Unit-1 : Data Communication

Data Communication:

Data communications are the exchange of data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable. For data communications to occur, the
communicating devices must be part of a communication system made up of a combination of
hardware (physical equipment) and software (programs).

Characteristics :The effectiveness of a data communications system depends on four

fundamental characteristics: delivery,accuracy, tlmehness, and Jltter.

I . Delivery. The system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must be received by
the intended device or user and only by that device or user
2. Accuracy. The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been altered in
transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.
3. Timeliness. The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data delivered late are useless.
In the case of video and audio, timely delivery means delivering data as they are produced, in the
same order that they are produced, and without significant delay. This kind of delivery is called
real-time transmission.
4. Jitter. Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. It is the uneven delay in the
delivery of audio or video packets. For example, let us assume that video packets are sent every
30 ms. If some of the packets arrive with 30-ms delay and others with 40-ms delay, an uneven
quality in the video is the result.

Components :

A data communications system has five components (see Figure 1.1)

1. Message. The message is the information (data) to be communicated. Popular

forms of information include text, numbers, pictures, audio, and video.
2. Sender. The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer,
workstation, telephone handset, video camera, and so on.
3.Receiver.The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a
computer,workstation, telephone handset, television, and so on.
4.Transmission medium. The transmission medium is the physical path by which a message
travels from sender to receiver. Some examples of transmission media include twisted-pair wire,
coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, and radio waves.
5. Protocol. A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It represents
an agreement between the communicating devices. For communication to occur, the entities
must agree on a protocol, A protocol defines what is communicated, how it is communicated,
and when it is communicated. Without a protocol, twondevices may be connected but not
communicating, just as a person speaking French cannot understood by a person who speaks
only Japanese.

Data Flow
Communication between two devices can be simplex, half-duplex, or full-duplex as shown in
Figure 1.2.

Simplex
In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street. Only one of the
two devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive (see Figure 1.2a).
Keyboards and traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices. The keyboard can only
introduce input; the monitor can only accept output. The simplex mode can use the entire
capacity of the channel to send data in one direction.
Half-Duplex
In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same time. : When
one device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa (see Figure 1.2b).
The half-duplex mode is like a one-lane road with traffic allowed in both directions.When cars
are traveling in one direction, cars going the other way must wait.
The half-duplex mode is used in cases where there is no need for communication in both
directions at the same time; the entire capacity of the channel can be utilized for each direction.
Full-Duplex
Network Model : LAN, MAN and WAN

The Network allows computers to connect and communicate with different computers via
any medium. LAN, MAN and WAN are the three major types of the network designed to
operate over the area they cover. There are some similarities and dissimilarities between them.
One of the major differences is the geographical area they cover, i.e. LAN covers the smallest
area; MAN covers an area larger than LAN and WAN comprises the largest of all.
There are other types of Computer Networks also, like :
• PAN (Personal Area Network)
• SAN (Storage Area Network)
• EPN (Enterprise Private Network)
• VPN (Virtual Private Network)

1. Local Area Network (LAN)

1. Local area network is a group of computers connected with each other in a small places such as
school,hospital and apartment etc.
2. LAN is secure because there is no outside connection with the local area network thus the data which
is shared is safe on the local area network and can’t be accessed outside.
3. LAN due to their small size are considerably faster, their speed can range anywhere from 100 to1000
Mbps.
4. LANs are not limited to wire connection, there is a new evolution to the LANs that allows local area
network to work on a wireless connection.

Topologies used in LANs

Various topologies are possible to form a LANs but three core forms can be identified easily as follows:
Bus topology: All devices are connected to a backbone cable, called the bus. The Bus networks are
relatively less costly and very easy to install for small networks. Ethernet systems use a bus topology.
Ring topology: All devices are connected to one another in the shape of a closed loop, so that each
device is connected directly to the neighboring device, one on either side of it. Ring topologies are
relatively expensive and difficult to install, but they offer high bandwidth and can cover large distances.
Star topology: All devices are connected to a central hub device. Star networks are relatively easy to
install and manage, but bottlenecks can occur because all data must pass through the hub.
These topologies can also be mixed to perform better. For example, a bus-star network consists of a
high-bandwidth bus, which connects a collection of slower-bandwidth star segments.
Characteristics of Local Area Network
• LANs are private owned-network, can be extended up to a few kilometers.
• LANs operate at relatively high speed as compared to the typical WAN
• It connects computers within a single office, building, block or campus, i.e. they work in a
relatively small geographical area.
Advantages of LAN
1. Resource Sharing: LAN provides resource sharing such as computer resources like printers,
scanners, modems, DVD-ROM drives, and hard disks can be shared within the connected devices.
This reduces cost and hardware purchases.
2. Software Applications Sharing: In a Local Area Network, it is easy to use the same software in a
number of computers connected to a network instead of purchasing the separately licensed software
for each client a network.
3. Easy and Cheap Communication: Data and messages can easily be shared with the other
computer connected to the network.
4. Centralized Data: The data of all network users can be stored on a hard disk of the central/server
computer. This help users to use any computer in a network to access the required data.
5. Data Security: Since data is stored on the server computer, it will be easy to manage data at only
one place and the data will be more secure too.
 6. Internet Sharing: Local Area Network provides the facility to share a single internet connection
among all the LAN users. In school labs and internet Cafes, single internet connection is used to
provide internet to all connected computers.
Disadvantages of LAN
1. High Setup Cost: The initial setup costs of installing Local Area Networks is high because there is
special software required to make a server. Also, communication devices like an ethernet cable,
switches, hubs, routers, cables are costly.
2. Privacy Violations: The LAN administrator can see and check personal data files of each and
every LAN user. Moreover, he can view the computer and internet history of the LAN user.
3. Data Security Threat: Unauthorised users can access important data of an office or campus if a
server hard disk is not properly secured by the LAN administrator.
4. LAN Maintenance Job: Local Area Network requires a LAN Administrator because there are
problems such as software installations, program faults or hardware failures or cable disturbances in
Local Area Network. A LAN Administrator is required to maintain these issues.
5. Covers Limited Area: LANs are restricted in size they cover a small area like a single office,
single building or a group of nearby buildings.

2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

MAN network covers larger area by connections LANs to a larger network of computers. In
Metropolitan area network various Local area networks are connected with each other through telephone
lines. The size of the Metropolitan area network is larger than LANs and smaller than WANs(wide area
networks), a MANs covers the larger area of a city or town.
A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a large computer network that usually spans a city or a large
campus. A MAN Network is optimized for a larger geographical area than a LAN, ranging from several
blocks of buildings to entire cities.
MAN Networks are formed by connecting multiple LANs. Thus, MAN Networks are larger than LANs
but smaller than wide-area networks (WAN).
The purpose of MAN (Metropolitan Area Network) is to provide the link to the internet in the long run.
MAN Network provides Internet connectivity for LANs in a metropolitan region, and connect them to
wider area networks like the Internet. ” It can also be used in cable television.
The primary use of metropolitan area networks is the customer that has high-capacity needs in a
metropolitan area. A MAN is intended to provide the required capacity at a lower cost and greater
efficiency than obtaining an equivalent service from the local telephone company
How Does a Metropolitan Area Network Work?
Metropolitan Area Network is larger than LAN and smaller than WAN. It is generally applied to connect
geographically dispersed LANs. Therefore the goal of MAN is to develop a communication link between
two independent LAN nodes.
A MAN Network is usually established using optical fiber. The network is established using routers and
switches. A switch is a port which is active in handling the filtration of data usually coming in the form
of frames. Any switch acts as a dual-port, at one end it is handling filtration of data and at the other end
managing connections.
The router is another device for facilitating the network connection. A router helps the data packets to
identify the path to be taken. Hence, in other words, it keeps an eye on the data transfer. MAN
(Metropolitan Area Network) is usually operated over an area of up to 5 to 50kms.
Characteristics of Metropolitan Area Network
1. Network size generally ranges from 5 to 50 km. It may be as small as a group of buildings on
campus to as large as covering the whole city.
2. In general, a MAN is either owned by a user group or by a network provider who sells service to
users, rather than a single organization as in LAN.
3. Data rates are moderate to high.
4. It facilitates the sharing of regional resources.
5. They provide uplinks for connecting LANs to WANs and the Internet.
Uses of Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
Some of the Uses of MAN are:-
• Digital cable television
• Used in government agencies
• University campuses
• Cable broadband
• Used to connect several branches of the local school
• In hospital (for communication between doctors, research offices, labs)
• A network of fire stations
• In airports
• Networking between community colleges within the country
• Used in public libraries
3. Wide area network (WAN)

Wide area network provides long distance transmission of data. The size of the WAN is larger
than LAN and MAN. A WAN can cover country, continent or even a whole world. Internet connection
is an example of WAN. Other examples of WAN are mobile broadband connections such as 3G, 4G etc.
o A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large geographical area such as
states or countries.
o A Wide Area Network is quite bigger network than the LAN.
o A Wide Area Network is not limited to a single location, but it spans over a large
geographical area through a telephone line, fibre optic cable or satellite links.
o The internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.
o A Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of Business, government, and
education.
Advantages of WAN:
Centralized infrastructure: One of the main advantage of WAN is the that we do not need to maintain
the backup and store data on local system as everything is stored online on a data centre, from where we
can access the data through WAN.
Privacy: We can setup the WAN in such a way that it encrypts the data that we share online that way the
data is secure and minimises the risk of unauthorized access.
Increased Bandwidth: With the WAN we get to choose the bandwidth based on the need, a large
organization can have larger bandwidth that can carry large amount of data faster and efficiently.
Area: A WAN can cover a large area or even a whole world though internet connection thus we can
connect with the person in another country through WAN which is not possible is other type of computer
networks.
Disadvantages of WAN:
Antivirus: Since our systems are connected with the large amount of systems, there is possibility that we
may unknowingly download the virus that can affect our system and become threat to our privacy and
may lead to data loss.
Expensive: Cost of installation is very high.
Issue resolution: Issue resolution takes time as the WAN covers large area, it is really difficult to pin
point the exact location where the issues raised and causing the problem.
Sr.
Key LAN MAN WAN
No.

MAN stands for

LAN stands for Local WAN stands for Wide
1 Definition Metropolitan Area
Area Network. Area Network.
Network.

LAN is often owned

MAN ownership can WAN ownership can
2 Ownership by private
be private or public. be private or public.
organizations.

LAN speed is quiet MAN speed is WAN speed is lower

3 Speed
high. average. than that of LAN.

Network Propagation Network Propagation Network Propagation

4 Delay Delay is short in Delay is moderate in Delay is longer in
LAN. MAN. WAN.

LAN has low WAN has higher

MAN has higher
5 Congestion congestion as congestion than both
congestion than LAN.
compared to WAN. MAN and LAN.

Fault Fault Tolerance of Fault Tolerance of Fault Tolerance of

6
Tolerance LAN is higher than MAN is lower than WAN is lower than
Sr.
Key LAN MAN WAN
No.

WAN. LAN. both LAN and MAN.

Designing and
Designing and Designing and
maintaining WAN is
maintaining LAN is maintaining WAN is
7 Maintenance complex and more
easy and less costly complex and more
costly than both LAN
than WAN. costly than LAN.
and MAN.

LAYERED TASKS :
We use the concept of layers in our daily life. As an example, let us consider two friends who
communicate through postal mail the process of sending a letter to a friend would be complex if
there were no services available from the post office. Below Figure shows the steps in this task.

Sender, Receiver, and Carrier :

In Figure we have a sender, a receiver, and a carrier that transports the letter. There is a hierarchy
of tasks.
At the Sender Site
Let us first describe, in order, the activities that take place at the sender site.
Higher layer. The sender writes the letter, inserts the letter in an envelope, writes the sender
and receiver addresses, and drops the letter in a mailbox.
Middle layer. The letter is picked up by a letter carrier and delivered to the post office.
Lower layer. The letter is sorted at the post office; a carrier transports the letter.
0n the Way: The letter is then on its way to the recipient. On the way to the recipient's local post
office, the letter may actually go through a central office. In addition, it may be transported by
truck, train, airplane, boat, or a combination of these.
At the Receiver Site
Lower layer. The carrier transports the letter to the post office.
Middle layer. The letter is sorted and delivered to the recipient's mailbox.
Higher layer. The receiver picks up the letter, opens the envelope, and reads it.

ARPANET : The Advanced Research Projects Agency Network was the first wide-area packet-
switched network with distributed control and one of the first networks to implement the TCP/IP
protocol suite. Both technologies became the technical foundation of the Internet.

Reference Models:
In computer networks, reference models give a conceptual framework that standardizes
communication between heterogeneous networks.
The two popular reference models are −
• OSI Model
• TCP/IP Protocol Suite
OSI Model:
o OSI stands for Open System Interconnection is a reference model that describes how
information from a software application in one computer moves through a physical
medium to the software application in another computer.
o OSI consists of seven layers, and each layer performs a particular network function.
o OSI model was developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO) in
1984, and it is now considered as an architectural model for the inter-computer
communications.
o OSI model divides the whole task into seven smaller and manageable tasks. Each layer is
assigned a particular task.
o Each layer is self-contained, so that task assigned to each layer can be performed
independently.
Characteristics of OSI Model:

o The OSI model is divided into two layers: upper layers and lower layers.
o The upper layer of the OSI model mainly deals with the application related issues, and
they are implemented only in the software. The application layer is closest to the end
user. Both the end user and the application layer interact with the software applications.
An upper layer refers to the layer just above another layer.
o The lower layer of the OSI model deals with the data transport issues. The data link layer
and the physical layer are implemented in hardware and software. The physical layer is
the lowest layer of the OSI model and is closest to the physical medium. The physical
layer is mainly responsible for placing the information on the physical medium.
Functions of the OSI Layers
There are the seven OSI layers. Each layer has different functions. A list of seven layers are
given below:
1. Physical Layer
2. Data-Link Layer
3. Network Layer
4. Transport Layer
5. Session Layer
6. Presentation Layer
7. Application Layer
Physical layer

o The main functionality of the physical layer is to transmit the individual bits from one
node to another node.
o It is the lowest layer of the OSI model.
o It establishes, maintains and deactivates the physical connection.
o It specifies the mechanical, electrical and procedural network interface specifications.
Functions of a Physical layer:
o Line Configuration: It defines the way how two or more devices can be connected
physically.
o Data Transmission: It defines the transmission mode whether it is simplex, half-duplex
or full-duplex mode between the two devices on the network.
 o Topology: It defines the way how network devices are arranged.
o Signals: It determines the type of the signal used for transmitting the information.

Data-Link Layer

o This layer is responsible for the error-free transfer of data frames.

o It defines the format of the data on the network.
o It provides a reliable and efficient communication between two or more devices.
o It is mainly responsible for the unique identification of each device that resides on a local
network.
o It contains two sub-layers:
o Logical Link Control Layer
o It is responsible for transferring the packets to the Network layer of the
receiver that is receiving.
o It identifies the address of the network layer protocol from the header.
o It also provides flow control.
o Media Access Control Layer
o A Media access control layer is a link between the Logical Link Control
layer and the network's physical layer.
o It is used for transferring the packets over the network.

Functions of the Data-link layer

o 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.
 o 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.
o 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.
o 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 occurr, then the
receiver sends the acknowledgment for the retransmission of the corrupted frames.
o 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.

Network Layer

o It is a layer 3 that manages device addressing, tracks the location of devices on the
network.
o It determines the best path to move data from source to the destination based on the
network conditions, the priority of service, and other factors.
o The network layer is responsible for routing and forwarding the packets.
 o Routers are the layer 3 devices, they are specified in this layer and used to provide the
routing services within an internetwork.
o The protocols used to route the network traffic are known as Network layer protocols.
Examples of protocols are IP and Ipv6.

Functions of Network Layer:

o Internetworking: An internetworking is the main responsibility of the network layer. It
provides a logical connection between different devices.
o 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.
o Routing: Routing is the major component of the network layer, and it determines the best
optimal path out of the multiple paths from source to the destination.
o 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).

Transport Layer

o The Transport layer is a Layer 4 ensures that messages are transmitted in the order in
which they are sent and there is no duplication of data.
o The main responsibility of the transport layer is to transfer the data completely.
o It receives the data from the upper layer and converts them into smaller units known as
segments.
o This layer can be termed as an end-to-end layer as it provides a point-to-point connection
between source and destination to deliver the data reliably.
The two protocols used in this layer are:
o Transmission Control Protocol
o It is a standard protocol that allows the systems to communicate over the internet.
o It establishes and maintains a connection between hosts.
o 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.
o User Datagram Protocol
o User Datagram Protocol is a transport layer protocol.
o 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.
Functions of Transport Layer:
o 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.
o Flow control: The transport layer also responsible for flow control but it is performed
end-to-end rather than across a single link.
o Error control: The transport layer is also responsible for Error control. Error control is
performed end-to-end rather than across the single link. The sender transport layer
ensures that message reach at the destination without any error.

Session Layer
 o It is a layer 3 in the OSI model.
o The Session layer is used to establish, maintain and synchronizes the interaction between
communicating devices.
Functions of Session layer:
o Dialog control: Session layer acts as a dialog controller that creates a dialog between two
processes or we can say that it allows the communication between two processes which
can be either half-duplex or full-duplex.
o Synchronization: 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.

Presentation Layer

o A Presentation layer is mainly concerned with the syntax and semantics of the
information exchanged between the two systems.
o It acts as a data translator for a network.
o This layer is a part of the operating system that converts the data from one presentation
format to another format.
o The Presentation layer is also known as the syntax layer.
Functions of Presentation layer:
o Translation: The processes in two systems exchange the 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. It converts the data from sender-dependent format into a common
 format and changes the common format into receiver-dependent format at the receiving
end.
o Encryption: Encryption is needed to maintain privacy. Encryption is a process of
converting the sender-transmitted information into another form and sends the resulting
message over the network.
o 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.

Application Layer

o An application layer serves as a window for users and application processes to access
network service.
o It handles issues such as network transparency, resource allocation, etc.
o An application layer is not an application, but it performs the application layer functions.
o This layer provides the network services to the end-users.
Functions of Application layer:
o 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.
o Mail services: An application layer provides the facility for email forwarding and
storage.
o Directory services: An application provides the distributed database sources and is used
to provide that global information about various objects.
TCP/IP model :
o The TCP/IP model was developed prior to the OSI model.
o The TCP/IP model is not exactly similar to the OSI model.
o The TCP/IP model consists of five layers: the application layer, transport layer, network
layer, data link layer and physical layer.
o The first four layers provide physical standards, network interface, internetworking, and
transport functions that correspond to the first four layers of the OSI model and these four
layers are represented in TCP/IP model by a single layer called the application layer.
o TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules, and each of them
provides specific functionality.
Here, hierarchical means that each upper-layer protocol is supported by two or more lower-level
protocols.
Functions of TCP/IP layers:

Network Access Layer ( Physical and data link Layer)

o A network layer is the lowest layer of the TCP/IP model.
o A network layer is the combination of the Physical layer and Data Link layer defined in
the OSI reference model.
o It defines how the data should be sent physically through the network.
o This layer is mainly responsible for the transmission of the data between two devices on
the same network.
o The functions carried out by this layer are encapsulating the IP datagram into frames
transmitted by the network and mapping of IP addresses into physical addresses.
o The protocols used by this layer are ethernet, token ring, FDDI, X.25, frame relay.
Internet Layer
o An internet layer is the second layer of the TCP/IP model.
o An internet layer is also known as the network layer.
o The main responsibility of the internet layer is to send the packets from any network, and
they arrive at the destination irrespective of the route they take.
Following are the protocols used in this layer are:
IP Protocol: IP protocol is used in this layer, and it is the most significant part of the entire
TCP/IP suite.
Following are the responsibilities of this protocol:

o IP Addressing: This protocol implements logical host addresses known as IP addresses.

The IP addresses are used by the internet and higher layers to identify the device and to
provide internetwork routing.
o Host-to-host communication: It determines the path through which the data is to be
transmitted.
o Data Encapsulation and Formatting: An IP protocol accepts the data from the transport
layer protocol. An IP protocol ensures that the data is sent and received securely, it
encapsulates the data into message known as IP datagram.
o Fragmentation and Reassembly: The limit imposed on the size of the IP datagram by
data link layer protocol is known as Maximum Transmission unit (MTU). If the size of IP
datagram is greater than the MTU unit, then the IP protocol splits the datagram into
smaller units so that they can travel over the local network. Fragmentation can be done by
the sender or intermediate router. At the receiver side, all the fragments are reassembled
to form an original message.
o Routing: When IP datagram is sent over the same local network such as LAN, MAN,
WAN, it is known as direct delivery. When source and destination are on the distant
network, then the IP datagram is sent indirectly. This can be accomplished by routing the
IP datagram through various devices such as routers.
ARP Protocol
o ARP stands for Address Resolution Protocol.
o ARP is a network layer protocol which is used to find the physical address from the IP
address.
o The two terms are mainly associated with the ARP Protocol:
o ARP request: When a sender wants to know the physical address of the device, it
broadcasts the ARP request to the network.
o ARP reply: Every device attached to the network will accept the ARP request
and process the request, but only recipient recognize the IP address and sends
back its physical address in the form of ARP reply. The recipient adds the
physical address both to its cache memory and to the datagram header
ICMP Protocol
o ICMP stands for Internet Control Message Protocol.
o It is a mechanism used by the hosts or routers to send notifications regarding datagram
problems back to the sender.
o A datagram travels from router-to-router until it reaches its destination. If a router is
unable to route the data because of some unusual conditions such as disabled links, a
device is on fire or network congestion, then the ICMP protocol is used to inform the
sender that the datagram is undeliverable.
o An ICMP protocol mainly uses two terms:
o ICMP Test: ICMP Test is used to test whether the destination is reachable or not.
o ICMP Reply: ICMP Reply is used to check whether the destination device is
responding or not.
o The core responsibility of the ICMP protocol is to report the problems, not correct them.
The responsibility of the correction lies with the sender.
o ICMP can send the messages only to the source, but not to the intermediate routers
because the IP datagram carries the addresses of the source and destination but not of the
router that it is passed to.
Transport Layer
The transport layer is responsible for the reliability, flow control, and correction of data which is
being sent over the network.
The two protocols used in the transport layer are User Datagram protocol and Transmission
control protocol.
o User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
o It provides connectionless service and end-to-end delivery of transmission.
o It is an unreliable protocol as it discovers the errors but not specify the error.
o User Datagram Protocol discovers the error, and ICMP protocol reports the error
to the sender that user datagram has been damaged.
o UDP consists of the following fields:
Source port address: The source port address is the address of the application
 program that has created the message.
Destination port address: The destination port address is the address of the
application program that receives the message.
Total length: It defines the total number of bytes of the user datagram in bytes.
Checksum: The checksum is a 16-bit field used in error detection.
o UDP does not specify which packet is lost. UDP contains only checksum; it does
not contain any ID of a data segment.

o Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)

o It provides a full transport layer services to applications.
o It creates a virtual circuit between the sender and receiver, and it is active for the
duration of the transmission.
o TCP is a reliable protocol as it detects the error and retransmits the damaged
frames. Therefore, it ensures all the segments must be received and acknowledged
before the transmission is considered to be completed and a virtual circuit is
discarded.
o At the sending end, TCP divides the whole message into smaller units known as
segment, and each segment contains a sequence number which is required for
reordering the frames to form an original message.
o At the receiving end, TCP collects all the segments and reorders them based on
sequence numbers.

Application Layer
o An application layer is the topmost layer in the TCP/IP model.
o It is responsible for handling high-level protocols, issues of representation.
o This layer allows the user to interact with the application.
o When one application layer protocol wants to communicate with another application
layer, it forwards its data to the transport layer.
o There is an ambiguity occurs in the application layer. Every application cannot be placed
inside the application layer except those who interact with the communication system.
For example: text editor cannot be considered in application layer while web browser
 using HTTP protocol to interact with the network where HTTP protocol is an
application layer protocol.
Following are the main protocols used in the application layer:
o HTTP: HTTP stands for Hypertext transfer protocol. This protocol allows us to access
the data over the world wide web. It transfers the data in the form of plain text, audio,
video. It is known as a Hypertext transfer protocol as it has the efficiency to use in a
hypertext environment where there are rapid jumps from one document to another.
o SNMP: SNMP stands for Simple Network Management Protocol. It is a framework used
for managing the devices on the internet by using the TCP/IP protocol suite.
o SMTP: SMTP stands for Simple mail transfer protocol. The TCP/IP protocol that
supports the e-mail is known as a Simple mail transfer protocol. This protocol is used to
send the data to another e-mail address.
o DNS: DNS stands for Domain Name System. An IP address is used to identify the
connection of a host to the internet uniquely. But, people prefer to use the names instead
of addresses. Therefore, the system that maps the name to the address is known as
Domain Name System.
o TELNET: It is an abbreviation for Terminal Network. It establishes the connection
between the local computer and remote computer in such a way that the local terminal
appears to be a terminal at the remote system.
o FTP: FTP stands for File Transfer Protocol. FTP is a standard internet protocol used for
transmitting the files from one computer to another computer.
Comparison of OSI Reference Model and TCP/IP Reference Model
TCP/IP(Transmission Control Protocol /
OSI(Open System Interconnection)
Internet Protocol)
1. TCP/IP model is based on standard protocols
1. OSI is a generic, protocol independent
around which the Internet has developed. It is a
standard, acting as a communication gateway
communication protocol, which allows
between the network and end user.
connection of hosts over a network.
2. In TCP/IP model the transport layer does not
2. In OSI model the transport layer guarantees
guarantees delivery of packets. Still the TCP/IP
the delivery of packets.
model is more reliable.
3. Follows vertical approach. 3. Follows horizontal approach.
4. OSI model has a separate Presentation layer 4. TCP/IP does not have a separate Presentation
and Session layer. layer or Session layer.
5. OSI is a reference model around which the
5. TCP/IP model is, in a way implementation of
networks are built. Generally it is used as a
the OSI model.
guidance tool.
6. Network layer of OSI model provides both 6. The Network layer in TCP/IP model provides
connection oriented and connectionless service. connectionless service.
7. OSI model has a problem of fitting the 7. TCP/IP model does not fit any protocol
protocols into the model.
8. Protocols are hidden in OSI model and are
8. In TCP/IP replacing protocol is not easy.
easily replaced as the technology changes.
Addressing :
Four levels of addresses are used in an internet employing the TCP/IP protocols:
physical (link) addresses, logical (lP) addresses, port addresses, and specific addresses.

Physical Addresses
The physical address, also known as the link address, is the address of a node as defined by its
LAN or WAN. It is included in the frame used by the data link layer.It is the lowest-level
address.
The physical addresses have authority over the network (LAN or WAN). The size and format of
these addresses vary depending on the network. For example, Ethernet uses a 6-byte (48-bit)
physical address that is imprinted on the network interface card (NIC)

Logical Addresses
Logical addresses are necessary for universal communications that are independent of
underlying physical networks.The logical addresses are designed for this purpose. A logical
address in the Internetis currently a 32-bit address that can uniquely define a host connected to
the Internet. No two publicly addressed and visible hosts on the Internet can have the same lP
address.

Example: The computer with logical address A and physical address 1 0 needs to send a
packet to the computer with logical address P and physical address 95. We use letters to
show the logical addresses and numbers for physical addresses.

Port Addresses
The IP address and the physical address are necessary for a quantity of data to travel from a
source to the destmat10n host. However, arrival at the destmat10n host is not the final objective
of data communications on the Internet. A system that sends nothing but data from one computer
to another is not complete Today, computers are devices that can run multiple processes at the
same time. The end objective of Internet communication is a process communicating with
another process. For example, computer A can communicate with computer C by using
TELNET. At the same time, computer A cornmunicates with computer B by using the File
Transfer Protocol (FTP). For these processes to receive data simultaneously, we need a method
to label the different processes. In other words, they need addresses. In the TCP/IP architecture,
the label assigned to a process is called a port address. A port address in TCP/IP is 16 bits in
length.a port address is a 16-bit address represented by one decimal number
753
A 16-bit port address represented as one single number

Specific Addresses
Some applications have user-friendly addresses that are designed for that specific address.
Examples include thee-mail address (for example, [email protected]) and the Universal
Resource Locator (URL) (for example, www.mhhe.com).
Physical Layer : Transmission Media

Transmission media are actually located below the physical and are directly controlled by the
physical layer. You could say that transmission media belong to layer zero. Figure shows the
transmission media in relation to the physical layer.

Guided Media:
It is defined as the physical medium through which the signals are transmitted. It is also known
as Bounded media.which are those that provide a conduit from one device to another,include
twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, and fiber-optic cable. A signal traveling along any of these
media is directed and contained by the physical limits of the medmm. Tw1sted-pmr and coaxial
cable use metallic (copper) conductors that accept and transport signals in the form of electric
current. Optical fiber is a cable that accepts and transports signals in the form of light.
Types Of Guided media:
Twisted pair:
Twisted pair is a physical media made up of a pair of cables twisted with each other. A twisted
pair cable is cheap as compared to other transmission media. Installation of the twisted pair cable
is easy, and it is a lightweight cable. The frequency range for twisted pair cable is from 0 to
3.5KHz.
A twisted pair consists of two insulated copper wires arranged in a regular spiral pattern.
The degree of reduction in noise interference is determined by the number of turns per foot.
Increasing the number of turns per foot decreases noise interference.

Types of Twisted pair:

Unshielded Twisted Pair:

An unshielded twisted pair is widely used in telecommunication. Following are the categories of
the unshielded twisted pair cable:
o Category 1: Category 1 is used for telephone lines that have low-speed data.
o Category 2: It can support upto 4Mbps.
o Category 3: It can support upto 16Mbps.
o Category 4: It can support upto 20Mbps. Therefore, it can be used for long-distance
communication.
o Category 5: It can support upto 200Mbps.
Advantages Of Unshielded Twisted Pair:
o It is cheap.
o Installation of the unshielded twisted pair is easy.
o It can be used for high-speed LAN.
Disadvantage:
o This cable can only be used for shorter distances because of attenuation.
Shielded Twisted Pair
A shielded twisted pair is a cable that contains the mesh surrounding the wire that allows the
higher transmission rate.
Characteristics Of Shielded Twisted Pair:
o The cost of the shielded twisted pair cable is not very high and not very low.
o An installation of STP is easy.
o It has higher capacity as compared to unshielded twisted pair cable.
o It has a higher attenuation.
o It is shielded that provides the higher data transmission rate.
Disadvantages
o It is more expensive as compared to UTP and coaxial cable.
o It has a higher attenuation rate.

Coaxial Cable
o Coaxial cable is very commonly used transmission media, for example, TV wire is
usually a coaxial cable.
o The name of the cable is coaxial as it contains two conductors parallel to each other.
o It has a higher frequency as compared to Twisted pair cable.
o The inner conductor of the coaxial cable is made up of copper, and the outer conductor is
made up of copper mesh. The middle core is made up of non-conductive cover that
separates the inner conductor from the outer conductor.
o The middle core is responsible for the data transferring whereas the copper mesh prevents
from the EMI(Electromagnetic interference).

Coaxial cable is of two types:

1. Baseband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting a single signal at
high speed.
2. Broadband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting multiple signals
simultaneously.
Advantages Of Coaxial cable:
o The data can be transmitted at high speed.
o It has better shielding as compared to twisted pair cable.
o It provides higher bandwidth.
Disadvantages Of Coaxial cable:
o It is more expensive as compared to twisted pair cable.
o If any fault occurs in the cable causes the failure in the entire network.
Fibre Optic
o Fibre optic cable is a cable that uses electrical signals for communication.
o Fibre optic is a cable that holds the optical fibres coated in plastic that are used to send
the data by pulses of light.
o The plastic coating protects the optical fibres from heat, cold, electromagnetic
interference from other types of wiring.
o Fibre optics provide faster data transmission than copper wires.
Diagrammatic representation of fibre optic cable:

Basic elements of Fibre optic cable:

o Core: The optical fibre consists of a narrow strand of glass or plastic known as a core. A
core is a light transmission area of the fibre. The more the area of the core, the more light
will be transmitted into the fibre.
o Cladding: The concentric layer of glass is known as cladding. The main functionality of
the cladding is to provide the lower refractive index at the core interface as to cause the
reflection within the core so that the light waves are transmitted through the fibre.
o Jacket: The protective coating consisting of plastic is known as a jacket. The main
purpose of a jacket is to preserve the fibre strength, absorb shock and extra fibre
protection.
Following are the advantages of fibre optic cable over copper:
o Greater Bandwidth: The fibre optic cable provides more bandwidth as compared
copper. Therefore, the fibre optic carries more data as compared to copper cable.
o Faster speed: Fibre optic cable carries the data in the form of light. This allows the fibre
optic cable to carry the signals at a higher speed.
o Longer distances: The fibre optic cable carries the data at a longer distance as compared
to copper cable.
o Better reliability: The fibre optic cable is more reliable than the copper cable as it is
immune to any temperature changes while it can cause obstruct in the connectivity of
copper cable.
o Thinner and Sturdier: Fibre optic cable is thinner and lighter in weight so it can
withstand more pull pressure than copper cable.
UnGuided Transmission
o An unguided transmission transmits the electromagnetic waves without using any
physical medium. Therefore it is also known as wireless transmission.
o In unguided media, air is the media through which the electromagnetic energy can flow
easily.
Unguided transmission is broadly classified into three categories:
Radio waves
o Radio waves are the electromagnetic waves that are transmitted in all the directions of
free space.
o Radio waves are omnidirectional, i.e., the signals are propagated in all the directions.
o The range in frequencies of radio waves is from 3Khz to 1 khz.
o In the case of radio waves, the sending and receiving antenna are not aligned, i.e., the
wave sent by the sending antenna can be received by any receiving antenna.
o An example of the radio wave is FM radio.

Applications Of Radio waves:

o A Radio wave is useful for multicasting when there is one sender and many receivers.
o An FM radio, television, cordless phones are examples of a radio wave.
Advantages Of Radio transmission:
o Radio transmission is mainly used for wide area networks and mobile cellular phones.
o Radio waves cover a large area, and they can penetrate the walls.
o Radio transmission provides a higher transmission rate.

Microwaves
Microwaves are of two types:
o Terrestrial microwave
o Satellite microwave communication.
Terrestrial Microwave Transmission
o Terrestrial Microwave transmission is a technology that transmits the focused beam of a
radio signal from one ground-based microwave transmission antenna to another.
o Microwaves are the electromagnetic waves having the frequency in the range from 1GHz
to 1000 GHz.
o Microwaves are unidirectional as the sending and receiving antenna is to be aligned, i.e.,
the waves sent by the sending antenna are narrowly focussed.
o In this case, antennas are mounted on the towers to send a beam to another antenna which
is km away.
o It works on the line of sight transmission, i.e., the antennas mounted on the towers are the
direct sight of each other.
Characteristics of Microwave:
o Frequency range: The frequency range of terrestrial microwave is from 4-6 GHz to 21-
23 GHz.
o Bandwidth: It supports the bandwidth from 1 to 10 Mbps.
o Short distance: It is inexpensive for short distance.
o Long distance: It is expensive as it requires a higher tower for a longer distance.
o Attenuation: Attenuation means loss of signal. It is affected by environmental conditions
and antenna size.
Advantages Of Microwave:
o Microwave transmission is cheaper than using cables.
o It is free from land acquisition as it does not require any land for the installation of
cables.
o Microwave transmission provides an easy communication in terrains as the installation of
cable in terrain is quite a difficult task.
o Communication over oceans can be achieved by using microwave transmission.
Disadvantages of Microwave transmission:
o Eavesdropping: An eavesdropping creates insecure communication. Any malicious user
can catch the signal in the air by using its own antenna.
o Out of phase signal: A signal can be moved out of phase by using microwave
transmission.
o Susceptible to weather condition: A microwave transmission is susceptible to weather
condition. This means that any environmental change such as rain, wind can distort the
signal.
o Bandwidth limited: Allocation of bandwidth is limited in the case of microwave
transmission.
Satellite Microwave Communication
 o A satellite is a physical object that revolves around the earth at a known height.
o Satellite communication is more reliable nowadays as it offers more flexibility than cable
and fibre optic systems.
o We can communicate with any point on the globe by using satellite communication.
How Does Satellite work?
The satellite accepts the signal that is transmitted from the earth station, and it amplifies the
signal. The amplified signal is retransmitted to another earth station.
Advantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:
o The coverage area of a satellite microwave is more than the terrestrial microwave.
o The transmission cost of the satellite is independent of the distance from the centre of the
coverage area.
o Satellite communication is used in mobile and wireless communication applications.
o It is easy to install.
o It is used in a wide variety of applications such as weather forecasting, radio/TV signal
broadcasting, mobile communication, etc.
Disadvantages Of Satellite Microwave Communication:
o Satellite designing and development requires more time and higher cost.
o The Satellite needs to be monitored and controlled on regular periods so that it remains in
orbit.
o The life of the satellite is about 12-15 years. Due to this reason, another launch of the
satellite has to be planned before it becomes non-functional.

Infrared
o An infrared transmission is a wireless technology used for communication over short
ranges.
o The frequency of the infrared in the range from 300 GHz to 400 THz.
o It is used for short-range communication such as data transfer between two cell phones,
TV remote operation, data transfer between a computer and cell phone resides in the
same closed area.
Characteristics Of Infrared:
o It supports high bandwidth, and hence the data rate will be very high.
o Infrared waves cannot penetrate the walls. Therefore, the infrared communication in one
room cannot be interrupted by the nearby rooms.
o An infrared communication provides better security with minimum interference.
o Infrared communication is unreliable outside the building because the sun rays will
interfere with the infrared waves.

Network Devices (Hub, Repeater, Bridge, Switch, Router, Gateways and Brouter)
1. Repeater – A repeater operates at the physical layer. Its job is to regenerate the signal over the
same network before the signal becomes too weak or corrupted so as to extend the length to
which the signal can be transmitted over the same network. An important point to be noted about
repeaters is that they do not amplify the signal. When the signal becomes weak, they copy the
signal bit by bit and regenerate it at the original strength. It is a 2 port device.
2. Hub – A hub is basically a multiport repeater. A hub connects multiple wires coming from
different branches, for example, the connector in star topology which connects different stations.
Hubs cannot filter data, so data packets are sent to all connected devices. In other words,
the collision domain of all hosts connected through Hub remains one. Also, they do not have the
intelligence to find out the best path for data packets which leads to inefficiencies and wastage.
Types of Hub

• Active Hub:- These are the hubs that have their own power supply and can clean, boost, and
relay the signal along with the network. It serves both as a repeater as well as a wiring center.
These are used to extend the maximum distance between nodes.
• Passive Hub :- These are the hubs that collect wiring from nodes and power supply from the
active hub. These hubs relay signals onto the network without cleaning and boosting them
and can’t be used to extend the distance between nodes.
• Intelligent Hub :- It works like active hubs and includes remote management capabilities.
They also provide flexible data rates to network devices. It also enables an administrator to
monitor the traffic passing through the hub and to configure each port in the hub.
3. Bridge – A bridge operates at the data link layer. A bridge is a repeater, with add on the
functionality of filtering content by reading the MAC addresses of source and destination. It is
also used for interconnecting two LANs working on the same protocol. It has a single input and
single output port, thus making it a 2 port device.
Types of Bridges
• Transparent Bridges:- These are the bridge in which the stations are completely unaware of
the bridge’s existence i.e. whether or not a bridge is added or deleted from the network,
reconfiguration of the stations is unnecessary. These bridges make use of two processes i.e.
bridge forwarding and bridge learning.
• Source Routing Bridges:- In these bridges, routing operation is performed by the source
station and the frame specifies which route to follow. The host can discover the frame by
sending a special frame called the discovery frame, which spreads through the entire network
using all possible paths to the destination.
4. Switch – A switch is a multiport bridge with a buffer and a design that can boost its
efficiency(a large number of ports imply less traffic) and performance. A switch is a data link
layer device. The switch can perform error checking before forwarding data, which makes it very
efficient as it does not forward packets that have errors and forward good packets selectively to
the correct port only. In other words, the switch divides the collision domain of hosts,
but broadcast domain remains the same.
5. Routers – A router is a device like a switch that routes data packets based on their IP
addresses. The router is mainly a Network Layer device. Routers normally connect LANs and
WANs together and have a dynamically updating routing table based on which they make
decisions on routing the data packets. Router divide broadcast domains of hosts connected
through it.

6. Gateway – A gateway, as the name suggests, is a passage to connect two networks together
that may work upon different networking models. They basically work as the messenger agents
that take data from one system, interpret it, and transfer it to another system. Gateways are also
called protocol converters and can operate at any network layer. Gateways are generally more
complex than switches or routers. Gateway is also called a protocol converter.
7. Brouter – It is also known as the bridging router is a device that combines features of both
bridge and router. It can work either at the data link layer or a network layer. Working as a
router, it is capable of routing packets across networks, and working as the bridge, it is capable
of filtering local area network traffic.
8. NIC – NIC or network interface card is a network adapter that is used to connect the computer
to the network. It is installed in the computer to establish a LAN. It has a unique id that is
written on the chip, and it has a connector to connect the cable to it. The cable acts as an
interface between the computer and router or modem. NIC card is a layer 2 device which means
that it works on both physical and data link layer of the network model.