DATA COMMUNICATION,

NETWORKS AND THE INTERNET

 Data Communication:

The transmission of data from one

location to another for direct use or
further processing
 A communication system is made up of
hardware, software and communication
facilities.
 Data is carried from one location to
another by means of a Data
Transmission Channel
 Bandwidth

Bandwidth determines the volume of

data that can be transmitted at any given
time. The wider the bandwidth, the more
data that can be transmitted
 Bandwidth can be grouped in 3
categories:

 Narrow Band Channel: Can transmit data at the rate

of between 10 and 30 characters per second (CPS).
Telegraph systems are examples of narrow band lines.
 (a typist would have to be extremely fast to type at 10
cps, so this line capacity is sufficient for data being
typed directly)
 Voice Band Channel: Can transmit data at a max of
1000 – 8000 CPS. The most widely used method of
remote data transmission is via telephone lines, which
fall into this category (hence its name)
Telephone lines can transmit analog signals e.g. sound
waves. The data transmitted from the computer is
usually in digital form. However digital signals can’t
travel great distances over telephone lines.
A Modem (Modulator/Demodulator) converts the
digital signals from the computer, to analog so that it
can be transmitted. Another modem on the other end
re-converts the analog signal to digital which the
computer can interpret.
 Modems can also perform

 Automatic dialing (call a telephone #)

 Automatic answering of remote computers (answer
an incoming call)
 Broad Band Channel: can transmit large volumes of
data at speeds of over 100000 CPS.
e.g. a television cable can transmit over ten million
(10,000,000) CPS. These types of cables are called
Coaxial cables.
Coaxial, Twisted pair, Fiber optic, Microwave lines and
communication satellites are the communication
channels for broad band.
The best high-capacity transmission channel come from
optical fibers. (fiber optic). In this technology, semi-
conductor lasers transmit data at the speed of light,
along hair-thin glass fibers. Because the fibers are so
thin, thousands cab be included in a single cable.
Transmission lines can also be classified according to
the direction in which data flows through the line

There are three classes

 Simplex line: allow data to flow in one
direction only. You can send or receive
but not both. ( a one way street)
eg. A door bell
 Half duplex: can send and receive data but not at the
same time. Thus, at any time a half duplex line may be
sending or receiving, but not both. (like a narrow
bridge. Traffic can cross in both directions but only
one direction at a time)
 Eg: walkie talkie
 Full Duplex: Allows sending and receiving of data at
the same time.
(a two way street)
Eg: (telephone)
 Which channel to use?

 Think of bandwidth as pipes used for transporting

water. The size of the pipes depends on the amount
of water needed. ( more water = larger pipes)
 NETWORKS

 A NETWORK is a group of two or more computers

linked together so that they can share resources
(hardware, software and data) and communicate
with each other.
Networks fall into these categories:

 LANs
 WANs
 Internet
 Intranet
 LANs

A local area network (LAN) is a computer network that

interconnects computers within a limited area such as a
residence, school, laboratory, or office building.
LANs can be divided in two categories
based on how the computers
communicate with eachother
1. A Client/server network is one in which one or more
computers on the network are designated as the
server(s), although most networks will have a specially
designed computer that operates as a dedicated server
and has a faster processor, more RAM and a lot more
storage space. A large LAN may have several servers to
perform different tasks. The servers contain software that
manages:
 A shared hard disk
 Requests from users
 The protection of data
 The security of the system
2. A Peer-to-peer network allows every computer to
communicate with every other computer on the
network. Each computer can be considered as both a
client and a server. This is because a user can access data
from any computer on the network and vice versa. Peer-
to-peer networks are limited to about 10 machines, after
which the performance drops.
They are used mainly in small businesses and
departments
 Advantages of a LAN
 Software and data files can be shared with many
users
 It is usually cheaper to buy one copy of a software
application and pay the license fee for several
machines, than to buy individual packages for each
computer
 Users can work together on a single document
 Users can communicate using e-mail
 Disadvantages of a LAN

 The initial set-up costs are high

 There is an increased risk of data corruption. Since
many users will be using the system, there is greater
chance of data being corrupted or tampered with
 There is greater risk from viruses, because they are
easily spread between the computers that are part of
a LAN.
 Cabled LAN

In a cabled LAN, all the computers and peripheral

devices on the network are attached to transmission
cables. These cables fall into 3 types.
 Twisted pair
 Coaxial cables
 Fiber optic
 Twisted pair

Twisted pair cables are convenient and cheap method

of connecting computers and peripherals in a network.
Normally used for home networking, or small sites
where the distance between devices are small and there
is no great need for speed
 Coaxial

Coaxial cable: More expensive than twisted pair and is

used to transmit voice, video and data. Ideal for midium
sized networks.
( cable used for cable TV)
 Fiber optic

Fiber optic: Relatively expensive. They enable large

volumes of digital signals to be transmitted extremely
fast and virtually error free. A single strand of fiber optic
cable is a hair-thin piece of glass tubing. The inside of
the tube acts as a mirror, allowing a light beam to travel
along it.
 TYPES OF NETWORKS

The three main types of networks are:

• Local area networks (LANs)
• Metropolitan area networks (MANs)
• Wide area networks (WANs)
 LAN

A network that uses cables or radio signals to link tow

or more computers in a geographically limited area, like
an office, or school.
( in a building or group of buildings)
 MAN

Similar to a LAN, but spans a large geographical area

such as a city. MANs are formed by connecting multiple
LANs. A MAN therefor is larger than a LAN but smaller
than a WAN
A WiMax network is an example of a MAN.
 WAN

A WAN (wide area network) is a communications

network that spans a large geographic area such as
across cities, states, or countries. They can be private to
connect parts of a business or they can be more public
to connect smaller networks together.
 The Internet

The Internet is a public, global (wide area) network

based on the TCP/IP protocol. The TCP/IP assigns every
connected computer a unique Internet address, also
called an IP address so that any two connected
computers can locate each other on the network and
locate data
 Intranet

An intranet is a private computer network designed to

meet the needs of a single organization or company
that is based on the Internet (TCP/IP) technology. It is
not necessarily open to the external Internet and
definitely not open to outside users. It utilizes familiar
facilities such as web pages and web browsers.
 extranet

An extranet is an intranet that has been selectively

opened to specially selected individuals or organisations
(including customers, suppliers, research associates).
An online banking application is an example of an
extranet.
 Internet concepts

 Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a protocol

used to request and transmit files especially web
pages and web page contents, over the Internet or
other computer networks.
 File Transfer Protocol (FTP) is the language that
computers on a TCP/IP network (such as the internet)
use to transfer files to and from each other.
 Voice Over Internet Protocol (VOIP) is the use of
internet-based technologies to transmit voice-grade
data over the Internet. As many people connect to
the internet with fast broadband connections, it has
become possible to use the Internet for voice
communication instead of text-based chat
 Bluetooth is a wireless protocol for exchanging data over
short distances from fixed and mobile devices, using radio
waves. Bluetooth capability is enabled in a device by means
of an embedded Bluetooth chip and supporting software.
Some of the current uses of the Bluetooth protocol include:
 Wireless control of and communication between a mobile
phone and a hands free headset.
 Wireless control of and communication between a mobile
phone and a Bluetooth compatible car stereo system.
 Wireless networking between PCs in a confined space and
where little bandwidth is required.
 Transfer of files, contact details etc. between smart phones
 Wi-Fi: Wi-Fi is a marketing term created by the Wi-Fi
Alliance, a non-profit industry group that tests
products to ensure that they comply with particular
industry wireless standards.
Wi-Fi is a facility allowing computers, smartphones, or
other devices to connect to the Internet or
communicate with one another wirelessly within a
particular area.
 The World Wide Web (WWW)

The World Wide Web (WWW) is a network of online

content that is formatted in HTML and accessed via
HTTP.
The term refers to all the interlinked HTML pages that
can be accessed over the Internet
 Web Page

A Web Page is a document, written in Hyper Text

Markup Language (HTML), that may contain text, sound
images, video clips, hyperlinks and other compunents.
 Website

A Website is a group of web pages that belong together

and are linked to each other using hyperlinks.
Organisations want viewers to be able to find
documents on their website easily so they arrange their
website to have a single entry point from which the rest
of the website is accessed; this is the organisation’s
home page.
 Hyperlink

A hyperlink is an icon, information object, underlined or

otherwise emphasized word or phrase that displays
another document (or recourse) when clicked with the
mouse
 Web Server

A web server is a special-purpose application software

that accepts request for information, framed according
to the Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP), processes
these requests and sends the requested document.
 Web Browser

A Web Browser is a special-purpose application

software that runs on an Internet- connected computer
and used The HTTP to connect with web servers.
All web browsers can decode web pages that have been
written with HTML.
A uniform resource locator (URL) is a string of characters that
uniquely identifies and Internet resource’s type and location.
Consider the following Url:
http://www.amazon.com/Apple -iPad-Mini-Black- 16GB/

http:// - identifies the world wide web protocol

www.amazon.com – www indicates a resourse on the world
wide web, amazon indicates the Internet domain name
and .com indicates the suffix
Apple-iPad-Mini-Black-16GB/ - fully describes the
directory structure (where the document is stored) and
includes the document name and extension.
 Advantages of the Internet

 Vast volumes of information are available on virtually any topic

 Information can be updated regularly
 Much of the information is free
 It allows people to ‘telecommute’, i.e. work from home using
Internet facilities like email, and keep in touch cheaply and
quickly with friends and relatives.
 It is convenient for many common chores, e.g. booking flights,
banking etc.
 It is easily accessible
 Disadvantages of the INternet

 Lots of incorrect information is also available; there is no

authority to check the accuracy of Internet documents etc.
 It can be difficult tot fine exactly whet you need because of
the large volume of information available.
 Computer viruses can be easily downloaded without the
user realizing
 There are lots of undesirable websites on the Internet
(pornography, racist propaganda, etc.)
 The security of computers and WAN/LAN systems
conne3cted to the Internet may be at risk from hackers