Computer Networks

08.09.2024
Networking Topologies
Network Architecture
Physical topology
 It refers to the way in which a network is laid out physically.
 Two or more devices connect to a link
 Two or more links form a topology
Topology:
It is the geometric representation of the relationship of all the links and linking
devices(called nodes) to one another
A fully connected mesh topology (five devices)

 Each node is connected to every other node.

 Node 1 must be connected to n - 1 nodes, node 2 must be connected to n – 1
nodes, and finally node n must be connected to n - 1 nodes. We need n(n - 1)
physical links.
Contd…
Advantages of Mesh topology
 Eliminating the traffic problems
 Robust (If one link becomes unusable, it does not incapacitate the entire
system)
 privacy or security
Disadvantages of MeshTopology
 amount of cabling & number of I/O ports
 installation and reconnection are difficult
 Use of wires(in walls, ceilings, or floors)
 Hardware((I/O ports and cable) can be prohibitively expensive)
Contd…

Practical example of a mesh topology

The connection of telephone regional offices in which each regional office needs
to be connected to every other regional office.
A star topology connecting four stations

Each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a central controller,

usually called a hub
Contd…
Advantages
 Less expensive than a mesh topology
 Easy to install and reconfigure
 Less cabling needs to be housed
 Robustness(If one link fails, only that link is affected. All other links
remain active)
Disadvantage
 Dependency of the whole topology on one single point, the hub. If the
hub goes down, the whole system is dead
 Star topology is used in local-area networks (LANs)
A bus topology connecting three stations

A bus topology is multipoint communication. One long cable acts as a

backbone to link all the devices in a network
Contd…

 Nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop lines and taps.
 A drop line is a connection running between the device and the main cable.
 A tap is a connector that either splices into the main cable or punctures the
sheathing of a cable to create a contact with the metallic core.
 As a signal travels along the backbone, some of its energy is transformed into
heat.
 Therefore, it becomes weaker and weaker as it travels farther and farther.
 For this reason there is a limit on the number of taps a bus can support and
on the distance between those taps
Contd…

Advantages:
 Bus topology include ease of installation.
 Backbone cable can be laid along the most efficient path, then connected to
the nodes by drop lines of various lengths.
 A bus uses less cabling than mesh or star topologies.
 In a star, for example, four network devices in the same room require four
lengths of cable reaching all the way to the hub. In a bus, this redundancy is
eliminated.
 Only the backbone cable stretches through the entire facility. Each drop line
has to reach only as far as the nearest point on the backbone.
Contd…

Disadvantages
 Difficult reconnection and fault isolation.
 A bus is usually designed to be optimally efficient at installation. It can
therefore be difficult to add new devices.
 Signal reflection at the taps can cause degradation in quality.
 This degradation can be controlled by limiting the number and spacing of
devices connected to a given length of cable.
 Adding new devices may therefore require modification or replacement of
the backbone.
Ring Topology

 In a ring topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point connection

with only the two devices on either side of it.
 A signal is passed along the ring in one direction, from device to device, until
it reaches its destination.
 Each device in the ring incorporates a repeater.
 When a device receives a signal intended for another device, its repeater
regenerates the bits and passes them along.
A ring topology connecting six stations
Contd…

 A ring is relatively easy to install and reconfigure.

 Each device is linked to only its immediate neighbors (either physically or
logically).
 To add or delete a device requires changing only two connections.
 The only constraints are media and traffic considerations (maximum ring
length and number of devices).
 In addition, fault isolation is simplified. Generally, in a ring a signal is
circulating at all times.
 If one device does not receive a signal within a specified period, it can issue
an alarm.
Class Poll

 Difficult reconnection and fault isolation are the disadvantages of

A. StarTopology
B. MeshTopology
C. BusTopology
D. RingTopology
Categories of Networks

 Local Area Networks (LANs)

o Short distances
o Designed to provide local interconnectivity
 Wide Area Networks (WANs)
o Long distances
o Provide connectivity over large areas
 Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)
o Provide connectivity over areas such as a city, a campus
An isolated LAN connecting 12 computers to a hub in a closet
Contd…

 A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and links the devices
in a single office, building, or campus
 Depending on the needs of an organization and the type of technology used,
a LAN can be as simple as two PCs and a printer in someone's home office;
 Currently, LAN size is limited to a few kilometers.
 LAN will use only one type of transmission medium.
 The most common LAN topologies are bus, ring, and star.
 Early LANs had data rates in the 4 to 16 megabits per second (Mbps) range.
 Speeds are normally 100 or 1000 Mbps.
 Wireless LANs are the newest evolution in LAN technology
Wide Area Network (WAN)

 A wide area network (WAN) provides long-distance transmission of data,

image, audio, and video information over large geographic areas that may
comprise a country, a continent, or even the whole world.
 A WAN can be as complex as the backbones that connect the Internet or as
simple as a dial-up line that connects a home computer to the Internet.

Two types ofWAN

 switchedWAN
 point-to-pointWAN
WANs: a switched WAN and a point-to-point WAN
Contd…

 The Switched WAN connects the end systems, which usually comprise a
router (internetworking connecting device) that connects to another LAN or
WAN.
 The Point-to-Point WAN is normally a line leased from a telephone or cable
TV provider that connects a home computer or a small LAN to an Internet
service provider (lSP).
 This type ofWAN is often used to provide Internet access.
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

 A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network with a size between a LAN

and aWAN.
 It normally covers the area inside a town or a city.
 It is designed for customers who need a high-speed connectivity, normally to
the Internet, and have endpoints spread over a city or part of city.
 A good example of a MAN is the part of the telephone company network
that can provide a high-speed DSL line to the customer.
 Another example is the cable TV network that originally was designed for
cable TV, but today can also be used for high-speed data connection to the
Internet
Internetwork: Interconnection of Networks
A heterogeneous network made of four WANs
and two LANs
Protocol

 A protocol is synonymous with rule. It consists of a set of rules

that govern data communications.
 It determines what is communicated, how it is communicated and
when it is communicated.
 The key elements of a protocol are syntax, semantics and timing
Elements of a Protocol
 Syntax
o Structure or format of the data
o Indicates how to read the bits
 Semantics
o Interprets the meaning of the bits
o Knows which fields define what action
 Timing
o When data should be sent and what
o Speed at which data should be sent or speed at which it is being
received.
Network Architecture
 A computer network must provide general, cost effective and
robust connectivity among a large number of computers.
 To deal with this complexity network designers developed the
concept of network architecture which introduces a layered
protocols or functions that guides the design and implementation
of networks
Most widely network architectures are
 OSIArchitecture
 InternetArchitecture
Network Model – OSI Model

 An ISO standard that covers all aspects of network

communications is the Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)
model. It was first introduced in the late 1970s

Note
ISO is the organization.
OSI is the model.
Contd…
Contd…

Seven layers can be split into three subgroups

Layer 1,2,3 : Network support layers
o It deals with physical aspects of moving data from one device to
another (electrical specifications, physical connection, physical addressing,
timing and reliability)
Layer 5,6&7: (implemented in software) - User support layers
oIt allows interoperability among unrelated software systems
Layer 4
o It links the two subgroups (lower layers and upper layer)
o It ensures end-to-end reliable data transmission
Interaction between layers in the OSI model
Physical Layer

The physical layer is responsible for movements of

individual bits from one hop (node) to the next.
Data Link Layer

The data link layer is responsible for moving

frames from one hop (node) to the next.
Hop-to-hop delivery
Network Layer

The network layer is responsible for the

delivery of individual packets from
the source host to the destination host.
Source-to-destination delivery
Transport layer

The transport layer is responsible for the delivery

of a message from one process to another.
Session layer

The session layer is responsible for dialog

control and synchronization.
Presentation layer

The presentation layer is responsible for translation,

compression, and encryption.
Application layer

The application layer is responsible for

providing services to the user.
Summary
Review questions

Q.1.For n devices in a network, what is the number of cable links

required for a mesh, ring, bus, and star topology?
Q.2. Discuss the consequences if a connection fails when 5 devices are
connected in mesh topology and ring topology.

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1.Which network topology requires a central controller or hub?
a) Star
b) Mesh
c) Ring
d) Bus
2. _________topology requires a multipoint connection.
a) Star
b) Mesh
c) Ring
d) Bus
3. Data communication system within a building or campus is________.
4. Unidirectional traffic is a problem of_____.
5. High-speed LANs often use a______topology.
6.Number of links for mesh network with n=7 is ____.
7. Cable television and WiMAX is which type of Network___.
8.Hub is a ____device.

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