Internet

Internet is a global network that connects billions of computers across the world with each other and to
the World Wide Web. It uses standard internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to connect billions of computer
users worldwide. It is set up by using cables such as optical fibers and other wireless and networking
technologies.
 Internet

Advantages of the Internet:

o Instant Messaging: You can send messages or communicate to anyone using internet, such as email, voice chat, video
conferencing, etc.
o Get directions: Using GPS technology, you can get directions to almost every place in a city, country, etc. You can find
restaurants, malls, or any other service near your location.
o Online Shopping: It allows you to shop online such as you can be clothes, shoes, book movie tickets, railway tickets, flight
tickets, and more.
o Pay Bills: You can pay your bills online, such as electricity bills, gas bills, college fees, etc.
o Online Banking: It allows you to use internet banking in which you can check your balance, receive or transfer money, get
a statement, request cheque-book, etc.
o Online Selling: You can sell your products or services online. It helps you reach more customers and thus increases your
sales and profit.
o Work from Home: In case you need to work from home, you can do it using a system with internet access. Today, many
companies allow their employees to work from home.
o Entertainment: You can listen to online music, watch videos or movies, play online games.
o Cloud computing: It enables you to connect your computers and internet-enabled devices to cloud services such as cloud
storage, cloud computing, etc.
o Career building: You can search for jobs online on different job portals and send you CV through email if required.
 Internet

Intranet
The intranet is a private network that belongs to a particular organization. It is designed for the exclusive use of
an organization and its associates, such as employees, customers, and other authorized people. It offers a secure
platform to convey information and share data with authorized users. Confidential information, database, links,
forms, and applications can be made available to the staff through the intranet. So, it is like a private internet or
an internal website that is operating within an organization to provide its employees access to its information
and records.
 Internet

Extranet
Extranet is a part of an organization's intranet. It is a communication network that is based on internet protocols
(TCP/IP). It provides controlled access to firm's intranet to its trading partners, customers, and other businesses.
So, it is a private network that securely shares internal information and operations of a firm with authorized
people outside the firm without giving access to the company's entire network. The users are required to have
IDs, passwords, and other authentication mechanisms to access this network.
 Computer Network

Computer Network
A network set up by connecting two or more computers and other supporting hardware devices through
communication channels is called a computer network. It enables computers to communicate with each other
and to share commands, data, etc., including the hardware and software resources.
Uses of Computer Network:
o It allows you to share resources such as printers, scanners, etc.
o You can share expensive software and database among network users.
o It facilitates communications from one computer to another computer.
o It allows the exchange of data and information among users through a network

Popular Computer Networks:

o Local Area Network (LAN)
o Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
o Wide Area Network (WAN)
 Computer Network

Local Area Network (LAN):

As the name suggests, the local area network is a computer network that operates in a small area, i.e., it connects
computers in a small geographical area like within an office, company, school, or any other organization. So, it
exists within a specific area, e.g. home network, office network, school network, etc.
A local area network may be a wired or wireless network or a combination of both. The devices in a LAN are
generally connected using an Ethernet cable, which offers an interface to connect multiple devices like router,
switches, and computers.

Primary Functions of LAN:

o Sharing of files: It allows you to share or transfer files from one computer to another computer within the
LAN. For example, in a bank, it can be used to send a file with the details of transactions of a customer from
the server to clients.
o Sharing of printers: It also allows shared access to a printer, file servers, etc. For example, ten computers that
are connected through LAN can use a single printer, file server, fax machine, etc.
o Sharing of Computational capabilities: It allows the clients to access to the computational power of a server,
e.g., an application server as some applications which run on clients in a LAN may require higher
computational capabilities.
o Mail and message related services: It allows sending and receiving mails between computers of a LAN. You
are required to have a mail server for this.
o Database services: It also allows storing and retrieving data with the help of a database server.
 Computer Network

Wide Area Network (WAN):

WAN extends over a large geographical area. It is not confined within an office, school, city, or town and is
mainly set up by telephone lines, fiber optic, or satellite links. It is mostly used by big organizations like banks
and multinational companies to communicate with their branches and customers across the world.
The computers are connected to the wide area network through public networks, such as telephone systems,
leased lines or satellites. The users of a WAN do not own the network as it is a large setup connecting the
remote computer systems. However, they are required to subscribe to a service provided by a
telecommunication provider to use this network.
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Advantages of a WAN:
o Large Network Range: It spans a large geographical area of 2000 km or more, e.g., from one country to
another countries.
o Centralized data: It allows your different office branches to use your head office server for retrieving and
sharing data. Thus, you don’t need to buy email servers, files server and back up servers, etc.
o Get updated files and data: It provides an ideal platform for companies who need a live server for their
employees to exchange updated files within seconds.
o High bandwidth: It offers high bandwidth than a normal broadband connection. Thus, it can increase the
productivity of your company by offering uninterrupted data transfer and communication.

Client-Server Model
The client-server model structure is a centralized network in which the server hosts, provides, and maintains the
majority of the client’s data and services.
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In this network model, a central server is a must and all the clients (computers) are connected to the central server
for retrieving data or using its services.
The diagram above shows a server connected to the network (shown as Internet above but can be any other type
of network) with various clients.
The server acts as a middle point of the network. Servers wait for requests from clients to show up before
responding.
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Peer to Peer Model

A P2P (peer to peer) network is a decentralized collection of computers that has been established to exchange
information (such as file documents, songs, movies, software, etc) with everyone or only certain users.

In a p2p network, all computers on the network are considered equal, with each workstation offering access to
resources and data.
This means that each node in the p2p network model can both request for services from the other peers or offer
services to the other peers. Each node can be both a client and a server.
Peer-to-Peer can be huge networks in which computers may interact with each other and share what is on or
linked to their machines with other people.
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What is Network Topology?

Basically, it is made from two words, Network and Topology.

Network: Network is an arrangement where two or more computers ( also referred to as nodes ) communicate
with each other. These computers or participants nodes actively contribute to the process of communication.

Topology: Topology is simply an arrangement of how these nodes will interact. It is a topology that governs
data flow between respective nodes.
Types of Network Topology
It could be broadly classified into the following Different types.

 Bus Topology
 Mesh Topology
 Ring Topology
 Star Topology
 Tree Topology
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Bus Topology
Bus topology is the simplest kind of topology in which a common bus or channel is used for communication in
the network. The bus is connected to various taps and droplines. Taps are the connectors, while droplines are
the cables connecting the bus with the computer. In other words, there is only a single transmission line for all
nodes.
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When a sender sends a message, all other computers can hear it, but only the receiver accepts it(verifying the
mac address attached with the data frame) and others reject it. Bus technology is mainly suited for small
networks like LAN, etc.

In this topology, the bus acts as the backbone of the network, which joins every computer and peripherals in
the network. Both ends of the shared channel have line terminators. The data is sent only in one direction and
as soon as it reaches the end, the terminator removes the data from the communication line(to prevent signal
bounce and data flow disruption).
Advantages of Bus topology: Disadvantages of Bus topology:
1. Simple to use and install. 1. Efficiency is less when nodes are more(strength of signal decreases).
2. If a node fails, it will not affect 2. If the bus fails, the network will fail.
other nodes. 3. A limited number of nodes can connect to the bus due to limited bus
3. Less cabling is required. length.
4. Cost-efficient to implement. 4. Security issues and risks are more as messages are broadcasted to all
nodes.
5. Congestion and traffic on the bus as it is the only source of
communication.
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Ring Topology
Ring topology is a topology in which each computer is connected to exactly two other computers to form the
ring. The message passing is unidirectional and circular in nature.
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This network topology is deterministic in nature, i.e., each computer is given access for transmission at a fixed
time interval. All the nodes are connected in a closed-loop. This topology mainly works on a token-based
system and the token travels in a loop in one specific direction.

In a ring topology, if a token is free then the node can capture the token and attach the data and destination
address to the token, and then leaves the token for communication. When this token reaches the destination
node, the data is removed by

Advantages of Ring topology: Disadvantages of Ring topology:

1. Easy Installation. 1. If a node fails, the whole network will
2. Less Cabling Required. fail.

3. Reduces chances of data 2. Slow data transmission speed(each

collision(unidirectional). message has to go through the ring path).

4. Easy to troubleshoot(the faulty node does 3. Difficult to reconfigure(we have to break

not pass the token). the ring).

5. Each node gets the same access time.

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Star Topology
Star topology is a computer network topology in which all the nodes are connected to a centralized hub. The
hub or switch acts as a middleware between the nodes. Any node requesting for service or providing service,
first contact the hub for communication.
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The central device(hub or switch) has point to point communication link(the dedicated link between the
devices which can not be accessed by some other computer) with the devices. The central device then
broadcast or unicast the message based on the central device used. The hub broadcasts the message, while the
switch unicasts the messages by maintaining a switch table. Broadcasting increases unnecessary data traffic in
the network.

In a star topology, hub and switch act as a server, and the other connected devices act as clients. Only one
input-output port and one cable are required to connect a node to the central device. This topology is better in
terms of security because the data does not pass through every node.

For Example High-Speed LAN, etc.

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Advantages of Star topology:

1. Centralized control.
2. Less Expensive.
3. Easy to troubleshoot(the faulty node does not give response).
4. Good fault tolerance due to centralized control on nodes.
5. Easy to scale(nodes can be added or removed to the network easily).
6. If a node fails, it will not affect other nodes.
7. Easy to reconfigure and upgrade(configured using a central device).
Disadvantages of Star topology:
8. If the central device fails, the network will fail.
The number of devices in the network is limited(due to limited input-output port in a central device).