UCSC203L

Computer Networks
Data Communications and Networking, 5th
Edition
By
Behrouz A. Forouzan
 Module-I
Introduction

1.5
 Outline
Data Communications
Type of Connection

Physical Topology

Categories of Networks

Layered Tasks

OSI Model

TCP/IP Protocol Suite

TCP/IP Addressing

Performance Metrics

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 DATA COMMUNICATIONS
The term telecommunication means communication at a
distance. The word data refers to information presented
in whatever form is agreed upon by the parties creating
and using the data. Data communications are the
exchange of data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable.

Topics discussed in this section:

 Components of a data communications system
 Data Flow

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  Data communications are the exchange of data between two
devices via some form of transmission medium such as a
wire cable.
 For data communications to occur, the communicating
devices must be part of a communication system made up
of a combination of hardware (physical equipment) and
software (programs).
 The effectiveness of a data communications system
depends on four fundamental characteristics:
 Delivery
 Accuracy
 Timeliness
 Jitter

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 Data Communication cont..
1. Delivery
– System must deliver data to the correct destination.
– Data must be received only by the intended device or
user.
2. Accuracy
– System must deliver the data accurately.
– Data that have been altered in transmission and left
uncorrected are unusable.
 Data Communication cont..
3. Timeliness
– System must deliver data in a timely manner.
– Data delivered late are useless.
– Ex: Real-time transmission
• Video and audio – Deliver it in the same order that
they are produced, and without significant delay.
 Data Communication cont..
4. Jitter
– It refers to the variation in the packet arrival time.
– It is the uneven delay in the delivery of audio or
video packets.
– Caused by network congestion and packet loss.
 Figure Components of a data communication system

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Components of Data Communication
• A data communication system is made up of five
components.
1. Message
2. Sender
3. Receiver
4. Transmission medium
5. Protocol
Components of Data Communication
1. Message
– Information (data) to be communicated.
– Ex: text, numbers, pictures, audio and video.
2. Sender
– Device that sends the data message.
– Ex: computer, workstation, telephone handset, video
camera and so on.
3. Receiver
– Device that receives the message.
– Ex: computer, workstation, telephone handset,
television and so on.
Components of Data Communication
4. Transmission medium
– Physical path by which a message travels from sender
to receiver.
– Ex: twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable
and radio waves.
5. Protocol
– It is a set of rules that govern data communications.
– It represents an agreement between the
communicating
devices.
– Ex: A person speaking French cannot be understood
by a person who speaks only Japanese.
 Data Representation
• Information comes in different forms such as text, numbers,
images, audio and video.
 Data Representation cont..
1. Text
– Represented as a bit pattern, a sequence of bits (0s or 1s).
– Different sets of bit patterns have been designed to represent
text
symbols.
– Each set is called a code.
– Process of representing symbols is called coding.
– Unicode
• Common coding system.
• It uses 32 bits to represent a symbol or character in any
language.
– American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)
• Developed some decades ago in the United States.
• Constitutes the first 127 characters in Unicode.
• Also referred to as Basic Latin
 Data Representation cont..
2. Numbers
– Represented by bit patterns.
– It is directly converted to a binary
number.
 Data Representation cont..
3. Images
– Represented by bit patterns.
– Composed of a matrix of pixels.
– Each pixel is a small dot.
– Size of the pixel is depend on
resolution.
– Better representation (resolution):
more memory is needed.
– Ex: Image can be divided into 1000
pixels or 10,000 pixels.
– Each pixel is assigned a bit pattern.
 Data Representation cont..
3. Images
– Size and value of the pattern depend on the image.
– 1-bit pattern for image made of only black and white
dots.
• Ex: Chessboard
– 2-bit pattern for image is not made of pure white and
pure black pixels.
• Ex: 4 levels of gray scale
– A black pixel can be represented by 00
– A dark gray pixel by 01
– A light gray pixel by 10
– A white pixel by 11.
 Data Representation cont..
3. Images
– Several methods to represent color images.
• RGB method
– Each color is made of a combination of three
primary colors: red, green, and blue.
• YCM method
– Each color is made of a combination of three
other primary colors: yellow, cyan, and magenta.
 Data Representation cont..
4. Audio
– Refers to recording or broadcasting of sound or music.
– It is continuous, not discrete.
5. Video
– Refers to recording or broadcasting of a picture or
movie.
– It can either be
• Produced as a continuous entity (e.g., by a TV
camera),
– or it can be a
• Combination of images, each a discrete entity,
arranged to convey the idea of motion.
 Data Flow or Transmission Mode
Defines the direction of signal flow
between two connected devices.
There are three modes of transmission, namely:
1. Simplex
2. Half-duplex
3. Full-duplex
 Figure 1.2 Data flow (simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex)

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 Simplex Mode
• Communication is unidirectional.
– Communication between sender and receiver occurs in only
one direction.
• Only sender can send the data and receiver can receive the
data.
• Receiver cannot reply to the sender.
• Use the entire capacity of the channel to send data.
 Simplex Mode cont..
• Ex: One-lane road
• Ex: Keyboards and Monitors
– Only Keyboard can send input to monitor
– Monitor can only receive the input and display it on
the screen.
– Monitor cannot reply to the keyboard.
 Half-Duplex Mode
• Each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the
same time.
• When one device is sending, the other can only receive,
and vice versa.
• Entire capacity of a channel is taken over by the
transmitting device.
 Half-Duplex Mode cont..
• Ex: Walkie-talkies
– Speakers at both ends can speak, but they have to
speak one by one.
– They cannot speak simultaneously.
 Full-Duplex Mode
• Also called duplex.
• Both stations can transmit and receive at same time.
• Signals going in either direction sharing the capacity of the
link.
• Sharing can occur in two ways:
– Link has two physically separate transmission paths

• One for sending and other for receiving.

– Capacity of the channel is divided between signals

travelling in both directions.

 Full-Duplex Mode cont..
• Ex: Two-way road
– Traffic flowing in both directions at the same
time.
• Ex: Telephone network
– Two people communicate
– Both are free to speak and listen at the same
time.
 Comparison Chart
Basis for
Simplex Half Duplex Full Duplex
Comparison
Direction of Two-directional, Two-directional,
Unidirectional
Communication one at a time simultaneously
Sender can send Sender can send
Sender can only
Send / Receive and receive data, and receive data
send data
but one at a time simultaneously
Worst
Best performing
performing Better than
Performance mode of
mode of Simplex
transmission
transmission
Keyboard and
Example Walkie-talkie Telephone
monitor
 1-2 NETWORKS

A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes)

connected by communication links. A node can be a
computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending
and/or receiving data generated by other nodes on the
network. A link can be a cable, air, optical fiber, or any
medium which can transport a signal carrying
information.
Topics discussed in this section:
 Network Criteria
 Physical Structures
 Categories of Networks

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 Network Criteria
 Performance : Performance can be measured in many ways, including transit time and
response time
 Depends on Network Elements: the number of users, the type of transmission
medium, the capabilities of the connected hardware, and the efficiency of the
software.
 Measured in terms of Delay and Throughput
 Reliability : accuracy of delivery, network reliability is measured by the frequency
of failure, the time it takes a link to recover from a failure, and the network's
robustness in a catastrophe.
 Failure rate of network components
 Measured in terms of availability/robustness
 Security: protecting data from unauthorized access, protecting data from damage
and development, and implementing policies and procedures for recovery from
breaches and data losses.
 Data protection against corruption/loss of data due to:
 Errors

 Malicious users

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 Physical Structures

 Type of Connection
 Point to Point - single transmitter and receiver : microwave
or satellite links
 Multipoint - multiple recipients of single transmission

 Physical Topology
 Connection of devices
 Type of transmission - unicast, multicast, broadcast

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 Figure 1.3 Types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint

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 Figure 1.4 Categories of topology

The topology of a network is the geometric representation of the

relationship of all the links and linking devices (usually called
nodes) to one another.

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 Figure 1.5 A fully connected mesh topology (five devices)

One practical example of a mesh topology is the connection of telephone regional offices in
which each regional office needs to be connected to every other regional office

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 Advantage:
First, the use of dedicated links guarantees that each
connection can carry its own data load, thus eliminating the
traffic problems that can occur when links must be shared by
multiple devices.
Robust. If one link becomes unusable, it does not incapacitate
the entire system.
Privacy or security. When every message travels along a
dedicated line, only the intended recipient sees it. Physical
boundaries prevent other users from gaining access to messages.
 Finally, point-to-point links make fault identification and
fault isolation easy. Traffic can be routed to avoid links with
suspected problems. This facility enables the network manager
to discover the precise location of the fault and aids in finding
its cause and solution.

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 Disadvantages: To the amount of cabling and the number of
I/O ports required.
First, because every device must be connected to every other
device, installation and reconnection are difficult.

Second, the sheer bulk of the wiring can be greater than the
available space (in walls, ceilings, or floors) can accommodate.

 Finally, the hardware required to connect each link (I/O ports

and cable) can be prohibitively expensive. For these reasons a
mesh topology is usually implemented in a limited fashion.

For example, as a backbone connecting the main computers of a

hybrid network that can include several other topologies.

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 Figure 1.6 A star topology connecting four stations

In a star topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point link

only to a central controller, usually called a hub. The devices are
not directly linked to one another
 Used in local-area networks
(LANs).
 High-speed LANs often use a
star topology with a central hub.

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  Unlike a mesh topology, a star topology does not allow
direct traffic between devices.

 The controller acts as an exchange: If one device wants to

send data to another, it sends the data to the controller,
which then relays the data to the other connected device.

 A star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology.

 In a star, each device needs only one link and one I/O port
to connect it to any number of others.

 This factor also makes it easy to install and reconfigure.

 Far less cabling needs to be housed, and additions, moves,

and deletions involve only one connection: between that
device and the hub.
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 Advantages: Robustness
If one link fails, only that link is affected.
All other links remain active. This factor also lends itself to easy
fault identification and fault isolation.
As long as the hub is working, it can be used to monitor link
problems and bypass defective links.

Disadvantage: Dependency
The whole topology on one single point, the hub.
If the hub goes down, the whole system is dead.
Although a star requires far less cable than a mesh, each node
must be linked to a central hub.
 For this reason, often more cabling is required in a star than in
some other topologies (such as ring or bus).

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 Figure 1.7 A bus topology connecting three stations

 point-to-point connection
 Multipoint connection
 One long cable acts as a backbone to link all the devices in a
network

 Local area networks.

 Ethernet LANs

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  Nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop lines and taps.

 A drop line is a connection running between the device and

the main cable.

 A tap is a connector that either splices into the main cable or

punctures the sheathing of a cable to create a contact with the
metallic core.

 As a signal travels along the backbone, some of its energy is

transformed into heat.

 Therefore, it becomes weaker and weaker as it travels farther

and farther.

 For this reason there is a limit on the number of taps a bus can
support and on the distance between those taps.
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 Advantages: Easy Installation
Backbone cable can be laid along the most efficient path, then
connected to the nodes by drop lines of various lengths.

In this way, a bus uses less cabling than mesh or star topologies.

In a star, for example, four network devices in the same room
require four lengths of cable reaching all the way to the hub.

In a bus, this redundancy is eliminated.

Only the backbone cable stretches through the entire facility.

Each drop line has to reach only as far as the nearest point on the
backbone.
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 Disadvantages: Difficult reconnection and fault isolation.

 A bus is usually designed to be optimally efficient at

installation.
It can therefore be difficult to add new devices.
 Signal reflection at the taps can cause degradation in
quality.
This degradation can be controlled by limiting the number
and spacing of devices connected to a given length of cable.
Adding new devices may therefore require modification or
replacement of the backbone.
A fault or break in the bus cable stops all transmission,
even between devices on the same side of the problem.
The damaged area reflects signals back in the direction of
origin, creating noise in both directions.
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 Figure 1.8 A ring topology connecting six stations

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 A Ring Topology

Each device has a dedicated point-to-point connection with only

the two devices on either side of it.

A signal is passed along the ring in one direction, from device to

device, until it reaches its destination.

 Each device in the ring incorporates a repeater.

When a device receives a signal intended for another device, its

repeater regenerates the bits and passes them along.

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 Advantages: Easy to install and reconfigure.

Each device is linked to only its immediate neighbors (either

physically or logically).
To add or delete a device requires changing only two
connections.
The only constraints are media and traffic considerations
(maximum ring length and number of devices). In addition,
fault isolation is simplified.
 Generally in a ring, a signal is circulating at all times.
If one device does not receive a signal within a specified
period, it can issue an alarm.
The alarm alerts the network operator to the problem and its
location

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 Disadvantages: Unidirectional traffic
In a simple ring, a break in the ring (such as a disabled
station) can disable the entire network.
This weakness can be solved by using a dual ring or a switch
capable of closing off the break

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 Figure 1.9 A hybrid topology: a star backbone with three bus networks

A network can be hybrid. For example, we can have a main star

topology with each branch connecting several stations in a bus
topology.

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 Categories of Networks

 Local Area Networks (LANs)

 Short distances-Covers area < 2miles
 Designed to provide local interconnectivity
 Wide Area Networks (WANs)
 Long distances-Can be worldwide
 Provide connectivity over large areas
 Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)
 Provide connectivity over areas such as a city, a campus
 Between LAN & WAN, span 10s of miles

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 Local Area Networks (LANs)
 Privately owned and links the devices in a single office,
building, or campus.
 Depending on the needs of an organization and the type of
technology used, a LAN can be as simple as two PCs and a
printer in someone's home office; or it can extend
throughout a company and include audio and video
peripherals.
 Currently, LAN size is limited to a few kilometers.
 LANs are designed to allow resources to be shared
between personal computers or workstations.
 The resources to be shared can include hardware (e.g., a
printer), software (e.g., an application program), or data.

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 Local Area Networks (LANs)
 A common example of a LAN, found in many business
environments, links a workgroup of task-related computers, for
example, engineering workstations or accounting PCs.
 One of the computers may be given a large capacity disk drive
and may become a server to clients.
 Software can be stored on this central server and used as
needed by the whole group.
 In this example, the size of the LAN may be determined by
licensing restrictions on the number of users per copy of
software, or by restrictions on the number of users licensed to
access the operating system.

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 Local Area Networks (LANs)

 In addition to size, LANs are distinguished from other types of

networks by their transmission media and topology.
 In general, a given LAN will use only one type of
transmission medium.
 The most common LAN topologies are bus, ring, and star.
 Early LANs had data rates in the 4 to 16 megabits per second
(Mbps) range.
 Today, however, speeds are normally 100 or 1000 Mbps.
 Wireless LANs are the newest evolution in LAN technology.

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 Figure 1.10 An isolated LAN connecting 12 computers to a hub in a closet

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 Wide Area Networks (WANs)
 A wide area network (WAN) provides long-distance
transmission of data, image, audio, and video information over
large geographic areas that may comprise a country, a continent,
or even the whole world.
 A WAN can be as complex as the backbones that connect the
Internet or as simple as a dial-up line that connects a home
computer to the Internet.
 We normally refer to the first as a switched WAN and to the
second as a point-to-point WAN
 The switched WAN connects the end systems, which usually
comprise a router (internetworking connecting device) that
connects to another LAN or WAN.

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 Wide Area Networks (WANs)
 The point-to-point WAN is normally a line leased from a
telephone or cable TV provider that connects a home computer or
a small LAN to an Internet service provider (lSP). This type of
WAN is often used to provide Internet access.
 An early example of a switched WAN is X.25, a network
designed to provide connectivity between end users.
 X.25 is being gradually replaced by a high-speed, more efficient
network called Frame Relay.
 A good example of a switched WAN is the asynchronous transfer
mode (ATM) network, which is a network with fixed-size data
unit packets called cells.
 Another example of WANs is the wireless WAN that is
becoming more and more popular.

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 Figure 1.11 WANs: a switched WAN and a point-to-point WAN

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 Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)
 A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network with a size
between a LAN and a WAN.
 It normally covers the area inside a town or a city.
 It is designed for customers who need a high-speed
connectivity, normally to the Internet, and have endpoints
spread over a city or part of city.
Example: The telephone company network that can provide a
high-speed DSL line to the customer.
Another example: The cable TV network that originally was
designed for cable TV, but today can also be used for high-
speed data connection to the Internet

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 Figure 1.12 A heterogeneous network made of four WANs and two LANs

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 Switching
 An internet is a switched network in which a
switch connects at least two links together.
 A switch needs to forward data from a network to
another network when required.

The two most common types of switched :

(i) Circuit-switched networks
(ii) Packet-switched networks.

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 Circuit-Switched Network
 In a circuit-switched network, a dedicated connection,
called a circuit, is always available between the two end
systems; the switch can only make it active or inactive.

 Figure 1.13 shows a very simple switched network that

connects four telephones to each end.

 We have used telephone sets instead of computers as an

end system because circuit switching was very common in
telephone networks in the past, although part of the
telephone network today is a packet-switched network.

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  In Figure 1.13, the four telephones at each side are
connected to a switch.
 The switch connects a telephone set at one side to a
telephone set at the other side.
 The thick line connecting two switches is a high-capacity
communication line that can handle four voice
communications at the same time; the capacity can be
shared between all pairs of telephone sets.
 The switches used in this example have forwarding tasks
but no storing capability.

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 Let us look at two cases.:
In the first case, all telephone sets are busy; four people at
one site are talking with four people at the other site; the
capacity of the thick line is fully used.
In the second case, only one telephone set at one side is
connected to a telephone set at the other side; only one-
fourth of the capacity of the thick line is used. This means that
a circuit-switched network is efficient only when it is working
at its full capacity; most of the time, it is inefficient because it
is working at partial capacity.
The reason that we need to make the capacity of the thick
line four times the capacity of each voice line is that we do
not want communication to fail when all telephone sets at
one side want to be connected with all telephone sets at the
other side.

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 Packet-Switched Network
 In a computer network, the communication between
the two ends is done in blocks of data called packets.

 In other words, instead of the continuous

communication we see between two telephone sets
when they are being used, we see the exchange of
individual data packets between the two computers.

 This allows us to make the switches function for both

storing and forwarding because a packet is an
independent entity that can be stored and sent later.

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  Figure 1.14 shows a small packet-switched
network that connects four computers at one site
to four computers at the other site.

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  A router in a packet-switched network has a queue that
can store and forward the packet.
 Now assume that the capacity of the thick line is only
twice the capacity of the data line connecting the
computers to the routers.
 If only two computers (one at each site) need to
communicate with each other, there is no waiting for the
packets.
 However, if packets arrive at one router when the thick
line is already working at its full capacity, the packets
should be stored and forwarded in the order they arrived.
 The two simple examples show that a packet-switched
network is more efficient than a circuit-switched network,
but the packets may encounter some delays.

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