INTRODUCTION

Network:
It is a set of devices connected by media links. A Network consists of two or more computers connected
to each other by a cable so that they can share data.
A device can be a computer, printer or any other device capable of sending and/or receiving data
generated by another computer in a network.

Characteristics of Network
1. Resource Sharing – resources are shared by all the computers in network. Eg. Printer is shared by 5
computers in a single network.
2. High Reliability – network provides high reliability by having alternative sources of supply. The
presence of multiple CPU means that if one goes down, the other may be able to take over its work
although at reduced performance.
3. Saving money – mostly in networking one computer work as server and other as client. So only server
device requires connecting with resources and clients can easily access those resources.
4. Scalability – network is able to increase system performance by adding more processors.
5. Powerful communication medium
6. Low cost – we are able to talk with any person at any place in the world with low cost compare to
telephone system.
7. Time saving – Email service requires less time compare to postal service.
8. Flexibility of equipment location – we can change the location of LAN or any device at any time.

Network Criteria:
1. Performance: measured by Transit time & Response time….performance depends on number of users,
type of transmission medium, hardware & software.
Transit Time: it is a time required for a message to travel from source to destination. Response Time:
it is elapsed time between an inquiry & response.
2. Reliability: given by frequency of failure, recovery time of a network after failure & catastrophe
3. Security: given by unauthorized access & viruses.

Network Application:
1. Marketing & sales: Marketing person use to collect exchange and analyze data related to customer
needs. Sales application includes teleshopping & online reservation services for hotel, railways, airlines
etc.
2. Financial Service: credit history searches, foreign exchange & investment services, electronic fund
transfer.
3. Manufacturing: CAD – Computer aided design & CAM – Computer aided Manufacturing application
allows multiple users to work simultaneously.
4. Electronic messaging: E-mail
5. Directory Services: list of files to be stored on particular location & also allows search operation of
files.
6. Information services: WWW allows information about technical specification for new product.
7. Electronic data interchange: it allows transferring business information without any paper.
8. Teleconferencing: text conferencing, audio conferencing & video conferencing.
9. Cellular telephone: wireless phone connections over large distance.

Advantages of Network / Need of Computer Network

1. Efficient management of resources
2. Faster data sharing
3. Keeping information reliable & up-to-date
4. Efficient communication
Disadvantages of Network
1. Viruses
2. Security (Unauthorized Accessing)
3. Server fail then whole network fails
4. Cable break
5. Extra hardware are very costly

LINE CONFIGURATION
It defines attachment of communication devices to a link.
A link is a physical communication pathway that transfers data from one device to another.
Two Types
1) Point to Point: Two devices are connected by a dedicated link. Eg. Line configuration between remote
control and television system.
Point to Point link
1 2

2) Multi Point: More than two devices share a single link. Capacity of channel is shared either spatially or
temporarily.

2 3

TOPOLOGY: Physical or logical arrangement of links in a network. It is geometric representation of the

relationship of all the links and devices to each other.

1) Mesh: every device has a dedicated point to point link to every other device.
Node or device = N
Cable or links = N (N-1) / 2
I/O ports for each device = N-1
Total I/O port = N (N-1)

N=5
Cable or Links = 5 (4) / 2 = 10
I/O ports per device = 4
Total I/O port = 20

Advantages:
1. Each connection carries its own load. So no traffic problem.
2. Robust. It means if one link get fail, it does not affect entire system.
 3. Privacy & Security. Every message traveled along separate path or link. Only intended recipient see
message.
4. Easy Fault identification & Fault isolation. In point to point line configuration it is easy to identify
fault place & separate out from system.
Disadvantages:
1. Difficult Installation & Reconfiguration. Every device is required to connect with all other devices.
2. Wiring requires more space.
3. More cabling n more no. of I/O ports required.
4. More expensive.

2) Star: Each device has a point to point link only to a controller usually called HUB.
Devices = N
Cable or Link = N
I/O port per device = 1
Total I/O port = N

1 2
Devices = 4
Cable = 4
HUB
I/O port per device = 1
Total I/O port = 4
4 3

HUB manages & controls all the function of the network. The controller act as an exchanger, if any
device wants to send data to another, it sends that data first to the controller which then send data to the other
connected device.
Advantages:
1. Less expensive than Mesh topology. Each device needs only one link & one I/O port to connect it to any
other device.
2. Easy Installation & Reconfiguration. Addition, movement & deletion of any device involve only one
connection between device and controller.
3. Robust. If one link fails, only that link is affected. All other links remain active.
4. Easy fault identification & fault isolation.
Disadvantages:
1. More cable required compare to BUS topology.
2. More expensive than BUS topology because of the cost of central controller.
3. If central controller fails entire network.

3) Tree: It is variation of Star topology.

Nodes in tree are linked to the central hub (primary hub or active hub) that controls traffic to the
network.
Not every device is connected directly to the central hub. Majority of the devices are connected to the
secondary hub (passive hub) that in turn connected to central hub.
 1 2 3

CENTRAL HUB Primary Hub / Active Hub

HUB1 HUB2 Secondary Hub / Passive Hub

4 5 6 7

Advantages:
1. Easy installation and reconfiguration
2. Robust
3. Secondary hub allows more devices to be attached to a single control hub.
4. It allows network to prioritize communication from different computers.
Disadvantages:
1. If central hub fails then all devices attached are disabled. (entire system fail)
2. More difficult to configure and wiring than other topologies.

4) Bus: Devices are using Multipoint line configuration.

Nodes are connected to the bus cable through drop lines and tap. This bus cable is known as Backbone.
Drop line is the link between device and backbone. Tap is a connector that makes a hole in backbone to create a
contact with the drop line.

1 2 3
Drop Line

Devices = N, Cable = 1
I/O port per device = 1
Total I/O port = N

Cable End / Tap

Terminator

Advantages:
1. Easy installation. Only one main cable required to connect all devices.
2. Less cabling than Mesh, Star & Tree.
3. Easy to understand & use.
Disadvantages:
1. Difficult reconfiguration & fault isolation.
2. It can not work efficiently under heavy network traffic.
3. If backbone fails, entire system fails.
4. Terminators are required at both end of cable.
5) Ring: Each device has dedicated point to point line configuration only with the two devices either side of it.
Signal passes in one direction from device to device until it reaches to the destination.

1
Devices = N, Cable = N
2 I/O port per device = 1
5
Total I/O port = N
4 3
Advantages:
1. Easy installation& reconfiguration.
2. Simple fault isolation.
3. Network allows equal access to all computers.
Disadvantages:
1. Failure of one device in ring can affect whole network.
2. Uni-directional traffic.
3. Adding or removing of device disturbs the network.

Transmission Mode: It is used to define the direction of signal flow between two linked devices.
1. Simplex: Unidirectional Communication at any time. E.g. Keyboard (used for input), Monitor (used for
output)

2. Half Duplex: Unidirectional Communication at a time (at time t1 from A to B, at time t2 from B to A)
e.g. Walkie-Talkie.

3. Full Duplex: Bidirectional Communication at any time. E.g. Telephone System. Signals going in either
direction shares capacity of link. This sharing is possible in two ways.
1. Link must contain two physically separate transmission path. One for Sending & other for
Receiving.
2. Capacity of channel is divided between signals traveling in opposite directions.
Category of Networks: According to their geographical size.
1. LAN – Local Area Network. It is group of computer and network communication devices
interconnected within the geographically limited area such as Office, Building, Campus or Computer
Lab. LANs are distinguished from other types of network by their transmission media, their topology &
their size. Most of the LANs are using Bus, Ring & Star topology.

1 1 4 6

2
2 3 5
2
3
4 5
3 HUB
Multiple Building 7 9
LAN
Single Building LAN 8
Characteristics of LAN:
1. It allows user to share storage devices like Printer, Application Data and other Network
resources.
2. It transfers data at high speed (more than 1 mega bits per second (mbps)).
3. It exists in limited area up to few kilometers.
4. Multiple accesses are possible.
5. Lower error rate & less expensive.
Advantages of LAN:
1. Flexible & growth oriented.
2. It provides Data Integrity.
3. It provides beat means of cost effective multi user computer environment.
4. Allows sharing of resources and exchange of information.

2. MAN – Metropolitan Area Network. It is extended over an entire city. E.g. Cable television network,
Telephone Company. It may connect a number of LANs into a larger network so that resources may be
shared LAN to LAN as well as device to device.

Star Ring

Hub Public City Network

Bus

3. WAN – Wide Area Network. WAN covers large geographical such as cities, states, countries. It
provides long distance transmission of data, voice, image and video information over large area.
Communication in a WAN take place through telephone, satellite or microwave transmission rather than
physical cable.
Characteristics of WAN:
1. It exists in unlimited geographical area.
2. It is more susceptible to errors due to the distance the data can travel.
3. Interconnection of multiple LAN.
4. More sophisticated and complex than LAN.
5. Expensive technology.
Internetwork: A collection of interconnected networks is called an internetwork or internet.
Internet – specific world wide network.
internet – interconnection of network.

OSI Model: Open System Interconnection model.

This model is developed by ISO (International Standard Organization) in 1984. Open System is a model
that allows any two different systems to communicate regardless of their underlying architecture. The purpose
of OSI model is to open communication between different systems without requiring changes to the logic of
underlying hardware and software. OSI model is not a protocol but it is a model for understanding and
designing a network architecture that is flexible, robust and interoperable.
OSI model consists of seven separate but related layers, each of which defines a segment of the process
of moving information across the network. The seven layers of OSI model are as follows.
1) Physical Layer
2) Data Link Layer
3) Network Layer
4) Transport Layer
5) Session Layer
6) Presentation Layer
7) Application Layer

Function of Layers:
1) Physical Layer:
Transmit a bit stream over a physical medium. It deals with the mechanical and electrical
specifications of the interface and transmission medium.
• Physical characteristics of interfaces and media
• Representation of bits: Bits must be encoded into signals – electrical or optical. It defines types
of encoding that how 0s and 1s are changed to signals.
• Data rate: The Transmission rate is given by the number of bits sent per second.
• Synchronization of bits: Provide bit level synchronization between sender and receiver.
• Line configuration: It is concerned with the connection of devices to the medium. In Point-to-
Point configuration two devices are connected together through a dedicated link. In Multipoint
configuration a link is shared between several devices.
• Topology: It defines how the devices are connected to make a network. Devices can be
connected using a Mesh topology (every device connected to every other device), a star topology
(devices are connected through a central hub), a ring topology (every device is connected to the
next, forming a ring), or a bus topology (every device on a common link).
• Transmission mode: It defines the direction of transmission between two devices: Simplex
(only one can send, the other can only receive), Half-Duplex (two device can send and receive,
but not at the same time), Full-Duplex (two devices can send and receive at the same time).

2) Data Link Layer:

It is responsible for node-to-node delivery of data between two system on the same network.
• Framing: It divides the stream of bits received from the network layer into manageable data
units called Frames.
• Physical Address: It adds a header to the frame to define the physical address of the sender
(Source address) and/or receiver (Destination address) of the frame.
• Flow control: If the rate at which the data are absorbed by the receiver is less than the rate
produced in the sender, flow control is used to prevent overwhelming the receiver.
 • Error control: It adds reliability to the physical layer by adding mechanism to detect and
retransmit damaged or lost frames and to prevent duplication of frames. Error control is achieved
through a trailer added to the end of frame.
• Access control: When two or more devices are connected to the same link, data link layer
protocols are necessary to determine which device has control over the link at any given time.

3) Network Layer:
It is responsible for source-to-destination delivery of individual packet across multiple networks.
If two systems are connected to the same link, there is no need for a network layer. If two systems are
attached to different networks with connecting devices between the networks, there is need for network
layer to accomplish source-to-destination delivery.
• Logical Address: If a packet passes the network boundary, there is requirement of addressing
system to help distinguish the source and destination system. Network layer adds a header to the
packet coming from the upper layer includes Logical address of the sender and receiver.
• Routing: When independent networks are connected together to create internetwork (a network
of networks) or a large network, the connecting devices (router, gateway) route the packets to
their final destination.

4) Transport Layer:
It is responsible for source-to-destination (end-to-end) delivery of entire message. It ensures that
the whole message arrives intact and in order, overseeing both error control and flow control at the source-
to-destination level. Transport layer may create a connection between two end ports. A connection is a
single logical path between the source and destination that is associated with all the packets in a message.
There are three steps for connection:
1) Connection Establishment
2) Data Transfer
3) Connection Release

• Service-point addressing: Computer runs several programs at the same time. Source-to-
destination delivery means delivery not only from one computer to other but also from a specific
process (running program) on one computer to a specific process on another. Because of this
reason transport layer requires to add source-point address or Port address to the header.
Transport layer gets the entire message to the correct process on that computer.
• Segmentation and Reassembly: A message is divided into transmittable segments, each
segment contain a sequence number. These sequence number is used to reassemble the message
correctly at the destination, to identify and replace packets that were lost in transmission.
• Connection control: Transport layer can be connectionless or connection-oriented.
Connectionless transport layer treats each segment as an independent packet and delivers
it to the destination.
Connection-oriented transport layer makes a connection with the transport layer at the
destination first before delivering the packets. After all the data transferred, the connection is
terminated.

• Flow control: It provides end to end flow control rather than across a single link.
• Error control: It provides end to end error control rather than across a single link.

5) Session Layer:
It is network dialog controller. It establishes, maintains and synchronizes the interaction between
communicating systems.
 • Dialog control: It allows two systems to enter into a dialog. It allows the communication
between two processes to take place either in Half-duplex or Full-duplex.
• Synchronization: It allows adding checkpoints into a stream of data.
For example, if a system is sending file of 2000 pages and if fault occurs at page 630. So
we require retransmission of data from beginning of the file (i.e. from page number 0). If the
checkpoints are inserted after every 100 pages to ensure that each 100 page is received perfectly. In
this case if a fault or crash occurs during transmission of page 630 than retransmission begins from
last check points (i.e. from page number 600 not from page number 0).

6) Presentation Layer:
It is concerned with the syntax and semantics of the information exchanged between two
systems.
• Translation: The processes in two systems are changing information in forms of
character strings, numbers, and so on. This information should be changed to bit streams before
being transmitted. The presentation layer is responsible for interoperability between the different
encoding methods used by different systems.
• Encryption/Decryption: To carry sensitive information, the system must be able to
assure the privacy. Encryption means that the sender transforms the original information to
another form and sends the resulting message out over the network. Decryption reverses the
original process to transform the message back to its original form.
• Compression/Decompression: It reduces the number of bits to be transmitted. It is
important in the transmission of multimedia such as text, audio and video.

7) Application Layer:
It enables the user to use network. It provides user interface and support for services such as
email, remote file access and transfer, shared database management and other types of distributed
information services.
• Network virtual terminal: It is a software version of a physical terminal and allows a
user to log on to remote host.
• File transfer, access and management (FTAM): It allows user to access files in remote
computer (for reading or changing purpose), to retrieve file from remote computer, manage and
control files in remote computer.
• Directory services: It provides distributed database sources and access for the global
information.
Advantages:
• It is standard legalized by International Standard Organization (ISO).
• All layers providing error checking and handling.
• Protocols are well hidden and can be replaced easily as the technology changes.
• Emphasis on providing reliable data transfer service.
Disadvantages:
• Complex and costly.
• Not so widespread.

TCP/IP Model:
TCP/IP means Transmission Control Protocol / Internetworking Protocol model, sometimes called the
DoD (Department of Defense) model or the ARPANET (Advance research Project Agency Network) reference
model, is a layered abstract description for communications and computer network protocol design. It was
created in the 1970 by DARPA (Defense Advance research Project Agency Network) for use in developing the
Internet protocols. The structure of the Internet is still closely reflected by the TCP/IP model.
 TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules each of which provides a specific
functionality, but they are not necessarily interdependent. The term hierarchical means that each upper level
protocol is supported by one or more lower level protocols. The five layers of TCP/IP model are as follows.

1) Physical Layer
2) Data Link Layer
3) Network Layer
4) Transport Layer
5) Application Layer

Function of Layers:
1) Physical Layer:
• Responsible for encoding and transmission of data over network communications media.
• Operates with data in the form of bits that are sent from the Physical layer of the sending
(source) device and received at the Physical layer of the destination device.
• Ethernet, Token Ring, SCSI (Small Computer System Interface), hub, repeater, cables and
connectors are standard network devices that function at the Physical layer.
• It considers the domain of many hardware-related network design issues, such as LAN (Local
Area Network) and WAN (Wide Area Network) topology and wireless technology.

2) Data Link Layer:

• Add header to packet for preparing it for transmission.
• It uses the method to move packets from the network layer on two different hosts.
• The processes of transmitting packets on a given data link layer and receiving packets from a
given data link layer can be controlled both in the software device driver for the network card.
• It is the layer where packets are intercepted to be sent over a virtual private network. When this
is done, the data of data link layer is considered as application data and proceeds back down the
IP stack for actual transmission. On the receiving end, the data goes up the IP stack twice (once
for routing and the second time for the VPN).
• It also includes the physical layer, which is made up of the actual physical network components
(hubs, repeaters, fiber optic cable, coaxial cable, network cards, etc), and the low level
specifications for the signals (voltage levels, frequencies, etc).

3) Network Layer:
• Solves the problem of getting packets across a single network.
• With the advent of the concept of internetworking, additional functionality was added to this
layer, namely getting data from the source network to the destination network. This generally
 involves routing the packet across a network of networks, known as an internetwork or (lower-
case) internet.
• IP performs the basic task of getting packets of data from source to destination. IP can carry data
for a number of different upper layer protocols; these protocols are each identified by a unique
protocol number: ICMP and IGMP are protocols 1 and 2, respectively.
• Some of the protocols carried by IP, such as ICMP (Internet Control Message Protocol) used to
transmit diagnostic information about IP transmission and IGMP (Internet Group Message
Protocol) used to manage IP Multicast data, are layered on top of IP but perform internetwork
layer functions, illustrating an incompatibility between the Internet and the IP stack and OSI
model.
Protocols in Network Layer:
1. IP – Internetwork Protocol. It is Connectionless and unreliable protocol.
Packets are known as datagram.
2. ICMP – Internet Control Message Protocol. It handles control and error messages in the
IP (Network) layer.
3. IGMP – Internet Group Message Protocol. It has been designed to help a multicast router
to identify the host in LAN that is member of a multicast group.
4. ARP – Address Resolution Protocol. It is used to find physical address of the node when
its Internet address (IP address) is known.
5. RARP – Reverse Address Resolution Protocol. It is used to find the Internet address of
the node when its physical address is known.

4) Transport Layer:
• End-to-end message transfer capabilities independent of the underlying network, along with error
control, fragmentation and flow control. End to end message transmission or connecting
applications at the transport layer can be categorized as either:
1) Connection-Oriented e.g. TCP. It is reliable protocol. Data packet is known as
segment.
2) Connectionless e.g. UDP. It is unreliable protocol. Data packet is known as user
datagram.
• Provides transport mechanism e.g. a vehicle whose responsibility is to make
sure that its contents (passengers/goods) reach its destination safely and soundly, unless a higher
or lower layer is responsible for safe delivery.
• IP provides only a best effort delivery; the transport layer is the first layer of
the TCP/IP stack to offer reliability.
• Reliability issues:
1) Data has minimal error (i.e. correctness).
2) Duplicate data is discarded.
3) Lost/discarded packets are resent.
4) Includes traffic congestion control

5) Application Layer:
Application Layer groups the functions of OSI Application, Presentation and Session Layer. In
accessing services, end-to-end connection is established and socket is set up at each end of the connection.
• It is used by most programs for network communication. Data is passed from
the program in an application-specific format, and then encapsulated into a transport layer
protocol.
• IP stack has no layers between the application and transport layers, the
application layer must include any protocols that act like the OSI's presentation and session layer
protocols. This is usually done through libraries.
 • Common servers have specific ports assigned to them (HTTP has port 80;
Telnet has port 23; etc.) while clients use ephemeral ports. Some protocols, such as File Transfer
Protocol and Telnet may set up a session using a well-known port, but then redirect the actual
user session to ephemeral ports.
Protocols in Application Layer:
1. SMTP – Simple Mail Transfer Protocol. It supports electronic mail on the internet.
2. FTP – File Transfer Protocol. It is provided by TCP/IP for copying file from one computer to
another. To copy the files some problem may occur like two system uses different file
structure, two systems may have different ways to represent text and data, two systems may
have different directory structures. All these problems are solved by FTP.
3. SNMP – Simple Network Management Protocol. It provides a set of fundamental operations
for monitoring and maintaining devices in the internet.
4. TELNET – Terminal Network. It is general purpose client-server application program.

Advantages:
• Widespread use in networking.
• Simpler than and not as costly as OSI.
• Robust compared to alternatives such as OSI.
• Available on virtually every hardware and operating system platform (often free).
• The protocol suite on which Internet depends.
• Provides error checking and handling.
• Provides both connection-oriented and connectionless model.
• Enable both reliable and unreliable data transfer service

Disadvantages:
• The protocols are unwell hidden.
• The protocols are hardly possible to be used to describe other models.
• Not all TCP/ IP layers provide error checking; only Transport layer does.
• It hasn’t been standardized by ISO.

Difference between OSI and TCP/IP model:

Sr. No. OSI model TCP/IP model

1. Open System Interconnection model Transmission Control Protocol / Internetworking
protocol model
2. OSI is standard legislated by official recognized TCP/IP is standard adopted due to widespread
body (ISO) use.
3. It has 7 layers. It has 5 layers.
1) Application 1) Application (Application + Presentation +
2) Presentation Session layer )
3) Session 2) Transport
4) Transport 3) Network
5) Network 4) Data link
6) Data link 5) Physical
7) Physical

4. It is developed after TCP/IP model. It is developed before OSI model.

5. Protocols are better hidden than in TCP/IP and Protocols are less hidden.
can be relatively easily as the technology
changes.
 6. Network layer provides connection-oriented and Network layer provides connectionless approach.
connectionless approach.
7. Transport layer provides connection-oriented Transport layer provides connection-oriented and
approach and source-to-destination (port to port) connectionless approach and end-to-end
reliability. reliability.
8. Complex, Costly Simpler, Cheaper than OSI.
9. More commonly used as teaching aids. More commonly used for internetworking.
10. OSI model clearly differentiate between service, TCP/IP model can not clearly differentiate
interface & protocol. between service, interface & protocol.
11. Each layer detects and handles errors. Only transport layer detect n handle errors.

Difference between Connection-Oriented and Connectionless:

Sr. No. Connection-Oriented Connectionless

1 It is also known as Virtual Circuit. It is also now as Datagram.
2 It includes… It does not require establishing a
1) Connection established connection.
2) Data transfer
3) Connection released
3 All the packets flow through a single path. Not required to follow a single
path. May follow different path.
4 Sequence of received message is same as Sequence of receiving message is
the sender sequence. not necessarily being the same.
5 More secure than connection-oriented. Less secure than connection
oriented.
6 It is like telephone system. It is like postal system.
7 e.g. TCP e.g. IP,UDP