Networking

Network- A network is a group of computers or computer like devices

connected together to share the resource like file, printer, scanner, fax
machine, etc.

Computer networking is the subject which explains how computer

connect each other for sharing resources and information and what
technology and devices they use for connectivity.

It is an interconnected collection of autonomous or independent

computer and they are capable of exchanging information.

❖Need/benefits of networking
➢ It allows us to share data and resources.
➢ It help us reducing the required number of devices.
➢ It provide us a platform to communicate with others users in
network.
➢ It allows multiple users to work in a single project.
➢ It allows us to implement security policy.
➢ It allows us to track and monitor the use of resources.
❖Purpose of computer networking
The main purpose of computer networking is sharing.

In computer network where we have a lot of things to share,

networking is the single best solution.

In networking, we can share three things.

• Data
• resources
• application

➢ Point to point connection

Dedicated link between two devices.

For e.g.

➢ Multipoint communication
More than two computers share a single link.

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❖Types of networking
I. Local area network (LAN)

Small computer network that are confined to a localized (like an office,

a building, or a factory) are known as local area network (LAN).

The key purpose of a LAN is to serve its users in resource sharing. The
Hardware as well as software resources are shared through LANs.

For e.g. LAN users can share data information programs, printers, hard
disks, modems, etc.

II. Metropolitan area network (MAN)

A metropolitan area network is a computer network that interconnects

users with computer resources in a geographic region of the size of a
metropolitan area.

The purpose of a MAN is also the sharing of Hardware and software

resources among its users.
III.Wide area network (WAN)

A wide-area network (WAN) is a collection of local-area networks

(LANs) or other networks that communicate with one another. A WAN
is essentially a network of networks; with the Internet the world’s
largest WAN.

Computers are connected leased lines, satellites, or public networks

like telephone system.

Network topology

The pattern or arrangement of interconnection of nodes in a network is

called the topology.

FACTORS AFFECTS THE CHOISE OF MEDIA

• Cost
 • Flexibility
• Reliability

Types of topology
I. Bus Topology

In bus topology there is a main cable and all the devices are
connected to this main cable through drop lines. There is a
device called tap that connects the drop line to the main
cable. Since all the data is transmitted over the main cable,
there is a limit of drop lines and the distance a main cable can
have.

Advantages of bus topology

1. Easy installation, each cable needs to be connected with
backbone cable.
2. Less cables required than Mesh and star topology
3.easy to expand.

Disadvantages of bus topology

1. Difficultly in fault detection.
2. Not scalable as there is a limit of how many nodes you can
connect with backbone cable.
3.Terminators are required at both ends.
4.entire network shut down if there is a break in a main cable.

II.Ring Topology

In ring topology each device is connected with the two

devices on either side of it. There are two dedicated point to
point links a device has with the devices on the either side of
it. This structure forms a ring thus it is known as ring
topology. If a device wants to send data to another device
then it sends the data in one direction, each device in ring
topology has a repeater, if the received data is intended for
other device then repeater forwards this data until the
intended device receives it.

Advantages of Ring Topology

1. Easy to install.
2. Managing is easier as to add or remove a device from the
topology only two links are required to be changed.
3.short cable length, suitable for optical fibers.

Disadvantages of Ring Topology

1. A link failure can fail the entire network as the signal will
not travel forward due to failure.
2. Data traffic issues, since all the data is circulating in a ring

III.Star Topology
In star topology each device in the network is connected to a
central device called hub. Unlike Mesh topology, star
topology doesn’t allow direct communication between
devices, a device must have to communicate through hub. If
one device wants to send data to other device, it has to first
send the data to hub and then the hub transmit that data to
the designated device.

Advantages of Star topology

1. Less expensive because each device only need one I/O port
and needs to be connected with hub with one link.
2. Easier to install
3. Less amount of cables required because each device needs
to be connected with the hub only.
4. Robust, if one link fails, other links will work just fine.
5. Easy fault detection because the link can be easily
identified.

Disadvantages of Star topology

1. If hub goes down everything goes down, none of the
devices can work without hub.
2. Hub requires more resources and regular maintenance
because it is the central system of star topology

IV.Mesh Topology
In mesh topology each device is connected to every other
device on the network through a dedicated point-to-point
link. When we say dedicated it means that the link only
carries data for the two connected devices only. Lets say we
have n devices in the network then each device must be
connected with (n-1) devices of the network. Number of links
in a mesh topology of n devices would be n(n-1)/2.

Advantages of Mesh topology

1. No data traffic issues as there is a dedicated link between
two devices which means the link is only available for those
two devices.
2. Mesh topology is reliable and robust as failure of one link
doesn’t affect other links and the communication between
other devices on the network.
3. Mesh topology is secure because there is a point to point
link thus unauthorized access is not possible.
4. Fault detection is easy.

Disadvantages of Mesh topology

1. Amount of wires required to connected each system is
tedious and headache.
2. Since each device needs to be connected with other
devices, number of I/O ports required must be huge.
3. Scalability issues because a device cannot be connected
with large number of devices with a dedicated point to point
link

V.Tree topology

All the computer are connected like the branches of a tree. In

Computer Networking, tree topology is known as a combination of
a Bus and Start network topology. The main advantages of this
topology are better flexibility and scalability.

Advantages of Tree Topology

1. It is a combination of bus and star topology
2. It provides high scalability, as leaf nodes can add more nodes in
the hierarchical chain.
3. Other nodes in a network are not affected, if one of their nodes
get damaged
4. It provides easy maintenance and fault identification.
5. Supported by several hardware and software vendors.
6. Point-to-point wiring for individual segments.

Disadvantages of Tree Topology

1. Large cabling is required as compared to star and bus topology.
2. On the failure of a hub, the entire network fails.
3. Tree network is very difficult to configure than other
network topologies.

Network switching
A network switch is networking hardware that connects devices on a
computer network by using packet switching to receive and forward
data to the destination device.

Types of switching
I. circuit switching- A type of network where the communications
between end devices (nodes) must be set up before they can
communicate. Once set up, the “circuit” is dedicated to the two nodes
it connects for the duration of that connection. An example of a circuit-
switched network is an analog telephone network.

II. message Switching- Message switching is a network switching

technique in which data is routed in its entirety from the source node
to the destination node, one hope at a time. During message routing,
every intermediate switch in the network stores the whole message .
III. Packet switching- Packet switching is the transfer of small pieces
of data across various networks. These data chunks or “packets” allow
for faster, more efficient data transfer. Often, when a user sends a file
across a network, it gets transferred in smaller data packets

Network devices
HUB - A hub is a physical layer networking device which is used to
connect multiple devices in a network.

Advantages

• A hub uses the physical layer of the OSI model.

• A hub can connect different nodes using twisted pair cable or fiber
optic cable.
• In the hub, the signals received on the one node can transmit to all
the nodes.
• When a computer sends the data to the hub it replicates the data to
all devices connected to the network.
• Hub is available in 8, 16, 24 ports.

Disadvantages

• No filtering
• No data addressing
• Collision area
 Two types of hub

I. active hub - A central connecting device in a network that

regenerates signals on the output side to keep the signal strong.

II.passive hub-Passive hub is just a connector which connects wire

coming from other devices.

Repeater-Repeaters are used in transmission systems to regenerate

analogue or digital signals distorted by transmission loss.

Bridge- A network bridge is a computer networking device that

creates a single, aggregate network from multiple communication
networks or network segments.
Data Transmission mode –It defines the direction of the
flow of information between two communication devices. It is
also called Data Communication or Directional Mode . It
specifies the direction of the flow of information from one
place to another in a computer network.

Simplex Mode
In simplex mode, Data can flow in only one direction means data
communication is unidirectional.

In this mode, a sender can only send data but can’t receive it similarly, a
receiver can only receive data but can’t send it.

Examples of Simplex Mode

• Keyboard or Mouse inputs to the computer.

• CPU outputs to Monitor.
• Computer-to-Printer.
• Scanner-to-Computer.
• Speaker is an example of one-way communication.
• Microphone is also an example of one-way communication.
• Radio and T.V Transmission
Half-Duplex Mode
In half-duplex mode, Data can flow in both directions but in one
direction at a time means when one node is sending the data, then the
receiving node has to wait.

When one device is sending the other can only receive and vice versa.

Examples of Half-Duplex Mode

• Walkie-Talkie
• Internet Browsers

Full-Duplex Mode
In full-duplex, Data can flow in both directions at the same time means
a device can send as well as receive the data.

It is bidirectional.

Both sender and receiver devices can transmit data simultaneously.

We can send as well as we receive the data.

Examples of Full-Duplex Mode

The best example of full-duplex is a Telephone Network where

two persons can communicate simultaneously means both
sides persons can talk and listen at the same time
Types of transmission media
i. bounded /guided media
A.co-axial cable
b. twisted pair cable
c. fibre optic cable
ii.unbounded/unguided media
a. radio wave
b. microwave
c. satellite microwave
d. infra red wave