Communication Using

a Network
Chapter 7

Chapter Objectives

State and explain the different components of a

network
Explain and install Network Interface Card
Describe the basic principles of data communication
Explain the use of MAC address
Explain the concepts of a direct cable connection
Identify and troubleshoot problems of NIC

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Recall

Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI) provides

high-performance and connects multiple stations at
the data transfer rate of 100 Mbps.
The two types of logical topologies are:

Token ring logical topology

Token bus logical topology

Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM) is a network

protocol which converts data traffic into a stream of
fixed size cell before transmission.
The basic network components of AppleTalk are:
Sockets, Nodes, Network and Zones.

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Data Communication

Transmission of information between two computers

or nodes
Basic
Components

Sender

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Receiver

Medium

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Message

Protocol

Show signaling techniques

from CBT

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Network Interface Card

(NIC) - I

Hardware device used to connect different

computers on Network
Serves as a link for sending and receiving data on a
network
MAC address is address assigned by IEEE to
identify network card
NIC Types

Ethernet Card

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Token Ring Card

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Network Interface Card

(NIC) - II

Operates at layer 2 of the OSI model

Supports data transfer rate of 10, 100 or
1000 Mbps
User can select an NIC depending on the
type of network, protocol and media used
MAC address is stored on the PROM of the
NIC

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Ethernet Card

Used in devices which are connected using Ethernet

technology
Two types of Ethernet network card Wired and
wireless
A wireless Ethernet card can not communicate with
a wired Ethernet card and vice-versa
Different types of Ethernet cards can be used
depending on the type of network and
corresponding connector that is required

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Show these cards from CBT

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Lights on NIC and hub

Different LEDs on NIC:

Link LED
ACT LED
Speed LED
Collision LED

LEDs on Hub:

Power LED
Port LED

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Different LEDs on a NIC

Link LED Used to indicate whether any

network connection is present or not
Act LED If this LED flashes it indicates that
some activity is taking place on the network
Speed LED ON state indicates that it
operates at 100 Mbps and off for 10 Mbps
Collision LED Glows when a collision takes
place and present on some old NICs

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MAC Address

Also known as hardware or physical address

Used to identify nodes at lower levels of the OSI
model
MAC address assigned by IEEE
Is a 12 digit hexadecimal number (48 bit address)

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Show the structure of MAC

address from CBT

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Frame Structure

A MAC frame is divided into 4 parts

A maximum of 1500 bytes of data can be
sent in a frame
CRC is only 4 bytes long

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Show Installing NIC from

CBT

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Direct Cable Connection

One device acts as a host and other acts as a guest

Can also use infrared connection, if both nodes have
required hardware
All the latest versions of windows provide a software which
allows a user to have a direct serial-to-serial, parallel-toparallel, or infrared-to-infrared connection with the other
PC.
To establish a connection using serial ports, a cable known
as null modem is used
Connection speed of serial data cable connection is very
slow but its a cheaper option when NICs are not available

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Diagnostic and repair show

from CBT

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Case Study
The Bangalore branch of MoneyMaker bank is
organizing a seminar on the various developments
that have occurred in the past one year. David has
created a presentation for this purpose which is stored
on the network server. This file can be accessed only
through David's system. But on the day of seminar, he
is unable to access the system.

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Problem

Unable to access the file which is available on

network server

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Solution

Verify cable connection

Verify LED status of NIC
Verify LED status of hub
The LED on NIC should be ON, once you boot the
operating system

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Summary I

The main components of data communication are

sender, receiver, medium and message
The data to be sent is converted into signals and
then transmitted over the network
Signaling techniques are of two types broadband
and baseband
Baseband signals transmit data at a single
frequency
Broadband technique can transmit data using more
than one frequency

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Summary II

Network Interface Cards are devices that are used

to get connected to different computers on a
network
Some examples of NIC are Ethernet Card and
Token Ring Card
Ethernet cards support transfer rate of 10 or 100 or
1000 Mbps
MAC address is a hardware address that is
embedded onto the NIC
Lower layers of OSI model identify nodes on the
network by their MAC address

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Summary III

A connection established between two nodes by

directly connecting a cable is known as direct cable
connection.
Signals lying on the cable are absorbed by the
terminators at the end of the cable to avoid collision.
Cross over cables can be used for temporary
connection between two devices when switch or
hub is not present.
Volt-ohm meters is a cable-testing tool which is used
to troubleshoot the network cabling.

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Summary IV

Volt-ohm meter is used to measures voltage and

resistance and to check the continuity of a cable.
Tone generator and probe is another
troubleshooting tool which has the ability to identify
wires, finding open circuits and short circuits,
diagnosing crosstalk and other telecom tasks

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