Syllabus of Computer Networks

Unit-1 Data communications concepts Lectures Hours:15

Chapter 1.1 Introduction to Computer Networks and its components, Digital and Analog signals: Attenuation, distortion, noise,
throughput, propagation speed and time, wavelength, Parallel and Serial communication, Synchronous and Asynchronous
communication, Simplex, Half-duplex, Full duplex
Chapter 1.2 Multiplexing: FDM, WDM, TDM. IP Addressing: Classful Addressing
Chapter 1.3 Guided and unguided, Guided Media: Telephone lines, leased lines, switch line, coaxial cables-base band, broadband, optical
fiber transmission
Unit-2 Data Transmission Lectures Hours:15
Chapter 2.1 Unguided Media: Microwave transmission, infrared transmission, laser transmission, radio transmission, and satellite
transmission.
Comparison of media.

Chapter 2.2 Network topologies, Communication switching techniques- Circuit switching, message switching, packet switching.
Chapter 2.3 OSI references model, TCP/IP reference model, comparison of OSI and TCI reference model.
Unit-3 TCP/IP and OSI Model Layer Lectures Hours:15
Chapter 3.1 Data link layer- Services provided to the network layer, framing, error control, flow control HDLC, SDLC, (SLIP, PPP).
Chapter 3.2 Network-Layer- Routing algorithms, Congestion control Algorithms, Internetworking.
Chapter 3.3 Application Layer- DNS, E-mail, World Wide Web, HTTP, Multimedia.
Network Security- Basic concepts.

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 Switching
In large networks, it is possible to have multiple paths through which data can be
transferred from transmitter to receiver. The switching technique decides the best
route for data transmission. It is used to connect the systems for making one-to-one
communication.
Switching is a process to forward packets from source to destination.
Ingress: When data comes on a port it. Egress: when data leaves a port or goes out.
Connectionless: The data is forwarded on behalf of forwarding tables. No previous
handshaking is required and acknowledgements are optional.
Connection Oriented: Before switching data to be forwarded to destination, there
is a need to pre-establish circuit along the path between both endpoints. Data is then
forwarded on that circuit. After the transfer is completed, circuits can be kept for
future use or can be turned down immediately.

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 Switching

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 Circuit Switching
• Circuit switching is a switching technique that establishes a dedicated path
between sender and receiver.
• Once the connection is established then the dedicated path will remain to exist
until the connection is terminated.
• Circuit switching in a network operates in a similar way as the telephone works.
• A complete end-to-end path must exist before the communication takes place.
• In case of circuit switching technique, when any user wants to send the data, voice,
video, a request signal is sent to the receiver then the receiver sends back the
acknowledgment to ensure the availability of the dedicated path. After receiving
the acknowledgment, dedicated path transfers the data.
• Circuit switching is used in public telephone network. It is used for voice
transmission.
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 Circuit Switching
Total Time = Setup Time + Transmission Time + Propagation Delay
+ Termination Time

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 Message Switching
In this switching technique, no dedicated path is
established in advance between the transmitter and
receiver. When the transmitter have data to be sent,
it is stored in the switching office and then
forwarded, hop by hop. Each block received is
inspected for errors, and then forwarded. The
network using this technique is also called a store-
and-forward network. There is no limit at all on
block size
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 Message Switching
The first electromechanical telecommunication systems used message switching,
namely, for telegrams. The message was punched on paper tape (off-line) at the
sending office, and then read in and transmitted over a communication line to the
next office along the way, where it was punched out on paper tape. An operator there
tore the tape off and read it in on one of the many tape readers, one reader per
outgoing trunk. Such a switching office was called a torn tape office. Paper tape is
long gone and message switching is not used anymore.

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 Packet Switching
In Packet-switching data is divided into packets of fixed size,
allowing packets to be buffered in router main memory instead
of on disk. It also uses the concept of store and forward.

It uses the concept of pipelining i.e, first packet of a

multipacket message can be forwarded before the second one
has fully arrived, thus helping in reducing delay and improving
throughput. For these reasons, computer networks are usually
packet switched, occasionally circuit switched, but never
message switched

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 Circuit vs Packet Switching
Circuit Switching Packet Switching
circuit be set up end to end before does not require any advance setup
communication begins.
reservation of bandwidth all the way there is no path, so different packets can
from the sender to the receiver. All follow different paths
packets follow this path
Packets cannot arrive out of order Packets may arrive out of order
Circuit switching is less fault tolerant Packet switching is more fault tolerant
than packet switching than circuit switching
If a switch goes down, all of the circuits With packet switching, packets can be
using it are terminated and no more routed to other switches
traffic can be sent to any of them
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 Circuit vs Packet Switching
Circuit Switching Packet Switching
Since bandwidth is reserved, as soon as Since bandwidth is not reserved, so
packet is arrived, it can be sent out packets may have to wait their turn to be
immediately over the reserved bandwidth forwarded
Less Efficient More Efficient
Data bits just flow through the wire It uses store-and-forward transmission
continuously.
Data continuously flows, thus there is Store-and-forward transmission adds
just a propagation delay delay.

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 Layered Architecture
To reduce their design complexity, most
networks are organized as a stack of layers.
The purpose of each layer is to offer certain
services to the higher layers. Each layer
offers certain services to the layer above it.
Layer n on one machine carries on a
conversation with layer n on another
machine.
Between each pair of adjacent layers is an
interface.
A set of layers and protocols is called a
network architecture.
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 Design Issues for the Layers
• Every layer needs a mechanism for identifying senders and receivers.
• Rules for data transfer. The protocol must also determine how many logical
channels the connection corresponds to and what their priorities are.
• Error control is an important issue. Both ends of the connection must agree on
which one is being used.
• Protocol must make explicit provision for the receiver to allow the pieces to be
reassembled properly
• An issue that occurs at every level is how to keep a fast sender from swamping a
slow receiver with data.

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 Design Issues for the Layers
• Another problem that must be solved at several levels is the inability of all
processes to accept arbitrarily long messages.
• Layers can offer two different types of service to the layers above them:
connection-oriented and connectionless.
• Connection-oriented service is modeled after the telephone system. When a
connection is established, the sender, receiver, and subnet conduct a negotiation
about parameters to be used, such as maximum message size, quality of service
required, and other issues

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 Design Issues for the Layers
• Connectionless service is modeled after the postal system. Each message (letter)
carries the full destination address, and each one is routed through the system
independent of all the others. Normally, when two messages are sent to the same
destination, the first one sent will be the first one to arrive. However, it is possible
that the first one sent can be delayed so that the second one arrives first.

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 ISO OSI Reference Model
• International Organization for Standardization, in 1984 revised in 1995, developed OSI
stands for Open Systems Interconnection
• It is a 7 layer architecture, where each layer have a specific task which can be briefly
summarized as follows:
1. A layer should be created where a different abstraction is needed.
2. Each layer should perform a well-defined function.
3. The function of each layer should be chosen with an eye toward defining
internationally standardized protocols.
4. The layer boundaries should be chosen to minimize the information flow across the
interfaces.
5. The number of layers should be large enough that distinct functions need not be
thrown together in the same layer out of necessity and small enough that the
architecture does not become unwieldy.
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 ISO OSI Reference Model

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 OSI Model: Physical Layer
• The physical layer is concerned with transmitting raw bits over a communication
channel.
• How the initial connection is to be established and it should be disconnected when
both sides are finished.
• It deals with the electrical and physical representation of the system. This can
include everything from the cable type / frequency link, layout of pins, voltages,
and other physical requirements.
• Transmission may proceed simultaneously in both directions.
• The design issues majorly deal with mechanical, electrical, and timing interfaces,
and the physical transmission medium, which lies below the physical layer.

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 Functions of a Physical layer

• Line Configuration: It defines the way how two or more devices can be
connected physically.
• Data Transmission: It defines the transmission mode whether it is simplex, half-
duplex or full-duplex mode between the two devices on the network.
• Topology: It defines the way how network devices are arranged.
• Signals: It determines the type of the signal used for transmitting the information.

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 OSI Model: Data Link Layer
• The Data Link Layer provides node-to-node data transfer and also handles error
correction from the physical layer. Two sublayers exist here as well--the Media
Access Control (MAC) layer and the Logical Link Control (LLC) layer.
• It breaks the transmitter input data into data frames and transmits those frames
sequentially.
• If the service is reliable, the receiver sends back an acknowledgment frame.
• Another issue, is to keep a fast transmitter from drowning a slow receiver in data.
• Broadcast networks have an additional issue in the data link layer: how to control
access to the shared channel. A special sublayer of the data link layer, the medium
access control sublayer, deals with this problem.

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 Functions of the Data-link layer
• Framing: The data link layer translates the physical's raw bit stream into packets known as Frames.
The Data link layer adds the header and trailer to the frame. The header which is added to the frame
contains the hardware destination and source address.
• Physical Addressing: The Data link layer adds a header to the frame that contains a destination
address. The frame is transmitted to the destination address mentioned in the header.
• Flow Control: Flow control is the main functionality of the Data-link layer. It is the technique
through which the constant data rate is maintained on both the sides so that no data get corrupted. It
ensures that the transmitting station such as a server with higher processing speed does not exceed
the receiving station, with lower processing speed.
• Error Control: Error control is achieved by adding a calculated value CRC (Cyclic Redundancy
Check) that is placed to the Data link layer's trailer which is added to the message frame before it is
sent to the physical layer. If any error seems to occur, then the receiver sends the acknowledgment
for the retransmission of the corrupted frames.
• Access Control: When two or more devices are connected to the same communication channel, then
the data link layer protocols are used to determine which device has control over the link at a given
time.
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 OSI Model: Network Layer
• This layer is responsible for packet forwarding, including routing through different routers.
From transmitter till receiver, there may be multiple paths to take. Routers at this layer help
do this efficiently.
• The network layer controls the operation of the subnet.
• The key issue is to route the packets from source to destination. It also determines how to
start each conversation.
• Congestion control and quality of service (delay, transit time, jitter, etc.) is also the
responsibility of the network layer.
• It also resolves the differences in the protocols (addressing, packet size) of the two different
networks.
• It is up to the network layer to overcome all these problems to allow heterogeneous networks
to be interconnected.
• In broadcast networks, the routing problem is simple, so the network layer is often thin or
even nonexistent.
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 Functions of Network Layer
• Internetworking: An internetworking is the main responsibility of the network
layer. It provides a logical connection between different devices.
• Addressing: A Network layer adds the source and destination address to the
header of the frame. Addressing is used to identify the device on the internet.
• Routing: Routing is the major component of the network layer, and it determines
the best optimal path out of the multiple paths from the source to the destination.
• Packetizing: A Network Layer receives the packets from the upper layer and
converts them into packets. This process is known as Packetizing. It is achieved by
internet protocol (IP).

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 OSI Model: Transport Layer
• It deals with the coordination of the data transfer between end systems and hosts.
• The basic function of the transport layer is to accept data from above, split it up into smaller
units if need be, pass these to the network layer, and ensure that the pieces all arrive
correctly at the other end.
• It also determines what type of service to provide to the session layer
• The transport layer is a true end-to-end layer, all the way from the source to the destination.
In other words, a program on the source machine carries on a conversation with a similar
program on the destination machine, using the message headers and control messages. In the
lower layers, the protocols are between each machine and its immediate neighbors, and not
between the ultimate source and destination machines, which may be separated by many
routers. The difference between layers 1 through 3, which are chained, and layers 4 through
7, which are end-to-end
• Best known example of the Transport Layer is the Transmission Control Protocol (TCP),
which is built on top of the Internet Protocol (IP), commonly known as TCP/IP.
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 Protocols used in Transport Layer
Transmission Control Protocol
• It is a standard protocol that allows the systems to communicate over the internet.
• It establishes and maintains a connection between hosts.
• When data is sent over the TCP connection, then the TCP protocol divides the data
into smaller units known as segments. Each segment travels over the internet using
multiple routes, and they arrive in different orders at the destination. The transmission
control protocol reorders the packets in the correct order at the receiving end.
User Datagram Protocol
• User Datagram Protocol is a transport layer protocol.
• It is an unreliable transport protocol as in this case receiver does not send any
acknowledgment when the packet is received, the sender does not wait for any
acknowledgment. Therefore, this makes a protocol unreliable.
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 Functions of Transport Layer
Service-point addressing: Computers run several programs simultaneously due to
this reason, the transmission of data from source to the destination not only from one
computer to another computer but also from one process to another process. The
transport layer adds the header that contains the address known as a service-point
address or port address. The responsibility of the network layer is to transmit the
data from one computer to another computer and the responsibility of the transport
layer is to transmit the message to the correct process.
Segmentation and reassembly: When the transport layer receives the message from
the upper layer, it divides the message into multiple segments, and each segment is
assigned with a sequence number that uniquely identifies each segment. When the
message has arrived at the destination, then the transport layer reassembles the
message based on their sequence numbers.

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 Functions of Transport Layer
Connection control: Transport layer provides two services Connection-oriented
service and connectionless service. A connectionless service treats each segment as
an individual packet, and they all can travel in different routes to reach the
destination. A connection-oriented service makes a connection with the transport
layer at the destination machine before delivering the packets. In connection-
oriented service, all the packets travel in a single route.
Flow control: The transport layer is also responsible for flow control but it is
performed end-to-end rather than across a single link.
Error control: The transport layer is also responsible for Error control. Error control
is performed end-to-end rather than across a single link. The sender transport layer
ensures that the message reach the destination without any error.

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 OSI Model: Session Layer
• When two devices communicate with one another, a session needs to be created,
and this is done at the Session Layer. Functions at this layer involve setup,
coordination (how long should a system wait for a response) and termination
between the applications at each end of the session.
• It is used to establish, maintain and synchronize the interaction between
communicating devices.

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 Functions of Session layer

• Dialog control: The session layer acts as a dialog controller that creates a dialog
between two processes or we can say that it allows communication between two
processes which can be either half-duplex or full-duplex.
• Synchronization: The session layer adds some checkpoints when transmitting the
data in a sequence. If some error occurs in the middle of the transmission of data,
then the transmission will take place again from the checkpoint. This process is
known as Synchronization and recovery.

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 OSI Model: Presentation Layer
• It represents the preparation or translation of application format to network format
and vice versa
• It deals with the syntax and semantics of the information transmitted.
• It ensures that computers with different data representations can communicate
with each other.
• It acts as a data translator for a network.
• This layer is a part of the operating system that converts the data from one
presentation format to another format.
• Example: encryption and decryption of data for secure transmission

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 Functions of Presentation layer

• Translation: The processes in two systems exchange information in the form of

character strings, numbers and so on. Different computers use different encoding
methods, the presentation layer handles the interoperability between the different
encoding methods.
• Encryption: Encryption is needed to maintain privacy. Encryption is a process of
converting the sender-transmitted information into another form and sending the
resulting message over the network.
• Compression: Data compression is a process of compressing the data, i.e., it
reduces the number of bits to be transmitted. Data compression is very important
in multimedia such as text, audio, video.

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 OSI Model: Application Layer
The Application Layer in the OSI model is the layer that is the “closest to the end
user”.
It receives information directly from users and displays incoming data to the user
The application layer contains a variety of protocols that are commonly needed by
users.
Example: HTTP, FTP, SMTP,

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 Functions of Application layer

File transfer, access, and management (FTAM): An application layer allows a user
to access the files in a remote computer, to retrieve the files from a computer and to
manage the files in a remote computer.
Mail services: An application layer provides the facility for email forwarding and
storage.
Directory services: An application provides the distributed database sources and is
used to provide that global information about various objects.

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 ISO OSI Reference Model

OSI model itself is not a network

architecture. It just tells what each
layer should do.

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 OSI Reference Model: Review

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 TCP IP Model: History
• Initially networks were created using telephone lines. Later with the introduction
of satellite and radio networks the existing protocols had trouble interworking with
them.
• Thus, the ability to connect multiple networks in a seamless way was one of the
major design goals from the very beginning. This architecture later became known
as the TCP/IP Reference Model, after its two primary protocols. It was first
defined in (Cerf and Kahn, 1974). A later perspective is given in (Leiner et al.,
1985). The design philosophy behind the model is discussed in (Clark, 1988).

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 TCP IP Model
• TCP/IP Model helps to identify how a computer is connected to the internet and
how data should be transmitted between them.
• It allows communication over large distances.
• It provides a highly reliable, end-to-end byte stream over unreliable internetwork.
• Adding more systems to a network is easy.
• TCP is a connection-oriented protocol creating reliable connection.
• In TCP IP protocols suite, the network remains intact until the source, and
destination machines were functioning properly.
• TCP ensures that data which arrives out of sequence should put back into order.
• TCP allows you to implement flow control, so sender never overpowers a receiver
with data.
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 TCP IP Layers and its protocols

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 TCP IP Model
• Physical Layer / Network Access Layer
• Internet Layer
• Transport Layer / Host to Host Layer
• Application Layer

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 TCP IP Model: Physical Layer
• This is the bottom-most layer of the TCP/IP model architecture
• It is a combination of the Data Link and Physical Layer of the OSI model
• The physical transmission of data takes place at this layer
• Once the frames are transmitted by a network, encapsulating the IP datagram into
these frames is done in this layer
• Also, the mapping of IP address into physical address is done here
• Mainly, the function of this layer is to transmit the data between two devices,
connected in a network

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 TCP IP Model: Internet Layer
• This layer is parallel to the Network Layer of the OSI Model.
• It is responsible for transmitting the data packets to their destination network.
• The logical transmission of data takes place at this level
• There are three different protocols used in this layer. These include:
• IP: One of the most important protocols as it detects the IP address of a device which is
later used for internetwork connections. It is using this protocol that the path with which
the data shall be transmitted is decided. There are two common IP versions IPv4 and IPv6.
• ARP: It stands for Address Resolution Protocol. The physical address from the IP address
can be determined using ARP.
• ICMP: It stands for Internet Control Message Protocol and notification regarding
datagram problems can be sent back to the user using this. Any issue with the network is
immediately notified to the user by ICMP. It can only inform the user about the errors and
cannot rectify the problem

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 TCP IP Model: Transport Layer
• This layer is parallel to the transport layer of the OSI Model
• The error-free delivery of data is the main function of this layer
• There are two main protocols present in this layer:
• TCP: Another integral part, the Transmission Control Protocol is a reliable
communication protocol. It manager the flow of data, i.e. the sequence and
segmentation of the data
• UDP: It is a connection-free protocol which makes it cost-effective but less
reliable.

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 TCP IP Model: Application Layer
• The top three layers of the OSI Model: Application, Presentation and Session are combined
together, they perform similar functions as the Application Layer of the TCP/IP model
• node-to-node communication based on the user-interface occurs here
• Multiple protocols are present in this layer, a few common ones have been mentioned below in
brief:
• HTTP: Hypertext Transfer Protocol is used to manage the communication between the server
and web browsers
• NTP: Network Time Protocol can set one standard time source in a system, which enables sync
between the server and the user
• TELNET: Telecommunication Network is used to have access to files present of the Telnet
network and manage them on internet
• FTP: File Transfer Protocol, as the name suggests allows easy transferring of files
• Other protocols of Application layer include Network File System (NFS), Secure Shell (SSH),
Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP), Trivial File Transfer Protocol (TFTP), etc
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 TCP IP Layers

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 Unguided Transmission
• For the devices where sharing of information is always in need, and devices are nom
longer limited to a fixed place, wireless transmission is the only solution.
• Wireless has advantages for even fixed devices in some circumstances. For example,
if running a fiber to a building is difficult due to the terrain (mountains, jungles,
swamps, etc.), wireless may be better.
• When an antenna of the appropriate size is attached to an electrical circuit, the
electromagnetic waves can be broadcast efficiently and received by a receiver some
distance away. All wireless communication is based on this principle.
• The radio, microwave, infrared, and visible light portions of the spectrum can all be
used for transmitting information.
• Ultraviolet light, X-rays, and gamma rays would be even better, due to their higher
frequencies, but they are hard to produce and modulate, do not propagate well
through buildings, and are dangerous to living things.
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 Radio Transmission
• Radio waves are easy to generate, can travel long distances, and can penetrate
buildings easily, so they are widely used for communication, both indoors and
outdoors.
• Radio waves can travel in all directions (omnidirectional) from the source, so the
transmitter and receiver do not have to be carefully aligned physically.
• Radio waves are frequency dependent. At low frequencies, radio waves pass
through obstacles well, but the power falls off sharply with distance from the
source. At high frequencies, radio waves tend to travel in straight lines and bounce
off obstacles. They are also absorbed by rain. At all frequencies, radio waves are
subject to interference from motors and other electrical equipment.
• Due to radio's ability to travel long distances, interference between users is a
problem.

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 Radio Transmission
• In the VLF, LF, and MF bands, radio waves follow the curvature of the earth.
• In the HF band, they bounce off the ionosphere.
• In the HF and VHF bands, the ground waves tend to be absorbed by the earth. The
waves that reach the ionosphere, are refracted by it and sent back to Earth.

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 Microwave Transmission
• Above 100 MHz, the waves travel in nearly straight lines and can therefore be
narrowly focused.
• Microwaves do not pass through buildings well.
• even though the beam may be well focused at the transmitter, there is still some
divergence in space
• It is weather and frequency dependent.
• Microwave communication is widely used for long-distance communication.
• It just need towers to be installed at about 50 km away
• It is e is also relatively inexpensive

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 Infrared Transmission
• Unguided infrared and millimeter waves are widely used for short-range
communication.
• The remote controls used on televisions and other devices are best example for the
same.
• They are relatively directional, cheap, and easy to build
• The major drawback is they do not pass through solid objects. It also has a positive
impact that an infrared system in one room of a building will not interfere with a
similar system in adjacent rooms or buildings

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 Laser Transmission
• A more modern application is to connect the LANs in two buildings via lasers
mounted on their rooftops. Lasers are unidirectional, so each building needs its
own laser and its own photodetector.
• This scheme offers very high bandwidth and very low cost. It is also relatively
easy to install
• A disadvantage is that laser beams cannot penetrate rain or thick fog.
• Convention Currents caused from heat may divert the laser beam.

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 Bus Topology
Bus topology is characterized by the use of a multipoint medium. For the bus, all
stations attach, through appropriate hardware interfacing known as a tap, directly to
a linear transmission medium, or bus. Full-duplex operation between the station and
the tap allows data to be transmitted onto the bus and received from the bus. A
transmission from any station propagates the length of the medium in both directions
and can be received by all other stations. At each end of the bus is a terminator,
which absorbs any signal, removing it from the bus.
IEEE 802.3, popularly called Ethernet, is an example of a bus-based broadcast. Such
networks usually operate at 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps. Computers on an Ethernet can
transmit whenever they want to; if two or more packets collide, each computer just
waits a random time and tries again later. The end of the cable here is connected to a
terminator.

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 Bus Topology
Two issues have been noted in this arrangement. First, because a transmission from
any one station can be received by all other stations, there needs to be some way of
indicating for whom the transmission is intended. Second, a mechanism is needed to
regulate transmission. To see the reason for this, consider that if two stations on the
bus attempt to transmit at the same time, their signals will overlap and become
garbled. Or, consider that one station decides to transmit continuously for a long
period of time.
To solve these problems, stations transmit data in small blocks, known as frames.
Each frame consists of a portion of the data that a station wishes to transmit, plus a
frame header that contains control information. Each station on the bus is assigned a
unique address or identifier, and the destination address for a frame is included in its
header.

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 Ring Topology
Token Ring Topology provides a collection of point-to-points rather than a broadcast medium. The
operation is based on a token packet which is circulating in the network. When a packet arrives at a
terminal buffer, the terminal captures the token to prevent others from the transmission and puts its
own frame in the network. When the frame travels along the ring, the terminal which matches the
destination address of the frame copies the frame but it lets it continue its circulation around the ring.
When the frame arrives at the source terminal it is captured from circulation and the token is released
in the ring to allow others to have access to the medium. This approach for medium access provides
for an efficient and fair MAC protocol under heavy load conditions. Unlike Ethernet, it did not get
involved in an analog collision detection mechanism. A monitor station oversees the operation by
handling token loss using a timer, cleaning the invalid garbled frames, and keeping the length of the
ring delay longer than the token time. The first terminal that is connected to the network sends a
claim for a token frame; if there is no other monitor terminal then it resumes the rule of the monitor
station. The IEEE 802.5 packets have a field reserved for applying priority which was not available
with Ethernet. The ring consists of a number of repeaters, each connected to two others by
unidirectional transmission links to form a single closed path. Data are transferred sequentially, bit by
bit, around the ring from one repeater to the next. Each repeater regenrates and retransmits each bit.

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 Ring Topology
A ring consists of a number of repeaters, each connected to two others by unidirectional transmission
links to form a single closed path. Data are transferred sequentially, bit by bit, around the ring from
one repeater to the next. Each repeater regenrates and retransmits each bit.
For a ring to operate as a communication network, three functions are required: data insertion, data
reception, and data removal. These functions are provided by repeaters. Each repeater, in addition to
serving as an active element on the ring, serves as a device attachment point. Data insertion is
accomplished by the repeater. Data are transmitted in packets, each of which contains a destination
address field. As a packet circulates past a repeater, the address field is copied. If the attached station
recognizes the address, the remainder of the packet is copied. Repeaters perform the data insertion
and reception functions in a manner, not unlike that of taps, which serve as device attachment points
on a bus or tree. For a bus, signals inserted onto the line propagate to the endpoints and are absorbed
by terminators. However, because the ring is a closed loop, a packet will circulate indefinitely unless
it is removed. A packet may be removed by the addressed repeater. Alternatively, each packet could
be removed by the transmitting repeater after it has made one trip around the loop.
This latter approach is more desirable because (1) it permits automatic acknowledgment and (2) it
permits multicast addressing: one packet sent simultaneously to multiple stations.
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 Tree Topology
• Both bus and tree topologies are characterized by the use of a multipoint medium.
For the bus, all stations attach, through appropriate hardware interfacing known as
a tap, directly to a linear transmission medium, or bus. Full-duplex operation
between the station and the tap allows data to be transmitted onto the bus and
received from the bus. A transmission from any station propagates the length of the
medium in both directions and can be received by all other stations. At each end of
the bus is a terminator, which absorbs any signal, removing it from the bus. IEEE
802.3, popularly called Ethernet, for example, is a bus-based broadcast network
usually operating at 10 Mbps to 10 Gbps. Computers on an Ethernet can transmit
whenever they want to; if two or more packets collide, each computer just waits a
random time and tries again later. The end of the cable here is connected to a
terminator rather than to the other end of the cable.

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 Star topology

All hosts in Star topology are

connected to a central device,
known as hub device, using a
point-to-point connection. That
is, there exists a point to point
connection between hosts and
hub. If hub fails, connectivity
of all hosts to all other hosts
fails.
Fig-29 Topologies[18]

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