Distributed Communications

Systems
HUB
Switch
 Computer Networks

A is a set of independent computer

systems interconnected by
telecommunication links.
 Networking Topology
Bus
Ring
Star
Tree
Mesh
 Bus
Bus networks (not to be confused with the system bus of a computer)
use a common backbone to connect all devices.
A single cable, the backbone functions as a shared communication
medium that devices attach or tap into with an interface connector.
A device wanting to communicate with another device on the network
sends a broadcast message onto the wire that all other devices see,
but only the intended recipient actually accepts and processes the
message.
Ethernet bus topologies are relatively easy to install and don't require
much cabling compared to the alternatives.
 Ring
In a ring network, every device has exactly two neighbors for
communication purposes.
All messages travel through a ring in the same direction (either
"clockwise" or "counterclockwise").
A failure in any cable or device breaks the loop and can take
down the entire network.
To implement a ring network, one typically uses FDDI, SONET,
or Token Ring technology.
Ring topologies are found in some office buildings or school
campuses.
 Star
Many home networks use the star topology.
A star network features a central connection point called a "hub" that
may be a hub, switch or router.
Devices typically connect to the hub with Unshielded Twisted Pair
(UTP) Ethernet.
Compared to the bus topology, a star network generally requires
more cable, but a failure in any star network cable will only take down
one computer's network access and not the entire LAN. (If the hub
fails, however, the entire network also fails.)
 Mesh
Mesh topologies involve the concept of routes. Unlike each of the previous
topologies, messages sent on a mesh network can take any of several
possible paths from source to destination. (Recall that even in a ring,
although two cable paths exist, messages can only travel in one direction.)
Some WANs, most notably the Internet, employ mesh routing. A mesh
network in which every device connects to every other is called a full mesh.
As shown in the illustration below, partial mesh networks also exist in which
some devices connect only indirectly to others.
 Tree
Tree topologies integrate multiple star topologies together onto a bus.
In its simplest form, only hub devices connect directly to the tree
bus, and each hub functions as the "root" of a tree of devices. This
bus/star hybrid approach supports future expandability of the
network much better than a bus (limited in the number of devices
due to the broadcast traffic it generates) or a star (limited by the
number of hub connection points) alone.
 LAN, WAN and Other Area Networks
One way to categorize the different types of computer network designs is by
their scope or scale. For historical reasons, the networking industry refers to
nearly every type of design as some kind of area network. Common
examples of area network types are:

LAN - Local Area Network

WLAN - Wireless Local Area Network
WAN - Wide Area Network
MAN - Metropolitan Area Network
SAN - Storage Area Network, System Area Network, Server Area
Network, or sometimes Small Area Network
CAN - Campus Area Network, Controller Area Network, or sometimes
Cluster Area Network
PAN - Personal Area Network
DAN - Desk Area Network

LAN and WAN were the original categories of area networks, while the others
have gradually emerged over many years of technology evolution.
 LAN - Local Area
Network
A LAN connects network devices over a relatively short
distance. A networked office building, school, or home
usually contains a single LAN, though sometimes one
building will contain a few small LANs (perhaps one per
room), and occasionally a LAN will span a group of
nearby buildings.
In TCP/IP networking, a LAN is often but not always
implemented as a single IP subnet. In addition to
operating in a limited space, LANs are also typically
owned, controlled, and managed by a single person or
organization. They also tend to use certain connectivity
technologies, primarily Ethernet and Token Ring.
 WAN - Wide Area Network
As the term implies, a WAN spans a large physical
distance. The Internet is the largest WAN, spanning the
Earth. A WAN is a geographically-dispersed collection of
LANs. A network device called a router connects LANs
to a WAN. In IP networking, the router maintains both a
LAN address and a WAN address.
A WAN differs from a LAN in several important ways.
Most WANs (like the Internet) are not owned by any one
organization but rather exist under collective or
distributed ownership and management. WANs tend to
use technology like ATM, Frame Relay and X.25 for
connectivity over the longer distances.
 LAN, WAN and Home Networking
Residences typically employ one
LAN and connect to the
Internet WAN via an Internet
Service Provider (ISP) using a
broadband modem. The ISP
provides a WAN IP address to
the modem, and all of the
computers on the home
network use LAN (so-called
private) IP addresses. All
computers on the home LAN
can communicate directly with
each other but must go
through a central gateway,
typically a broadband router, to
reach the ISP.
ISP - Internet Service Providers
An ISP is a company that supplies Internet
connectivity to home and business customers.
ISPs support one or more forms of Internet
access, ranging from traditional modem dial-up
to DSL and cable modem broadband service to
dedicated T1/T3 lines.
More recently, wireless Internet service
providers or WISPs have emerged that offer
Internet access through wireless LAN or wireless
broadband networks.
In addition to basic connectivity, many ISPs also
offer related Internet services like email, Web
hosting and access to software tools.
 Hardware
To connect to a network you need the right hardware.
Wireless: Wireless Router & Wireless Adapter
Wired: Router, 2 Network Interface Cards, 2 Ethernet
Cables.
 Software
Once you have your hardware, you need the software. This is where it
gets interesting.

Network Client: On XP or 98 you need the Client for Microsoft Networks

Protocol: TCP/IP is the standard for LAN and WAN communication.

 TCP/IP
TCP and IP were developed by a Department of Defense (DOD)
research project to connect a number different networks designed
by different vendors into a network of networks (the "Internet"). It
was initially successful because it delivered a few basic services
that everyone needs (file transfer, electronic mail, remote logon)
across a very large number of client and server systems. Several
computers in a small department can use TCP/IP (along with other
protocols) on a single LAN. The IP component provides routing from
the department to the enterprise network, then to regional networks,
and finally to the global Internet. On the battlefield a communications
network will sustain damage, so the DOD designed TCP/IP to be
robust and automatically recover from any node or phone line
failure. This design allows the construction of very large networks
with less central management. However, because of the automatic
recovery, network problems can go undiagnosed and uncorrected
for long periods of time.
 TCP/IP Cont
As with all other communications protocol, TCP/IP is composed of
layers:
IP - is responsible for moving packet of data from node to node. IP
forwards each packet based on a four byte destination address (the
IP number). The Internet authorities assign ranges of numbers to
different organizations. The organizations assign groups of their
numbers to departments. IP operates on gateway machines that
move data from department to organization to region and then
around the world.
TCP - is responsible for verifying the correct delivery of data from
client to server. Data can be lost in the intermediate network. TCP
adds support to detect errors or lost data and to trigger
retransmission until the data is correctly and completely received.
Sockets - is a name given to the package of subroutines that
provide access to TCP/IP on most systems.
 Addresses
TCP/IP assigns a unique number to every
workstation in the world. This "IP number"
is a four byte value that, by convention, is
expressed by converting each byte into a
decimal number (0 to 255) and separating
the bytes with a period.
For example: 192.168.2.15
 IP Classes
Class A: 0nnnnnnn.hhhhhhhh.hhhhhhhh.hhhhhhhh
0-127 (0/127 reserved)
126 Class As Exist
16,777,214 hosts on each Class A
10.x.x.x (Private Class A)
Class B: 10nnnnnn.hhhhhhhh.hhhhhhhh.hhhhhhhh
128-191 Initial Byte
16,384 Class Bs Exist
65,532 hosts on each Class B
172.16.x.x (Private Class B)
Class C: 110nnnnn.hhhhhhh.hhhhhhhh.hhhhhhhh
192-223 Initial Byte
2,097,152 Class Cs Exist
254 hosts on each Class C
192.168.x.x (Private Class C)
 Subnets
A subnet (short for
"subnetwork") is an
identifiably separate part
of an organization's
network. Typically, a
subnet may represent all
the machines at one
geographic location, in
one building, or on the
same local area network
(LAN).
 Internet Protocols
TCP: Transmission Control Protocol
IP: Internet Protocol
HTTP (80): Hyper Text Transfer Protocol
HTTPS (443): Secure HTTP
SSL: Secure Sockets Layer
SMTP (25): Simple Mail Transport Protocol
MIME: Multi-purpose Internet Mail Extension
IMAP: Internet Message Access Protocol
POP (110): Post Office Protocol (POP3)
FTP (21): File Transfer Protocol
DHCP (546): Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol
PPTP (1723): Point to Point Tunneling Protocol
VPN: Virtual Private Network
RDP(3389): Remote Desktop Protocol