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Introduction To Computer Networks

Modern world scenario is ever changing. Data Communication and network have changed
the way business and other daily affair works. Now, they highly rely on computer networks
and internetwork.
A set of devices often mentioned as nodes connected by media link is called a Network. A
node can be a device which is capable of sending or receiving data generated by other nodes
on the network like a computer, printer etc. These links connecting the devices are
called Communication channels.
Computer network is a telecommunication channel using which we can share data with
other computers or devices, connected to the same network. It is also called Data Network.
The best example of computer network is Internet.
Computer network does not mean a system with one Control Unit connected to multiple
other systems as its slave. That is Distributed system, not Computer Network. A network
must be able to meet certain criteria’s, these are mentioned below:
1. Performance
2. Reliability
3. Scalability

Computer Networks: Performance

It can be measured in the following ways:
 Transit time: It is the time taken to travel a message from one device to another.
 Response time: It is defined as the time elapsed between enquiry and response.

Other ways to measure performance are:

1. Efficiency of software
2. Number of users
3. Capability of connected hardware

Computer Networks: Reliability

It decides the frequency at which network failure take place. More the failures are, less is the
network's reliability.

Computer Networks: Security

It refers to the protection of data from any unauthorized user or access. While travelling
through network, data passes many layers of network, and data can be traced if attempted.
Hence security is also a very important characteristic for Networks.

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Properties of a Good Network

1. Interpersonal Communication: We can communicate with each other efficiently
and easily. Example: emails, chat rooms, video conferencing etc. all of these are
possible because of computer networks.
2. Resources can be shared: We can share physical resources by making them
available on a network such as printers, scanners etc.
3. Sharing files, data: Authorized users are allowed to share the files on the network.

Basic Communication Model

A Communication model is used to exchange data between two parties. For example:
communication between a computer, server and telephone (through modem).

Communication Model: Source

Data to be transmitted is generated by this device, example: telephones, personal computers
etc.

Communication Model: Transmitter

The data generated by the source system is not directly transmitted in the form it’s
generated. The transmitter transforms and encodes the data in such a form to produce
electromagnetic waves or signals.

Communication Model: Transmission System

A transmission system can be a single transmission line or a complex network connecting
source and destination.

Communication Model: Receiver

Receiver accepts the signal from the transmission system and converts it into a form which
is easily managed by the destination device.

Communication Model: Destination

Destination receives the incoming data from the receiver.

Data Communication
The exchange of data between two devices through a transmission medium is called Data
Communication. The data is exchanged in the form of 0's and 1's. The transmission

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medium used is wire cable. For data communication to occur, the communication device
must be a part of a communication system. Data Communication has two types
- Local and Remote which are discussed below:
Data Communication: Local
Local communication takes place when the communicating devices are in the same
geographical area, same building, or face-to-face etc.
Data Communication: Remote
Remote communication takes place over a distance i.e. the devices are farther. The
effectiveness of a data communication can be measured through the following features:
1. Delivery: Delivery should be done to the correct destination.
2. Timeliness: Delivery should be on time.
3. Accuracy: Data delivered should be accurate.

Components of Data Communication

1. Message: It is the information to be delivered.
2. Sender: Sender is the person who is sending the message.
3. Receiver: Receiver is the person to whom the message is being sent to.
4. Medium: It is the medium through which the message is sent. For example: A Modem.
5. Protocol: These are some set of rules which govern data communication.

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Uses of Computer Networks

Had it not been of high importance, nobody would have bothered connecting computers over
a network. Let's start exploring the uses of Computer Networks with some traditional
usecases at companies and for individuals and then move on to the recent developments in
the area of mobile users and home networking.

Computer Networks: Business Applications

Following are some business applications of computer networks:
1. Resource Sharing:
The goal is to make all programs, equipment’s (like printers etc.), and especially data,
available to anyone on the network without regard to the physical location of the resource
and the user.
2. Server-Client model:
One can imagine a company's information system as consisting of one or more databases and
some employees who need to access it remotely. In this model, the data is stored on powerful
computers called Servers. Often these are centrally housed and maintained by a system
administrator. In contrast, the employees have simple machines, called Clients, on their
desks, using which they access remote data.
3. Communication Medium:
A computer network can provide a powerful communication medium among employees.
Virtually every company that has two or more computers now has e-mail (electronic mail),
which employees generally use for a great deal of daily communication
4. eCommerce:
A goal that is starting to become more important in businesses is doing business with
consumers over the Internet. Airlines, bookstores and music vendors have discovered that
many customers like the convenience of shopping from home. This sector is expected to
grow quickly in the future.
The most popular forms are listed in the below figure:

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Computer Networks: Home Applications

Some of the most important uses of the Internet for home users are as follows:
 Access to remote information
 Person-to-person communication
 Interactive entertainment
 Electronic commerce

Computer Networks: Mobile Users

Mobile computers, such as notebook computers and Mobile phones, is one of the fastest-
growing segment of the entire computer industry. Although wireless networking and mobile
computing are often related, they are not identical, as the below figure shows.

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Transmission Modes in Computer Networks

Transmission mode refers to the mechanism of transferring of data between two devices
connected over a network. It is also called Communication Mode. These modes direct the
direction of flow of information. There are three types of transmission modes. They are:
1. Simplex Mode
2. Half duplex Mode
3. Full duplex Mode

SIMPLEX Mode
In this type of transmission mode, data can be sent only in one direction i.e. communication
is unidirectional. We cannot send a message back to the sender. Unidirectional
communication is done in Simplex Systems where we just need to send a command/signal,
and do not expect any response back.
Examples of simplex Mode are loudspeakers, television broadcasting, television and remote,
keyboard and monitor etc.

HALF DUPLEX Mode

Half-duplex data transmission means that data can be transmitted in both directions on a
signal carrier, but not at the same time.
For example, on a local area network using a technology that has half-duplex transmission,
one workstation can send data on the line and then immediately receive data on the line from
the same direction in which data was just transmitted. Hence half-duplex transmission
implies a bidirectional line (one that can carry data in both directions) but data can be sent
in only one direction at a time.
Example of half duplex is a walkie- talkie in which message is sent one at a time but messages
are sent in both the directions.

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FULL DUPLEX Mode

In full duplex system we can send data in both the directions as it is bidirectional at the same
time in other words, data can be sent in both directions simultaneously.
Example of Full Duplex is a Telephone Network in which there is communication between
two persons by a telephone line, using which both can talk and listen at the same time.

In full duplex system there can be two lines one for sending the data and the other for
receiving data.

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Types of Communication Networks

Communication Networks can be of following 5 types:
1. Local Area Network (LAN)
2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
3. Wide Area Network (WAN)
4. Wireless
5. Inter Network (Internet)

Local Area Network (LAN)

It is also called LAN and designed for small physical areas such as an office, group of buildings
or a factory. LANs are used widely as it is easy to design and to troubleshoot. Personal
computers and workstations are connected to each other through LANs. We can use different
types of topologies through LAN, these are Star, Ring, Bus, Tree etc.
LAN can be a simple network like connecting two computers, to share files and network
among each other while it can also be as complex as interconnecting an entire building.
LAN networks are also widely used to share resources like printers, shared hard-drive etc.

Characteristics of LAN
 LAN's are private networks, not subject to tariffs or other regulatory controls.
 LAN's operate at relatively high speed when compared to the typical WAN.
 There are different types of Media Access Control methods in a LAN, the prominent
ones are Ethernet, Token ring.
 It connects computers in a single building, block or campus, i.e. they work in a
restricted geographical area.

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Applications of LAN
 One of the computer in a network can become a server serving all the remaining
computers called clients. Software can be stored on the server and it can be used by
the remaining clients.
 Connecting Locally all the workstations in a building to let them communicate with
each other locally without any internet access.
 Sharing common resources like printers etc are some common applications of LAN.

Advantages of LAN
 Resource Sharing: Computer resources like printers, modems, DVD-ROM drives and
hard disks can be shared with the help of local area networks. This reduces cost and
hardware purchases.
 Software Applications Sharing: It is cheaper to use same software over network
instead of purchasing separate licensed software for each client a network.
 Easy and Cheap Communication: Data and messages can easily be transferred over
networked computers.
 Centralized Data: The data of all network users can be saved on hard disk of the
server computer. This will help users to use any workstation in a network to access
their data. Because data is not stored on workstations locally.
 Data Security: Since, data is stored on server computer centrally, it will be easy to
manage data at only one place and the data will be more secure too.
 Internet Sharing: Local Area Network provides the facility to share a single internet
connection among all the LAN users. In Net Cafes, single internet connection sharing
system keeps the internet expenses cheaper.
Disadvantages of LAN
 High Setup Cost: Although the LAN will save cost over time due to shared computer
resources, but the initial setup costs of installing Local Area Networks is high.
 Privacy Violations: The LAN administrator has the rights to check personal data files
of each and every LAN user. Moreover he can check the internet history and computer
use history of the LAN user.
 Data Security Threat: Unauthorised users can access important data of an
organization if centralized data repository is not secured properly by the LAN
administrator.
 LAN Maintenance Job: Local Area Network requires a LAN Administrator because,
there are problems of software installations or hardware failures or cable
disturbances in Local Area Network. A LAN Administrator is needed at this full time
job.
 Covers Limited Area: Local Area Network covers a small area like one office, one
building or a group of nearby buildings.

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Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

It was developed in 1980s.It is basically a bigger version of LAN. It is also called MAN and
uses the similar technology as LAN. It is designed to extend over the entire city. It can be
means to connecting a number of LANs into a larger network or it can be a single cable. It is
mainly hold and operated by single private company or a public company.

Characteristics of MAN
 It generally covers towns and cities (50 km)
 Communication medium used for MAN are optical fibers, cables etc.
 Data rates adequate for distributed computing applications.

Advantages of MAN
 Extremely efficient and provide fast communication via high-speed carriers, such as
fiber optic cables.
 It provides a good back bone for large network and provides greater access to WANs.
 The dual bus used in MAN helps the transmission of data in both directions
simultaneously.
 A MAN usually encompasses several blocks of a city or an entire city.

Disadvantages of MAN
 More cable required for a MAN connection from one place to another.
 It is difficult to make the system secure from hackers and industrial espionage
(spying) graphical regions.

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Wide Area Network (WAN)

It is also called WAN. WAN can be private or it can be public leased network. It is used for
the network that covers large distance such as cover states of a country. It is not easy to
design and maintain. Communication medium used by WAN are PSTN or Satellite links. WAN
operates on low data rates.

Characteristics of WAN
 It generally covers large distances (states, countries, continents).
 Communication medium used are satellite, public telephone networks which are
connected by routers.
Advantages of WAN
 Covers a large geographical area so long distance business can connect on the one
network.
 Shares software and resources with connecting workstations.
 Messages can be sent very quickly to anyone else on the network. These messages can
have picture, sounds or data included with them (called attachments).
 Expensive things (such as printers or phone lines to the internet) can be shared by all
the computers on the network without having to buy a different peripheral for each
computer.
 Everyone on the network can use the same data. This avoids problems where some
users may have older information than others.
Disadvantages of WAN
 Need a good firewall to restrict outsiders from entering and disrupting the network.
 Setting up a network can be an expensive, slow and complicated. The bigger the
network the more expensive it is.
 Once set up, maintaining a network is a full-time job which requires network
supervisors and technicians to be employed.
 Security is a real issue when many different people have the ability to use information
from other computers. Protection against hackers and viruses adds more complexity
and expense.

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Wireless Network
Digital wireless communication is not a new idea. Earlier, Morse code was used to
implement wireless networks. Modern digital wireless systems have better performance,
but the basic idea is the same.
Wireless Networks can be divided into three main categories:
1. System interconnection
2. Wireless LANs
3. Wireless WANs

System Interconnection
System interconnection is all about interconnecting the components of a computer
using short-range radio. Some companies got together to design a short-range wireless
network called Bluetooth to connect various components such as monitor, keyboard, mouse
and printer, to the main unit, without wires. Bluetooth also allows digital cameras, headsets,
scanners and other devices to connect to a computer by merely being brought within range.
In simplest form, system interconnection networks use the master-slave concept. The
system unit is normally the master, talking to the mouse, keyboard, etc. as slaves.

Wireless LANs
These are the systems in which every computer has a radio modem and antenna with
which it can communicate with other systems. Wireless LANs are becoming increasingly
common in small offices and homes, where installing Ethernet is considered too much
trouble. There is a standard for wireless LANs called IEEE 802.11, which most systems
implement and which is becoming very widespread.

Wireless WANs
The radio network used for cellular telephones is an example of a low-bandwidth wireless
WAN. This system has already gone through three generations.
 The first generation was analog and for voice only.
 The second generation was digital and for voice only.
 The third generation is digital and is for both voice and data.

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Inter Network
Inter Network or Internet is a combination of two or more networks. Inter network can be
formed by joining two or more individual networks by means of various devices such as
routers, gateways and bridges.

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Line Configuration in Computer Networks

A Network is nothing but a connection made through connection links between two or more
devices. Devices can be a computer, printer or any other device that is capable to send and
receive data. There are two ways to connect the devices:
1. Point-to-Point connection
2. Multipoint connection

Point-To-Point Connection
It is a protocol which is used as a communication link between two devices. It is simple to
establish. The most common example for Point-to-Point connection (PPP) is a computer
connected by telephone line. We can connect the two devices by means of a pair of wires or
using a microwave or satellite link.
Example: Point-to-Point connection between remote control and Television for changing
the channels.

MultiPoint Connection
It is also called Multidrop configuration. In this connection two or more devices share a single
link.
There are two kinds of Multipoint Connections:
 If the links are used simultaneously between many devices, then it is spatially shared
line configuration.
 If user takes turns while using the link, then it is time shared (temporal) line
configuration.

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Types of Network Topology

Network Topology is the schematic description of a network arrangement, connecting
various nodes (sender and receiver) through lines of connection.

 BUS Topology
Bus topology is a network type in which every computer and network device is connected to
single cable. When it has exactly two endpoints, then it is called Linear Bus topology.

Features of Bus Topology

1. It transmits data only in one direction.
2. Every device is connected to a single cable
Advantages of Bus Topology
1. It is cost effective.

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2. Cable required is least compared to other network topology.

3. Used in small networks.
4. It is easy to understand.
5. Easy to expand joining two cables together.
Disadvantages of Bus Topology
1. Cables fails then whole network fails.
2. If network traffic is heavy or nodes are more the performance of the network
decreases.
3. Cable has a limited length.
4. It is slower than the ring topology.

 RING Topology
It is called ring topology because it forms a ring as each computer is connected to another
computer, with the last one connected to the first. Exactly two neighbors for each device.

Features of Ring Topology

1. A number of repeaters are used for Ring topology with large number of nodes,
because if someone wants to send some data to the last node in the ring topology with
100 nodes, then the data will have to pass through 99 nodes to reach the 100th node.
Hence to prevent data loss repeaters are used in the network.
2. The transmission is unidirectional, but it can be made bidirectional by having 2
connections between each Network Node, it is called Dual Ring Topology.
3. In Dual Ring Topology, two ring networks are formed, and data flow is in opposite
direction in them. Also, if one ring fails, the second ring can act as a backup, to keep
the network up.
4. Data is transferred in a sequential manner that is bit by bit. Data transmitted, has to
pass through each node of the network, till the destination node.

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Advantages of Ring Topology

1. Transmitting network is not affected by high traffic or by adding more nodes, as only
the nodes having tokens can transmit data.
2. Cheap to install and expand
Disadvantages of Ring Topology
1. Troubleshooting is difficult in ring topology.
2. Adding or deleting the computers disturbs the network activity.
3. Failure of one computer disturbs the whole network.

 STAR Topology
In this type of topology all the computers are connected to a single hub through a cable. This
hub is the central node and all others nodes are connected to the central node.

Features of Star Topology

1. Every node has its own dedicated connection to the hub.
2. Hub acts as a repeater for data flow.
3. Can be used with twisted pair, Optical Fiber or coaxial cable.
Advantages of Star Topology
1. Fast performance with few nodes and low network traffic.
2. Hub can be upgraded easily.
3. Easy to troubleshoot.
4. Easy to setup and modify.
5. Only that node is affected which has failed, rest of the nodes can work smoothly.
Disadvantages of Star Topology
1. Cost of installation is high.
2. Expensive to use.

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3. If the hub fails then the whole network is stopped because all the nodes depend on
the hub.
4. Performance is based on the hub that is it depends on its capacity

 MESH Topology
It is a point-to-point connection to other nodes or devices. All the network nodes are
connected to each other. Mesh has n(n-1)/2 physical channels to link n devices.
There are two techniques to transmit data over the Mesh topology, they are:
1. Routing
2. Flooding
MESH Topology: Routing
In routing, the nodes have a routing logic, as per the network requirements. Like routing
logic to direct the data to reach the destination using the shortest distance. Or, routing logic
which has information about the broken links, and it avoids those node etc. We can even have
routing logic, to re-configure the failed nodes.
MESH Topology: Flooding
In flooding, the same data is transmitted to all the network nodes, hence no routing logic is
required. The network is robust, and it’s very unlikely to lose the data. But it leads to
unwanted load over the network.

Types of Mesh Topology

1. Partial Mesh Topology: In this topology some of the systems are connected in the
same fashion as mesh topology but some devices are only connected to two or three
devices.
2. Full Mesh Topology: Each and every nodes or devices are connected to each other.

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Features of Mesh Topology

1. Fully connected.
2. Robust.
3. Not flexible.
Advantages of Mesh Topology
1. Each connection can carry its own data load.
2. It is robust.
3. Fault is diagnosed easily.
4. Provides security and privacy.
Disadvantages of Mesh Topology
1. Installation and configuration is difficult.
2. Cabling cost is more.
3. Bulk wiring is required.

 TREE Topology
It has a root node and all other nodes are connected to it forming a hierarchy. It is also called
hierarchical topology. It should at least have three levels to the hierarchy.

Features of Tree Topology

1. Ideal if workstations are located in groups.
2. Used in Wide Area Network.
Advantages of Tree Topology
1. Extension of bus and star topologies.
2. Expansion of nodes is possible and easy.
3. Easily managed and maintained.
4. Error detection is easily done.

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Disadvantages of Tree Topology

1. Heavily cabled.
2. Costly.
3. If more nodes are added maintenance is difficult.
4. Central hub fails, network fails.

 HYBRID Topology
It is two different types of topologies which is a mixture of two or more topologies. For
example if in an office in one department ring topology is used and in another star topology
is used, connecting these topologies will result in Hybrid Topology (ring topology and star
topology).

Features of Hybrid Topology

1. It is a combination of two or topologies
2. Inherits the advantages and disadvantages of the topologies included
Advantages of Hybrid Topology
1. Reliable as Error detecting and trouble shooting is easy.
2. Effective.
3. Scalable as size can be increased easily.
4. Flexible.
Disadvantages of Hybrid Topology
1. Complex in design.
2. Costly.
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The Internet and the Web

1. The Internet:
In simplest words it is a global network of smaller networks interconnected using
communication protocols that are standardized. The Internet standards describe a
framework known as the Internet protocol suite. This model divides methods into a layered
system of protocols. These layers are as follows:
i. Application layer (highest) – concerned with the data (URL, type, etc.) where HTTP,
HTTPS, etc comes in.
ii. Transport layer – responsible for end-to-end communication over a network.
iii. Network layer – provides data route.
Provides a variety of information and communication facilities; contains forums, databases,
email, hypertext, etc. It consists of private, public, academic, business, and government
networks of local to global scope, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical
networking technologies.

2. The World Wide Web:

The web is a subset of the internet. It’s a system of Internet servers that support specially
formatted documents. The documents are formatted in a markup language
called HTML (that supports links, multimedia, etc). These documents are interlinked using
hypertext links and are accessible via the Internet.
To link hypertext to the Internet, we need:
1. The markup language, i.e., HTML.
2. The transfer protocol, e.g., HTTP.
3. Uniform Resource Locator (URL), the address of the resource.
We access the web using web browsers.

Difference between Web and Internet:

S.No. INTERNET WEB

Internet is the library and web

1. a collection of books. The Web is a subset of the internet. The web is a large
internet also consists of portion of the internet but it isn’t all of it.
databases, email, forums, etc.

The Web is ideally a way of accessing information

The internet is a network, a over the medium of the Internet. Web is a collection
2. way of transporting content of internet servers that can host HTML formatted
and web lets us use that documents. A collection of pages, of information
content. connected to each other around the globe. Each
page can be a combination of text and multimedia.

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URI:
URI stands for ‘Uniform Resource Identifier’, it’s like an address providing a unique global
identifier to a resource on the Web. Uniform Resource Locator (URL) is the most commonly
used form of a URI.
The URL consists mainly of two parts:
1. The protocol used in transfer, e.g., HTTP.
2. The domain name.

Who governs the Internet?

The Internet is not governed, it has no single authority figure. The ultimate authority for
where the Internet is going rests with the Internet Society, or ISOC. ISOC is a voluntary
membership organization whose purpose is to promote global information exchange
through Internet technology.
 ISOC appoints the IAB- Internet Architecture Board. They meet regularly to review
standards and allocate resources, like addresses.
 IETF- Internet Engineering Task Force. Another volunteer organization that meets
regularly to discuss operational and technical problems.

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Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP)

The Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is an application-level protocol for distributed,
collaborative, hypermedia information systems. This is the foundation for data
communication for the World Wide Web (i.e. internet) since 1990. HTTP is a generic and
stateless protocol which can be used for other purposes as well using extensions of its
request methods, error codes, and headers.
Basically, HTTP is a TCP/IP based communication protocol, that is used to deliver data
(HTML files, image files, query results, etc.) on the World Wide Web. The default port is TCP
80, but other ports can be used as well. It provides a standardized way for computers to
communicate with each other. HTTP specification specifies how clients' request data will
be constructed and sent to the server, and how the servers respond to these requests.
Basic Features: There are three basic features that make HTTP a simple but powerful
protocol:
 HTTP is connectionless: The HTTP client, i.e., a browser initiates an HTTP request
and after a request is made, the client waits for the response. The server processes
the request and sends a response back after which client disconnect the connection.
So client and server knows about each other during current request and response
only. Further requests are made on new connection like client and server are new to
each other.
 HTTP is media independent: It means, any type of data can be sent by HTTP as long
as both the client and the server know how to handle the data content. It is required
for the client as well as the server to specify the content type using appropriate
MIME-type (Multipurpose Internet Mail Extensions).
 HTTP is stateless: As mentioned above, HTTP is connectionless and it is a direct
result of HTTP being a stateless protocol. The server and client are aware of each
other only during a current request. Afterwards, both of them forget about each
other. Due to this nature of the protocol, neither the client nor the browser can retain
information between different requests across the web pages.
Basic Architecture: The following diagram shows a very basic architecture of a web
application and depicts where HTTP sits:

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The HTTP protocol is a request/response protocol based on the client/server based

architecture where web browsers, robots and search engines, etc. act like HTTP clients, and
the Web server acts as a server.
Client: The HTTP client sends a request to the server in the form of a request method, URI,
and protocol version, followed by a MIME-like message containing request modifiers, client
information, and possible body content over a TCP/IP connection.
Server: The HTTP server responds with a status line, including the message's protocol
version and a success or error code, followed by a MIME-like message containing server
information, entity meta information, and possible entity-body content.

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File Transfer Protocol

 FTP stands for File transfer protocol.
 FTP is a standard internet protocol provided by TCP/IP used for transmitting the files
from one host to another.
 It is mainly used for transferring the web page files from their creator to the computer
that acts as a server for other computers on the internet.
 It is also used for downloading the files to computer from other servers.

Objectives of FTP
 It provides the sharing of files.
 It is used to encourage the use of remote computers.
 It transfers the data more reliably and efficiently.

Why FTP?
Although transferring files from one system to another is very simple and straightforward,
but sometimes it can cause problems. For example, two systems may have different file
conventions. Two systems may have different ways to represent text and data. Two systems
may have different directory structures. FTP protocol overcomes these problems by
establishing two connections between hosts. One connection is used for data transfer, and
another connection is used for the control connection.

Mechanism of FTP

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The above figure shows the basic model of the FTP. The FTP client has three components:
the user interface, control process, and data transfer process. The server has two
components: the server control process and the server data transfer process.

There are two types of connections in FTP:

 Control Connection: The control connection uses very simple rules for
communication. Through control connection, we can transfer a line of command or
line of response at a time. The control connection is made between the control
processes. The control connection remains connected during the entire interactive
FTP session.
 Data Connection: The Data Connection uses very complex rules as data types may
vary. The data connection is made between data transfer processes. The data
connection opens when a command comes for transferring the files and closes when
the file is transferred.

FTP Clients
 FTP client is a program that implements a file transfer protocol which allows you to
transfer files between two hosts on the internet.
 It allows a user to connect to a remote host and upload or download the files.
 It has a set of commands that we can use to connect to a host, transfer the files
between you and your host and close the connection.
 The FTP program is also available as a built-in component in a Web browser. This GUI
based FTP client makes the file transfer very easy and also does not require to
remember the FTP commands.

Advantages of FTP:
 Speed: One of the biggest advantages of FTP is speed. The FTP is one of the fastest
way to transfer the files from one computer to another computer.
 Efficient: It is more efficient as we do not need to complete all the operations to get
the entire file.

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 Security: To access the FTP server, we need to login with the username and
password. Therefore, we can say that FTP is more secure.
 Back & forth movement: FTP allows us to transfer the files back and forth. Suppose
you are a manager of the company, you send some information to all the employees,
and they all send information back on the same server.

Disadvantages of FTP:
 The standard requirement of the industry is that all the FTP transmissions should be
encrypted. However, not all the FTP providers are equal and not all the providers
offer encryption. So, we will have to look out for the FTP providers that provides
encryption.
 FTP serves two operations, i.e., to send and receive large files on a network. However,
the size limit of the file is 2GB that can be sent. It also doesn't allow you to run
simultaneous transfers to multiple receivers.
 Passwords and file contents are sent in clear text that allows unwanted
eavesdropping. So, it is quite possible that attackers can carry out the brute force
attack by trying to guess the FTP password.
 It is not compatible with every system.

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Electronic Mail
Email is a service which allows us to send the message in electronic mode over the internet.
It offers an efficient, inexpensive and real time mean of distributing information among
people.

E-Mail Address
Each user of email is assigned a unique name for his email account. This name is known as
E-mail address. Different users can send and receive messages according to the e-mail
address.
E-mail is generally of the form username@domainname. For example,
webmaster@tutorialspoint.com is an e-mail address where webmaster is username and
tutorialspoint.com is domain name.
 The username and the domain name are separated by @ (at) symbol.
 E-mail addresses are not case sensitive.
 Spaces are not allowed in e-mail address.

E-mail Message Components

E-mail message comprises of different components: E-mail Header, Greeting, Text, and
Signature. These components are described in the following diagram:

E-mail Header
The first five lines of an E-mail message is called E-mail header. The header part comprises
of following fields:
 From: The From field indicates the sender’s address i.e. who sent the e-mail.
 Date: The Date field indicates the date when the e-mail was sent.

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 To: The To field indicates the recipient’s address i.e. to whom the e-mail is sent.
 Subject: The Subject field indicates the purpose of e-mail. It should be precise and
to the point.
 CC: CC stands for Carbon copy. It includes those recipient addresses whom we want
to keep informed but not exactly the intended recipient.
 BCC: BCC stands for Black Carbon Copy. It is used when we do not want one or more
of the recipients to know that someone else was copied on the message.

Greeting: Greeting is the opening of the actual message. Eg. Hi Sir or Hi Guys etc.
Text: It represents the actual content of the message.
Signature: This is the final part of an e-mail message. It includes Name of Sender, Address,
and Contact Number.

Advantages
E-mail has proved to be powerful and reliable medium of communication. Here are the
benefits of E-mail:
 Reliable: Many of the mail systems notify the sender if e-mail message was
undeliverable.
 Convenience: There is no requirement of stationary and stamps. One does not have
to go to post office. But all these things are not required for sending or receiving an
mail.
 Speed: E-mail is very fast. However, the speed also depends upon the underlying
network.
 Inexpensive: The cost of sending e-mail is very low.
 Printable: It is easy to obtain a hardcopy of an e-mail. Also an electronic copy of an
e-mail can also be saved for records.
 Global: E-mail can be sent and received by a person sitting across the globe.
 Generality: It is also possible to send graphics, programs and sounds with an e-mail.

Disadvantages
Apart from several benefits of E-mail, there also exists some disadvantages as discussed
below:
 Forgery: E-mail doesn’t prevent from forgery, that is, someone impersonating the sender,
since sender is usually not authenticated in any way.
 Overload: Convenience of E-mail may result in a flood of mail.
 Misdirection: It is possible that you may send e-mail to an unintended recipient.
 Junk: Junk emails are undesirable and inappropriate emails. Junk emails are sometimes
referred to as spam.

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 No Response: It may be frustrating when the recipient does not read the e-mail and
respond on a regular basis.

E-mail Protocols are set of rules that help the client to properly transmit the information to
or from the mail server. Here in this tutorial, we will discuss various protocols such as SMTP,
POP, and IMAP.

Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)

Email is emerging as one of the most valuable services on the internet today. Most of the
internet systems use SMTP as a method to transfer mail from one user to another. SMTP is a
push protocol and is used to send the mail whereas POP (post office protocol) or IMAP
(internet message access protocol) are used to retrieve those mails at the receiver’s side.

SMTP Fundamentals
SMTP is an application layer protocol. The client who wants to send the mail opens a TCP
connection to the SMTP server and then sends the mail across the connection. The SMTP
server is always on listening mode. As soon as it listens for a TCP connection from any client,
the SMTP process initiates a connection on that port (25). After successfully establishing the
TCP connection the client process sends the mail instantly.

SMTP Protocol
The SMTP model is of two type :
1. End-to- end method
2. Store-and- forward method

The end to end model is used to communicate between different organizations whereas the
store and forward method are used within an organization. A SMTP client who wants to send
the mail will contact the destination’s host SMTP directly in order to send the mail to the
destination. The SMTP server will keep the mail to itself until it is successfully copied to the
receiver’s SMTP.
The client SMTP is the one which initiates the session let us call it as the client- SMTP and the
server SMTP is the one which responds to the session request and let us call it as receiver-
SMTP. The client- SMTP will start the session and the receiver-SMTP will respond to the
request.

Model of SMTP system

In the SMTP model user deals with the user agent (UA) for example Microsoft Outlook,
Netscape, Mozilla, etc. In order to exchange the mail using TCP, MTA is used. The users
sending the mail do not have to deal with the MTA it is the responsibility of the system admin
to set up the local MTA. The MTA maintains a small queue of mails so that it can schedule

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repeat delivery of mail in case the receiver is not available. The MTA delivers the mail to the
mailboxes and the information can later be downloaded by the user agents.

Both the SMTP-client and MSTP-server should have 2 components:

1. User agent (UA)
2. Local MTA

Communication between sender and the receiver: The senders, user agent prepare the
message and send it to the MTA. The MTA functioning is to transfer the mail across the
network to the receivers MTA. To send mail, a system must have the client MTA, and to
receive mail, a system must have a server MTA.

Sending Email: Mail is sent by a series of request and response messages between the client
and a server. The message which is sent across consists of a header and the body. A null line
is used to terminate the mail header. Everything which is after the null line is considered as
the body of the message which is a sequence of ASCII characters. The message body contains
the actual information read by the receipt.

Receiving Email:
The user agent at the server side checks the mailboxes at a particular time of intervals. If any
information is received it informs the user about the mail. When the user tries to read the
mail it displays a list of mails with a short description of each mail in the mailbox. By selecting
any of the mail user can view its contents on the terminal.

Some SMTP Commands:

 HELO – Identifies the client to the server, fully qualified domain name, only sent once
per session
 MAIL – Initiate a message transfer, fully qualified domain of originator
 RCPT – Follows MAIL, identifies an addressee, typically the fully qualified name of the
addressee and for multiple addressees use one RCPT for each addressee

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 DATA – send data line by line

POP
POP stands for Post Office Protocol. It is generally used to support a single client. There are
several versions of POP but the POP 3 is the current standard.

Key Points
 POP is an application layer internet standard protocol.
 Since POP supports offline access to the messages, thus requires less internet usage
time.
 POP does not allow search facility.
 In order to access the messaged, it is necessary to download them.
 It allows only one mailbox to be created on server.
 It is not suitable for accessing non mail data.
 POP commands are generally abbreviated into codes of three or four letters. Eg.
STAT.

IMAP
IMAP stands for Internet Mail Access Protocol. It was first proposed in 1986. There exist
five versions of IMAP as follows:
1. Original IMAP
2. IMAP2
3. IMAP3
4. IMAP2bis
5. IMAP4

Key Points:
 IMAP allows the client program to manipulate the e-mail message on the server
without downloading them on the local computer.
 The e-mail is hold and maintained by the remote server.
 It enables us to take any action such as downloading, delete the mail without reading
the mail. It enables us to create, manipulate and delete remote message folders called
mail boxes.
 IMAP enables the users to search the e-mails.
 It allows concurrent access to multiple mailboxes on multiple mail servers.

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Domain Name System

An application layer protocol defines how the application processes running on different
systems, pass the messages to each other.
 DNS stands for Domain Name System.
 DNS is a directory service that provides a mapping between the name of a host on the
network and its numerical address.
 DNS is required for the functioning of the internet.
 Each node in a tree has a domain name, and a full domain name is a sequence of
symbols specified by dots.
 DNS is a service that translates the domain name into IP addresses. This allows the
users of networks to utilize user-friendly names when looking for other hosts instead
of remembering the IP addresses.
 For example, suppose the FTP site at EduSoft had an IP address of 132.147.165.50,
most people would reach this site by specifying ftp.EduSoft.com. Therefore, the
domain name is more reliable than IP address.

DNS is a TCP/IP protocol used on different platforms. The domain name space is divided into
three different sections: generic domains, country domains, and inverse domain.

Generic Domains
 It defines the registered hosts according to their generic behavior.
 Each node in a tree defines the domain name, which is an index to the DNS database.
 It uses three-character labels, and these labels describe the organization type.

Label Description

aero Airlines and aerospace companies

biz Businesses or firms

com Commercial Organizations

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coop Cooperative business Organizations

edu Educational institutions

gov Government institutions

info Information service providers

int International Organizations

mil Military groups

museum Museum & other nonprofit organizations

name Personal names

net Network Support centers

org Nonprofit Organizations

Pro Professional individual Organizations

Country Domain
The format of country domain is same as a generic domain, but it uses two-character country
abbreviations (e.g., us for the United States) in place of three character organizational
abbreviations.

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Inverse Domain
The inverse domain is used for mapping an address to a name. When the server has received
a request from the client, and the server contains the files of only authorized clients. To
determine whether the client is on the authorized list or not, it sends a query to the DNS
server and ask for mapping an address to the name.

Working of DNS
 DNS is a client/server network communication protocol. DNS clients send requests
to the server while DNS servers send responses to the client.
 Client requests contain a name which is converted into an IP address known as a
forward DNS lookups while requests containing an IP address which is converted into
a name known as reverse DNS lookups.
 DNS implements a distributed database to store the name of all the hosts available on
the internet.
 If a client like a web browser sends a request containing a hostname, then a piece of
software such as DNS resolver sends a request to the DNS server to obtain the IP
address of a hostname. If DNS server does not contain the IP address associated with
a hostname, then it forwards the request to another DNS server. If IP address has
arrived at the resolver, which in turn completes the request over the internet
protocol.

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P2P (Peer To Peer) File Sharing

Introduction: In Computer Networking, P2P is a file sharing technology, allowing the
users to access mainly the multimedia files like videos, music, e-books, games etc. The
individual users in this network are referred to as peers. The peers request for the files from
other peers by establishing TCP or UDP connections.

How P2P works (Overview): A peer-to-peer network allows computer hardware and
software to communicate without the need for a server. Unlike client-server architecture,
there is no central server for processing requests in a P2P architecture. The peers directly
interact with one another without the requirement of a central server.
Now, when one peer makes a request, it is possible that multiple peers have the copy of that
requested object. Now the problem is how to get the IP addresses of all those peers. This is
decided by the underlying architecture supported by the P2P systems. By means of one of
these methods, the client peer can get to know about all the peers which have the requested
object/file and the file transfer takes place directly between these two peers.

Three such Architectures exist:

1. Centralized Directory
2. Query Flooding
3. Exploiting Heterogeneity

1. Centralized Directory
 It is somewhat similar to client server architecture in the sense that it maintains a huge
central server to provide directory service.
 All the peers inform this central server of their IP address and the files they are making
available for sharing.
 The server queries the peers at regular intervals to make sure if the peers are still
connected or not.
 So basically this server maintains a huge database regarding which file is present at
which IP addresses.

Working
 Now whenever a requesting peer comes in, it sends its query to the server.
 Since the server has all the information of its peers, so it returns the IP addresses of all
the peers having the requested file to the peer.
 Now the file transfer takes place between these two peers.

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The first system which made use of this method was Napster, for the purpose of Mp3
distribution.

The major problem with such an architecture is that there is a single point of failure. If the
server crashes, the whole P2P network crashes. Also, since all of the processing is to be done
by a single server so a huge amount of database has to be maintained and regularly updated.

2. Query Flooding
 Unlike the centralized approach, this method makes use of distributed systems.
 In this, the peers are supposed to be connected into an overlay network. It means if a
connection/path exists from one peer to other, it is a part of this overlay network.
 In this overlay network, peers are called as nodes and the connection between peers is
called an edge between the nodes, thus resulting in a graph-like structure.

Working
 Now when one peer requests for some file, this request is sent to all its neighboring
nodes i.e. to all nodes which are connected to this node. If those nodes don’t have the
required file, they pass on the query to their neighbors and so on. This is called as query
flooding.
 When the peer with requested file is found (referred to as query hit), the query flooding
stops and it sends back the file name and file size to the client, thus following the
reverse path.
 If there are multiple query hits, the client selects from one of these peers.

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Gnutella was the first decentralized peer to peer network.

This method also has some disadvantages like, the query has to be sent to all the neighboring
peers unless a match is found. This increases traffic in the network.

3. Exploiting heterogeneity
 This P2P architecture makes use of both the above discussed systems.
 It resembles a distributed system like Gnutella because there is no central server for
query processing.
 But unlike Gnutella, it does not treat all its peers equally. The peers with higher
bandwidth and network connectivity are at a higher priority and are called as group
leaders/super nodes. The rest of the peers are assigned to these super nodes.
 These super nodes are interconnected and the peers under these super nodes inform
their respective leaders about their connectivity, IP address and the files available for
sharing.

KaZaA technology is such an example which makes use of Napster and Gnutella both.
Thus, the individual group leaders along with their child peers form a Napster-like structure.
These group leaders then interconnect among themselves to resemble a Gnutella-like
structure.

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Working
 This structure can process the queries in two ways.
 The first one is that the super nodes could contact other super nodes and merge their
databases with its own database. Thus, this super node now has information of a large
number of peers.
 Another approach is that when a query comes in, it is forwarded to the neighboring
super nodes until a match is found, just like in Gnutella. Thus query flooding exists but
with limited scope as each super node has many child peers. Hence, such a system
exploits the heterogeneity of the peers by designating some of them as group
leaders/super nodes and others as their child peers.

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Difference between Unicast, Broadcast and Multicast in

Computer Network
The cast term here signifies some data (stream of packets) is being transmitted to the
recipient(s) from client(s) side over the communication channel that help them to
communicate. Let’s see some of the “cast” concepts that are prevailing in the computer
networks field.

1. Unicast – This type of information transfer is useful when there is a participation of single
sender and single recipient. So, in short you can term it as a one-to-one transmission. For
example, a device having IP address 10.1.2.0 in a network wants to send the traffic stream
(data packets) to the device with IP address 20.12.4.2 in the other network, then unicast
comes into picture. This is the most common form of data transfer over the networks.

2. Broadcast – Broadcasting transfer (one-to-all) techniques can be classified into two types:

 Limited Broadcasting – Suppose you have to send stream of packets to all the devices
over the network that you reside, this broadcasting comes handy. For this to achieve, it
will append 255.255.255.255 (all the 32 bits of IP address set to 1) called as Limited
Broadcast Address in the destination address of the datagram (packet) header which
is reserved for information transfer to all the recipients from a single client (sender)
over the network.

 Direct Broadcasting – This is useful when a device in one network wants to transfer
packet stream to all the devices over the other network. This is achieved by translating

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all the Host ID part bits of the destination address to 1, referred as Direct Broadcast
Address in the datagram header for information transfer.

This mode is mainly utilized by television networks for video and audio distribution.
One important protocol of this class in Computer Networks is Address Resolution Protocol
(ARP) that is used for resolving IP address into physical address which is necessary for
underlying communication.

3. Multicast – In multicasting, one/more senders and one/more recipients participate in

data transfer traffic. In this method traffic recline between the boundaries of unicast (one-
to-one) and broadcast (one-to-all). Multicast lets server’s direct single copies of data streams
that are then simulated and routed to hosts that request it. IP multicast requires support of
some other protocols like IGMP (Internet Group Management Protocol), Multicast
routing for its working. Also in Classful IP addressing Class D is reserved for multicast
groups.

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Multiplexing (Channel Sharing) in Computer Network

Multiplexing which means multiple sources but one link. An alternative approach to it is
Direct Point to Point Connection but it has number of problems as it requires I/O port for
each device, need line for each device and also large amount of wiring is needed if on
different floors. But instead if we use a multiplexer approach then all devices are connected
to MUX and one line to host, link carries multiple channels of information and number of
lines in equals to the number of lines out.

Types of Multiplexers:

1. Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) – Frequency spectrum is divided

among the logical channels and each user has exclusive access to his channel. It sends
signals in several distinct frequency ranges and carries multiple video channels on a
single cable. Each signal is modulated onto a different carrier frequency and carrier
frequencies are separated by guard bands. Bandwidth of the transmission medium
exceeds required bandwidth of all the signals. Usually for frequency division
multiplexing analog signaling is used in order to transmit the signals, i.e. more
susceptible to noise. Assignment of non-overlapping frequency ranges to each user or
signal on a medium. Thus, all signals are transmitted at the same time, each using
different frequencies.
A multiplexer accepts inputs and assigns frequencies to each device. The multiplexor is
attached to the high speed communication line. A corresponding multiplexor or de-
multiplexor is on the end of the high speed line and separates the multiplexed signals.
The frequency spectrum is divided up among the logical channels where each user
hangs onto a particular frequency. The radio spectrum are examples of the media and
the mechanism for extracting information from the medium.
Disadvantage of FDM: One problem with FDM is that it cannot utilize the full capacity
of the cable. It is important that the frequency bands do not overlap. Indeed, there must
be a considerable gap between the frequency bands in order to ensure that signals from
one band do not effect signals in another band.

2. Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) – Each user periodically gets the entire
bandwidth for a small burst of time, i.e. entire channel is dedicated to one user but
only for a short period of time. It is very extensively used in computer communication
and tele-communication. Sharing of the channel is accomplished by dividing available
transmission time on a medium among users. It exclusively uses the Digital
Signaling instead of dividing the cable into frequency bands. TDM splits cable usage
into time slots. Data rate of transmission media exceeds data rate of signals. Uses a

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frame and one slot for each slice of time and the time slots are transmitted whether
source has data or not.

There are two types of TDMs which are as follows:

1. Synchronous Time Division Multiplexing: It is synchronous because the
multiplexer and the de-multiplexer has to agree about the time slots. The original
time division multiplexing. The multiplexor accepts input from attached devices
in a round robin fashion and transit the data in a never ending pattern. Some
common examples of this are T-1 and ISDN telephone lines. If one device
generates data at a faster rate than other devices, then the multiplexor must either
sample the incoming data stream from that device more often than it samples the
other devices, or buffer the faster incoming stream. If a device has nothing to
transmit, the multiplexor must still insert a piece of data from that device into the
multiplexed stream.

2. Statistical Time Division Multiplexing: Time-division but on demand rather

than fixed, reschedule link on a per-packet basis and packets from different
sources interleaved on the link. It allows connection of more nodes to the circuit
than the capacity of the circuit. Works on the premise that not all the nodes will
transmit at full capacity at all times. It must transmit a terminal identification i.e.
destination id number and may require storage. A statistical multiplexor
transmits only the data from active workstations. If a workstation is not active, no
space is wasted on the multiplexed stream. It accepts the incoming data streams
and creates a frame containing only the data to be transmitted.

3. Wavelength Division Multiplexing – It is same as FDM but applied to fibers,

only the difference is that here the operating frequencies are much higher actually they
are in the optical range. There’s great potential for fibers since the bandwidth is so
huge. Fibers with different energy bands are passed through a diffraction grating prism.
Combined on the long distance link and then split at the destination. It has got high
reliability and very high capacity.
It multiplexes multiple data streams onto a single fiber optic line. Different wavelength
lasers (called lambdas) transmit the multiple signals. Each signal carried on the fiber
can be transmitted at a different rate from the other signals.
 Dense wavelength division multiplexing combines many (30, 40, 50 or more)
channels onto one fiber. DWDM channels have a very high capacity and it keeps
on improving.
 Coarse wavelength division multiplexing combines only a few lambdas. In this,
channels are more widely spaced and is a cheaper version of DWDM.

Gaurav Sahu – ECE Department 6EC4-02 Computer Network Unit III: Multiplexing