Subject : Computer Science - II

Chapter : Networking Technology

 Introduction :
• Organizations with hundreds of offices spread over a wide geographical area are to
be interconnected with computers for efficient gathering processing and distribute
information.
• This is achieved by computer network.
• Computer Networking:
 Collection of autonomous computers or system of computers capable of sharing
resources and controlling services.
 The common resources are to be shared by the system whenever needed and
these resources ( data, peripheral devices like hard disk storage, printer, fax etc ).
 Networking technologies are WAN , MAN and LAN.
 Why Network ?
The main goals of networking are:

1. Network provides resource sharing .

2. It provides exchange of information and software .

3. It provides high reliability by using other machine if one machine fails in

network like military banking ,air, and traffic control

4. Access to any file or data .

5. Finally the system is saving money by network.

 Networks in communications :
• A network is an interconnected system that
provides communication links among the
two or more stations.

• Each station in a network is known as node.

• Networks are classified according to their

coverage area and their facilities provision :

1.WAN (Wide Area Network)

2.MAN (Metropolitan Area Network)

3.LAN (Local Area Network)

 Network Topology :
• Topology is define as the arrangement of nodes , cables and connectivity devices that
makes up the network.
• Topology also refers the way in which network of computers are connected.
• While selecting a network topology the following points must be considered:
1. The cost of physical interconnections.
2. The time delay during the communications.
3. Reliability and possibilities of failure.
4. Network controlling strategy or protocols.
• There are three important topologies commonly used :
1. Star Network Topology
2. Ring Network Topology
3. Bus Network Topology
 Star Network Topology:
• Contains one common node as a control and many
stations connected with the control node in a network.
• Advantages :
1. Adding a new workstation is easier than that in
BUS and RING topology.
2. The control is centralized due to use of common
node at center.
• Disadvantages:
1. Control node failure affects all user.
2. Control nodes are slightly expensive.
3. STAR topology requires more cabling than BUS and
RING topology .Hence it costs more.
 Bus Network Topology:
• It is also known as a multi-point or multi drop topology .
• A common bus is used for data transmission with bidirectional communication.
• The bus cable is terminated at each end by placing terminator to prevent signals from reflecting back.

• Advantages:
1. The bus system is much faster.
2. Direct communication between the two stations without any control station.
3. The bus topology can be extended with sub branches to form another topology.
4. Breakdown or any failure node does not affect other nodes communication.
5. Bus topology is widely used in LAN network.
• Disadvantages:
1. Damage in Bus affects entire network.
2. Difficult to handle traffic.
 Ring Network Topology:
• The network is formed by a number of stations with server
connected one after the other forming a ring route.
• Each node is using the common ring to transmit or receive data.
• Advantages :
1. Cable failure affects limited user.
2. Each node has direct communication capacity.
3. It is independent on one control node.
4. Equal access to all user.
• Disadvantages:
1. Costly wiring is required for RING topology.
2. Total delay in communication depends on the number of
nodes. (More nodes, more delay)
 Simplified Diagrams of Topologies

A B A B A B

C D C D C D
STAR TOPOLOGY RING TOPOLOGY
BUS TOPOLOGY
 Transmission media :
• Physical transmission media are the physical lines or channels through which
information (a stream of bits) is transmitted between computers in a network
• To choose the best type of network media for a network the following factors must
be considered:
1. Cost of Media:
2. Implementation Cost:
3. Channel Bandwidth:
4. Band Usage:
5. Electromagnetic Interference (EMI):
6. Attenuation:
Cost of Media:
The cost of the media must be considered first while designing a network.
It is decided by the user as per application and standard of the resources.
Implementation Cost:
Some transmission media requires skills labour to install. This increases cost of
network and it may cause certain delay. Before installation we need to prepare actual
physical layout of network.
Channel Bandwidth:
Bandwidth is the measure of the capacity of a medium to transmit. Data
transmission rate is number of bits transmitted per second. Bandwidth of a cable
Networking Technology depends on cable length. A short cable can have greater
bandwidth than a long cable so for cable designs , maximum lengths for cable runs are
specified. Beyond these limits the highest frequency signals can deteriorate and error
occurs in data signals.
Band Usage:
Band width is shared so that maximum usage is obtained. These are two
transmission modes , base band and broad band transmissions. Base band devotes the
entire capacity of the medium to one communication channel.
Electromagnetic Interference (EMI):

It affects the signal which is transmitted through a media. EMI is caused by

outside electromagnetic waves and also unwanted noise signals produced by various
electrical appliances. EMI is interfering the signals and makes difficult for computer to
decode the signal.

Attenuation:

Attenuation is measure of how much a signal weakens as it travels through a

medium. As signals pass through the medium, part of the signal is absorbed and makes
the signal weak. Attenuation decides the cable length when signal strength falls below
certain limits, then at receiving station noise may appear. Repeaters are used to
regenerate signals
Wired/bounded media- Coaxial cable
Explain co-axial cable.
Co-axial Cable:
It is a special hallow cable with a solid copper or stranded wire at the center of the cable surrounded by plastic foam
insulation. The foam is surrounded by wire mesh jacket or metallic foil. The wire mesh avoids EMI in other words it is
shielded cable.

fig. Co-axial Cable

Advantages:
•
It is commonly used in network because available in different sizes.
• It’s shielding provides better resistance to EMI.
• Attenuation is less than twisted pair cable.

Disadvantages:
• It is relatively expensive but less than fiber optic cable.
• Bandwidth capacity is comparatively less than fiber optic cable.
Compare co-axial, twisted pair cable and fiber optic cable.
Twisted pair,UTP,STP
 Twisted pair cable
• Explain twisted pair cable in detail.
• Twisted pair cable consist of two wires of conducting material like copper,
insulated from each other by plastic.
• It consist of two or more strands of copper wire twisted together.
• This twisting reduces the sensitivity of the cable to EMI and also reduces
the tendency of the cable to radiate radio frequency noise.
• This cable is used to connect a PC to either HIB or MAU. also commonly
used in telephone network.
• There are two types of twisted pair cable:
• Shielded Twisted Pair Cable(STP)
• Unshielded Twisted Pair Cable (UTP)
 STP and UTP

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP):

– Shielded Twisted Pair Cable consisting of one or more twisted pair cables enclosed in
a foil wrap and woven copper shielding.
– The shield is connected to the ground portion of the electronic device to which cable is
connected. Ground portion is electrical reference.
– The properly grounded shield prevents signals from getting into or out of the cable.

Unshielded twisted pair cable (UTP):

– The Unshielded twisted pair cable (UTP) does not have a brained shield into its
structure. The characteristics of UTP are similar to that of STP
– Telephone systems commonly use UTP cable.
– In some networks UTP cable is available in 5 grades or categories.
STP and UTP

Advantages:
• This medium is expensive and easy to install.
• Since wires are twisted, it reduces EMI and also avoids RF
radiations.

Disadvantage:
• They can be used only for short distances communication.
• The typical speed of computer data is 1200 bits /
seconds. (bps)
Fiber optic cable
 Fiber optic cable
• The light wave can be efficiently conducted through transparent glass fiber known
as optic fiber cables.
• The center conductor of this cable is a fiber that consist of highly refined glass or
plastic.
• is designed to transmit light signals with little loss.
• The fiber is coated with cladding or gel that reflects the signals back into the fiber
from the damage.
• The fiber optic cable is as shown in the following fig.
• This cable can carry much information at a time.
• The fiber optic cable is used in optical transmission systems.
• This cable have extremely high bandwidth. It has zero sensitivity to EMI and runs
over several kilometers
Characteristics - Fiber optic cable

• The characteristics of fiber optic cable are given below:

• Cost: - The cost of fiber optic cable is higher than that of coaxial cable and twisted pair cable.
• Installation: Fiber optic cable requires skilled installation. Every cable has minimum bend radius. They
may get damaged if bent sharply fiber optic cable cannot be stretched.
• Capacity: Fiber optic cable supports high data rates (upto 2,000,000 MBPS) even with the long run
cables. Fiber optic cable can transmit 100MBPS for several kilometers.
• Attenuation: - Attenuation for fiber optic cable is much lower than coaxial cable and twisted pair cable.
It can be run to larger distances.
• EMI: - Fiber optic cable does not use electrical signals to transmit data, therefore they are free
from EMI. The data between transfer in fiber optic cable have high security, asit cannot be detected
by electronic wave dropping equipments.
 Wireless/ Unbounded media
• RADIO WAVES:
– Radio waves are easy to generate. They can travel long distance and can easily penetrate building easily. Hence,
waves are widely used for both indoor and outdoor purposes.
– Radio waves are omnidirectional i. e. the waves travel in all directions, in the free space so that there is no need to
place the receiver or transmitter along a direct line of sight.
– Radio wave communication have variety of frequency ranges that are utilized for various communication
applications.
– As radio waves covers large distance, interface between uses is a problem. For this reason government license is
necessary to transmit radio waves.
– Radio communication having major drawback that it may be disturbed by rains, bounce back from obstacles. It offers
low bandwidth for data communication.
• Microwave:
– Microwaves travels in straight lines therefore narrowly focused, concentrating all the energy into the beam.
– Since microwaves travels in straight lines, for longer distances periodic repeator are necessary.
– Unlike radio wave, at lower frequency microwave cannot penetrate building.
 Wireless/ Unbounded media
• Infrared and millimeter waves:
– Unguided infrared and millimeter waves are widely used for short range communication.
– The remote controls used on television, V.C.R. s etc. all used infrared communication.
– They are relatively directional, cheap and easy to generate. Major drawback of these wave that they can not pass
through solid object.
– As infrared waves cannot pass through solid objects, it means that an infrared systems. operating in one room will
not interface with other infrared system operating in adjacent room or any other room. For this reason no government
license is necessary to operate infrared system.
Connectivity devices
What is Hub? Explain its types.
• Hub
• A hub, also called a network hub, is a common connection point for devices in a network.
• Hubs are devices commonly used to connect segments of a LAN.
Types of Hubs

There are three types of hub:

• Passive hubs: Passive hubs or concentrators do not amplify or regenerate incoming signals
before rebroadcasting them to the network. They do not improve the performance of local
area networks (LANs), and may limit maximum media distances.
• Active hub: Active hubs or multiport repeaters amplify the incoming electrical signals that
contain data packets. They maximize network media distances and follow the same rules as
repeaters.
• Intelligent hub: Intelligent hubs work like active hubs and include remote management
capabilities. They also provide flexible data rates to network devices.
Modem
Explain Modem in detail

Modem:
A combined device for modulation and demodulation.
When digital information is to be transmitted over long distances by using a
telephone line it becomes necessary to convert digital data into analog signal
(within voice frequency range) before transmission on a telephone line by
using modulator. At the receiving end it is necessary to convert information
from analog to digital by means of demodulation.
 Modem
MODEM Process
Digital communication between the two computers A and B is carried out in the
following steps:
• The user at computer ‘A’ sends data in digital form. The computer ‘A’ is
modulating digital data into analog form; the modulation technique may be
FSK(Frequency Shift Keying)type.
• Modulated signal is within telephone frequency range it is transmitted over
telephone line by selecting a proper dial code.
• The computer ‘B’ terminal is selected by its dial code.
• The modem of computer ‘B’ is converting analog modulated signal into original
digital data by the process of demodulation.
• The demodulated digital information is processed and displayed on the screen of
terminal B.
Fig. Use of medem
Repeater
• Explain Repeater.
• In telecommunications, a repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it.
• Repeaters are used to extend transmissions so that the signal can cover longer distances.
• A repeater reshape and amplifies the signal from one Ethernet segment to another.
• No two Ethernet workstations can have more than two repeater between them if they have to
communicate reliably.
• The main disadvantage of repeater is that they repeat noise In the system.
• A separate power supply is needed for repeater.
 Router
• Explain Router.
• Router: This is the inter connectivity device used to inter-connect two or more independent networks.
• A router connects devices within a network by forwarding data packets between them.
• They are used to connect topologically similar or dissimilar LANs.i..e LAN can be different Ethernet or token ring
• This data can be sent between devices, or from devices to the internet.
• The router does this by assigning a local IP address to each of the devices on the network.
• Routers are intelligent.They can use algorithm to determine best path to send packet to any given
network.
• Routers are used to divide Large ,busy LANs into smaller segment.
• Routers are employed to connect LAN to WAN.
• Routers are of two types
1. Static
2. Dynamic
• Static routers can not determine path whereas dynamic router can determine paths(routes).
 Network Architecture:
Token Ring:

• It was developed by IBM and more complex than Ethernet.

• The topology is physically a STAR . But it uses logical ring to pass the token.

• It uses UTP or STP cables and can use fiber optic cable to extend a network.

• Types of Token Ring:

a. Type 1: Uses STP cables and used within the same building.

b. Type 2: Uses Twisted pairs and allows to use it for both telephone voice signals and computer data. In the

same physical area or room.

c. Type 3: Uses STP or UTP cables but for limited area.

d. Type 5: Uses fiber optic cable but only on the main ring path
 Role of Token Ring:
• Each token ring network device is connected to a central concentrator, called as multi station access unit

(MAU). Because of MAU, a single computer failure will not take the entire LAN down.

• Token passing network moves a small frame, called as token around the network

• The node which passes token have right to send information.

• If the node possessing token has no information to send, then it passes token to next node. Each node can

hold token for maximum period of time.

• If the node possessing token does not have information to send, then it passes token to next workstation ,

which checks whether information belongs to it or not, then sends it to next node. The information frame

circulates the ring until it reaches to the destination.

• While the information frame is circulating, no token is on the network, which means that other nodes

must wait to transmit.

 Protocols:
• When computers in different countries are to be connected together for communication, then it
becomes very complex communication.
• This problem can be solved by making common rules to interconnect and communicate between
computers known as protocols.
• In such a network , data is transmitted in the form of packets.
• Format of packet:

• There are different international standard protocols:

1. TCP/IP (Transmission control protocol / Internet Protocol)
2. UDP (User Data Protocol)
3. ARP (Address Resolution Protocol)
4. ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol)
 TCP/IP Protocols:
• TCP/IP stands for Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol, which is a set of
networking protocols that allows two or more computers to communicate.
• TCP/IP Protocol uses three types of address for network addressing .
• Hardware or physical address, it is used by the data link and physical layers. It is
hard coded into the network cards at eachdevice.
• Internet protocol address provides logical node identification. This address is
unique address assigned by an administrator according to certain guidelines. It is
expressed in four parts dotted- notation.
e.g. 123.144.131.12
• Logical nodes names, which an administrator can assign, are easier to remember
than an IP address.
e.g. BARNEY.COM
 Access Methods :
(a) Contention :
• In contention, any computer in the network can transmit at any time (first come first served).
• This system breaks down when two computers attempt to transmit at the same time. This is a case of
collision.
• To avoid collision, carrier sensing mechanism is used. Here each computer listens to the network before
attempting to transmit. If network is busy, it waits until network quiets down.
(b) Polling :
• In polling based systems, there is a device (called controller or master device)
• to poll other devices on the networks to see whether they are ready to either transmit or receive data.
(c) Token passing:
• Token passing utilizes a frame called a token, which circulates around the network.
• A computer that needs to transmit must wait until it receives the token.
• When computer receives token, it is permitted to transmit.
• When computer completes transmitting, it is passes the token frame to the next station or token ring
network.