireless Internet cards ( the Wi-Fi card ) is used to
connect computers to a wireless Network.
It acts as both a receiver and transmitter. It receives the
wireless signal and communicates with the wireless
network, enabling us to access the Web with our
computer.
 NETWORK PROTOCOLS
These are rules designed to be followed by a Network in
communication.
It defines the standard size of data packets, detecting and correcting
errors etc.
Commonly used Protocols :
TCP/ IP :
( Transmission Control Protocol/ Internet Protocol ) : Is the most
commonly used protocol by the Internet.
TCP :- fragments and reassembles messages,using a sequencing
function to ensure that packets are reassembled in the correct
order.
IP:- It is responsible for providing addresses of each
computer and performing routing.

FTP (FILE TRANSFER PROTOCOL)

FTP is a standard for the exchange of files across internet

PPP ( POINT TO POINT PROTOCOL)

Is a communications protocol used to transmit multiprotocol data
between two directly connected (point-to-point) computers. It is a
byte - oriented protocol widely used in broadband
communications having heavy loads and high speeds
HTTP ( hyper text transfer protocol )
Used by WWW, It defines how messages are formatted and transmitted,
and what actions Web servers and browsers should take in response to
various commands.
HTTP gives users a way to interact with web resources such as HTML files
by transmitting hypertext messages.
It is used to send / receive documents over the Internet.
SMTP (Simple mail transfer protocol )
Is used for sending emails across the internet between servers.
POP3 ( post office protocol version3 )
It defines rules for receiving / retrieval of emails from a remote
server to a local email client.
REMOTE LOGIN (TELNET)
Telnet is a simple, text-based network protocol used for
accessing remote computers over TCP/IP networks like the
Internet. It is an older Internet Utility used before the development
of WWW.
It was created/ launched in 1969 and was the first Internet. It is an
application that allows a user to work on a remote computer as if
connected locally to it.
VoIP ( Voice Over Internet Protocol )
It allows routing of Voice communications over the Internet.
Works through the compression of voice into data packets that can
be efficiently transmitted over networks and then converted back
into voice at the other end.
HTTPS (HyperText Transfer protocol secure)
is a web communication protocol designed to secure
communications over computer networks by encrypting it .
HTTPS is used to ensure the protection, integrity, and privacy of the
data exchanged between a server and client (usually a browser). It
also authenticates websites and confirms its trustworthiness.

INTERNET
It is a WAN formed by joining computer networks all over the world
through telephone lines.
Internet services are provided by ISPs ( Internet Service Providers ).
Some ISPs in India are BSNL, Vodafone, Airtel, etc
IP address :
An IP address ( Internet Protocol address ) is a unique address
that identifies a device in a network.
It is a numerical label such as 192.0.2.1 that is assigned to each
device connected to a computer network which uses the Internet
Protocol for communication.
IP address versions: IPv4 and IPv6
a) Internet Protocol version 4 (IPv4) defines an IP address as a 32-
bit number written in four parts separated by dots , for
example: 45.48.241.198
Each part written in Base 10 numerals represents an
eight-bit binary number from 0 to 255.
b) Internet Protocol version 6 (IPv6) : With the growth of the Internet, a
new version of IP (IPv6 ), using 128 bits for the IP address, was
standardized in 1998. It is written in eight parts separated by colon , for
example: 2620:cc:8000:1c82:544c:cc2e:f2fa:5a9b
Each part written in hexadecimal (Base 16) notation represents a 16-bit
binary number from 0 to 65,536.

The major difference between them is that it’s possible to create

vastly more unique IPv6 addresses (2128) than IPv4 addresses (232).

INTERNET SERVICES
WWW :-(World Wide Web) It is a set of protocols that allows you to
access any document on the net through its URL . It also specifies the
way – HTTP – to request and send a document over the Internet.
Domain name : is a unique name assigned to a website.
Domain name is an address where Internet users can access
a website.
They are used in URLs to identify particular Web pages.
For example, in the URL http://www.pcwebopedia.com/index.html,
the domain name is pcwebopedia.com
Domain names are used to identify one or more IP addresses.
For example, the domain name microsoft.com represents about a
dozen IP addresses.
Domain Name Resolution refers to the process of obtaining
corresponding IP address from a domain name.
DNS ( Domain Name System/ Service/ Server ) is an Internet
service that translates domain names into IP addresses.
For example, the domain name www.example.com might translate to
198.105. 232.4.
The DNS servers maintain directory of IP addresses of all domain
names registered on Internet and work out to obtain corresponding
IP address of given Domain name and returns it to operating system.
UNIFORM RESOURCE LOCATER (URL) :- The complete address of a
website or a document on the web is called URL. It is a technique
used to address documents on the Web.
Format of a URL :
protocol://web server name/directory name/filename
For example :- http://www.microsoft.com/IE/index.ht
Example :

Here, "computerhope.com" is the domain name for the website

The last portion of the domain is known as the domain suffix, or TLD
( Top Level Domain ). It is used to identify the type or location of
the website.
For example, ".com" is short for commercial, ".org" is short for an
organization, and ".co.uk" is the United Kingdom
"jargon" and "u" are the directories where the web page is located
on the server.
url.htm is the actual web page on the domain you're viewing.
WEB PAGE :- A web page is an HTML document that is
stored on a web server and that has a URL so that it can be
accessed via WWW.
WEB SITE :- A web site is a collection of web pages
belonging to a particular person or organization.

WEB BROWSER :- It is a software used to view web-pages.

Is a client application that requests, receives and displays
HTML pages from the web Server.
Some popular browsers are –
INTERNET EXPLORER, Firefox, Google Chrome etc
Web SERVER : A web server is a computer that runs
websites. Its primary function is to store, process and
deliver web pages to the clients.
A web server is server software, or hardware dedicated to
running this software, that can satisfy client requests on the
WWW.
WEB HOSTING- It is a means of hosting web server
application on a computer system through which electronic
content on the internet is readily available to any web
browser client.
HTML(Hyper Text Markup Language):-It is a language to
write web pages.
• HTML describes the structure of a Web page
• HTML elements tell the browser how to display the content
• HTML elements are represented by tags
• Browsers do not display the HTML tags, but use them to
render the content of the page.
XML ( eXtensible Markup Language ) :- XML is a markup
language for creating documents containing structured
information
XML was designed to store and transport data.
 Difference between HTML & XML:
HTML XML
1. Both tag semantics and tag set 1. The Tag set is not predefined
are fixed or predefined. and it allows user defined
2. It is not case sensitive. tags.
3. Is used to design static web 2. It is case sensitive
pages 3. Is used to store data.

NETWORK SWITCHING TECHNIQUES :

refers to the ways of sending data across a network.
Types of Switching Techniques :
1. Circuit Switching 2. Message Switching 3. Packet Switching
1. Circuit Switching : In this first a complete
connection or link is established between the
source and destination computer in a network
( which is maintained throughout the conversation )
and then data is transmitted one byte at a time.
Example of a circuit-switched network is the early analog
telephone network. When a call is made from one telephone to
another, switches within the telephone exchanges create a
continuous wire circuit between the two telephones, for as long
as the call lasts.
2. Message Switching : In this, the complete message to be
transmitted is first stored in the memory of source
computer (until the next device is ready to receive it ) and
then transmitted to the destination all at once.
It is a mode of data transmission in which a message is sent as a
complete unit and routed via a number of intermediate nodes at
which it is stored and then forwarded.
It works on store and forward principle and does not require
a dedicated path to be established between source and
destination.
Example : For E-mails
NOTE : The drawback of this technique is that for long messages,
there might not be enough memory space to store it. In such case,
the message is not stored and has to be sent again.
This is overcome by PACKET SWITCHING.
3. Packet Switching :
It is a mode of data transmission in which a message is broken into
a number of parts ( called packets ) which are sent independently,
over whatever route is optimum for each packet, and reassembled at
the destination.
Packet switching is used in the Internet and most local area networks.
Newer mobile phone technologies (e.g., GPRS, i-mode) also use
packet switching.