UNIT-1

Network Types: A computer network is mainly of four types:

LAN (Local Area Network)

 Local Area Network is a group of computers connected to each other in a small area
such as building, office.
 LAN is used for connecting two or more personal computers through a communication
medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.
 It is less costly as it is built with inexpensive hardware such as hubs, network adapters,
and ethernet cables.
 The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in Local Area Network.
 Local Area Network provides higher security.
LANs were developed in the 1960s for use by colleges, universities, and research facilities
(such as NASA), primarily to connect computers to other computers. It wasn't until the
development of Ethernet technology (1973, at Xerox PARC), its commercialization (1980),
and its standardization (1983) that LANs started to be used widely.
While the benefits of having devices connected to a network have always been well understood,
it wasn't until the wide deployment of Wi-Fi technology that LANs became commonplace in
nearly every type of environment. Today, not only do businesses and schools use LANs, but
also restaurants, coffee shops, stores, and homes.
Wireless connectivity has also greatly expanded the types of devices that can be connected to
a LAN. Now, nearly everything imaginable can be "connected," from PCs, printers, and phones
to smart TVs, stereos, speakers, lighting, thermostats, window shades, door locks, security
cameras--and even coffeemakers, refrigerators, and toys.
In general, there are two types of LANs:
1. Client/server LANs
2. Peer-to-peer LANs.
A client/server LAN consists of several devices (the clients) connected to a central server. The
server manages file storage, application access, device access, and network traffic. A client can
be any connected device that runs or accesses applications or the Internet. The clients connect
to the server either with cables or through wireless connections.
Typically, suites of applications can be kept on the LAN server. Users can access databases,
email, document sharing, printing, and other services through applications running on the LAN
server, with read and write access maintained by a network or IT administrator. Most midsize
to large business, government, research, and education networks are client/server-based LANs.
A peer-to-peer LAN doesn't have a central server and cannot handle heavy workloads like a
client/server LAN can, and so they're typically smaller. On a peer-to-peer LAN, each device
shares equally in the functioning of the network. The devices share resources and data through
wired or wireless connections to a switch or router. Most home networks are peer-to-peer.

MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)

 A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger geographic area by
interconnecting a different LAN to form a larger network.
 Government agencies use MAN to connect to the citizens and private industries.
 In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other through a telephone exchange line.
 The most widely used protocols in MAN are RS-232, Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN, OC-
3, ADSL, etc.
 It has a higher range than Local Area Network(LAN).
Uses of Metropolitan Area Network:
1. MAN is used in communication between the banks in a city.
2. It can be used in an Airline Reservation.
3. It can be used in a college within a city.
4. It can also be used for communication in the military.

WAN (Wide Area Network)

 A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large geographical area such as
states or countries.
 A Wide Area Network is quite bigger network than the LAN.
 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.
 The internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.
 A Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of Business, government, and
education.
 
Examples of Wide Area Network:
1. Mobile Broadband: A 4G network is widely used across a region or country.
2. Last mile: A telecom company is used to provide the internet services to the customers
in hundreds of cities by connecting their home with fiber.
3. Private network: A bank provides a private network that connects the 44 offices. This
network is made by using the telephone leased line provided by the telecom company.

Advantages of Wide Area Network:

Following are the advantages of the Wide Area Network:
1. Geographical area: A Wide Area Network provides a large geographical area.
Suppose if the branch of our office is in a different city then we can connect with them
through WAN. The internet provides a leased line through which we can connect with
another branch.
2. Centralized data: In case of WAN network, data is centralized. Therefore, we do not
need to buy the emails, files or back up servers.
3. Get updated files: Software companies work on the live server. Therefore, the
programmers get the updated files within seconds.
4. Exchange messages: In a WAN network, messages are transmitted fast. The web
application like Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype allows you to communicate with friends.
5. Sharing of software and resources: In WAN network, we can share the software and
other resources like a hard drive, RAM.
6. Global business: We can do the business over the internet globally.
7. High bandwidth: If we use the leased lines for our company then this gives the high
bandwidth. The high bandwidth increases the data transfer rate which in turn increases
the productivity of our company.
Disadvantages of Wide Area Network:
The following are the disadvantages of the Wide Area Network:
1. Security issue: A WAN network has more security issues as compared to LAN and
MAN network as all the technologies are combined together that creates the security
problem.
2. Needs Firewall & antivirus software: The data is transferred on the internet which
can be changed or hacked by the hackers, so the firewall needs to be used. Some people
can inject the virus in our system so antivirus is needed to protect from such a virus.
3. High Setup cost: An installation cost of the WAN network is high as it involves the
purchasing of routers, switches.
4. Troubleshooting problems: It covers a large area so fixing the problem is difficult.

PAN (Personal Area Network)

 Personal Area Network is a network arranged within an individual person, typically
within a range of 10 meters.
 Personal Area Network is used for connecting the computer devices of personal use is
known as Personal Area Network.
 Thomas Zimmerman was the first research scientist to bring the idea of the Personal
Area Network.
 Personal Area Network covers an area of 30 feet.
 Personal computer devices that are used to develop the personal area network are the
laptop, mobile phones, media player and play stations.

There are two types of Personal Area Network:

1. Wired Personal Area Network
2. Wireless Personal Area Network
Wireless Personal Area Network: Wireless Personal Area Network is developed by
simply using wireless technologies such as WiFi, Bluetooth. It is a low range network.

Wired Personal Area Network: Wired Personal Area Network is created by using the
USB.

Examples of Personal Area Network:

1. Body Area Network: Body Area Network is a network that moves with a person. For
example, a mobile network moves with a person. Suppose a person establishes a
network connection and then creates a connection with another device to share the
information.
2. Offline Network: An offline network can be created inside the home, so it is also
known as a home network. A home network is designed to integrate the devices such
as printers, computer, television but they are not connected to the internet.
3. Small Home Office: It is used to connect a variety of devices to the internet and to a
corporate network using a VPN.

Network Topology: Topology defines the structure of the network of how all the
components are interconnected to each other. There are two types of topology: physical and
logical topology.

Physical topology is the geometric representation of all the nodes in a network. There are six
types of network topology which are Bus Topology, Ring Topology, Tree Topology, Star
Topology, Mesh Topology, and Hybrid Topology.
1) Bus Topology

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o The bus topology is designed in such a way that all the stations are connected through
a single cable known as a backbone cable.
o Each node is either connected to the backbone cable by drop cable or directly connected
to the backbone cable.
 o When a node wants to send a message over the network, it puts a message over the
network. All the stations available in the network will receive the message whether it
has been addressed or not.
o The bus topology is mainly used in 802.3 (ethernet) and 802.4 standard networks.
o The configuration of a bus topology is quite simpler as compared to other topologies.
o The backbone cable is considered as a "single lane" through which the message is
broadcast to all the stations.
o The most common access method of the bus topologies is CSMA (Carrier Sense
Multiple Access).

Advantages of Bus topology:

o Low-cost cable: In bus topology, nodes are directly connected to the cable without
passing through a hub. Therefore, the initial cost of installation is low.
o Moderate data speeds: Coaxial or twisted pair cables are mainly used in bus-based
networks that support upto 10 Mbps.
o Familiar technology: Bus topology is a familiar technology as the installation and
troubleshooting techniques are well known, and hardware components are easily
available.
o Limited failure: A failure in one node will not have any effect on other nodes.

Disadvantages of Bus topology:

o Extensive cabling: A bus topology is quite simpler, but still it requires a lot of cabling.
o Difficult troubleshooting: It requires specialized test equipment to determine the cable
faults. If any fault occurs in the cable, then it would disrupt the communication for all
the nodes.
o Signal interference: If two nodes send the messages simultaneously, then the signals
of both the nodes collide with each other.
o Reconfiguration difficult: Adding new devices to the network would slow down the
network.
o Attenuation: Attenuation is a loss of signal leads to communication issues. Repeaters
are used to regenerate the signal.

2) Ring Topology
 o Ring topology is like a bus topology, but with connected ends.
o The node that receives the message from the previous computer will retransmit to the
next node.
o The data flows in one direction, i.e., it is unidirectional.
o The data flows in a single loop continuously known as an endless loop.
o It has no terminated ends, i.e., each node is connected to other node and having no
termination point.
o The data in a ring topology flow in a clockwise direction.
o The most common access method of the ring topology is token passing.
o Token passing: It is a network access method in which token is passed from
one node to another node.
o Token: It is a frame that circulates around the network.

Working of Token passing

o A token moves around the network, and it is passed from computer to computer until it
reaches the destination.
o The sender modifies the token by putting the address along with the data.
o The data is passed from one device to another device until the destination address
matches. Once the token received by the destination device, then it sends the
acknowledgment to the sender.
o In a ring topology, a token is used as a carrier.

Advantages of Ring topology:

 o Network Management: Faulty devices can be removed from the network without
bringing the network down.
o Product availability: Many hardware and software tools for network operation and
monitoring are available.
o Cost: Twisted pair cabling is inexpensive and easily available. Therefore, the
installation cost is very low.
o Reliable: It is a more reliable network because the communication system is not
dependent on the single host computer.

Disadvantages of Ring topology:

o Difficult troubleshooting: It requires specialized test equipment to determine the cable

faults. If any fault occurs in the cable, then it would disrupt the communication for all
the nodes.
o Failure: The breakdown in one station leads to the failure of the overall network.
o Reconfiguration difficult: Adding new devices to the network would slow down the
network.
o Delay: Communication delay is directly proportional to the number of nodes. Adding
new devices increases the communication delay.

3) Star Topology

o Star topology is an arrangement of the network in which every node is connected to the
central hub, switch or a central computer.
o The central computer is known as a server, and the peripheral devices attached to the
server are known as clients.
o Coaxial cable or RJ-45 cables are used to connect the computers.
o Hubs or Switches are mainly used as connection devices in a physical star topology.
o Star topology is the most popular topology in network implementation.
Advantages of Star topology:

o Efficient troubleshooting: Troubleshooting is quite efficient in a star topology as

compared to bus topology. In a bus topology, the manager has to inspect the kilometers
of cable. In a star topology, all the stations are connected to the centralized network.
Therefore, the network administrator has to go to the single station to troubleshoot the
problem.
o Network control: Complex network control features can be easily implemented in the
star topology. Any changes made in the star topology are automatically accommodated.
o Limited failure: As each station is connected to the central hub with its own cable,
therefore failure in one cable will not affect the entire network.
o Familiar technology: Star topology is a familiar technology as its tools are cost-
effective.
o Easily expandable: It is easily expandable as new stations can be added to the open
ports on the hub.
o Cost effective: Star topology networks are cost-effective as it uses inexpensive coaxial
cable.
o High data speeds: It supports a bandwidth of approx 100Mbps. Ethernet 100BaseT is
one of the most popular Star topology networks.
Disadvantages of Star topology

o A Central point of failure: If the central hub or switch goes down, then all the
connected nodes will not be able to communicate with each other.
o Cable: Sometimes cable routing becomes difficult when a significant amount of
routing is required.

4) Tree topology

o Tree topology combines the characteristics of bus topology and star topology.
o A tree topology is a type of structure in which all the computers are connected with
each other in hierarchical fashion.
o The top-most node in tree topology is known as a root node, and all other nodes are the
descendants of the root node.
o There is only one path exists between two nodes for the data transmission. Thus, it
forms a parent-child hierarchy.

Advantages of Tree topology

o Support for broadband transmission: Tree topology is mainly used to provide

broadband transmission, i.e., signals are sent over long distances without being
attenuated.
o Easily expandable: We can add the new device to the existing network. Therefore, we
can say that tree topology is easily expandable.
o Easily manageable: In tree topology, the whole network is divided into segments
known as star networks which can be easily managed and maintained.
 o Error detection: Error detection and error correction are very easy in a tree topology.
o Limited failure: The breakdown in one station does not affect the entire network.
o Point-to-point wiring: It has point-to-point wiring for individual segments.

Disadvantages of Tree topology

o Difficult troubleshooting: If any fault occurs in the node, then it becomes difficult to
troubleshoot the problem.
o High cost: Devices required for broadband transmission are very costly.
o Failure: A tree topology mainly relies on main bus cable and failure in main bus cable
will damage the overall network.
o Reconfiguration difficult: If new devices are added, then it becomes difficult to
reconfigure.

5) Mesh topology

o Mesh technology is an arrangement of the network in which computers are

interconnected with each other through various redundant connections.
o There are multiple paths from one computer to another computer.
 o It does not contain the switch, hub or any central computer which acts as a central point
of communication.
o The Internet is an example of the mesh topology.
o Mesh topology is mainly used for WAN implementations where communication
failures are a critical concern.
o Mesh topology is mainly used for wireless networks.
o Mesh topology can be formed by using the formula:
Number of cables = (n*(n-1))/2;

Where n is the number of nodes that represents the network.

Mesh topology is divided into two categories:

o Fully connected mesh topology

o Partially connected mesh topology

o Full Mesh Topology: In a full mesh topology, each computer is connected to all the
computers available in the network.
o Partial Mesh Topology: In a partial mesh topology, not all but certain computers are
connected to those computers with which they communicate frequently.

Advantages of Mesh topology:

 Reliable: The mesh topology networks are very reliable as if any link breakdown will
not affect the communication between connected computers.
 Fast Communication: Communication is very fast between the nodes.
 Easier Reconfiguration: Adding new devices would not disrupt the communication
between other devices.

Disadvantages of Mesh topology:

o Cost: A mesh topology contains a large number of connected devices such as a router
and more transmission media than other topologies.
 o Management: Mesh topology networks are very large and very difficult to maintain
and manage. If the network is not monitored carefully, then the communication link
failure goes undetected.
o Efficiency: In this topology, redundant connections are high that reduces the efficiency
of the network.

6) Hybrid Topology

o The combination of various different topologies is known as Hybrid topology.

o A Hybrid topology is a connection between different links and nodes to transfer the
data.
o When two or more different topologies are combined together is termed as Hybrid
topology and if similar topologies are connected with each other will not result in
Hybrid topology. For example, if there exist a ring topology in one branch of ICICI
bank and bus topology in another branch of ICICI bank, connecting these two
topologies will result in Hybrid topology.

Advantages of Hybrid Topology:

 o Reliable: If a fault occurs in any part of the network will not affect the functioning of
the rest of the network.
o Scalable: Size of the network can be easily expanded by adding new devices without
affecting the functionality of the existing network.
o Flexible: This topology is very flexible as it can be designed according to the
requirements of the organization.
o Effective: Hybrid topology is very effective as it can be designed in such a way that
the strength of the network is maximized and weakness of the network is minimized.

Disadvantages of Hybrid topology:

o Complex design: The major drawback of the Hybrid topology is the design of the
Hybrid network. It is very difficult to design the architecture of the Hybrid network.
o Costly Hub: The Hubs used in the Hybrid topology are very expensive as these hubs
are different from usual Hubs used in other topologies.
o Costly infrastructure: The infrastructure cost is very high as a hybrid network requires
a lot of cabling, network devices, etc.

Switching techniques: In large networks, there can be multiple paths from sender to
receiver. The switching technique will decide the best route for data transmission. Switching
technique is used to connect the systems for making one-to-one communication.

Classification of Switching Techniques

Circuit Switching:

o Circuit switching is a switching technique that establishes a dedicated path between

sender and receiver.
o In the Circuit Switching Technique, once the connection is established then the
dedicated path will remain to exist until the connection is terminated.
o Circuit switching in a network operates in a similar way as the telephone works.
o A complete end-to-end path must exist before the communication takes place.
o In case of circuit switching technique, when any user wants to send the data, voice,
video, a request signal is sent to the receiver then the receiver sends back the
acknowledgment to ensure the availability of the dedicated path. After receiving the
acknowledgment, dedicated path transfers the data.
o Circuit switching is used in public telephone network. It is used for voice transmission.
o Fixed data can be transferred at a time in circuit switching technology.

Communication through circuit switching has 3 phases:

o Circuit establishment
o Data transfer
o Circuit Disconnect
Circuit Switching can use either of the two technologies:

Space Division Switches:

o Space Division Switching is a circuit switching technology in which a single

transmission path is accomplished in a switch by using a physically separate set of
crosspoints.
o Space Division Switching can be achieved by using crossbar switch. A crossbar switch
is a metallic crosspoint or semiconductor gate that can be enabled or disabled by a
control unit.
o The Crossbar switch is made by using the semiconductor. For example, Xilinx crossbar
switch using FPGAs.
o Space Division Switching has high speed, high capacity, and nonblocking switches.

Space Division Switches can be categorized in two ways:

o Crossbar Switch
o Multistage Switch

Crossbar Switch

The Crossbar switch is a switch that has n input lines and n output lines. The crossbar switch
has n2 intersection points known as crosspoints.

Disadvantage of Crossbar switch:

The number of crosspoints increases as the number of stations is increased. Therefore, it

becomes very expensive for a large switch. The solution to this is to use a multistage switch.

Multistage Switch

o Multistage Switch is made by splitting the crossbar switch into the smaller units and
then interconnecting them.
o It reduces the number of crosspoints.
o If one path fails, then there will be an availability of another path.

Advantages of Circuit Switching:

o In the case of Circuit Switching technique, the communication channel is dedicated.

o It has fixed bandwidth.
Disadvantages of Circuit Switching:

o Once the dedicated path is established, the only delay occurs in the speed of data
transmission.
o It takes a long time to establish a connection approx 10 seconds during which no data
can be transmitted.
o It is more expensive than other switching techniques as a dedicated path is required for
each connection.
o It is inefficient to use because once the path is established and no data is transferred,
then the capacity of the path is wasted.
o In this case, the connection is dedicated therefore no other data can be transferred even
if the channel is free.

Message Switching

o Message Switching is a switching technique in which a message is transferred as a

complete unit and routed through intermediate nodes at which it is stored and
forwarded.
o In Message Switching technique, there is no establishment of a dedicated path between
the sender and receiver.
o The destination address is appended to the message. Message Switching provides a
dynamic routing as the message is routed through the intermediate nodes based on the
information available in the message.
o Message switches are programmed in such a way so that they can provide the most
efficient routes.
o Each and every node stores the entire message and then forward it to the next node.
This type of network is known as store and forward network.
o Message switching treats each message as an independent entity.
o
Advantages of Message Switching

o Data channels are shared among the communicating devices that improve the efficiency
of using available bandwidth.
o Traffic congestion can be reduced because the message is temporarily stored in the
nodes.
o Message priority can be used to manage the network.
o The size of the message which is sent over the network can be varied. Therefore, it
supports the data of unlimited size.

Disadvantages of Message Switching

o The message switches must be equipped with sufficient storage to enable them to store
the messages until the message is forwarded.
o The Long delay can occur due to the storing and forwarding facility provided by the
message switching technique.

Packet Switching:

o The packet switching is a switching technique in which the message is sent in one go,
but it is divided into smaller pieces, and they are sent individually.
o The message splits into smaller pieces known as packets and packets are given a unique
number to identify their order at the receiving end.
o Every packet contains some information in its headers such as source address,
destination address and sequence number.
o Packets will travel across the network, taking the shortest path as possible.
o All the packets are reassembled at the receiving end in correct order.
o If any packet is missing or corrupted, then the message will be sent to resend the
message.
o If the correct order of the packets is reached, then the acknowledgment message will be
sent.
Approaches of Packet Switching:

There are two approaches to Packet Switching:

Datagram Packet Switching:

o It is a packet switching technology in which packet is known as a datagram, is

considered as an independent entity. Each packet contains the information about the
destination and switch uses this information to forward the packet to the correct
destination.
o The packets are reassembled at the receiving end in correct order.
o In Datagram Packet Switching technique, the path is not fixed.
o Intermediate nodes take the routing decisions to forward the packets.
o Datagram Packet Switching is also known as connectionless switching.

Virtual Circuit Switching:

o Virtual Circuit Switching is also known as connection-oriented switching.

o In the case of Virtual circuit switching, a preplanned route is established before the
messages are sent.
o Call request and call accept packets are used to establish the connection between sender
and receiver.
o In this case, the path is fixed for the duration of a logical connection.

Let's understand the concept of virtual circuit switching through a diagram:

 o In the above diagram, A and B are the sender and receiver respectively. 1 and 2 are the
nodes.
o Call request and call accept packets are used to establish a connection between the
sender and receiver.
o When a route is established, data will be transferred.
o After transmission of data, an acknowledgment signal is sent by the receiver that the
message has been received.
o If the user wants to terminate the connection, a clear signal is sent for the termination.

Differences b/w Datagram approach and Virtual Circuit approach

Datagram approach Virtual Circuit approach

Node takes routing decisions to forward Node does not take any routing decision.
the packets.

Congestion cannot occur as all the Congestion can occur when the node is busy, and it
packets travel in different directions. does not allow other packets to pass through.

It is more flexible as all the packets are It is not very flexible.

treated as an independent entity.
Advantages Of Packet Switching:

o Cost-effective: In packet switching technique, switching devices do not require

massive secondary storage to store the packets, so cost is minimized to some extent.
Therefore, we can say that the packet switching technique is a cost-effective technique.
o Reliable: If any node is busy, then the packets can be rerouted. This ensures that the
Packet Switching technique provides reliable communication.
o Efficient: Packet Switching is an efficient technique. It does not require any established
path prior to the transmission, and many users can use the same communication channel
simultaneously, hence makes use of available bandwidth very efficiently.

Disadvantages of Packet Switching:

o Packet Switching technique cannot be implemented in those applications that require

low delay and high-quality services.
o The protocols used in a packet switching technique are very complex and requires high
implementation cost.
o If the network is overloaded or corrupted, then it requires retransmission of lost packets.
It can also lead to the loss of critical information if errors are nor recovered.

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.

7 Layers of OSI Model: 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

1) 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.

2) 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.

3) 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 Data link 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).

4) 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 Segmentation and reassembly: When the transport layer receives the message from
the upper layer, it divides the message into multiple segments, and each segment is
assigned with a sequence number that uniquely identifies each segment. When the
message has arrived at the destination, then the transport layer reassembles the message
based on their sequence numbers.
o Connection control: Transport layer provides two services Connection-oriented
service and connectionless service. A connectionless service treats each segment as an
individual packet, and they all travel in different routes to reach the destination. A
connection-oriented service makes a connection with the transport layer at the
destination machine before delivering the packets. In connection-oriented service, all
the packets travel in the single route.
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.
5) 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.

6) 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.
7) 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.

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

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.

Physical Layer in OSI Model

The OSI model is the abbreviation for Open Systems Interconnection Model. It defines the
transmission of data from one system to another in a computer network. For example, in the
most elemental form, two systems are joined to each other using Local Area Network (LAN)
cables and share data with the help of a Network Interface Card (NIC) that allows
communication over a network, but if one system is based on Microsoft Windows, and the
other is based on macOS, so how would these computers communicate with each other. To
successfully communicate between systems of distinct architectures, the International
Organization for Standardization (ISO) presented the 7-layered OSI model in 1984.

The individual layer of the OSI model is a package of protocols. This article will comprehend
the physical layer of the OSI model.

The physical layer is the first and lowest layer from the bottom of the 7-layered OSI model and
delivers security to hardware. This layer is in charge of data transmission over the physical
medium. It is the most complex layer in the OSI model.
The physical layer converts the data frame received from the data link layer into bits, i.e., in
terms of ones and zeros. It maintains the data quality by implementing the required protocols
on different network modes and maintaining the bit rate through data transfer using a wired or
wireless medium.

Attributes of the physical layer:

The physical layer has several attributes that are implemented in the OSI model:

1. Signals: The data is first converted to a signal for efficient data transmission. There are two
kinds of signals:

o Analog Signals: These signals are continuous waveforms in nature and are represented
by continuous electromagnetic waves for the transmission of data.
o Digital Signals: These signals are discrete in nature and represent network pulses and
digital data from the upper layers.

2. Transmission media: Data is carried from source to destination with the help of transmission
media. There are two sorts of transmission media:

o Wired Media: The connection is established with the help of cables. For example, fiber
optic cables, coaxial cables, and twisted pair cables.
o Wireless Media: The connection is established using a wireless communication
network. For example, Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, etc.

3. Data Flow: It describes the rate of data flow and the transmission time frame. The factors
affecting the data flow are as follows:

o Encoding: Encoding data for transmission on the channel.

o Error-Rate: Receiving erroneous data due to noise in transmission.
o Bandwidth: The rate of transmission of data in the channel.

4. Transmission mode: It describes the direction of the data flow. Data can be transmitted in
three sorts of transmission modes as follows:

o Simplex mode: This mode of communication is a one-way communication where a

device can only send data. Examples are a mouse, keyboard, etc.
o Half-duplex mode: This mode of communication supports one-way communication,
i.e., either data can be transmitted or received. An example is a walkie-talkie.
o Full-duplex mode: This mode of communication supports two-way communication,
i.e., the device can send and receive data at the same time. An example is cellular
communication.
5. Noise in transmission: Transmitted data can get corrupted or damaged during data
transmission due to many reasons. Some of the reasons are mentioned below:

o Attenuation: It is a gradual deterioration of the network signal on the communication

channel.
o Dispersion: In the case of Dispersion, the data is dispersed and overlapped during
transmission, which leads to the loss of the original data.
o Data Delay: The transmitted data reaches the destination system outside the specified
frame time.

The physical layer performs various functions and services:

o It transfers data bit by bit or symbol by symbol.

o It performs bit synchronization, which means that only one bit needs to be transferred
from one system to another at a time. There should be no overlapping of bits during
transmission. Bit synchronization can be achieved by providing a clock.
o Bit rate control defines how many bits per second can be transmitted, i.e., the number
of bits sent per second.
o The physical layer is responsible for knowing the arrangements made between devices
in networks called physical topologies, such as mesh, ring, bus, and star.
o The transmission mode in which data is transmitted, and there are three modes of
transmitting data: full-duplex, half-duplex, and simplex.
o It is responsible for point-to-multipoint, point-to-point, or multipoint line
configurations.
o It is responsible for flow control and start-stop signaling in asynchronous serial
communication.
o Signal processing of physical signals such as training sequence, pulse shaping,
equalization filtering, and others.
o It provides bit-interleaving and another channel coding.
o It is responsible for serial or parallel communication.
o It provides a standardized interface for physical transmission media, including
electrical specifications for transmission line signal levels, mechanical specifications
for electrical cables and connectors, radio interfaces, and wireless IR communication
links, IR specifications.
 o The physical layer is responsible for modulation, which means the conversion of
information into radio waves by adding the data to an optical nerve signal or electrical
signal.
o This layer is responsible for circuit switching.
o This layer is concerned with auto-negotiation. Signals are mainly of two sorts, digital
signals & analog signals. The physical layer decides which signal will be used to
transfer the data from one point to another.
o It also avoids collisions between data flowing in the network due to the irretrievability
of data packets.
o It is responsible for the translation of data received from the data link layer for further
transmission.

Importance of the physical layer:

o Without proper data conversion at the physical level, the network cannot function.
o The physical layer is responsible for maintaining communication between the hardware
and the network mode.
o It handles the data flow rate of the data to be transmitted along with the timeframe of
the transmitted data.

LATENCY, BANDWIDTH, DELAY:

The performance of a network pertains to the measure of service quality of a network as
perceived by the user. There are different ways to measure the performance of a network,
depending upon the nature and design of the network. Finding the performance of a network
depends on both quality of the network and the quantity of the network.

BANDWIDTH

One of the most essential conditions of a website’s performance is the amount of bandwidt h
allocated to the network. Bandwidth determines how rapidly the webserver is able to upload
the requested information. While there are different factors to consider with respect to a site’s
performance, bandwidth is every now and again the restricting element.
Bandwidth is characterized as the measure of data or information that can be transmitted in
a fixed measure of time. The term can be used in two different contexts with two distinctive
estimating values. In the case of digital devices, the bandwidth is measured in bits per
second(bps) or bytes per second. In the case of analog devices, the bandwidth is measured in
cycles per second, or Hertz (Hz).
Bandwidth is only one component of what an individual sees as the speed of a network.
People frequently mistake bandwidth with internet speed in light of the fact that Internet
Service Providers (ISPs) tend to claim that they have a fast “40Mbps connection” in their
advertising campaigns. True internet speed is actually the amount of data you receive every
second and that has a lot to do with latency too. “Bandwidth” means “Capacity” and
“Speed” means “Transfer rate”.
More bandwidth does not mean more speed. Let us take a case where we have double the
width of the tap pipe, but the water rate is still the same as it was when the tap pipe was half
the width. Hence, there will be no improvement in speed. When we consider WAN links, we
mostly mean bandwidth but when we consider LAN, we mostly mean speed. This is on the
grounds that we are generally constrained by expensive cable bandwidth over WAN rather
than hardware and interface data transfer rates (or speed) over LAN.
 Bandwidth in Hertz: It is the range of frequencies contained in a composite signal or
the range of frequencies a channel can pass. For example, let us consider the bandwidth
of a subscriber telephone line as 4 kHz.
 Bandwidth in Bits per Seconds: It refers to the number of bits per second that a channel,
a link, or rather a network can transmit. For example, we can say the bandwidth of a Fast
Ethernet network is a maximum of 100 Mbps, which means that the network can send
100 Mbps of data.
Note: There exists an explicit relationship between the bandwidth in hertz and the
bandwidth in bits per second. An increase in bandwidth in hertz means an increase in
bandwidth in bits per second. The relationship depends upon whether we have baseband
transmission or transmission with modulation.

LATENCY

In a network, during the process of data communication, latency(also known as delay) is

defined as the total time taken for a complete message to arrive at the destination, starting
with the time when the first bit of the message is sent out from the source and ending with
the time when the last bit of the message is delivered at the destination. The network
connections where small delays occur are called “Low-Latency-Networks” and the network
connections which suffer from long delays are known as “High-Latency-Networks”.
High latency leads to the creation of bottlenecks in any network communication. It stops the
data from taking full advantage of the network pipe and conclusively decreases the bandwidth
of the communicating network. The effect of the latency on a network’s bandwidth can be
temporary or never-ending depending on the source of the delays. Latency is also known as
a ping rate and is measured in milliseconds(ms).
 In simpler terms latency may be defined as the time required to successfully send a packet
across a network.
 It is measured in many ways like a round trip, one-way, etc.
 It might be affected by any component in the chain utilized to vehiculate data, like
workstations, WAN links, routers, LAN, and servers, and eventually may be limited for
large networks, by the speed of light.
Latency = Propagation Time + Transmission Time + Queuing Time + Processing Delay
Propagation Time
It is the time required for a bit to travel from the source to the destination. Propagation time
can be calculated as the ratio between the link length (distance) and the propagation speed
over the communicating medium. For example, for an electric signal, propagation time is the
time taken for the signal to travel through a wire.
Propagation time = Distance / Propagation speed
Example:
Input: What will be the propagation time when the distance between two points is 12, 000
km?
Assuming the propagation speed to be 2.4 * 10^8 m/s in cable.

Output: We can calculate the propagation time as-

Propagation time = (12000 * 10000) / (2.4 * 10^8) = 50 ms
Transmission Time
Transmission Time is a time based on how long it takes to send the signal down the
transmission line. It consists of time costs for an EM signal to propagate from one side to the
other, or costs like the training signals that are usually put on the front of a packet by the
sender, which helps the receiver synchronize clocks. The transmission time of a message
relies upon the size of the message and the bandwidth of the channel.
Transmission time = Message size / Bandwidth
Example:
Input: What will be the propagation time and the transmission time for a 2.5-kbyte
message when the bandwidth of the network is 1 Gbps? Assuming the distance
between
sender and receiver is 12, 000 km and speed of light is 2.4 * 10^8 m/s.

Output: We can calculate the propagation and transmission time as-

Propagation time = (12000 * 10000) / (2.4 * 10^8) = 50 ms
Transmission time = (2560 * 8) / 10^9 = 0.020 ms

Note: Since the message is short and the bandwidth is high, the dominant factor is the
propagation time and not the transmission time(which can be ignored).
Queuing Time
Queuing time is a time based on how long the packet has to sit around in the router. Quite
frequently the wire is busy, so we are not able to transmit a packet immediately. The queuing
time is usually not a fixed factor, hence it changes with the load thrust in the network. In
cases like these, the packet sits waiting, ready to go, in a queue. These delays are
predominantly characterized by the measure of traffic on the system. The more the traffic,
the more likely a packet is stuck in the queue, just sitting in the memory, waiting.
Processing Delay
Processing delay is the delay based on how long it takes the router to figure out where to send
the packet. As soon as the router finds it out, it will queue the packet for transmission. These
costs are predominantly based on the complexity of the protocol. The router must decipher
enough of the packet to make sense of which queue to put the packet in. Typically the lower-
level layers of the stack have simpler protocols. If a router does not know which physical
port to send the packet to, it will send it to all the ports, queuing the packet in many queues
immediately. Differently, at a higher level, like in IP protocols, the processing may include
making an ARP request to find out the physical address of the destination before queuing the
packet for transmission. This situation may also be considered as a processing delay.
Guided Media: It is defined as the physical medium through which the signals are
transmitted. It is also known as Bounded media.

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 3.5 KHz.

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.

Features:

 A pair of insulated copper wires twisted together to reduce noise generated by

external interference.
 Widely used in the telephone, computers, etc.
 Less expensive.
 Installation of the UTP is easier
 Limited bandwidth for transmitting the data

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 of Unshielded Twisted Pair:

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.