Unit1: Introduction to Computer Network

1.1 Basics of Computer Network

What is a Computer Network?

o Computer Network is a group of computers connected with each other through wires,
optical fibres or optical links so that various devices can interact with each other through
a network.
o The aim of the computer network is the sharing of resources among various devices.
o In the case of computer network technology, there are several types of networks that vary
from simple to complex level.

1.1.5 Components Of Computer Network:

Components Of Computer Network:

Major components of a computer network are:

NIC(National interface card)

NIC is a device that helps the computer to communicate with another device. The network
interface card contains the hardware addresses, the data-link layer protocol use this address to
identify the system on the network so that it transfers the data to the correct destination.

There are two types of NIC: wireless NIC and wired NIC.

o Wireless NIC: All the modern laptops use the wireless NIC. In Wireless NIC, a
connection is made using the antenna that employs the radio wave technology.
o Wired NIC: Cables use the wired NIC to transfer the data over the medium.

Hub

Hub is a central device that splits the network connection into multiple devices. When computer
requests for information from a computer, it sends the request to the Hub. Hub distributes this
request to all the interconnected computers.

Switches

Switch is a networking device that groups all the devices over the network to transfer the data to
another device. A switch is better than Hub as it does not broadcast the message over the
network, i.e., it sends the message to the device for which it belongs to. Therefore, we can say
that switch sends the message directly from source to the destination.

Cables and connectors

Cable is a transmission media that transmits the communication signals. There are three types
of cables:

o Twisted pair cable: It is a high-speed cable that transmits the data over 1Gbps or more.
 o 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 transmission speed.
o Fibre optic cable: Fibre optic cable is a high-speed cable that transmits the data using
light beams. It provides high data transmission speed as compared to other cables. It is
more expensive as compared to other cables, so it is installed at the government level.

Router

Router is a device that connects the LAN to the internet. The router is mainly used to connect the
distinct networks or connect the internet to multiple computers.

Modem

Modem connects the computer to the internet over the existing telephone line. A modem is not
integrated with the computer motherboard. A modem is a separate part on the PC slot found on
the motherboard.

Uses Of Computer Network

o Resource sharing: Resource sharing is the sharing of resources such as programs,

printers, and data among the users on the network without the requirement of the physical
location of the resource and user.
o Server-Client model: Computer networking is used in the server-client model. A server
is a central computer used to store the information and maintained by the system
administrator. Clients are the machines used to access the information stored in the server
remotely.
o Communication medium: Computer network behaves as a communication medium
among the users. For example, a company contains more than one computer has an email
system which the employees use for daily communication.
 o E-commerce: Computer network is also important in businesses. We can do the business
over the internet. For example, amazon.com is doing their business over the internet, i.e.,
they are doing their business over the internet.

Features Of Computer network

A list Of Computer network features is given below.

o Communication speed
o File sharing
o Back up and Roll back is easy
o Software and Hardware sharing
o Security
 o Scalability
o Reliability

Communication speed

Network provides us to communicate over the network in a fast and efficient manner. For
example, we can do video conferencing, email messaging, etc. over the internet. Therefore, the
computer network is a great way to share our knowledge and ideas.

File sharing

File sharing is one of the major advantage of the computer network. Computer network provides
us to share the files with each other.

Back up and Roll back is easy

Since the files are stored in the main server which is centrally located. Therefore, it is easy to
take the back up from the main server.

Software and Hardware sharing

We can install the applications on the main server, therefore, the user can access the applications
centrally. So, we do not need to install the software on every machine. Similarly, hardware can
also be shared.

Security

Network allows the security by ensuring that the user has the right to access the certain files and
applications.
Scalability

Scalability means that we can add the new components on the network. Network must be
scalable so that we can extend the network by adding new devices. But, it decreases the speed of
the connection and data of the transmission speed also decreases, this increases the chances of
error occurring. This problem can be overcome by using the routing or switching devices.

Reliability

Computer network can use the alternative source for the data communication in case of any
hardware failure.

Computer Network Architecture

Computer Network Architecture is defined as the physical and logical design of the software,
hardware, protocols, and media of the transmission of data. Simply we can say that how
computers are organized and how tasks are allocated to the computer.

The two types of network architectures are used:

o Peer-To-Peer network
o Client/Server network

Peer-To-Peer network

o Peer-To-Peer network is a network in which all the computers are linked together with
equal privilege and responsibilities for processing the data.
o Peer-To-Peer network is useful for small environments, usually up to 10 computers.
 o Peer-To-Peer network has no dedicated server.
o 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 Peer-To-Peer Network:

o It is less costly as it does not contain any dedicated server.

o If one computer stops working but, other computers will not stop working.
o It is easy to set up and maintain as each computer manages itself.

Disadvantages Of Peer-To-Peer Network:

o In the case of Peer-To-Peer network, it does not contain the centralized system .
Therefore, it cannot back up the data as the data is different in different locations.
o It has a security issue as the device is managed itself.

Client/Server Network
 o Client/Server network is a network model designed for the end users called clients, to
access the resources such as songs, video, etc. from a central computer known as Server.
o The central controller is known as a server while all other computers in the network are
called clients.
o A server performs all the major operations such as security and network management.
o A server is responsible for managing all the resources such as files, directories, printer,
etc.
o 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 server for the
permission. The server sends the response to the client 1 to initiate its communication
with the client 2.

Advantages Of Client/Server network:

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

Disadvantages Of Client/Server network:

o Client/Server network is expensive as it requires the server with large memory.

o A server has a Network Operating System(NOS) to provide the resources to the clients,
but the cost of NOS is very high.
o It requires a dedicated network administrator to manage all the resources.

Computer Network Components

Computer network components are the major parts which are needed to install the software.
Some important network components are NIC, switch, cable, hub, router, and modem.
Depending on the type of network that we need to install, some network components can also be
removed. For example, the wireless network does not require a cable.

Following are the major components required to install a network:

NIC

o NIC stands for network interface card.

o NIC is a hardware component used to connect a computer with another computer onto a
network
o It can support a transfer rate of 10,100 to 1000 Mb/s.
o The MAC address or physical address is encoded on the network card chip which is
assigned by the IEEE to identify a network card uniquely. The MAC address is stored in
the PROM (Programmable read-only memory).

There are two types of NIC:

 1. Wired NIC
2. Wireless NIC

Wired NIC: The Wired NIC is present inside the motherboard. Cables and connectors are used
with wired NIC to transfer data.

Wireless NIC: The wireless NIC contains the antenna to obtain the connection over the wireless
network. For example, laptop computer contains the wireless NIC.

Hub

A Hub is a hardware device that divides the network connection among multiple devices. When
computer requests for some information from a network, it first sends the request to the Hub
through cable. Hub will broadcast this request to the entire network. All the devices will check
whether the request belongs to them or not. If not, the request will be dropped.

The process used by the Hub consumes more bandwidth and limits the amount of
communication. Nowadays, the use of hub is obsolete, and it is replaced by more advanced
computer network components such as Switches, Routers.

Switch

A switch is a hardware device that connects multiple devices on a computer network. A Switch
contains more advanced features than Hub. The Switch contains the updated table that decides
where the data is transmitted or not. Switch delivers 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 determines the device to whom the message is to
be transmitted. Therefore, we can say that switch provides a direct connection between the
source and destination. It increases the speed of the network.
Router

o 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 to another
network.
o A router works in a Layer 3 (Network layer) of the OSI Reference model.
o A router forwards the packet based on the information available in the routing table.
o It determines the best path from the available paths for the transmission of the packet.

Advantages Of Router:

o Security: The information which is transmitted to the network will traverse the entire
cable, but the only specified device which has been addressed can read the data.
o Reliability: If the server has stopped functioning, the network goes down, but no other
networks are affected that are served by the router.
o Performance: Router enhances the overall performance of the network. Suppose there
are 24 workstations in a network generates a same amount of traffic. This increases the
traffic load on the network. Router splits the single network into two networks of 12
workstations each, reduces the traffic load by half.
o Network range

Modem

o A modem is a hardware device that allows the computer to connect to the internet over
the existing telephone line.
o A modem is not integrated with the motherboard rather than it is installed on the PCI slot
found on the motherboard.
o It stands for Modulator/Demodulator. It converts the digital data into an analog signal
over the telephone lines.
Based on the differences in speed and transmission rate, a modem can be classified in the
following categories:

o Standard PC modem or Dial-up modem

o Cellular Modem
o Cable modem

Cables and Connectors

Cable is a transmission media used for transmitting a signal.

There are three types of cables used in transmission:

o Twisted pair cable

o Coaxial cable
o Fibre-optic cable

Computer Network Types

A computer network is a group of computers linked to each other that enables the computer to
communicate with another computer and share their resources, data, and applications.

A computer network can be categorized by their size. A computer network is mainly of four
types:

o LAN(Local Area Network)

o PAN(Personal Area Network)
o MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
 o WAN(Wide Area Network)

LAN(Local Area Network)

o Local Area Network is a group of computers connected to each other in a small area such
as building, office.
o LAN is used for connecting two or more personal computers through a communication
medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.
o It is less costly as it is built with inexpensive hardware such as hubs, network adapters,
and ethernet cables.
o The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in Local Area Network.
o Local Area Network provides higher security.

PAN(Personal Area Network)

o Personal Area Network is a network arranged within an individual person, typically

within a range of 10 meters.
 o Personal Area Network is used for connecting the computer devices of personal use is
known as Personal Area Network.
o Thomas Zimmerman was the first research scientist to bring the idea of the Personal
Area Network.
o Personal Area Network covers an area of 30 feet.
o Personal computer devices that are used to develop the personal area network are the
laptop, mobile phones, media player and play stations.

There are two types of Personal Area Network:

 o Wired Personal Area Network
o Wireless Personal Area Network

Wireless Personal Area Network: Wireless Personal Area Network is developed by simply
using wireless technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth. It is a low range network.

Wired Personal Area Network: Wired Personal Area Network is created by using the USB.

Examples Of Personal Area Network:

o 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.
o 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.
o Small Home Office: It is used to connect a variety of devices to the internet and to a
corporate network using a VPN

MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)

o A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger geographic area by

interconnecting a different LAN to form a larger network.
o Government agencies use MAN to connect to the citizens and private industries.
o In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other through a telephone exchange line.
o The most widely used protocols in MAN are RS-232, Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN, OC-3,
ADSL, etc.
o It has a higher range than Local Area Network(LAN).
Uses Of Metropolitan Area Network:

o MAN is used in communication between the banks in a city.

o It can be used in an Airline Reservation.
o It can be used in a college within a city.
o It can also be used for communication in the military.

WAN(Wide Area Network)

o A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large geographical area such as
states or countries.
o A Wide Area Network is quite bigger network than the LAN.
o A Wide Area Network is not limited to a single location, but it spans over a large
geographical area through a telephone line, fibre optic cable or satellite links.
o The internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.
 o A Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of Business, government, and
education.

Examples Of Wide Area Network:

o Mobile Broadband: A 4G network is widely used across a region or country.

o Last mile: A telecom company is used to provide the internet services to the customers
in hundreds of cities by connecting their home with fiber.
o Private network: A bank provides a private network that connects the 44 offices. This
network is made by using the telephone leased line provided by the telecom company.

Advantages Of Wide Area Network:

Following are the advantages of the Wide Area Network:

o Geographical area: A Wide Area Network provides a large geographical area. Suppose
if the branch of our office is in a different city then we can connect with them through
 WAN. The internet provides a leased line through which we can connect with another
branch.
o Centralized data: In case of WAN network, data is centralized. Therefore, we do not
need to buy the emails, files or back up servers.
o Get updated files: Software companies work on the live server. Therefore, the
programmers get the updated files within seconds.
o Exchange messages: In a WAN network, messages are transmitted fast. The web
application like Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype allows you to communicate with friends.
o Sharing of software and resources: In WAN network, we can share the software and
other resources like a hard drive, RAM.
o Global business: We can do the business over the internet globally.
o High bandwidth: If we use the leased lines for our company then this gives the high
bandwidth. The high bandwidth increases the data transfer rate which in turn increases
the productivity of our company.

Disadvantages of Wide Area Network:

The following are the disadvantages of the Wide Area Network:

o Security issue: A WAN network has more security issues as compared to LAN and
MAN network as all the technologies are combined together that creates the security
problem.
o Needs Firewall & antivirus software: The data is transferred on the internet which can
be changed or hacked by the hackers, so the firewall needs to be used. Some people can
inject the virus in our system so antivirus is needed to protect from such a virus.
o High Setup cost: An installation cost of the WAN network is high as it involves the
purchasing of routers, switches.
o Troubleshooting problems: It covers a large area so fixing the problem is difficult.

Internetwork
 o An internetwork is defined as two or more computer network LANs or WAN or
computer network segments are connected using devices, and they are configured by a
local addressing scheme. This process is known as internetworking.
o An interconnection between public, private, commercial, industrial, or government
computer networks can also be defined as internetworking.
o An internetworking uses the internet protocol.
o The reference model used for internetworking is Open System Interconnection(OSI).

Types Of Internetwork:

1. Extranet: An extranet is a communication network based on the internet protocol such

as Transmission Control protocol and internet protocol. It is used for information sharing.
The access to the extranet is restricted to only those users who have login credentials. An
extranet is the lowest level of internetworking. It can be categorized as MAN, WAN or other
computer networks. An extranet cannot have a single LAN, atleast it must have one connection
to the external network.

2. Intranet: An intranet is a private network based on the internet protocol such

as Transmission Control protocol and internet protocol. An intranet belongs to an
organization which is only accessible by the organization's employee or members. The main
aim of the intranet is to share the information and resources among the organization employees.
An intranet provides the facility to work in groups and for teleconferences.

Intranet advantages:

o Communication: It provides a cheap and easy communication. An employee of the

organization can communicate with another employee through email, chat.
o Time-saving: Information on the intranet is shared in real time, so it is time-saving.
o Collaboration: Collaboration is one of the most important advantage of the intranet. The
information is distributed among the employees of the organization and can only be
accessed by the authorized user.
o Platform independency: It is a neutral architecture as the computer can be connected to
another device with different architecture.
o Cost effective: People can see the data and documents by using the browser and
distributes the duplicate copies over the intranet. This leads to a reduction in the cost.
What is Topology?

Topology defines the structure of the network of how all the components are interconnected to
each other. There are two types of topology: physical and logical topology.

Physical topology is the geometric representation of all the nodes in a network.

Bus Topology
 o The bus topology is designed in such a way that all the stations are connected through a
single cable known as a backbone cable.
o Each node is either connected to the backbone cable by drop cable or directly connected
to the backbone cable.
o When a node wants to send a message over the network, it puts a message over the
network. All the stations available in the network will receive the message whether it has
been addressed or not.
o The bus topology is mainly used in 802.3 (ethernet) and 802.4 standard networks.
o The configuration of a bus topology is quite simpler as compared to other topologies.
o The backbone cable is considered as a "single lane" through which the message is
broadcast to all the stations.
o The most common access method of the bus topologies is CSMA (Carrier Sense Multiple
Access).

CSMA: It is a media access control used to control the data flow so that data integrity is
maintained, i.e., the packets do not get lost. There are two alternative ways of handling the
problems that occur when two nodes send the messages simultaneously.

o CSMA CD: CSMA CD (Collision detection) is an access method used to detect the
collision. Once the collision is detected, the sender will stop transmitting the data.
Therefore, it works on "recovery after the collision".
 o CSMA CA: CSMA CA (Collision Avoidance) is an access method used to avoid the
collision by checking whether the transmission media is busy or not. If busy, then the
sender waits until the media becomes idle. This technique effectively reduces the
possibility of the collision. It does not work on "recovery after the collision".

Advantages of Bus topology:

o Low-cost cable: In bus topology, nodes are directly connected to the cable without
passing through a hub. Therefore, the initial cost of installation is low.
o Moderate data speeds: Coaxial or twisted pair cables are mainly used in bus-based
networks that support upto 10 Mbps.
o Familiar technology: Bus topology is a familiar technology as the installation and
troubleshooting techniques are well known, and hardware components are easily
available.
o Limited failure: A failure in one node will not have any effect on other nodes.

Disadvantages of Bus topology:

o Extensive cabling: A bus topology is quite simpler, but still it requires a lot of cabling.
o Difficult troubleshooting: It requires specialized test equipment to determine the cable
faults. If any fault occurs in the cable, then it would disrupt the communication for all the
nodes.
o Signal interference: If two nodes send the messages simultaneously, then the signals of
both the nodes collide with each other.
o Reconfiguration difficult: Adding new devices to the network would slow down the
network.
o Attenuation: Attenuation is a loss of signal leads to communication issues. Repeaters are
used to regenerate the signal.

Ring Topology
 o Ring topology is like a bus topology, but with connected ends.
o The node that receives the message from the previous computer will retransmit to the
next node.
o The data flows in one direction, i.e., it is unidirectional.
o The data flows in a single loop continuously known as an endless loop.
o It has no terminated ends, i.e., each node is connected to other node and having no
termination point.
o The data in a ring topology flow in a clockwise direction.
o The most common access method of the ring topology is token passing.
o Token passing: It is a network access method in which token is passed from one
node to another node.
o Token: It is a frame that circulates around the network.

Working of Token passing

o A token moves around the network, and it is passed from computer to computer until it
reaches the destination.
o The sender modifies the token by putting the address along with the data.
o The data is passed from one device to another device until the destination address
matches. Once the token received by the destination device, then it sends the
acknowledgment to the sender.
 o In a ring topology, a token is used as a carrier.

Advantages of Ring topology:

o Network Management: Faulty devices can be removed from the network without
bringing the network down.
o Product availability: Many hardware and software tools for network operation and
monitoring are available.
o Cost: Twisted pair cabling is inexpensive and easily available. Therefore, the installation
cost is very low.
o Reliable: It is a more reliable network because the communication system is not
dependent on the single host computer.

Disadvantages of Ring topology:

o Difficult troubleshooting: It requires specialized test equipment to determine the cable

faults. If any fault occurs in the cable, then it would disrupt the communication for all the
nodes.
o Failure: The breakdown in one station leads to the failure of the overall network.
o Reconfiguration difficult: Adding new devices to the network would slow down the
network.
o Delay: Communication delay is directly proportional to the number of nodes. Adding
new devices increases the communication delay.

Star Topology
 o Star topology is an arrangement of the network in which every node is connected to the
central hub, switch or a central computer.
o The central computer is known as a server, and the peripheral devices attached to the
server are known as clients.
o Coaxial cable or RJ-45 cables are used to connect the computers.
o Hubs or Switches are mainly used as connection devices in a physical star topology.
o Star topology is the most popular topology in network implementation.

Advantages of Star topology

o Efficient troubleshooting: Troubleshooting is quite efficient in a star topology as

compared to bus topology. In a bus topology, the manager has to inspect the kilometers
of cable. In a star topology, all the stations are connected to the centralized network.
Therefore, the network administrator has to go to the single station to troubleshoot the
problem.
o Network control: Complex network control features can be easily implemented in the
star topology. Any changes made in the star topology are automatically accommodated.
o Limited failure: As each station is connected to the central hub with its own cable,
therefore failure in one cable will not affect the entire network.
o Familiar technology: Star topology is a familiar technology as its tools are cost-
effective.
 o Easily expandable: It is easily expandable as new stations can be added to the open ports
on the hub.
o Cost effective: Star topology networks are cost-effective as it uses inexpensive coaxial
cable.
o High data speeds: It supports a bandwidth of approx 100Mbps. Ethernet 100BaseT is
one of the most popular Star topology networks.

Disadvantages of Star topology

o A Central point of failure: If the central hub or switch goes down, then all the
connected nodes will not be able to communicate with each other.
o Cable: Sometimes cable routing becomes difficult when a significant amount of routing
is required.

Tree topology

o Tree topology combines the characteristics of bus topology and star topology.
o A tree topology is a type of structure in which all the computers are connected with each
other in hierarchical fashion.
o The top-most node in tree topology is known as a root node, and all other nodes are the
descendants of the root node.
 o There is only one path exists between two nodes for the data transmission. Thus, it forms
a parent-child hierarchy.

Advantages of Tree topology

o Support for broadband transmission: Tree topology is mainly used to provide

broadband transmission, i.e., signals are sent over long distances without being
attenuated.
o Easily expandable: We can add the new device to the existing network. Therefore, we
can say that tree topology is easily expandable.
o Easily manageable: In tree topology, the whole network is divided into segments known
as star networks which can be easily managed and maintained.
o Error detection: Error detection and error correction are very easy in a tree topology.
o Limited failure: The breakdown in one station does not affect the entire network.
o Point-to-point wiring: It has point-to-point wiring for individual segments.

Disadvantages of Tree topology

o Difficult troubleshooting: If any fault occurs in the node, then it becomes difficult to
troubleshoot the problem.
o High cost: Devices required for broadband transmission are very costly.
o Failure: A tree topology mainly relies on main bus cable and failure in main bus cable
will damage the overall network.
o Reconfiguration difficult: If new devices are added, then it becomes difficult to
reconfigure.

Mesh topology
 o Mesh technology is an arrangement of the network in which computers are
interconnected with each other through various redundant connections.
o There are multiple paths from one computer to another computer.
o It does not contain the switch, hub or any central computer which acts as a central point
of communication.
o The Internet is an example of the mesh topology.
o Mesh topology is mainly used for WAN implementations where communication failures
are a critical concern.
o Mesh topology is mainly used for wireless networks.
o Mesh topology can be formed by using the formula:
Number of cables = (n*(n-1))/2;

Where n is the number of nodes that represents the network.

Mesh topology is divided into two categories:

o Fully connected mesh topology

o Partially connected mesh topology
 o Full Mesh Topology: In a full mesh topology, each computer is connected to all the
computers available in the network.
o Partial Mesh Topology: In a partial mesh topology, not all but certain computers are
connected to those computers with which they communicate frequently.

Advantages of Mesh topology:

Reliable: The mesh topology networks are very reliable as if any link breakdown will not affect
the communication between connected computers.

Fast Communication: Communication is very fast between the nodes.

Easier Reconfiguration: Adding new devices would not disrupt the communication between
other devices.

Disadvantages of Mesh topology

o Cost: A mesh topology contains a large number of connected devices such as a router
and more transmission media than other topologies.
o Management: Mesh topology networks are very large and very difficult to maintain and
manage. If the network is not monitored carefully, then the communication link failure
goes undetected.
o Efficiency: In this topology, redundant connections are high that reduces the efficiency
of the network.

Hybrid Topology
 o The combination of various different topologies is known as Hybrid topology.
o A Hybrid topology is a connection between different links and nodes to transfer the data.
o When two or more different topologies are combined together is termed as Hybrid
topology and if similar topologies are connected with each other will not result in Hybrid
topology. For example, if there exist a ring topology in one branch of ICICI bank and bus
topology in another branch of ICICI bank, connecting these two topologies will result in
Hybrid topology.

Advantages of Hybrid Topology

o Reliable: If a fault occurs in any part of the network will not affect the functioning of the
rest of the network.
 o Scalable: Size of the network can be easily expanded by adding new devices without
affecting the functionality of the existing network.
o Flexible: This topology is very flexible as it can be designed according to the
requirements of the organization.
o Effective: Hybrid topology is very effective as it can be designed in such a way that the
strength of the network is maximized and weakness of the network is minimized.

Disadvantages of Hybrid topology

o Complex design: The major drawback of the Hybrid topology is the design of the Hybrid
network. It is very difficult to design the architecture of the Hybrid network.
o Costly Hub: The Hubs used in the Hybrid topology are very expensive as these hubs are
different from usual Hubs used in other topologies.
o Costly infrastructure: The infrastructure cost is very high as a hybrid network requires a
lot of cabling, network devices, etc.

Transmission modes

o The way in which data is transmitted from one device to another device is known
as transmission mode.
o The transmission mode is also known as the communication mode.
o Each communication channel has a direction associated with it, and transmission media
provide the direction. Therefore, the transmission mode is also known as a directional
mode.
o The transmission mode is defined in the physical layer.

The Transmission mode is divided into three categories:

 o Simplex mode
o Half-duplex mode
o Full-duplex mode

Simplex mode

o In Simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, i.e., the data flow in one
direction.
o A device can only send the data but cannot receive it or it can receive the data but cannot
send the data.
o This transmission mode is not very popular as mainly communications require the two-
way exchange of data. The simplex mode is used in the business field as in sales that do
not require any corresponding reply.
o The radio station is a simplex channel as it transmits the signal to the listeners but never
allows them to transmit back.
o Keyboard and Monitor are the examples of the simplex mode as a keyboard can only
accept the data from the user and monitor can only be used to display the data on the
screen.
 o The main advantage of the simplex mode is that the full capacity of the communication
channel can be utilized during transmission.

Advantage of Simplex mode:

o In simplex mode, the station can utilize the entire bandwidth of the communication
channel, so that more data can be transmitted at a time.

Disadvantage of Simplex mode:

o Communication is unidirectional, so it has no inter-communication between devices.

Half-Duplex mode

o In a Half-duplex channel, direction can be reversed, i.e., the station can transmit and
receive the data as well.
o Messages flow in both the directions, but not at the same time.
o The entire bandwidth of the communication channel is utilized in one direction at a time.
o In half-duplex mode, it is possible to perform the error detection, and if any error occurs,
then the receiver requests the sender to retransmit the data.
o A Walkie-talkie is an example of the Half-duplex mode. In Walkie-talkie, one party
speaks, and 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:

 o 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 transmission of data.

Disadvantage of Half-Duplex mode:

o In half-duplex mode, when one device is sending the data, then another has to wait, this
causes the delay in sending the data at the right time.

Full-duplex mode

o In Full duplex mode, the communication is bi-directional, i.e., the data flow in both the
directions.
o Both the stations can send and receive the message simultaneously.
o 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.
o The Full-duplex mode is the fastest mode of communication between devices.

Differences b/w Simplex, Half-duplex and Full-duplex mode

Basis for Simplex mode Half-duplex mode Full-duplex mode

comparison

Direction of In simplex mode, the In half-duplex In full-duplex mode, the

communication communication is mode, the communication is
 unidirectional. communication is bidirectional.
bidirectional, but
one at a time.

Send/Receive A device can only Both the devices Both the devices can send
send the data but can send and and receive the data
cannot receive it or it receive the data, but simultaneously.
can only receive the one at a time.
data but cannot send
it.

Performance The performance of The performance of The Full-duplex mode has

half-duplex mode is full-duplex mode is better performance among
better than the better than the half- simplex and half-duplex
simplex mode. duplex mode. mode as it doubles the
utilization of the capacity
of the communication
channel.

Example Examples of Simplex Example of half- Example of the Full-

mode are radio, duplex is Walkie- duplex mode is a
keyboard, and Talkies. telephone
monitor.

o 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, both can talk and listen at
the same time.
 Unit 2:Network Models

OSI Model

o OSI stands for Open System Interconnection is a reference model that describes how
information from a software application in one computer moves through a physical
medium to the software application in another computer.
o OSI consists of seven layers, and each layer performs a particular network function.
o OSI model was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in
1984, and it is now considered as an architectural model for the inter-computer
communications.
o OSI model divides the whole task into seven smaller and manageable tasks. Each layer is
assigned a particular task.
o Each layer is self-contained, so that task assigned to each layer can be performed
independently.

Characteristics of OSI Model:

o The OSI model is divided into two layers: upper layers and lower layers.
 o The upper layer of the OSI model mainly deals with the application related issues, and
they are implemented only in the software. The application layer is closest to the end
user. Both the end user and the application layer interact with the software applications.
An upper layer refers to the layer just above another layer.
o The lower layer of the OSI model deals with the data transport issues. The data link layer
and the physical layer are implemented in hardware and software. The physical layer is
the lowest layer of the OSI model and is closest to the physical medium. The physical
layer is mainly responsible for placing the information on the physical medium.

Functions of the OSI Layers

There are the seven OSI layers. Each layer has different functions. A list of seven layers are
given below:

1. Physical Layer
2. Data-Link Layer
3. Network Layer
4. Transport Layer
5. Session Layer
6. Presentation Layer
7. Application Layer
Physical layer
 o The main functionality of the physical layer is to transmit the individual bits from one
node to another node.
o It is the lowest layer of the OSI model.
o It establishes, maintains and deactivates the physical connection.
o It specifies the mechanical, electrical and procedural network interface specifications.

Functions of a Physical layer:

o Line Configuration: It defines the way how two or more devices can be connected
physically.
o Data Transmission: It defines the transmission mode whether it is simplex, half-duplex
or full-duplex mode between the two devices on the network.
o Topology: It defines the way how network devices are arranged.
o Signals: It determines the type of the signal used for transmitting the information.

Data-Link Layer
 o This layer is responsible for the error-free transfer of data frames.
o It defines the format of the data on the network.
o It provides a reliable and efficient communication between two or more devices.
o It is mainly responsible for the unique identification of each device that resides on a local
network.
o It contains two sub-layers:
o Logical Link Control Layer
o It is responsible for transferring the packets to the Network layer of the
receiver that is receiving.
o It identifies the address of the network layer protocol from the header.
o It also provides flow control.
o Media Access Control Layer
o A Media access control layer is a link between the Logical Link Control
layer and the network's physical layer.
o It is used for transferring the packets over the network.

Functions of the Data-link layer

 o Framing: The data link layer translates the physical's raw bit stream into packets known
as Frames. The Data link layer adds the header and trailer to the frame. The header which
is added to the frame contains the hardware destination and source address.

o Physical Addressing: The Data link layer adds a header to the frame that contains a
destination address. The frame is transmitted to the destination address mentioned in the
header.
o Flow Control: Flow control is the main functionality of the Data-link layer. It is the
technique through which the constant data rate is maintained on both the sides so that no
data get corrupted. It ensures that the transmitting station such as a server with higher
processing speed does not exceed the receiving station, with lower processing speed.
o Error Control: Error control is achieved by adding a calculated value CRC (Cyclic
Redundancy Check) that is placed to the Data link layer's trailer which is added to the
message frame before it is sent to the physical layer. If any error seems to occurr, then the
receiver sends the acknowledgment for the retransmission of the corrupted frames.
o Access Control: When two or more devices are connected to the same communication
channel, then the data link layer protocols are used to determine which device has control
over the link at a given time.

Network Layer
 o It is a layer 3 that manages device addressing, tracks the location of devices on the
network.
o It determines the best path to move data from source to the destination based on the
network conditions, the priority of service, and other factors.
o The Data link layer is responsible for routing and forwarding the packets.
o Routers are the layer 3 devices, they are specified in this layer and used to provide the
routing services within an internetwork.
o The protocols used to route the network traffic are known as Network layer protocols.
Examples of protocols are IP and Ipv6.

Functions of Network Layer:

o Internetworking: An internetworking is the main responsibility of the network layer. It

provides a logical connection between different devices.
o Addressing: A Network layer adds the source and destination address to the header of
the frame. Addressing is used to identify the device on the internet.
 o Routing: Routing is the major component of the network layer, and it determines the best
optimal path out of the multiple paths from source to the destination.
o Packetizing: A Network Layer receives the packets from the upper layer and converts
them into packets. This process is known as Packetizing. It is achieved by internet
protocol (IP).

Transport Layer

o The Transport layer is a Layer 4 ensures that messages are transmitted in the order in
which they are sent and there is no duplication of data.
o The main responsibility of the transport layer is to transfer the data completely.
o It receives the data from the upper layer and converts them into smaller units known as
segments.
o This layer can be termed as an end-to-end layer as it provides a point-to-point connection
between source and destination to deliver the data reliably.

The two protocols used in this layer are:

o Transmission Control Protocol

 o It is a standard protocol that allows the systems to communicate over the internet.
o It establishes and maintains a connection between hosts.
o When data is sent over the TCP connection, then the TCP protocol divides the
data into smaller units known as segments. Each segment travels over the internet
using multiple routes, and they arrive in different orders at the destination. The
transmission control protocol reorders the packets in the correct order at the
receiving end.
o User Datagram Protocol
o User Datagram Protocol is a transport layer protocol.
o It is an unreliable transport protocol as in this case receiver does not send any
acknowledgment when the packet is received, the sender does not wait for any
acknowledgment. Therefore, this makes a protocol unreliable.

Functions of Transport Layer:

o Service-point addressing: Computers run several programs simultaneously due to this

reason, the transmission of data from source to the destination not only from one
computer to another computer but also from one process to another process. The transport
layer adds the header that contains the address known as a service-point address or port
address. The responsibility of the network layer is to transmit the data from one computer
to another computer and the responsibility of the transport layer is to transmit the
message to the correct process.
o Segmentation and reassembly: When the transport layer receives the message from the
upper layer, it divides the message into multiple segments, and each segment is assigned
with a sequence number that uniquely identifies each segment. When the message has
arrived at the destination, then the transport layer reassembles the message based on their
sequence numbers.
o Connection control: Transport layer provides two services Connection-oriented service
and connectionless service. A connectionless service treats each segment as an individual
packet, and they all travel in different routes to reach the destination. A connection-
oriented service makes a connection with the transport layer at the destination machine
 before delivering the packets. In connection-oriented service, all the packets travel in the
single route.
o Flow control: The transport layer also responsible for flow control but it is performed
end-to-end rather than across a single link.
o Error control: The transport layer is also responsible for Error control. Error control is
performed end-to-end rather than across the single link. The sender transport layer
ensures that message reach at the destination without any error.

Session Layer

o It is a layer 3 in the OSI model.

o The Session layer is used to establish, maintain and synchronizes the interaction between
communicating devices.

Functions of Session layer:

 o Dialog control: Session layer acts as a dialog controller that creates a dialog between two
processes or we can say that it allows the communication between two processes which
can be either half-duplex or full-duplex.
o Synchronization: Session layer adds some checkpoints when transmitting the data in a
sequence. If some error occurs in the middle of the transmission of data, then the
transmission will take place again from the checkpoint. This process is known as
Synchronization and recovery.

Presentation Layer

o A Presentation layer is mainly concerned with the syntax and semantics of the
information exchanged between the two systems.
o It acts as a data translator for a network.
o This layer is a part of the operating system that converts the data from one presentation
format to another format.
o The Presentation layer is also known as the syntax layer.

Functions of Presentation layer:

 o Translation: The processes in two systems exchange the information in the form of
character strings, numbers and so on. Different computers use different encoding
methods, the presentation layer handles the interoperability between the different
encoding methods. It converts the data from sender-dependent format into a common
format and changes the common format into receiver-dependent format at the receiving
end.
o Encryption: Encryption is needed to maintain privacy. Encryption is a process of
converting the sender-transmitted information into another form and sends the resulting
message over the network.
o Compression: Data compression is a process of compressing the data, i.e., it reduces the
number of bits to be transmitted. Data compression is very important in multimedia such
as text, audio, video.

Application Layer

o An application layer serves as a window for users and application processes to access
network service.
 o It handles issues such as network transparency, resource allocation, etc.
o An application layer is not an application, but it performs the application layer functions.
o This layer provides the network services to the end-users.

Functions of Application layer:

o File transfer, access, and management (FTAM): An application layer allows a user to
access the files in a remote computer, to retrieve the files from a computer and to manage
the files in a remote computer.
o Mail services: An application layer provides the facility for email forwarding and
storage.
o Directory services: An application provides the distributed database sources and is used
to provide that global information about various objects.

TCP/IP model

o The TCP/IP model was developed prior to the OSI model.

o The TCP/IP model is not exactly similar to the OSI model.
o The TCP/IP model consists of five layers: the application layer, transport layer, network
layer, data link layer and physical layer.
o The first four layers provide physical standards, network interface, internetworking, and
transport functions that correspond to the first four layers of the OSI model and these four
layers are represented in TCP/IP model by a single layer called the application layer.
o TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules, and each of them
provides specific functionality.

Here, hierarchical means that each upper-layer protocol is supported by two or more lower-level
protocols.

Functions of TCP/IP layers:

Network Access Layer

o A network layer is the lowest layer of the TCP/IP model.

o A network layer is the combination of the Physical layer and Data Link layer defined in
the OSI reference model.
o It defines how the data should be sent physically through the network.
o This layer is mainly responsible for the transmission of the data between two devices on
the same network.
o The functions carried out by this layer are encapsulating the IP datagram into frames
transmitted by the network and mapping of IP addresses into physical addresses.
o The protocols used by this layer are ethernet, token ring, FDDI, X.25, frame relay.

Internet Layer

o An internet layer is the second layer of the TCP/IP model.

 o An internet layer is also known as the network layer.
o The main responsibility of the internet layer is to send the packets from any network, and
they arrive at the destination irrespective of the route they take.

Following are the protocols used in this layer are:

IP Protocol: IP protocol is used in this layer, and it is the most significant part of the entire
TCP/IP suite.

Following are the responsibilities of this protocol:

o IP Addressing: This protocol implements logical host addresses known as IP addresses.

The IP addresses are used by the internet and higher layers to identify the device and to
provide internetwork routing.
o Host-to-host communication: It determines the path through which the data is to be
transmitted.
o Data Encapsulation and Formatting: An IP protocol accepts the data from the transport
layer protocol. An IP protocol ensures that the data is sent and received securely, it
encapsulates the data into message known as IP datagram.
o Fragmentation and Reassembly: The limit imposed on the size of the IP datagram by
data link layer protocol is known as Maximum Transmission unit (MTU). If the size of IP
datagram is greater than the MTU unit, then the IP protocol splits the datagram into
smaller units so that they can travel over the local network. Fragmentation can be done by
the sender or intermediate router. At the receiver side, all the fragments are reassembled
to form an original message.
o Routing: When IP datagram is sent over the same local network such as LAN, MAN,
WAN, it is known as direct delivery. When source and destination are on the distant
network, then the IP datagram is sent indirectly. This can be accomplished by routing the
IP datagram through various devices such as routers.

ARP Protocol

o ARP stands for Address Resolution Protocol.

 o ARP is a network layer protocol which is used to find the physical address from the IP
address.
o The two terms are mainly associated with the ARP Protocol:
o ARP request: When a sender wants to know the physical address of the device, it
broadcasts the ARP request to the network.
o ARP reply: Every device attached to the network will accept the ARP request
and process the request, but only recipient recognize the IP address and sends
back its physical address in the form of ARP reply. The recipient adds the
physical address both to its cache memory and to the datagram header

ICMP Protocol

o ICMP stands for Internet Control Message Protocol.

o It is a mechanism used by the hosts or routers to send notifications regarding datagram
problems back to the sender.
o A datagram travels from router-to-router until it reaches its destination. If a router is
unable to route the data because of some unusual conditions such as disabled links, a
device is on fire or network congestion, then the ICMP protocol is used to inform the
sender that the datagram is undeliverable.
o An ICMP protocol mainly uses two terms:
o ICMP Test: ICMP Test is used to test whether the destination is reachable or not.
o ICMP Reply: ICMP Reply is used to check whether the destination device is
responding or not.
o The core responsibility of the ICMP protocol is to report the problems, not correct them.
The responsibility of the correction lies with the sender.
o ICMP can send the messages only to the source, but not to the intermediate routers
because the IP datagram carries the addresses of the source and destination but not of the
router that it is passed to.

Transport Layer
The transport layer is responsible for the reliability, flow control, and correction of data which is
being sent over the network.

The two protocols used in the transport layer are User Datagram protocol and Transmission
control protocol.

o User Datagram Protocol (UDP)

o It provides connectionless service and end-to-end delivery of transmission.
o It is an unreliable protocol as it discovers the errors but not specify the error.
o User Datagram Protocol discovers the error, and ICMP protocol reports the error
to the sender that user datagram has been damaged.
o UDP consists of the following fields:
Source port address: The source port address is the address of the application
program that has created the message.
Destination port address: The destination port address is the address of the
application program that receives the message.
Total length: It defines the total number of bytes of the user datagram in bytes.
Checksum: The checksum is a 16-bit field used in error detection.
o UDP does not specify which packet is lost. UDP contains only checksum; it does
not contain any ID of a data segment.

o Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

 o It provides a full transport layer services to applications.
o It creates a virtual circuit between the sender and receiver, and it is active for the
duration of the transmission.
o TCP is a reliable protocol as it detects the error and retransmits the damaged
frames. Therefore, it ensures all the segments must be received and acknowledged
before the transmission is considered to be completed and a virtual circuit is
discarded.
o At the sending end, TCP divides the whole message into smaller units known as
segment, and each segment contains a sequence number which is required for
reordering the frames to form an original message.
o At the receiving end, TCP collects all the segments and reorders them based on
sequence numbers.

Application Layer

o An application layer is the topmost layer in the TCP/IP model.

o It is responsible for handling high-level protocols, issues of representation.
o This layer allows the user to interact with the application.
o When one application layer protocol wants to communicate with another application
layer, it forwards its data to the transport layer.
o There is an ambiguity occurs in the application layer. Every application cannot be placed
inside the application layer except those who interact with the communication system.
For example: text editor cannot be considered in application layer while web browser
using HTTP protocol to interact with the network where HTTP protocol is an
application layer protocol.

Following are the main protocols used in the application layer:

o HTTP: HTTP stands for Hypertext transfer protocol. This protocol allows us to access
the data over the world wide web. It transfers the data in the form of plain text, audio,
 video. It is known as a Hypertext transfer protocol as it has the efficiency to use in a
hypertext environment where there are rapid jumps from one document to another.
o SNMP: SNMP stands for Simple Network Management Protocol. It is a framework used
for managing the devices on the internet by using the TCP/IP protocol suite.
o SMTP: SMTP stands for Simple mail transfer protocol. The TCP/IP protocol that
supports the e-mail is known as a Simple mail transfer protocol. This protocol is used to
send the data to another e-mail address.
o DNS: DNS stands for Domain Name System. An IP address is used to identify the
connection of a host to the internet uniquely. But, people prefer to use the names instead
of addresses. Therefore, the system that maps the name to the address is known as
Domain Name System.
o TELNET: It is an abbreviation for Terminal Network. It establishes the connection
between the local computer and remote computer in such a way that the local terminal
appears to be a terminal at the remote system.
o FTP: FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a standard internet protocol used for
transmitting the files from one computer to another computer.

Differences between the OSI and TCP/IP model

Let's see the differences between the OSI and TCP/IP model in a tabular form:
Network Addressing

o Network Addressing is one of the major responsibilities of the network layer.

o Network addresses are always logical, i.e., software-based addresses.
o A host is also known as end system that has one link to the network. The boundary
between the host and link is known as an interface. Therefore, the host can have only one
interface.
o A router is different from the host in that it has two or more links that connect to it. When
a router forwards the datagram, then it forwards the packet to one of the links. The
boundary between the router and link is known as an interface, and the router can have
multiple interfaces, one for each of its links. Each interface is capable of sending and
receiving the IP packets, so IP requires each interface to have an address.
o Each IP address is 32 bits long, and they are represented in the form of "dot-decimal
notation" where each byte is written in the decimal form, and they are separated by the
period. An IP address would look like 193.32.216.9 where 193 represents the decimal
notation of first 8 bits of an address, 32 represents the decimal notation of second 8 bits
of an address.

Let's understand through a simple example.

o In the above figure, a router has three interfaces labeled as 1, 2 & 3 and each router
interface contains its own IP address.
o Each host contains its own interface and IP address.
 o All the interfaces attached to the LAN 1 is having an IP address in the form of
223.1.1.xxx, and the interfaces attached to the LAN 2 and LAN 3 have an IP address in
the form of 223.1.2.xxx and 223.1.3.xxx respectively.
o Each IP address consists of two parts. The first part (first three bytes in IP address)
specifies the network and second part (last byte of an IP address) specifies the host in the
network.

Classful Addressing

An IP address is 32-bit long. An IP address is divided into sub-classes:

o Class A
o Class B
o Class C
o Class D
o Class E

An ip address is divided into two parts:

o Network ID: It represents the number of networks.

o Host ID: It represents the number of hosts.
In the above diagram, we observe that each class have a specific range of IP addresses. The class
of IP address is used to determine the number of bits used in a class and number of networks and
hosts available in the class.

Class A

In Class A, an IP address is assigned to those networks that contain a large number of hosts.

o The network ID is 8 bits long.

o The host ID is 24 bits long.

In Class A, the first bit in higher order bits of the first octet is always set to 0 and the remaining 7
bits determine the network ID. The 24 bits determine the host ID in any network.

The total number of networks in Class A = 27 = 128 network address

The total number of hosts in Class A = 224 - 2 = 16,777,214 host address

Class B

In Class B, an IP address is assigned to those networks that range from small-sized to large-sized
networks.

o The Network ID is 16 bits long.

o The Host ID is 16 bits long.

In Class B, the higher order bits of the first octet is always set to 10, and the remaining14 bits
determine the network ID. The other 16 bits determine the Host ID.

The total number of networks in Class B = 214 = 16384 network address

The total number of hosts in Class B = 216 - 2 = 65534 host address

Class C

In Class C, an IP address is assigned to only small-sized networks.

o The Network ID is 24 bits long.

o The host ID is 8 bits long.

In Class C, the higher order bits of the first octet is always set to 110, and the remaining 21 bits
determine the network ID. The 8 bits of the host ID determine the host in a network.

The total number of networks = 221 = 2097152 network address

The total number of hosts = 28 - 2 = 254 host address

Class D

In Class D, an IP address is reserved for multicast addresses. It does not possess subnetting. The
higher order bits of the first octet is always set to 1110, and the remaining bits determines the
host ID in any network.

Class E

In Class E, an IP address is used for the future use or for the research and development purposes.
It does not possess any subnetting. The higher order bits of the first octet is always set to 1111,
and the remaining bits determines the host ID in any network.
Rules for assigning Host ID:

The Host ID is used to determine the host within any network. The Host ID is assigned based on
the following rules:

o The Host ID must be unique within any network.

o The Host ID in which all the bits are set to 0 cannot be assigned as it is used to represent
the network ID of the IP address.
o The Host ID in which all the bits are set to 1 cannot be assigned as it is reserved for the
multicast address.

Rules for assigning Network ID:

If the hosts are located within the same local network, then they are assigned with the same
network ID. The following are the rules for assigning Network ID:

o The network ID cannot start with 127 as 127 is used by Class A.

o The Network ID in which all the bits are set to 0 cannot be assigned as it is used to
specify a particular host on the local network.
o The Network ID in which all the bits are set to 1 cannot be assigned as it is reserved for
the multicast address.

Classful Network Architecture

Class Higher NET HOST No.of No.of Range

bits ID ID bits networks hosts per
bits network

A 0 8 24 27 224 0.0.0.0 to
127.255.255.255

B 10 16 16 214 216 128.0.0.0 to

191.255.255.255

C 110 24 8 221 28 192.0.0.0 to

223.255.255.255

D 1110 Not Not Not Not 224.0.0.0 to

 Defined Defined Defined Defined 239.255.255.255

E 1111 Not Not Not Not 240.0.0.0 to

Defined Defined Defined Defined 255.255.255.255
 Unit 3: Transmission Media

What is Transmission media?

o Transmission media is a communication channel that carries the information from the
sender to the receiver. Data is transmitted through the electromagnetic signals.
o The main functionality of the transmission media is to carry the information in the form
of bits through LAN(Local Area Network).
o It is a physical path between transmitter and receiver in data communication.
o In a copper-based network, the bits in the form of electrical signals.
o In a fibre based network, the bits in the form of light pulses.
o In OSI(Open System Interconnection) phase, transmission media supports the Layer 1.
Therefore, it is considered to be as a Layer 1 component.
o The electrical signals can be sent through the copper wire, fibre optics, atmosphere,
water, and vacuum.
o The characteristics and quality of data transmission are determined by the characteristics
of medium and signal.
o Transmission media is of two types are wired media and wireless media. In wired media,
medium characteristics are more important whereas, in wireless media, signal
characteristics are more important.
o Different transmission media have different properties such as bandwidth, delay, cost and
ease of installation and maintenance.
o The transmission media is available in the lowest layer of the OSI reference model,
i.e., Physical layer.

Some factors need to be considered for designing the transmission media:

o Bandwidth: All the factors are remaining constant, the greater the bandwidth of a
medium, the higher the data transmission rate of a signal.
 o Transmission impairment: When the received signal is not identical to the transmitted
one due to the transmission impairment. The quality of the signals will get destroyed due
to transmission impairment.
o Interference: An interference is defined as the process of disrupting a signal when it
travels over a communication medium on the addition of some unwanted signal.

Causes Of Transmission Impairment:

o Attenuation: Attenuation means the loss of energy, i.e., the strength of the signal
decreases with increasing the distance which causes the loss of energy.
o 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.
o Noise: When data is travelled over a transmission medium, some unwanted signal is
added to it which creates the noise.

Classification Of Transmission Media:

 o Guided Transmission Media
o UnGuided Transmission Media

Guided Media

It is defined as the physical medium through which the signals are transmitted. It is also known
as Bounded media.

Types Of Guided media:

Twisted pair:

Twisted pair is a physical media made up of a pair of cables twisted with each other. A twisted
pair cable is cheap as compared to other transmission media. Installation of the twisted pair cable
is easy, and it is a lightweight cable. The frequency range for twisted pair cable is from 0 to
3.5KHz.

A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires arranged 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.
Types of Twisted pair:

Unshielded Twisted Pair:

An unshielded twisted pair is widely used in telecommunication. Following are the categories of
the unshielded twisted pair cable:

o Category 1: Category 1 is used for telephone lines that have low-speed data.
o Category 2: It can support upto 4Mbps.
o Category 3: It can support upto 16Mbps.
o Category 4: It can support upto 20Mbps. Therefore, it can be used for long-distance
communication.
o Category 5: It can support upto 200Mbps.

Advantages Of Unshielded Twisted Pair:

o It is cheap.
o Installation of the unshielded twisted pair is easy.
o It can be used for high-speed LAN.

Disadvantage:
 o This cable can only be used for shorter distances because of attenuation.

Shielded Twisted Pair

A shielded twisted pair is a cable that contains the mesh surrounding the wire that allows the
higher transmission rate.

Characteristics Of Shielded Twisted Pair:

o The cost of the shielded twisted pair cable is not very high and not very low.
o An installation of STP is easy.
o It has higher capacity as compared to unshielded twisted pair cable.
o It has a higher attenuation.
o It is shielded that provides the higher data transmission rate.

Disadvantages

o It is more expensive as compared to UTP and coaxial cable.

o It has a higher attenuation rate.

Coaxial Cable

o Coaxial cable is very commonly used transmission media, for example, TV wire is
usually a coaxial cable.
o The name of the cable is coaxial as it contains two conductors parallel to each other.
o It has a higher frequency as compared to Twisted pair cable.
o The inner conductor of the coaxial cable is made up of copper, and the outer conductor is
made up of copper mesh. The middle core is made up of non-conductive cover that
separates the inner conductor from the outer conductor.
o The middle core is responsible for the data transferring whereas the copper mesh prevents
from the EMI(Electromagnetic interference).
Coaxial cable is of two types:

1. Baseband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting a single signal at

high speed.
2. Broadband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting multiple signals
simultaneously.

Advantages Of Coaxial cable:

o The data can be transmitted at high speed.

o It has better shielding as compared to twisted pair cable.
o It provides higher bandwidth.

Disadvantages Of Coaxial cable:

o It is more expensive as compared to twisted pair cable.

o If any fault occurs in the cable causes the failure in the entire network.

Fibre Optic

o Fibre optic cable is a cable that uses electrical signals for communication.
o Fibre optic is a cable that holds the optical fibres coated in plastic that are used to send
the data by pulses of light.
o The plastic coating protects the optical fibres from heat, cold, electromagnetic
interference from other types of wiring.
o Fibre optics provide faster data transmission than copper wires.
Diagrammatic representation of fibre optic cable:

Basic elements of Fibre optic cable:

o Core: The optical fibre consists of a narrow strand of glass or plastic known as a core. A
core is a light transmission area of the fibre. The more the area of the core, the more light
will be transmitted into the fibre.
o Cladding: The concentric layer of glass is known as cladding. The main functionality of
the cladding is to provide the lower refractive index at the core interface as to cause the
reflection within the core so that the light waves are transmitted through the fibre.
o Jacket: The protective coating consisting of plastic is known as a jacket. The main
purpose of a jacket is to preserve the fibre strength, absorb shock and extra fibre
protection.

Following are the advantages of fibre optic cable over copper:

o Greater Bandwidth: The fibre optic cable provides more bandwidth as compared
copper. Therefore, the fibre optic carries more data as compared to copper cable.
o Faster speed: Fibre optic cable carries the data in the form of light. This allows the fibre
optic cable to carry the signals at a higher speed.
o Longer distances: The fibre optic cable carries the data at a longer distance as compared
to copper cable.
o Better reliability: The fibre optic cable is more reliable than the copper cable as it is
immune to any temperature changes while it can cause obstruct in the connectivity of
copper cable.
 o Thinner and Sturdier: Fibre optic cable is thinner and lighter in weight so it can
withstand more pull pressure than copper cable.

UnGuided Transmission

o An unguided transmission transmits the electromagnetic waves without using any

physical medium. Therefore it is also known as wireless transmission.
o In unguided media, air is the media through which the electromagnetic energy can flow
easily.

Unguided transmission is broadly classified into three categories:

Radio waves

o Radio waves are the electromagnetic waves that are transmitted in all the directions of
free space.
o Radio waves are omnidirectional, i.e., the signals are propagated in all the directions.
o The range in frequencies of radio waves is from 3Khz to 1 khz.
o In the case of radio waves, the sending and receiving antenna are not aligned, i.e., the
wave sent by the sending antenna can be received by any receiving antenna.
o An example of the radio wave is FM radio.

Applications Of Radio waves:

 o A Radio wave is useful for multicasting when there is one sender and many receivers.
o An FM radio, television, cordless phones are examples of a radio wave.

Advantages Of Radio transmission:

o Radio transmission is mainly used for wide area networks and mobile cellular phones.
o Radio waves cover a large area, and they can penetrate the walls.
o Radio transmission provides a higher transmission rate.

Microwaves

Microwaves are of two types:

o Terrestrial microwave
o Satellite microwave communication.

Terrestrial Microwave Transmission

o Terrestrial Microwave transmission is a technology that transmits the focused beam of a

radio signal from one ground-based microwave transmission antenna to another.
o Microwaves are the electromagnetic waves having the frequency in the range from 1GHz
to 1000 GHz.
o 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.
 o In this case, antennas are mounted on the towers to send a beam to another antenna which
is km away.
o It works on the line of sight transmission, i.e., the antennas mounted on the towers are the
direct sight of each other.

Characteristics of Microwave:

o Frequency range: The frequency range of terrestrial microwave is from 4-6 GHz to 21-
23 GHz.
o Bandwidth: It supports the bandwidth from 1 to 10 Mbps.
o Short distance: It is inexpensive for short distance.
o Long distance: It is expensive as it requires a higher tower for a longer distance.
o Attenuation: Attenuation means loss of signal. It is affected by environmental conditions
and antenna size.

Advantages Of Microwave:

o Microwave transmission is cheaper than using cables.

o It is free from land acquisition as it does not require any land for the installation of
cables.
o Microwave transmission provides an easy communication in terrains as the installation of
cable in terrain is quite a difficult task.
o Communication over oceans can be achieved by using microwave transmission.

Disadvantages of Microwave transmission:

o Eavesdropping: An eavesdropping creates insecure communication. Any malicious user

can catch the signal in the air by using its own antenna.
o Out of phase signal: A signal can be moved out of phase by using microwave
transmission.
o Susceptible to weather condition: A microwave transmission is susceptible to weather
condition. This means that any environmental change such as rain, wind can distort the
signal.
 o Bandwidth limited: Allocation of bandwidth is limited in the case of microwave
transmission.

Satellite Microwave Communication

o A satellite is a physical object that revolves around the earth at a known height.
o Satellite communication is more reliable nowadays as it offers more flexibility than cable
and fibre optic systems.
o We can communicate with any point on the globe by using satellite communication.

How Does Satellite work?

The satellite accepts the signal that is transmitted from the earth station, and it amplifies the
signal. The amplified signal is retransmitted to another earth station.

Advantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:

o The coverage area of a satellite microwave is more than the terrestrial microwave.
o The transmission cost of the satellite is independent of the distance from the centre of the
coverage area.
o Satellite communication is used in mobile and wireless communication applications.
o It is easy to install.
o It is used in a wide variety of applications such as weather forecasting, radio/TV signal
broadcasting, mobile communication, etc.

Disadvantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:

o Satellite designing and development requires more time and higher cost.
o The Satellite needs to be monitored and controlled on regular periods so that it remains in
orbit.
o The life of the satellite is about 12-15 years. Due to this reason, another launch of the
satellite has to be planned before it becomes non-functional.
Infrared

o An infrared transmission is a wireless technology used for communication over short

ranges.
o The frequency of the infrared in the range from 300 GHz to 400 THz.
o It is used for short-range communication such as data transfer between two cell phones,
TV remote operation, data transfer between a computer and cell phone resides in the
same closed area.

Characteristics Of Infrared:

o It supports high bandwidth, and hence the data rate will be very high.
o Infrared waves cannot penetrate the walls. Therefore, the infrared communication in one
room cannot be interrupted by the nearby rooms.
o An infrared communication provides better security with minimum interference.
o Infrared communication is unreliable outside the building because the sun rays will
interfere with the infrared waves

Unit 4 :Wired and Wireless LAN

 Unit 4: Wired and Wireless LAN

Wireless LANs are those Local Area Networks that use high frequency radio waves instead of
cables for connecting the devices in LAN. Users connected by WLANs can move around within
the area of network coverage. Most WLANs are based upon the standard IEEE 802.11 or WiFi.
IEEE 802.11 Architecture
The components of an IEEE 802.11 architecture are as follows
1) Stations (STA) − Stations comprise all devices and equipments that are connected to the
wireless LAN. A station can be of two types:

• Wireless Access Pointz (WAP) − WAPs or simply access points (AP) are generally
wireless routers that form the base stations or access.
• Client. − Clients are workstations, computers, laptops, printers, smartphones, etc.
Each station has a wireless network interface controller.
2) Basic Service Set (BSS) −A basic service set is a group of stations communicating at physical
layer level. BSS can be of two categories depending upon mode of operation:

• Infrastructure BSS − Here, the devices communicate with other devices through access
points.
• Independent BSS − Here, the devices communicate in peer-to-peer basis in an ad hoc
manner.
3) Extended Service Set (ESS) − It is a set of all connected BSS.
4) Distribution System (DS) − It connects access points in ESS.
Advantages of WLANs

• They provide clutter free homes, offices and other networked places.
• The LANs are scalable in nature, i.e. devices may be added or removed from the network
at a greater ease than wired LANs.
• The system is portable within the network coverage and access to the network is not
bounded by the length of the cables.
• Installation and setup is much easier than wired counterparts.
• The equipment and setup costs are reduced.
Disadvantages of WLANs

• Since radio waves are used for communications, the signals are noisier with more
interference from nearby systems.
• Greater care is needed for encrypting information. Also, they are more prone to errors.
So, they require greater bandwidth than the wired LANs.
• WLANs are slower than wired LANs.
 Unit 5: Network Devices

Hardware devices that are used to connect computers, printers, fax machines and other
electronic devices to a network are called network devices. These devices transfer data in a
fast, secure and correct way over same or different networks. Network devices may be inter-
network or intra-network. Some devices are installed on the device, like NIC card or RJ45
connector, whereas some are part of the network, like router, switch, etc. Let us explore some of
these devices in greater detail.

What is Hub?

A Hub is a network device which connects multiple nodes or PCs on its ports or connections
using twisted pair or optical cables. It operates on layer-1 of OSI stack i.e. physical layer. The
ethernet hub does not manage traffic passing through them. It simply broadcasts the packet out to
all the ports except the port of entry. Hubs are of various types and are available in various port
configurations viz. 4, 5, 8, 12 and so on.

The figure-1 depicts hub used to interface various nodes or PCs in a star configuration. The
ethernet hub organizes cables and relays signals to the other media segments. It can also be used
in other configurations based on packets travel between nodes. Refer Hub basics and Hub types
>>.
Following are the types of hubs.
• Active Hub
• Passive Hub
• Intelligent Hub
Let us understand difference between active hub and passive hub types.
Active hub

• Function: It houses electronic components used to amplify or regenerate signals between nodes.
• Advantages: It helps in extending distance between the two nodes.
• Disadvantages: It amplifies noise in addition to the desired signals. They are very expensive
compare to passive hub.
• It requires power supply.
Passive hub

• Function: It simply combines signals of a network segments.

• Advantages: Passive hubs are cheaper compare to active hub. It does not amplify noise.
• Disadvantages: It reduces cable distance by half as it does not amplify or boost the signals.
• It does not require power supply.
• It is only used to share the physical medium.
Modem
Modem is a device that enables a computer to send or receive data over telephone or cable lines.
The data stored on the computer is digital whereas a telephone line or cable wire can transmit
only analog data.
The main function of the modem is to convert digital signal into analog and vice versa. Modem
is a combination of two devices − modulator and demodulator. The modulator converts
digital data into analog data when the data is being sent by the computer.
The demodulator converts analog data signals into digital data when it is being received by the
computer.

Types of Modem

Modem can be categorized in several ways like direction in which it can transmit data, type of
connection to the transmission line, transmission mode, etc.
Depending on direction of data transmission, modem can be of these types −
• Simplex − A simplex modem can transfer data in only one direction, from digital device
to network (modulator) or network to digital device (demodulator).
• Half duplex − A half-duplex modem has the capacity to transfer data in both the
directions but only one at a time.
• Full duplex − A full duplex modem can transmit data in both the directions
simultaneously.

RJ45 Connector

RJ45 is the acronym for Registered Jack 45. RJ45 connector is an 8-pin jack used by devices
to physically connect to Ethernet based local area networks (LANs). Ethernet is a
technology that defines protocols for establishing a LAN. The cable used for Ethernet LANs are
twisted pair ones and have RJ45 connector pins at both ends. These pins go into the
corresponding socket on devices and connect the device to the network.
Ethernet Card

Ethernet card, also known as network interface card (NIC), is a hardware component used
by computers to connect to Ethernet LAN and communicate with other devices on the LAN.
The earliest Ethernet cards were external to the system and needed to be installed manually. In
modern computer systems, it is an internal hardware component. The NIC has RJ45
socket where network cable is physically plugged in.
Ethernet card speeds may vary depending upon the protocols it supports. Old Ethernet cards
had maximum speed of 10 Mbps. However, modern cards support fast Ethernets up to a speed
of 100 Mbps. Some cards even have capacity of 1 Gbps.

Router

A router is a network layer hardware device that transmits data from one LAN to another if
both networks support the same set of protocols. So a router is typically connected to at least
two LANs and the internet service provider (ISP). It receives its data in the form of packets,
which are data frames with their destination address added. Router also strengthens the
signals before transmitting them. That is why it is also called repeater.

Routing Table

A router reads its routing table to decide the best available route the packet can take to reach its
destination quickly and accurately. The routing table may be of these two types −
 • Static − In a static routing table the routes are fed manually. So it is suitable only for
very small networks that have maximum two to three routers.
• Dynamic − In a dynamic routing table, the router communicates with other routers
through protocols to determine which routes are free. This is suited for larger networks
where manual feeding may not be feasible due to large number of routers.

Switch

Switch is a network device that connects other devices to Ethernet networks through twisted
pair cables. It uses packet switching technique to receive, store and forward data packets on
the network. The switch maintains a list of network addresses of all the devices connected to it.
On receiving a packet, it checks the destination address and transmits the packet to the correct
port. Before forwarding, the packets are checked for collision and other network errors. The
data is transmitted in full duplex mode

Data transmission speed in switches can be double that of other network devices like hubs used
for networking. This is because switch shares its maximum speed with all the devices connected
to it. This helps in maintaining network speed even during high traffic. In fact, higher data
speeds are achieved on networks through use of multiple switches.

Gateway
Gateway is a network device used to connect two or more dissimilar networks. In networking
parlance, networks that use different protocols are dissimilar networks. A gateway usually is a
computer with multiple NICs connected to different networks. A gateway can also be
configured completely using software. As networks connect to a different network through
gateways, these gateways are usually hosts or end points of the network.

Gateway uses packet switching technique to transmit data from one network to another. In this
way it is similar to a router, the only difference being router can transmit data only over
networks that use same protocols.

Wi-Fi Card

Wi-Fi is the acronym for wireless fidelity. Wi-Fi technology is used to achieve wireless
connection to any network. Wi-Fi card is a card used to connect any device to the local
network wirelessly. The physical area of the network which provides internet access through
Wi-Fi is called Wi-Fi hotspot. Hotspots can be set up at home, office or any public space.
Hotspots themselves are connected to the network through wires.
A Wi-Fi card is used to add capabilities like teleconferencing, downloading digital camera
images, video chat, etc. to old devices. Modern devices come with their in-built wireless
network adapter.
 Unit 6: Network Security

Network security is the security provided to a network from unauthorized access and risks. It is
the duty of network administrators to adopt preventive measures to protect their networks from
potential security threats.
Computer networks that are involved in regular transactions and communication within the
government, individuals, or business require security. The most common and simple way of
protecting a network resource is by assigning it a unique name and a corresponding password.

Types of Network Security Devices

Active Devices

These security devices block the surplus traffic. Firewalls, antivirus scanning devices, and
content filtering devices are the examples of such devices.

Passive Devices

These devices identify and report on unwanted traffic, for example, intrusion detection
appliances.

Preventative Devices

These devices scan the networks and identify potential security problems. For example,
penetration testing devices and vulnerability assessment appliances.

Unified Threat Management (UTM)

These devices serve as all-in-one security devices. Examples include firewalls, content filtering,
web caching, etc.

Firewalls

A firewall is a network security system that manages and regulates the network traffic based on
some protocols. A firewall establishes a barrier between a trusted internal network and the
internet.
Firewalls exist both as software that run on a hardware and as hardware appliances. Firewalls
that are hardware-based also provide other functions like acting as a DHCP server for that
network.
Most personal computers use software-based firewalls to secure data from threats from the
internet. Many routers that pass data between networks contain firewall components and
conversely, many firewalls can perform basic routing functions.
Firewalls are commonly used in private networks or intranets to prevent unauthorized access
from the internet. Every message entering or leaving the intranet goes through the firewall to be
examined for security measures.
An ideal firewall configuration consists of both hardware and software based devices. A
firewall also helps in providing remote access to a private network through secure
authentication certificates and logins.

Hardware and Software Firewalls

Hardware firewalls are standalone products. These are also found in broadband routers. Most
hardware firewalls provide a minimum of four network ports to connect other computers. For
larger networks − e.g., for business purpose − business networking firewall solutions are
available.
Software firewalls are installed on your computers. A software firewall protects your computer
from internet threats.

Antivirus

An antivirus is a tool that is used to detect and remove malicious software. It was originally
designed to detect and remove viruses from computers.
Modern antivirus software provide protection not only from virus, but also from worms, Trojan-
horses, adwares, spywares, keyloggers, etc. Some products also provide protection from
malicious URLs, spam, phishing attacks, botnets, DDoS attacks, etc.

Content Filtering

Content filtering devices screen unpleasant and offensive emails or webpages. These are used as
a part of firewalls in corporations as well as in personal computers. These devices generate the
message "Access Denied" when someone tries to access any unauthorized web page or email.
Content is usually screened for pornographic content and also for violence- or hate-oriented
content. Organizations also exclude shopping and job related contents.
Content filtering can be divided into the following categories −

• Web filtering
• Screening of Web sites or pages
• E-mail filtering
• Screening of e-mail for spam
• Other objectionable content

Intrusion Detection Systems

Intrusion Detection Systems, also known as Intrusion Detection and Prevention Systems, are the
appliances that monitor malicious activities in a network, log information about such activities,
take steps to stop them, and finally report them.
Intrusion detection systems help in sending an alarm against any malicious activity in the
network, drop the packets, and reset the connection to save the IP address from any blockage.
Intrusion detection systems can also perform the following actions −

• Correct Cyclic Redundancy Check (CRC) errors

• Prevent TCP sequencing issues
• Clean up unwanted transport and network layer options

1 Message- -Confidentiality, Integrity, Authentication, Non repudiation.

Message Authentication
1. Message Authentication
o message authentication is concerned with:
▪ protecting the integrity of a message
▪ validating identity of originator
▪ non-repudiation of origin (dispute resolution)

To now, have been concerned with protecting message content

(ie secrecy) by encrypting the message. Will now consider how
to protect message integrity (ie protection from modification),
as well as confirming the identity of the sender. Generically
this is the problem of message authentication, and in
eCommerce applications is arguably more imprtant than
secrecy.

2. Message Authentication Code (MAC)

o authenticator, signature, or message authentication code (MAC)
o electronic equivalent of a signature on a message
o sent along with the message
 o is generated via some algorithm which depends on both the message and
some (public or private) key known only to the sender and receiver
o message may be of any length
o MAC may be of any length, but more often is some fixed size
o this requires the use of some hash function
▪ to condense the message to the required size
▪ if this is not acheived by the authentication scheme
o need to consider replay problems with message and MAC
▪ require a message sequence number, timestamp or negotiated
random values

In general, want to send an "electronic signature" along with

the message to validate its contents, and the senders identity.
Unless the message is processed in a way that provides both
encryption and authentication (as when a chaining mode is
used with a block cipher), the electronic signature is separate
from the encrypted message. Unless the amount of information
sent is to be doubled, some means is needed to create a
"digest" (MAC) of the message of a suitable, fairly small, size.

3. Message Authentication Process

Message Authentication Process

show here we see Alice sending both a message, and the

signature (Auth) to Bob. Bob recomputes the signature on the
message as he received it, and confirms that it is the same as
the one Alice sent him. If so, the message is assumed to be
unmodified.

4. Authentication using Private-key Ciphers

o if a message is being encrypted using a session key known only to the
sender and receiver, then the message may also be authenticated
▪ since only sender or receiver could have created it
 ▪ any interference will corrupt the message (provided it includes
sufficient redundancy to detect change)
▪ but this does not provide non-repudiation since it is impossible to
prove who created the message

As mentioned above, if a message is sent encrypted using a

chaining mode of a block cipher (CBC or CFB) then implicitly
the message is also authenticated, since any external
modification would corrupt the decryption, and since only the
sender & reciever supposedly know the key used. However
since the algorithm is symmtric, there is no way to prove to a
3rd party who did what.

5. Authentication using Private-key Ciphers

o message authentication may also be done using the standard modes of
use of a block cipher
▪ sometimes do not want to send encrypted messages
▪ can use either CBC or CFB modes and send final block, since this
will depend on all previous bits of the message
▪ no hash function is required, since this method accepts arbitrary
length input and produces a fixed output
▪ usually use a fixed known IV
▪ this is the approached used in Australian EFT standards AS8205
▪ major disadvantage is small size of resulting MAC since 64-bits is
probably too small

Can also use block cipher chaining mdoes to create a separate

authenticator, by just sending the last block. However this
suffers from being a bit too small for acceptable use today.

Hashing Functions
1. Hashing Functions
o used to condense an arbitrary length message to a fixed size
o usually for subsequent signature by a digital signature algorithm
o it is usually assumed that the hash function is public and not keyed
o traditional CRCs do not satisfy the above requirements
o length should be large enough to resist birthday attacks
▪ 64-bits is now regarded as too small
 ▪ using 128-512 is regarded as suitable

Hash functions are used to "digest" or "condense" a message

down to a fixed size, which can then be signed, in a way that
makes finding other messages with the same hash extremely
difficult (so the signature wont apply easily to other messages).
The hash needs to be large enough to resist "birthday attacks"
on it - see Stallings 8.4 and 8A.

2. Hashing Function Design Principles

o a good cryptographic hash function h should have the following
properties:
▪ h should destroy all homomorphic structures in the underlying
public key cryptosystem (be unable to compute hash value of 2
messages combined given their individual hash values)
▪ h should be computed on the entire message
▪ h should be a one-way function so that messages are not disclosed
by their signatures
▪ it should be computationally infeasible given a message and its
hash value to compute another message with the same hash value
▪ should resist birthday attacks (finding any 2 messages with the
same hash value, perhaps by iterating through minor permutations
of 2 messages)

These are the "mathematical" specifications for good hash

functions. Essentially it must be extremely difficult to find 2
messages with the same hash, and the hash should not be
related to the message in any obvious way (ie it should be a
complex non-linear function of the message). There are quite a
few similarities in the evolution of hash functions & block
ciphers, and in the evolution of the design requirements on
both.

Types of Cyber Attacks

A cyber-attack is an exploitation of computer systems and networks. It uses malicious code to alter computer
code, logic or data and lead to cybercrimes, such as information and identity theft.

We are living in a digital era. Now a day, most of the people use computer and internet. Due to the dependency
on digital things, the illegal computer activity is growing and changing like any type of crime.
Cyber-attacks can be classified into the following categories:

Web-based attacks
These are the attacks which occur on a website or web applications. Some of the important web-based attacks
are as follows-

1. Injection attacks

It is the attack in which some data will be injected into a web application to manipulate the application and
fetch the required information.

Example- SQL Injection, code Injection, log Injection, XML Injection etc.

2. DNS Spoofing

DNS Spoofing is a type of computer security hacking. Whereby a data is introduced into a DNS resolver's
cache causing the name server to return an incorrect IP address, diverting traffic to the attacker?s computer or
any other computer. The DNS spoofing attacks can go on for a long period of time without being detected and
can cause serious security issues.

3. Session Hijacking

It is a security attack on a user session over a protected network. Web applications create cookies to store the
state and user sessions. By stealing the cookies, an attacker can have access to all of the user data.

4. Phishing

Phishing is a type of attack which attempts to steal sensitive information like user login credentials and credit
card number. It occurs when an attacker is masquerading as a trustworthy entity in electronic communication.

5. Brute force
It is a type of attack which uses a trial and error method. This attack generates a large number of guesses and
validates them to obtain actual data like user password and personal identification number. This attack may be
used by criminals to crack encrypted data, or by security, analysts to test an organization's network security.

6. Denial of Service

It is an attack which meant to make a server or network resource unavailable to the users. It accomplishes this
by flooding the target with traffic or sending it information that triggers a crash. It uses the single system and
single internet connection to attack a server. It can be classified into the following-

Volume-based attacks- Its goal is to saturate the bandwidth of the attacked site, and is measured in bit per
second.

Protocol attacks- It consumes actual server resources, and is measured in a packet.

Application layer attacks- Its goal is to crash the web server and is measured in request per second.

7. Dictionary attacks

This type of attack stored the list of a commonly used password and validated them to get original password.

8. URL Interpretation

It is a type of attack where we can change the certain parts of a URL, and one can make a web server to deliver
web pages for which he is not authorized to browse.

9. File Inclusion attacks

It is a type of attack that allows an attacker to access unauthorized or essential files which is available on the
web server or to execute malicious files on the web server by making use of the include functionality.

10. Man in the middle attacks

It is a type of attack that allows an attacker to intercepts the connection between client and server and acts as a
bridge between them. Due to this, an attacker will be able to read, insert and modify the data in the intercepted
connection.

System-based attacks
These are the attacks which are intended to compromise a computer or a computer network. Some of the
important system-based attacks are as follows-

1. Virus
It is a type of malicious software program that spread throughout the computer files without the knowledge of
a user. It is a self-replicating malicious computer program that replicates by inserting copies of itself into other
computer programs when executed. It can also execute instructions that cause harm to the system.

2. Worm

It is a type of malware whose primary function is to replicate itself to spread to uninfected computers. It works
same as the computer virus. Worms often originate from email attachments that appear to be from trusted
senders.

3. Trojan horse

It is a malicious program that occurs unexpected changes to computer setting and unusual activity, even when
the computer should be idle. It misleads the user of its true intent. It appears to be a normal application but
when opened/executed some malicious code will run in the background.

4. Backdoors

It is a method that bypasses the normal authentication process. A developer may create a backdoor so that an
application or operating system can be accessed for troubleshooting or other purposes.

5. Bots

A bot (short for "robot") is an automated process that interacts with other network services. Some bots
program run automatically, while others only execute commands when they receive specific input. Common
examples of bots program are the crawler, chatroom bots, and malicious bots.

Types of Cyber Attackers

In computer and computer networks, an attacker is the individual or organization who performs
the malicious activities to destroy, expose, alter, disable, steal or gain unauthorized access to or
make unauthorized use of an asset.

As the Internet access becomes more pervasive across the world, and each of us spends more
time on the web, there is also an attacker grows as well. Attackers use every tools and techniques
they would try and attack us to get unauthorized access.

There are four types of attackers which are described below-

Cyber Criminals
Cybercriminals are individual or group of people who use technology to commit cybercrime with the intention
of stealing sensitive company information or personal data and generating profits. In today's, they are the most
prominent and most active type of attacker.

Cybercriminals use computers in three broad ways to do cybercrimes-

o Select computer as their target- In this, they attack other people's computers to do cybercrime, such
as spreading viruses, data theft, identity theft, etc.

o Uses the computer as their weapon- In this, they use the computer to do conventional crime such as
spam, fraud, illegal gambling, etc.

o Uses the computer as their accessory- In this, they use the computer to steal data illegally.

Hacktivists
Hacktivists are individuals or groups of hackers who carry out malicious activity to promote a political agenda,
religious belief, or social ideology. According to Dan Lohrmann, chief security officer for Security Mentor, a
national security training firm that works with states said "Hacktivism is a digital disobedience. It's hacking for
a cause." Hacktivists are not like cybercriminals who hack computer networks to steal data for the cash. They
are individuals or groups of hackers who work together and see themselves as fighting injustice.
State-sponsored Attacker
State-sponsored attackers have particular objectives aligned with either the political, commercial or military
interests of their country of origin. These type of attackers are not in a hurry. The government organizations
have highly skilled hackers and specialize in detecting vulnerabilities and exploiting these before the holes are
patched. It is very challenging to defeat these attackers due to the vast resources at their disposal.

Insider Threats
The insider threat is a threat to an organization's security or data that comes from within. These type of threats
are usually occurred from employees or former employees, but may also arise from third parties, including
contractors, temporary workers, employees or customers.

Insider threats can be categorized below-

Malicious-

Malicious threats are attempts by an insider to access and potentially harm an

organization's data, systems or IT infrastructure. These insider threats are often
attributed to dissatisfied employees or ex-employees who believe that the
organization was doing something wrong with them in some way, and they feel
justified in seeking revenge.

Insiders may also become threats when they are disguised by malicious outsiders,
either through financial incentives or extortion.
Accidental-

Accidental threats are threats which are accidently done by insider employees. In
this type of threats, an employee might accidentally delete an important file or
inadvertently share confidential data with a business partner going beyond
company?s policy or legal requirements.

Negligent-

These are the threats in which employees try to avoid the policies of an
organization put in place to protect endpoints and valuable data. For example, if
the organization have strict policies for external file sharing, employees might try
to share work on public cloud applications so that they can work at home. There is
nothing wrong with these acts, but they can open up to dangerous threats
nonetheless.

Cryptography

Cryptography is the science of encrypting and decrypting data. Based on complex

mathematics, cryptography provides several important information security
services such as authentication, confidentiality, integrity, and non-repudiation.
Cryptographic protocols and applications make cryptography user-friendly and
enable users to secure their data without having to carry out the complex
mathematics themselves. Modern cryptography relies on cryptographic keys,
usually a short string of text, for encoding and decoding messages in combination
with cryptographic algorithms. Based on the type of keys used, cryptography is
classified as either symmetric or asymmetric key cryptography. Both symmetric
and asymmetric key cryptography provide data confidentiality. Asymmetric key
encryption is sometimes called public key encryption. Digital signatures, one of the
by-products of public key cryptography, enable the verification of authenticity,
integrity, and non-repudiation.

Difference between Substitution Cipher Technique and Transposition Cipher

Technique
Both Substitution cipher technique and Transposition cipher technique are the
types of Traditional cipher which are used to convert the plain text into cipher text.
Substitution Cipher Technique:
In Substitution Cipher Technique plain text characters are replaced with other
characters, numbers and symbols as well as in substitution Cipher Technique,
character’s identity is changed while its position remains unchanged.
Transposition Cipher Technique:
Transposition Cipher Technique rearranges the position of the plain text’s
characters. In transposition Cipher Technique, The position of the character is
changed but character’s identity is not changed.

Difference between Substitution Cipher Technique and Transposition Cipher

Technique:

SUBSTITUTION CIPHER TRANSPOSITION CIPHER

S.NO TECHNIQUE TECHNIQUE

In substitution Cipher

Technique, plain text In transposition Cipher

characters are replaced with Technique, plain text characters

other characters, numbers are rearranged with respect to

1. and symbols. the position.

Substitution Cipher’s forms Transposition Cipher’s forms

2. are: Mono alphabetic are: Key-less transposition

 substitution cipher and poly cipher and keyed transposition

alphabetic substitution cipher.

cipher.

While in transposition Cipher

In substitution Cipher Technique, The position of the

Technique, character’s character is changed but

identity is changed while its character’s identity is not

3. position remains unchanged. changed.

In substitution Cipher While in transposition Cipher

Technique, The letter with Technique, The Keys which are

low frequency can detect nearer to correct key can

4. plaint ext. disclose plain text.

The example of substitution The example of transposition

5. Cipher is Caesar Cipher. Cipher is Reil Fence Cipher.

One-time pad cipher

One-time pad cipher is a type of Vignere cipher which includes the following
features −

It is an unbreakable cipher.
The key is exactly same as the length of message which is encrypted.

The key is made up of random symbols.

As the name suggests, key is used one time only and never used again for any other
message to be encrypted.

Due to this, encrypted message will be vulnerable to attack for a cryptanalyst. The
key used for a one-time pad cipher is called pad, as it is printed on pads of paper.

Why is it Unbreakable?

The key is unbreakable owing to the following features −

The key is as long as the given message.

The key is truly random and specially auto-generated.

Key and plain text calculated as modulo 10/26/2.

Each key should be used once and destroyed by both sender and receiver.

There should be two copies of key: one with the sender and other with the receiver.

Encryption

To encrypt a letter, a user needs to write a key underneath the plaintext. The
plaintext letter is placed on the top and the key letter on the left. The cross section
achieved between two letters is the plain text. It is described in the example below
−

Decryption

To decrypt a letter, user takes the key letter on the left and finds cipher text letter in
that row. The plain text letter is placed at the top of the column where the user can
find the cipher text letter.

AES – The Advances Encryption Standard;

The more popular and widely adopted symmetric encryption algorithm likely to
be encountered nowadays is the Advanced Encryption Standard (AES). It is found
at least six time faster than triple DES.
A replacement for DES was needed as its key size was too small. With increasing
computing power, it was considered vulnerable against exhaustive key search
attack. Triple DES was designed to overcome this drawback but it was found
slow.
The features of AES are as follows −

• Symmetric key symmetric block cipher

• 128-bit data, 128/192/256-bit keys
• Stronger and faster than Triple-DES
• Provide full specification and design details
• Software implementable in C and Java

Operation of AES

AES is an iterative rather than Feistel cipher. It is based on ‘substitution–

permutation network’. It comprises of a series of linked operations, some of which
involve replacing inputs by specific outputs (substitutions) and others involve
shuffling bits around (permutations).
Interestingly, AES performs all its computations on bytes rather than bits. Hence,
AES treats the 128 bits of a plaintext block as 16 bytes. These 16 bytes are
arranged in four columns and four rows for processing as a matrix −
Unlike DES, the number of rounds in AES is variable and depends on the length
of the key. AES uses 10 rounds for 128-bit keys, 12 rounds for 192-bit keys and
14 rounds for 256-bit keys. Each of these rounds uses a different 128-bit round
key, which is calculated from the original AES key.
The schematic of AES structure is given in the following illustration −
Encryption Process

Here, we restrict to description of a typical round of AES encryption. Each round

comprise of four sub-processes. The first round process is depicted below −
Byte Substitution (SubBytes)

The 16 input bytes are substituted by looking up a fixed table (S-box) given in
design. The result is in a matrix of four rows and four columns.

Shiftrows

Each of the four rows of the matrix is shifted to the left. Any entries that ‘fall off’
are re-inserted on the right side of row. Shift is carried out as follows −
• First row is not shifted.
• Second row is shifted one (byte) position to the left.
• Third row is shifted two positions to the left.
• Fourth row is shifted three positions to the left.
• The result is a new matrix consisting of the same 16 bytes but shifted with
respect to each other.

MixColumns

Each column of four bytes is now transformed using a special mathematical

function. This function takes as input the four bytes of one column and outputs
four completely new bytes, which replace the original column. The result is
another new matrix consisting of 16 new bytes. It should be noted that this step is
not performed in the last round.

Addroundkey

The 16 bytes of the matrix are now considered as 128 bits and are XORed to the
128 bits of the round key. If this is the last round then the output is the ciphertext.
Otherwise, the resulting 128 bits are interpreted as 16 bytes and we begin another
similar round.

Decryption Process

The process of decryption of an AES ciphertext is similar to the encryption

process in the reverse order. Each round consists of the four processes conducted
in the reverse order −

• Add round key

• Mix columns
• Shift rows
• Byte substitution
Since sub-processes in each round are in reverse manner, unlike for a Feistel
Cipher, the encryption and decryption algorithms needs to be separately
implemented, although they are very closely related.

AES Analysis

In present day cryptography, AES is widely adopted and supported in both

hardware and software. Till date, no practical cryptanalytic attacks against AES
has been discovered. Additionally, AES has built-in flexibility of key length,
which allows a degree of ‘future-proofing’ against progress in the ability to
perform exhaustive key searches.
However, just as for DES, the AES security is assured only if it is correctly
implemented and good key management is employed.
Data Encryption Standard (DES)
The Data Encryption Standard (DES) is a symmetric-key block cipher published
by the National Institute of Standards and Technology (NIST).
DES is an implementation of a Feistel Cipher. It uses 16 round Feistel structure.
The block size is 64-bit. Though, key length is 64-bit, DES has an effective key
length of 56 bits, since 8 of the 64 bits of the key are not used by the encryption
algorithm (function as check bits only). General Structure of DES is depicted in
the following illustration −
Since DES is based on the Feistel Cipher, all that is required to specify DES is −

• Round function
• Key schedule
• Any additional processing − Initial and final permutation

Initial and Final Permutation

The initial and final permutations are straight Permutation boxes (P-boxes) that
are inverses of each other. They have no cryptography significance in DES. The
initial and final permutations are shown as follows −

Round Function

The heart of this cipher is the DES function, f. The DES function applies a 48-bit
key to the rightmost 32 bits to produce a 32-bit output.
• Expansion Permutation Box − Since right input is 32-bit and round key is
a 48-bit, we first need to expand right input to 48 bits. Permutation logic is
graphically depicted in the following illustration −

• The graphically depicted permutation logic is generally described as table in

DES specification illustrated as shown −
• XOR (Whitener). − After the expansion permutation, DES does XOR
operation on the expanded right section and the round key. The round key is
used only in this operation.
• Substitution Boxes. − The S-boxes carry out the real mixing (confusion).
DES uses 8 S-boxes, each with a 6-bit input and a 4-bit output. Refer the
following illustration −

• The S-box rule is illustrated below −

 • There are a total of eight S-box tables. The output of all eight s-boxes is
then combined in to 32 bit section.
• Straight Permutation − The 32 bit output of S-boxes is then subjected to
the straight permutation with rule shown in the following illustration:

Key Generation

The round-key generator creates sixteen 48-bit keys out of a 56-bit cipher key.
The process of key generation is depicted in the following illustration −
The logic for Parity drop, shifting, and Compression P-box is given in the DES
description.

DES Analysis

The DES satisfies both the desired properties of block cipher. These two
properties make cipher very strong.
• Avalanche effect − A small change in plaintext results in the very great
change in the ciphertext.
• Completeness − Each bit of ciphertext depends on many bits of plaintext.
During the last few years, cryptanalysis have found some weaknesses in DES
when key selected are weak keys. These keys shall be avoided.
DES has proved to be a very well designed block cipher. There have been no
significant cryptanalytic attacks on DES other than exhaustive key search.

Public Key Cryptography

Unlike symmetric key cryptography, we do not find historical use of public-key

cryptography. It is a relatively new concept.
Symmetric cryptography was well suited for organizations such as governments,
military, and big financial corporations were involved in the classified
communication.
With the spread of more unsecure computer networks in last few decades, a
genuine need was felt to use cryptography at larger scale. The symmetric key was
found to be non-practical due to challenges it faced for key management. This
gave rise to the public key cryptosystems.
The process of encryption and decryption is depicted in the following illustration
−
The most important properties of public key encryption scheme are −
• Different keys are used for encryption and decryption. This is a property
which set this scheme different than symmetric encryption scheme.
• Each receiver possesses a unique decryption key, generally referred to as his
private key.
• Receiver needs to publish an encryption key, referred to as his public key.
• Some assurance of the authenticity of a public key is needed in this scheme
to avoid spoofing by adversary as the receiver. Generally, this type of
cryptosystem involves trusted third party which certifies that a particular
public key belongs to a specific person or entity only.
• Encryption algorithm is complex enough to prohibit attacker from deducing
the plaintext from the ciphertext and the encryption (public) key.
• Though private and public keys are related mathematically, it is not be
feasible to calculate the private key from the public key. In fact, intelligent
 part of any public-key cryptosystem is in designing a relationship between
two keys.
There are three types of Public Key Encryption schemes. We discuss them in
following sections −

RSA Cryptosystem

This cryptosystem is one the initial system. It remains most employed

cryptosystem even today. The system was invented by three scholars Ron Rivest,
Adi Shamir, and Len Adleman and hence, it is termed as RSA cryptosystem.
We will see two aspects of the RSA cryptosystem, firstly generation of key pair
and secondly encryption-decryption algorithms.

Generation of RSA Key Pair

Each person or a party who desires to participate in communication using

encryption needs to generate a pair of keys, namely public key and private key.
The process followed in the generation of keys is described below −
• Generate the RSA modulus (n)
o Select two large primes, p and q.
o Calculate n=p*q. For strong unbreakable encryption, let n be a large
number, typically a minimum of 512 bits.
• Find Derived Number (e)
o Number e must be greater than 1 and less than (p − 1)(q − 1).
o There must be no common factor for e and (p − 1)(q − 1) except for 1.
In other words two numbers e and (p – 1)(q – 1) are coprime.
• Form the public key
o The pair of numbers (n, e) form the RSA public key and is made
public.
o Interestingly, though n is part of the public key, difficulty in
factorizing a large prime number ensures that attacker cannot find in
finite time the two primes (p & q) used to obtain n. This is strength of
RSA.
 • Generate the private key
o Private Key d is calculated from p, q, and e. For given n and e, there
is unique number d.
o Number d is the inverse of e modulo (p - 1)(q – 1). This means that d
is the number less than (p - 1)(q - 1) such that when multiplied by e,
it is equal to 1 modulo (p - 1)(q - 1).
o This relationship is written mathematically as follows −

ed = 1 mod (p − 1)(q − 1)

The Extended Euclidean Algorithm takes p, q, and e as input and gives d as

output.

Example

An example of generating RSA Key pair is given below. (For ease of

understanding, the primes p & q taken here are small values. Practically, these
values are very high).
• Let two primes be p = 7 and q = 13. Thus, modulus n = pq = 7 x 13 = 91.
• Select e = 5, which is a valid choice since there is no number that is
common factor of 5 and (p − 1)(q − 1) = 6 × 12 = 72, except for 1.
• The pair of numbers (n, e) = (91, 5) forms the public key and can be made
available to anyone whom we wish to be able to send us encrypted
messages.
• Input p = 7, q = 13, and e = 5 to the Extended Euclidean Algorithm. The
output will be d = 29.
• Check that the d calculated is correct by computing −

de = 29 × 5 = 145 = 1 mod 72
• Hence, public key is (91, 5) and private keys is (91, 29).

Encryption and Decryption

Once the key pair has been generated, the process of encryption and decryption
are relatively straightforward and computationally easy.
Interestingly, RSA does not directly operate on strings of bits as in case of
symmetric key encryption. It operates on numbers modulo n. Hence, it is
necessary to represent the plaintext as a series of numbers less than n.

RSA Encryption

• Suppose the sender wish to send some text message to someone whose
public key is (n, e).
• The sender then represents the plaintext as a series of numbers less than n.
• To encrypt the first plaintext P, which is a number modulo n. The
encryption process is simple mathematical step as −

C = Pe mod n
• In other words, the ciphertext C is equal to the plaintext P multiplied by
itself e times and then reduced modulo n. This means that C is also a
number less than n.
• Returning to our Key Generation example with plaintext P = 10, we get
ciphertext C −

C = 105 mod 91

RSA Decryption

• The decryption process for RSA is also very straightforward. Suppose that
the receiver of public-key pair (n, e) has received a ciphertext C.
• Receiver raises C to the power of his private key d. The result modulo n will
be the plaintext P.

Plaintext = Cd mod n
• Returning again to our numerical example, the ciphertext C = 82 would get
decrypted to number 10 using private key 29 −

Plaintext = 8229 mod 91 = 10

RSA Analysis

The security of RSA depends on the strengths of two separate functions. The RSA
cryptosystem is most popular public-key cryptosystem strength of which is based
on the practical difficulty of factoring the very large numbers.
• Encryption Function − It is considered as a one-way function of
converting plaintext into ciphertext and it can be reversed only with the
knowledge of private key d.
• Key Generation − The difficulty of determining a private key from an RSA
public key is equivalent to factoring the modulus n. An attacker thus cannot
use knowledge of an RSA public key to determine an RSA private key
unless he can factor n. It is also a one way function, going from p & q
values to modulus n is easy but reverse is not possible.
If either of these two functions are proved non one-way, then RSA will be broken.
In fact, if a technique for factoring efficiently is developed then RSA will no
longer be safe.
The strength of RSA encryption drastically goes down against attacks if the
number p and q are not large primes and/ or chosen public key e is a small
number.

Digital signatures

Digital signatures are the public-key primitives of message authentication. In the

physical world, it is common to use handwritten signatures on handwritten or
typed messages. They are used to bind signatory to the message.
Similarly, a digital signature is a technique that binds a person/entity to the digital
data. This binding can be independently verified by receiver as well as any third
party.
Digital signature is a cryptographic value that is calculated from the data and a
secret key known only by the signer.
In real world, the receiver of message needs assurance that the message belongs to
the sender and he should not be able to repudiate the origination of that message.
This requirement is very crucial in business applications, since likelihood of a
dispute over exchanged data is very high.

Model of Digital Signature

As mentioned earlier, the digital signature scheme is based on public key

cryptography. The model of digital signature scheme is depicted in the following
illustration −

The following points explain the entire process in detail −

• Each person adopting this scheme has a public-private key pair.
• Generally, the key pairs used for encryption/decryption and
signing/verifying are different. The private key used for signing is referred
to as the signature key and the public key as the verification key.
• Signer feeds data to the hash function and generates hash of data.
• Hash value and signature key are then fed to the signature algorithm which
produces the digital signature on given hash. Signature is appended to the
data and then both are sent to the verifier.
 • Verifier feeds the digital signature and the verification key into the
verification algorithm. The verification algorithm gives some value as
output.
• Verifier also runs same hash function on received data to generate hash
value.
• For verification, this hash value and output of verification algorithm are
compared. Based on the comparison result, verifier decides whether the
digital signature is valid.
• Since digital signature is created by ‘private’ key of signer and no one else
can have this key; the signer cannot repudiate signing the data in future.
It should be noticed that instead of signing data directly by signing algorithm,
usually a hash of data is created. Since the hash of data is a unique representation
of data, it is sufficient to sign the hash in place of data. The most important reason
of using hash instead of data directly for signing is efficiency of the scheme.
Let us assume RSA is used as the signing algorithm. As discussed in public key
encryption chapter, the encryption/signing process using RSA involves modular
exponentiation.
Signing large data through modular exponentiation is computationally expensive
and time consuming. The hash of the data is a relatively small digest of the data,
hence signing a hash is more efficient than signing the entire data.

Importance of Digital Signature

Out of all cryptographic primitives, the digital signature using public key
cryptography is considered as very important and useful tool to achieve
information security.
Apart from ability to provide non-repudiation of message, the digital signature
also provides message authentication and data integrity. Let us briefly see how
this is achieved by the digital signature −
• Message authentication − When the verifier validates the digital signature
using public key of a sender, he is assured that signature has been created
only by sender who possess the corresponding secret private key and no one
else.
 • Data Integrity − In case an attacker has access to the data and modifies it,
the digital signature verification at receiver end fails. The hash of modified
data and the output provided by the verification algorithm will not match.
Hence, receiver can safely deny the message assuming that data integrity
has been breached.
• Non-repudiation − Since it is assumed that only the signer has the
knowledge of the signature key, he can only create unique signature on a
given data. Thus the receiver can present data and the digital signature to a
third party as evidence if any dispute arises in the future.
By adding public-key encryption to digital signature scheme, we can create a
cryptosystem that can provide the four essential elements of security namely −
Privacy, Authentication, Integrity, and Non-repudiation.

Encryption with Digital Signature

In many digital communications, it is desirable to exchange an encrypted

messages than plaintext to achieve confidentiality. In public key encryption
scheme, a public (encryption) key of sender is available in open domain, and
hence anyone can spoof his identity and send any encrypted message to the
receiver.
This makes it essential for users employing PKC for encryption to seek digital
signatures along with encrypted data to be assured of message authentication and
non-repudiation.
This can archived by combining digital signatures with encryption scheme. Let us
briefly discuss how to achieve this requirement. There are two possibilities, sign-
then-encrypt and encrypt-then-sign.
However, the crypto system based on sign-then-encrypt can be exploited by
receiver to spoof identity of sender and sent that data to third party. Hence, this
method is not preferred. The process of encrypt-then-sign is more reliable and
widely adopted. This is depicted in the following illustration −
Message digests
The receiver after receiving the encrypted data and signature on it, first verifies
the signature using sender’s public key. After ensuring the validity of the
signature, he then retrieves the data through decryption using his private key.
A message digest is a cryptographic hash function containing a string of digits
created by a one-way hashing formula.
Message digests are designed to protect the integrity of a piece of data or media to
detect changes and alterations to any part of a message. They are a type of
cryptography utilizing hash values that can warn the copyright owner of any
modifications applied to their work.
Message digest hash numbers represent specific files containing the protected
works. One message digest is assigned to particular data content. It can reference a
change made deliberately or accidentally, but it prompts the owner to identify the
modification as well as the individual(s) making the change. Message digests are
algorithmic numbers.

What is a Firewall?
A firewall is a type of cybersecurity tool that is used to filter traffic on a network.
Firewalls can be used to separate network nodes from external traffic sources, internal
traffic sources, or even specific applications. Firewalls can be software, hardware, or
cloud-based, with each type of firewall having its own unique pros and cons.

The primary goal of a firewall is to block malicious traffic requests and data packets
while allowing legitimate traffic through.

Packet-Filtering Firewalls
As the most “basic” and oldest type of firewall architecture, packet-filtering firewalls
basically create a checkpoint at a traffic router or switch. The firewall performs a simple
check of the data packets coming through the router—inspecting information such as the
destination and origination IP address, packet type, port number, and other surface-level
information without opening up the packet to inspect its contents.

If the information packet doesn’t pass the inspection, it is dropped.

The good thing about these firewalls is that they aren’t very resource-intensive. This
means they don’t have a huge impact on system performance and are relatively simple.
However, they’re also relatively easy to bypass compared to firewalls with more robust
inspection capabilities.

Proxy Firewalls (Application-Level Gateways/Cloud Firewalls)

Proxy firewalls operate at the application layer to filter incoming traffic between your
network and the traffic source—hence, the name “application-level gateway.” These
firewalls are delivered via a cloud-based solution or another proxy device. Rather than
letting traffic connect directly, the proxy firewall first establishes a connection to the
source of the traffic and inspects the incoming data packet.

This check is similar to the stateful inspection firewall in that it looks at both the packet
and at the TCP handshake protocol. However, proxy firewalls may also perform deep-
layer packet inspections, checking the actual contents of the information packet to verify
that it contains no malware.

steganography
Steganography is the technique of hiding secret data within an ordinary, non-secret,
file or message in order to avoid detection; the secret data is then extracted at its
destination. The use of steganography can be combined with encryption as an extra
step for hiding or protecting data. The word steganography is derived from the Greek
words steganos (meaning hidden or covered) and the Greek root graph (meaning to
write).

Steganography can be used to conceal almost any type of digital content, including
text, image, video or audio content; the data to be hidden can be hidden inside almost
any other type of digital content. The content to be concealed through steganography -
- called hidden text -- is often encrypted before being incorporated into the innocuous-
seeming cover text file or data stream. If not encrypted, the hidden text is commonly
processed in some way in order to increase the difficulty of detecting the secret
content.

Steganography is practiced by those wishing to convey a secret message or code.

While there are many legitimate uses for steganography, malware developers have
also been found to use steganography to obscure the transmission of malicious code.
Forms of steganography have been used for centuries and include almost any
technique for hiding a secret message in an otherwise harmless container. For
example, using invisible ink to hide secret messages in otherwise inoffensive
messages; hiding documents recorded on microdot -- which can be as small as 1
millimeter in diameter -- on or inside legitimate-seeming correspondence; and even by
using multiplayer gaming environments to share information.

Steganography techniques
In modern digital steganography, data is first encrypted or obfuscated in some other
way and then inserted, using a special algorithm, into data that is part of a particular
file format such as a JPEG image, audio or video file. The secret message can be
embedded into ordinary data files in many different ways. One technique is to hide
data in bits that represent the same color pixels repeated in a row in an image file. By
applying the encrypted data to this redundant data in some inconspicuous way, the
result will be an image file that appears identical to the original image but that has
"noise" patterns of regular, unencrypted data.

The practice of adding a watermark -- a trademark or other identifying data hidden in

multimedia or other content files -- is one common use of steganography.
Watermarking is a technique often used by online publishers to identify the source of
media files that have been found being shared without permission.

While there are many different uses of steganography, including embedding sensitive
information into file types, one of the most common techniques is to embed a text file
into an image file. When this is done, anyone viewing the image file should not be
able to see a difference between the original image file and the encrypted file; this is
accomplished by storing the message with less significant bites in the data file. This
process can be completed manually or with the use of a steganography tool.

Advantages over cryptography

Steganography is distinct from cryptography, but using both together can help
improve the security of the protected information and prevent detection of the secret
communication. If steganographically-hidden data is also encrypted, the data may still
be safe from detection -- though the channel will no longer be safe from detection.
There are advantages to using steganography combined with encryption over
encryption-only communication.

The primary advantage of using steganography to hide data over encryption is that it
helps obscure the fact that there is sensitive data hidden in the file or other content
carrying the hidden text. Whereas an encrypted file, message or network packet
payload is clearly marked and identifiable as such, using steganographic techniques
helps to obscure the presence of the secure channel.

Steganography software
Steganography software is used to perform a variety of functions in order to hide data,
including encoding the data in order to prepare it to be hidden inside another file,
keeping track of which bits of the cover text file contain hidden data, encrypting the
data to be hidden and extracting hidden data by its intended recipient.

There are proprietary as well as open source and other free-to-use programs available
for doing steganography. OpenStego is an open source steganography program; other
programs can be characterized by the types of data that can be hidden as well as what
types of files that data can be hidden inside. Some online steganography software
tools include Xiao Steganography, used to hide secret files in BMP images or WAV
files; Image Steganography, a Javascript tool that hides images inside other image
files; and Crypture, a command line tool that is used to perform steganography.
References:

1. Computer Networks by Andrew Tanenbaum, Pearson Education.[4th Edition]

2. Data Communication and Networking by BehrouzForouzan, TATA McGraw Hill. .[4th

Edition]

3. https://www.tutorialspoint.com/image-based-steganography
4. https://www.javatpoint.com/computer-network-topologies