Chapter 7

Networks: An Interconnected World

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14 th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be scanned,
copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Network Fundamentals
• Computer network: the communications media, devices, and
software needed to connect two or more computer systems or
devices
• Network nodes: the computers and devices on the networks
• Organizations can use networks to share hardware, programs, and
databases
• Network topology: The shape or structure of a network, including
the arrangement of the communications links and hardware devices
on the network
• Three most common network topologies
• Star network
• Bus network
• Mesh network
Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Network Topology (1 of 3)

FIGURE 7.1 Star network

In a star network, all network devices connect to one another through a single central hub node.

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Network Topology (2 of 3)

FIGURE 7.2 Bus network

In a bus network, all network devices are connected to a common backbone that serves as a
shared communications medium.

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Network Topology (3 of 3)

FIGURE 7.3 Mesh network

Mesh networks use multiple access points to link a series of devices that speak to each other to
form a network connection across a large area.

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Network Types (1 of 2)
• A personal area network (PAN) supports
the interconnection of information
technology close to one person
• A local area network (LAN) connects
computer systems and devices within a
small area (e.g., an office or a home)
• A metropolitan area network (MAN)
connects users and their devices in an area
that spans a campus or city
• A wide area network (WAN) connects large
geographic regions
Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Network Types (2 of 2)

FIGURE 7.4 Typical LAN

All network users within an office
building can connect to each other’s
devices for rapid communication. For
instance, a user in research and
development could send a document
from her computer to be printed at a
printer located in the desktop
publishing center. Most computer labs
employ a LAN to enable the users to
share the use of high-speed and/or
color printers and plotters as well as to
download software applications and
save files.

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Client/Server Systems
• Client/server architecture features
multiple computer platforms dedicated to
special functions, e.g., database
management, printing, or communications
• A client is any computer that sends
messages requesting services from the
servers on the network
• A database server sends only the data that
meets a specific query—not the entire file

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Communications Media (1 of 8)

• Two broad categories

• Guided (wired) transmission media:
signals are guided along a solid medium
• Wireless: the signal is broadcast over
airwaves as a form of electromagnetic
radiation
• Channel bandwidth: the rate at which
data is exchanged
• Usually measured in bits/sec

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Communications Media (2 of 8)
Media Form Description Advantages Disadvantages
Twisted pairs of
Limitations on
Twisted-pair wire copper wire, shieldedWidely available transmission speed
or unshielded; used
and distance
for telephone service
Cleaner and faster
Inner conductor wire
data transmission More expensive than
Coaxial cable surrounded by
insulation than twisted-pair twisted-pair wire
wire
Many extremely thin Diameter of cable is
strands of glass much smaller than
Fiber-optic cable bound together in a coaxial cable; less Expensive to
sheathing; uses light distortion of signal; purchase and install
beams to transmit capable of high
signals transmission rates

Table 7.1 Guided transmission media types.

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Communications Media (3 of 8)

FIGURE 7.5 Types of guided transmission media

Common guided transmission media include twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, and
fiber-optic cable.

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Communications Media (4 of 8)
• Wireless Technologies
•Wireless transmission involves the
broadcast of communications in one of three
frequency ranges
•Radio, microwave, or infrared frequencies
•In some cases, use of wireless
communications is regulated
•The signal must be broadcast within a
specific frequency range to avoid
interference with other wireless
transmissions
•
Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Communications Media (5 of 8)
Technology Description Advantages Disadvantages
Radio frequency Operates in the 3 Supports mobile users; Signal is highly
range KHz–300 MHz range costs are dropping susceptible to
interception
Microwave— High-frequency Avoids cost and effort Must have unobstructed
terrestrial and radio signal (300 to lay cable or wires; line of sight between
satellite MHz–300 GHz) sent capable of high-speed sender and receiver;
frequency range through the transmission signal is highly
atmosphere and susceptible to
space (often involves interception
communications
satellites)
Infrared Signals in the 300 Let’s you move, Must have unobstructed
frequency range GHz–400 THz remove, and install line of sight between
frequency range devices without sender and receiver;
expensive wiring transmission is effective
only for short distances

Table 7.2 Frequency ranges used for wireless communications

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Radio Frequency (6 of 8)

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Microwave Frequency (7 of 8)

FIGURE 7.8 Satellite transmission

Communications satellites are relay stations that receive signals from one Earth station and
rebroadcast them to another.

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Infrared Frequency (8 of 8)

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Communications Media (1 of 5)
are basically devices that is installed as part of the network to
facilitate the sending and receiving of data between nodes in
the network.

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Modem (2 of 5)

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Multiplexer/Private Branch Exchange
(PBX) (3 of 5)

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Switch/Bridge/Router (4 of 5)

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
Communication Media (5 of 5)

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Communications Software (1 of 2)
• Network operating system (NOS)
• Systems software that controls the computer systems
and devices on a network
• Linux, UNIX, Windows Server, and Mac OS X are
common NOSs
• Network-management software:
• Protects software from being copied, modified, or
downloaded illegally
• Locates telecommunications errors and potential
network problems
• Mobile device management (MDM) software
• Manages and troubleshoots mobile devices remotely,
pushing out applications, data, patches and settings

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.
 Communications Software (2 of 2)
• A central control group can maintain group policies
for security, control system settings, ensure malware
protection is in place for mobile devices used across
the network, and make it mandatory to use
passwords to access the network

• Software-Defined Networking (SDN)

• An emerging approach to networking
• Allows network administrators to have programmable
central control of the network via a controller without
requiring physical access to all the network devices

Stair/Reynolds, Principles of Information Systems, 14th Edition. © 2021 Cengage. All Rights Reserved. May not be
scanned, copied or duplicated, or posted to a publicly accessible website, in whole or in part.