COMPUTER

NETWORK
UNIT-1
 UNIT 1
INTRODUCTION

Introduction to Computer Networks

 A set of devices often mentioned as nodes connected by media link is called a Network.
 A node can be a device which is capable of sending or receiving data generated by other
nodes on the network like a computer, printer etc. These links connecting the devices
are called Communication channels.
 Computer network is a telecommunication channel using which we can share data with
other computers or devices, connected to the same network. It is also called Data
Network. The best example of computer network is Internet.
 Computer network does not mean a system with one Control Unit connected to multiple
other systems as its slave. That is Distributed system, not Computer Network.
 A network must be able to meet certain criterias, these are mentioned below:
 Performance
 Reliability
 Security

Performance
It can be measured in the following ways:
 Transit time : It is the time taken to travel a message from one device to another.
 Response time : It is defined as the time elapsed between enquiry and response.

Other ways to measure performance are :

 Efficiency of software
 Number of users
 Capability of connected hardware

Reliability
It decides the frequency at which network failure take place. More the failures are, less is the
network's reliability.

Security
It refers to the protection of data from any unauthorised user or access. While travelling
through network, data passes many layers of network, and data can be traced if attempted.
Hence security is also a very important characteristic for Networks.

Properties of a Good Network

1. Interpersonal Communication: We can communicate with each other efficiently and
easily. Example: emails, chat rooms, video conferencing etc, all of these are possible
because of computer networks.
2. Resources can be shared: We can share physical resources by making them available
on a network such as printers, scanners etc.
3. Sharing files, data: Authorised users are allowed to share the files on the network.

Basic Communication Model

A Communication model is used to exchange data between two parties. For example:
communication between a computer, server and telephone (through modem).

Source
Data to be transmitted is generated by this device, example: telephones, personal computers
etc.

Transmitter
The data generated by the source system is not directly transmitted in the form its generated.
The transmitter transforms and encodes the data in such a form to produce electromagnetic
waves or signals.

Transmission System
A transmission system can be a single transmission line or a complex network connecting
source and destination.

Receiver
Receiver accepts the signal from the transmission system and converts it into a form which is
easily managed by the destination device.

Destination
Destination receives the incoming data from the receiver.

Data Communication
 The exchange of data between two devices through a transmission medium is called
Data Communication.
 The data is exchanged in the form of 0's and 1's. The transmission medium used is wire
cable.
 For data communication to occur, the communication device must be a part of a
communication system.
 Data Communication has two types - Local and Remote which are discussed below:

Local
Local communication takes place when the communicating devices are in the same
geographical area, same building, or face-to-face etc.

Remote
Remote communication takes place over a distance i.e. the devices are farther. The
effectiveness of a data communication can be measured through the following features :
 Delivery: Delivery should be done to the correct destination.
 Timeliness: Delivery should be on time.
 Accuracy: Data delivered should be accurate.
Components of Data Communication
1. Message: It is the information to be delivered.
2. Sender: Sender is the person who is sending the message.
3. Receiver: Receiver is the person to whom the message is being sent to.
4. Medium: It is the medium through which the message is sent. For example: A Modem.
5. Protocol: These are some set of rules which govern data communication.

Data Flow
Transmission Modes in Computer Networks (Simplex, Half-Duplex and Full-Duplex)
 Transmission mode means transferring of data between two devices. It is also known as
communication mode.
 Buses and networks are designed to allow communication to occur between individual
devices that are interconnected.
 There are three types of transmission mode:-
1. Simplex Mode
2. Half-Duplex Mode
3. Full-Duplex Mode

Simplex Mode
 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.
 The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to send data in one
direction.
 Example: Keyboard and traditional monitors. The keyboard can only introduce input,
the monitor can only give the output.
Half-Duplex Mode
 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.
 The half-duplex mode is used in cases where there is no need for communication in both
direction at the same time.
 The entire capacity of the channel can be utilized for each direction.
 Example: Walkie- talkie in which message is sent one at a time and messages are sent
in both the directions.

Full-Duplex Mode
 In full-duplex mode, both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously.
 In full_duplex mode, signals going in one direction share the capacity of the link with
signals going in other direction, this sharing can occur in two ways:
1. Either the link must contain two physically separate transmission paths, one for
sending and other for receiving.
2. Or the capacity is divided between signals travelling in both directions.
 Full-duplex mode is used when communication in both direction is required all the time.
 The capacity of the channel, however must be divided between the two directions.
 Example: Telephone Network in which there is communication between two persons
by a telephone line, through which both can talk and listen at the same time.

Goals of Computer Networks

The following are some important goals of computer networks:
1. Resource Sharing – Many organizations has a substantial number of computers in
operations, which are located apart. Ex. A group of office workers can share a common
printer, fax, modem, scanner etc.
2. High Reliability – If there are alternate sources of supply, all files could be replicated
on two or, machines. If one of them is not available, due to hardware failure, the other
copies could be used.
3. Inter-process Communication – Network users, located geographically apart, may
converse in an interactive session through the network. In order to permit this, the
network must provide almost error-free communications.
4. Flexible access – Files can be accessed from any computer in the network. The project
can be begun on one computer and finished on another.

Other goals include Distribution of processing functions, Centralized management, and

allocation of network resources, Compatibility of dissimilar equipment and software, Good
network performance, Scalability, Saving money, Access to remote information, Person to
person communication etc.

Types of Computer Network

 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) –

 LAN or Local Area Network connects network devices in such a way that personal
computer and workstations can share data, tools and programs.
 The group of computers and devices are connected together by a switch, or stack
of switches, using a private addressing scheme as defined by the TCP/IP protocol.
 Routers are found at the boundary of a LAN, connecting them to the larger WAN.
 Data transmits at a very fast rate as the number of computers linked are limited.
 LANs cover smaller geographical area (Size is limited to a few kilometers) and are
privately owned.
 One can use it for an office building, home, hospital, schools, etc.
 LAN is easy to design and maintain. A Communication medium used for LAN has
twisted pair cables and coaxial cables. It covers a short distance, and so the error
and noise are minimized.
 Early LAN’s had data rates in the 4 to 16 Mbps range. Today, speeds are normally
100 or 1000 Mbps.
 The fault tolerance of a LAN is more and there is less congestion in this network.
2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) –
 MAN or Metropolitan area Network covers a larger area than that of a LAN and
smaller area as compared to WAN.
 It connects two or more computers that are apart but resides in the same or different
cities.
 It covers a large geographical area and may serve as an ISP (Internet Service
Provider).

 MAN is designed for customers who need a high-speed connectivity. Speeds of

MAN ranges in terms of Mbps.
 It’s hard to design and maintain a Metropolitan Area Network.
 The fault tolerance of a MAN is less and also there is more congestion in the
network.
 It is costly and may or may not be owned by a single organization.
 Devices used for transmission of data through MAN are: Modem and Wire/Cable.
 Examples of a MAN are the part of the telephone company network that can
provide a high-speed DSL line to the customer or the cable TV network in a city.

3. Wide Area Network (WAN) –

 WAN or Wide Area Network is a computer network that extends over a large
geographical area, although it might be confined within the bounds of a state or
country.
 A WAN could be a connection of LAN connecting to other LAN’s via telephone
lines and radio waves and may be limited to an enterprise (a corporation or an
organization) or accessible to the public.
 The technology is high speed and relatively expensive.
 There are two types of WAN: Switched WAN and Point-to-Point WAN.
 WAN is difficult to design and maintain.
 Similar to a MAN, the fault tolerance of a WAN is less and there is more
congestion in the network.
 A Communication medium used for WAN is PSTN or Satellite Link.
  Due to long distance transmission, the noise and error tend to be more in WAN.
 WAN’s data rate is slow about a 10th LAN’s speed, since it involves increased
distance and increased number of servers and terminals etc. Speeds of WAN ranges
from few kilobits per second (Kbps) to megabits per second (Mbps).
 Devices used for transmission of data through WAN are: Optic wires, Microwaves
and Satellites.
 Example of a Switched WAN is the asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) network
and Point-to-Point WAN is dial-up line that connects a home computer to the
Internet.

Differences between LAN, WAN and MAN

LAN MAN WAN

LAN stands for Local Area MAN stands for Metropolitan Area WAN stands for Wide area
Network. Network. network.

MAN’s ownership can be private or While WAN also might not be

LAN’s ownership is private.
public. owned by one organization.

The transmission speed of LAN is While the transmission speed of Whereas the transmission speed of
high. MAN is average. WAN is low.

The propagation delay is short in There is moderate propagation Whereas there is long propagation
LAN. delay in MAN. delay.

While there is more congestion in Whereas there is more congestion

There is less congestion in LAN.
MAN. than MAN in WAN.

Whereas WAN’s design and

LAN’s design and maintenance is While MAN’s design and maintenance is also difficult than
easy. maintenance is difficult than LAN. LAN as well MAN.

There is more fault tolerance in In WAN, there is also less fault

While there is less fault tolerance.
LAN. tolerance.

Wireless and Wired Network

 Wired Network
As we know "wired" is the term refers to any physical medium consisting of cables. The cables
can be copper wire, twisted pair or fiber optic. Wired network is used to carry different forms
of electrical signals from one end to the other. Mostly in wired network one internet connection
is being taken using T1 line, cable modem or using any other means. This connection is shared
among multiple devices using wired network concept.

Examples of wired network: LAN (Local Area Network): This network consists of ethernet
cards housed in PCs or laptops. These cards are connected using ethernet cables. The data
flows between these cards. For small wired network router is used to connect few number of
desktop or laptop computers. In order to increase the network coverage for more number of
systems multiple switches and routers are used.

 Wireless Network
As we know "Wireless" is the term refers to medium made of electromagnetic waves (i.e. EM
Waves) or infrared waves. All the wireless devices will have antenna or sensors. Typical
wireless devices include cellular mobile, wireless sensors, TV remote, satellite disc receiver,
laptops with WLAN card etc. Wireless network does not use wires for data or voice
communication; it uses radio frequency waves as mentioned above. The other examples are
fiber optic communication link and broadband ADSL etc.

Examples of wireless network:

1. Outdoor cellular technologies such as GSM, CDMA, WiMAX, LTE, Satellite etc.
2. Indoor wireless technologies such as Wireless LAN(or WiFi), Bluetooth, IrDA, Zigbee,
Zwave etc.

Difference between Wired and Wireless Network

Specifications Wired network Wireless network
lower compare to wired networks, But advanced wireless
technologies such as LTE, LTE-A and WLAN-11ad will
Speed of
Higher make it possible to achieve speed par equivalent to wired
operation
network
System
High Low, as Frequency Spectrum is very scarse resource
Bandwidth
More as wireless subscriber stations, wireless routers,
Cost Less as cables are not expensive
wireless access points and adapters are expensive
 Wired network installation is
Wireless network installation is easy and it requires less
cumbersome and it requires
Installation time
more time
Limited, as it operates in the area
Not limited, as it operates in the entire wireless network
covered by connected systems
Mobility coverage
with the wired network
Transmission copper wires, optical fiber
EM waves or radiowaves or infrared
medium cables, ethernet

Types of Network transmission

Between the network hardware (LAN, MAN and WAN), network transmission exists.
There are of 2 types:
1. Broadcast Network Link –
 The communication channel is shared by all the machines on the network.
 Packets sent by any machine are received by all the others.
 A special code (those registered with the channel, will gain the information) in
address field will be added.
 In multicasting, 1 bit indicates the multicast and the rest n-1 bit can hold the group
no. Each machine can subscribe to any group.
2. Point to Point Network Link –
 Point-to-point links connect individual pairs of machines (involves 2 nodes).
 To go from the source to the destination on a network made up of point-to-point
links, short mess- sages, called packets in certain contexts, may have to first visit
one or more inter- mediate machines.
 Often multiple routes, of different lengths, are possible, so finding good ones is
important in point-to-point networks.
 Point-to-point transmission with exactly one sender and exactly one receiver is
sometimes called unicasting.

Types of Network Topology

The arrangement of a network which comprises of nodes and connecting lines via sender and
receiver is referred as network topology. The various network topologies are :
a) Mesh Topology:
In mesh topology, every device is connected to another device via particular channel.

Figure 1: Every device is connected with another via dedicated channels. These channels are
known as links.
Advantages of this topology :
 It is robust.
 Fault is diagnosed easily. Data is reliable because data is transferred among the devices
through dedicated channels or links.
 Provides security and privacy.

Problems with this topology :

 Installation and configuration is difficult.
 Cost of cables are high as bulk wiring is required, hence suitable for less number of
devices.
 Cost of maintenance is high.

b) Star Topology:
In star topology, all the devices are connected to a single hub through a cable. This hub is the
central node and all others nodes are connected to the central node. The hub can be passive in
nature i.e. not intelligent hub such as broadcasting devices, at the same time the hub can be
intelligent known as active hubs. Active hubs have repeaters in them.
Figure 2: A star topology having four systems connected to single point of connection i.e. hub.

Advantages of this topology :

 If N devices are connected to each other in star topology, then the number of cables
required to connect them is N. So, it is easy to set up.
 Each device require only 1 port i.e. to connect to the hub.

Problems with this topology :

 If the concentrator (hub) on which the whole topology relies fails, the whole system will
crash down.
 Cost of installation is high.
 Performance is based on the single concentrator i.e. hub.

c) Bus Topology:
Bus topology is a network type in which every computer and network device is connected to
single cable. It transmits the data from one end to another in single direction. No bi-directional
feature is in bus topology.
Figure 3: A bus topology with shared backbone cable. The nodes are connected to the channel
via drop lines.

Advantages of this topology :

 If N devices are connected to each other in bus topology, then the number of cables
required to connect them is 1 which is known as backbone cable and N drop lines are
required.
 Cost of the cable is less as compared to other topology, but it is used to built small
networks.

Problems with this topology :

 If the common cable fails, then the whole system will crash down.
 If the network traffic is heavy, it increases collisions in the network. To avoid this,
various protocols are used in MAC layer known as Pure Aloha, Slotted Aloha,
CSMA/CD etc.

d) Ring Topology:
In this topology, it forms a ring connecting a devices with its exactly two neighbouring devices.

The following operations takes place in ring topology are :

 1. One station is known as monitor station which takes all the responsibility to perform the
operations.

To transmit the data, station has to hold the token. After the transmission is done, the token is to
be released for other stations to use.
2. When no station is transmitting the data, then the token will circulate in the ring.
3. There are two types of token release techniques : Early token release releases the token
just after the transmitting the data and Delay token release releases the token after the
acknowledgement is received from the receiver.
Figure 4: A ring topology comprises of 4 stations connected with each forming a ring..
Advantages of this topology :
 The possibility of collision is minimum in this type of topology.
 Cheap to install and expand.

Problems with this topology :

 Troubleshooting is difficult in this topology.
 Addition of stations in between or removal of stations can disturb the whole topology.

e) Hybrid Topology:
This topology is a collection of two or more topologies which are described above. This is a
scalable topology which can be expanded easily. It is reliable one but at the same it is a costly
topology.
Figure 5: A hybrid topology which is a combination of ring and star topology.

Network Protocols
Network Protocols are a set of rules governing exchange of information in an easy, reliable
and secure way.
There are various types of protocols that support a major and compassionate role in
communicating with different devices across the network. These are:
1. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
2. Internet Protocol (IP)
3. User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
4. Post office Protocol (POP)
5. Simple mail transport Protocol (SMTP)
6. File Transfer Protocol (FTP)
7. Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
8. Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS)
9. Telnet
10.Gopher

 Transmission Control Protocol (TCP): TCP is a popular communication protocol

which is used for communicating over a network. It divides any message into series of
packets that are sent from source to destination and there it gets reassembled at the
destination.
 Internet Protocol (IP): IP is designed explicitly as addressing protocol. It is mostly
used with TCP. The IP addresses in packets help in routing them through different nodes
 in a network until it reaches the destination system. TCP/IP is the most popular protocol
connecting the networks.
 User Datagram Protocol (UDP): UDP is a substitute communication protocol to
Transmission Control Protocol implemented primarily for creating loss-tolerating and
low-latency linking between different applications.
 Post office Protocol (POP): POP3 is designed for receiving incoming E-mails.
 Simple mail transport Protocol (SMTP): SMTP is designed to send and distribute
outgoing E-Mail.
 File Transfer Protocol (FTP): FTP allows users to transfer files from one machine to
another. Types of files may include program files, multimedia files, text files, and
documents, etc.
 Hyper Text Transfer Protocol (HTTP): HTTP is designed for transferring a hypertext
among two or more systems. HTML tags are used for creating links. These links may
be in any form like text or images. HTTP is designed on Client-server principles which
allow a client system for establishing a connection with the server machine for making
a request. The server acknowledges the request initiated by the client and responds
accordingly.
 Hyper Text Transfer Protocol Secure (HTTPS): HTTPS is abbreviated as Hyper
Text Transfer Protocol Secure is a standard protocol to secure the communication
among two computers one using the browser and other fetching data from web server.
HTTP is used for transferring data between the client browser (request) and the web
server (response) in the hypertext format, same in case of HTTPS except that the

transferring of data is done in an encrypted format. So it can be said that https thwart
hackers from interpretation or modification of data throughout the transfer of packets.
 Telnet: Telnet is a set of rules designed for connecting one system with another. The
connecting process here is termed as remote login. The system which requests for
connection is the local computer, and the system which accepts the connection is the
remote computer.
 Gopher: Gopher is a collection of rules implemented for searching, retrieving as well
as displaying documents from isolated sites. Gopher also works on the client/server
principle.
Network Interface
 In computing, a network interface is a software or hardware interface between two
pieces of equipment or protocol layers in a computer network.
 A network interface will usually have some form of network address. This may consist
of a node identifier and a port number or may be a unique node ID in its own right.
 Network interfaces provide standardized functions such as passing messages,
connecting and disconnecting, etc.

Examples
 Computer port (hardware), an interface to other computers or peripherals
 Network interface controller, the device a computer uses to connect to a computer
network
 Network interface device, a demarcation point for a telephone network
 Network socket, a software interface to the network
 Port (computer networking), a protocol interface to the network

Network Services
 In computer networking, a network service is an application running at the network
application layer and above, that provides data storage, manipulation, presentation,
communication or other capability which is often implemented using a client-server or
peer-to-peer architecture based on application layer network protocols.
 Each service is usually provided by a server component running on one or more
computers (often a dedicated server computer offering multiple services) and accessed
via a network by client components running on other devices. However, the client and
server components can both be run on the same machine.
 Clients and servers will often have a user interface, and sometimes other hardware
associated with it.
 Examples are the Domain Name System (DNS) which translates domain names to
Internet protocol (IP) addresses and the Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol (DHCP)
to assign networking configuration information to network hosts.
ISO-OSI reference model
There are n numbers of users who use computer network and are located over the world. So to
ensure, national and worldwide data communication, systems must be developed which are
compatible to communicate with each other ISO has developed a standard. ISO stands for

International organization of Standardization. This is called a model for Open System

Interconnection (OSI) and is commonly known as OSI model.
The ISO-OSI model is a seven layer architecture. It defines seven layers or levels in a complete
communication system. They are:

1. Application Layer
2. Presentation Layer
3. Session Layer
4. Transport Layer
5. Network Layer
6. Datalink Layer
7. Physical Layer

Below we have the complete representation of the OSI model, showcasing all the layers and
how they communicate with each other.
Feature of OSI Model
 Big picture of communication over network is understandable through this OSI model.
 We see how hardware and software work together.
 We can understand new technologies as they are developed.

 Troubleshooting is easier by separate networks.

 Can be used to compare basic functional relationships on different networks.

Principles of OSI Reference Model

The OSI reference model has 7 layers. The principles that were applied to arrive at the seven
layers can be briefly summarized as follows:
 A layer should be created where a different abstraction is needed.
 Each layer should perform a well-defined function.
 The function of each layer should be chosen with an eye toward defining internationally
standardized protocols.
 The layer boundaries should be chosen to minimize the information flow across the
interfaces.
 The number of layers should be large enough that distinct functions need not be thrown
together in the same layer out of necessity and small enough that architecture does not
become unwieldly.

Functions of Different Layers

Following are the functions performed by each layer of the OSI model. This is just an
introduction, we will cover each layer in details in the coming tutorials.

The Physical Layer

 Physical Layer is the lowest layer of the OSI Model.
 It activates, maintains and deactivates the physical connection.
 It is responsible for transmission and reception of the unstructured raw data over
network.
  Voltages and data rates needed for transmission is defined in the physical layer.
 It converts the digital/analog bits into electrical signal or optical signals.
 Data encoding is also done in this layer.

Data Link Layer

 Data link layer synchronizes the information which is to be transmitted over the physical
layer.
 The main function of this layer is to make sure data transfer is error free from one node
to another, over the physical layer.
 Transmitting and receiving data frames sequentially is managed by this layer.
 This layer sends and expects acknowledgements for frames received and sent
respectively. Resending of non-acknowledgement received frames is also handled by
this layer.
 This layer establishes a logical layer between two nodes and also manages the Frame
traffic control over the network. It signals the transmitting node to stop, when the frame
buffers are full.

The Network Layer

 Network Layer routes the signal through different channels from one node to other.

 It acts as a network controller. It manages the Subnet traffic.

 It decides by which route data should take.
 It divides the outgoing messages into packets and assembles the incoming packets into
messages for higher levels.

Transport Layer
 Transport Layer decides if data transmission should be on parallel path or single path.
 Functions such as Multiplexing, Segmenting or Splitting on the data are done by this
layer
 It receives messages from the Session layer above it, convert the message into smaller
units and passes it on to the Network layer.
  Transport layer can be very complex, depending upon the network requirements.

Transport layer breaks the message (data) into small units so that they are handled more
efficiently by the network layer.

The Session Layer

 Session Layer manages and synchronize the conversation between two different
applications.
 Transfer of data from source to destination session layer streams of data are marked and
are resynchronized properly, so that the ends of the messages are not cut prematurely
and data loss is avoided.

The Presentation Layer

 Presentation Layer takes care that the data is sent in such a way that the receiver will
understand the information (data) and will be able to use the data.
 While receiving the data, presentation layer transforms the data to be ready for the
application layer.
 Languages(syntax) can be different of the two communicating systems. Under this
condition presentation layer plays a role of translator.
 It perfroms Data compression, Data encryption, Data conversion etc.

Application Layer
 Application Layer is the topmost layer.
 Transferring of files disturbing the results to the user is also done in this layer. Mail
services, directory services, network resource etc are services provided by application
layer.
 This layer mainly holds application programs to act upon the received and to be sent
data.

Merits of OSI reference model

 OSI model distinguishes well between the services, interfaces and protocols.
  Protocols of OSI model are very well hidden.
 Protocols can be replaced by new protocols as technology changes.

 Supports connection oriented services as well as connectionless service.

Demerits of OSI reference model

 Model was devised before the invention of protocols.
 Fitting of protocols is tedious task.
 It is just used as a reference model.

TCP/IP architecture
TCP/IP means Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol. It is the network model
used in the current Internet architecture as well. Protocols are set of rules which govern every
possible communication over a network. These protocols describe the movement of data
between the source and destination or the internet. They also offer simple naming and
addressing schemes.

Protocols and networks in the TCP/IP model:

Overview of TCP/IP reference model
TCP/IP that is Transmission Control Protocol and Internet Protocol was developed by
Department of Defence's Project Research Agency (ARPA, later DARPA) as a part of a
research project of network interconnection to connect remote machines.

The features that stood out during the research, which led to making the TCP/IP reference
model were:
 Support for a flexible architecture. Adding more machines to a network was easy.
 The network was robust, and connections remained intact untill the source and
destination machines were functioning.

The overall idea was to allow one application on one computer to talk to(send data packets)
another application running on different computer.

Below we have discussed the 4 layers that form the TCP/IP reference model:
Layer 1: Host-to-network Layer
1. Lowest layer of the all.
2. Protocol is used to connect to the host, so that the packets can be sent over it.
3. Varies from host to host and network to network.

Layer 2: Internet layer

1. Selection of a packet switching network which is based on a connectionless
internetwork layer is called a internet layer.
2. It is the layer which holds the whole architecture together.
3. It helps the packet to travel independently to the destination.
4. Order in which packets are received is different from the way they are sent.
5. IP (Internet Protocol) is used in this layer.
6. The various functions performed by the Internet Layer are:
 Delivering IP packets
 Performing routing
 Avoiding congestion
Layer 3: Transport Layer
1. It decides if data transmission should be on parallel path or single path.
2. Functions such as multiplexing, segmenting or splitting on the data is done by transport
layer.
3. The applications can read and write to the transport layer.
4. Transport layer adds header information to the data.
5. Transport layer breaks the message (data) into small units so that they are handled more
efficiently by the network layer.
6. Transport layer also arrange the packets to be sent, in sequence.

Layer 4: Application Layer

The TCP/IP specifications described a lot of applications that were at the top of the protocol
stack. Some of them were TELNET, FTP, SMTP, DNS etc.
1. TELNET is a two-way communication protocol which allows connecting to a remote
machine and run applications on it.
2. FTP(File Transfer Protocol) is a protocol, that allows File transfer amongst computer
users connected over a network. It is reliable, simple and efficient.
3. SMTP(Simple Mail Transport Protocol) is a protocol, which is used to transport
electronic mail between a source and destination, directed via a route.
4. DNS(Domain Name Server) resolves an IP address into a textual address for Hosts
connected over a network.
5. It allows peer entities to carry conversation.
6. It defines two end-to-end protocols: TCP and UDP

 TCP(Transmission Control Protocol): It is a reliable connection-oriented protocol

which handles byte-stream from source to destination without error and flow control.
 UDP(User-Datagram Protocol): It is an unreliable connection-less protocol that do
not want TCPs, sequencing and flow control. Eg: One-shot request-reply kind of
service.

Merits of TCP/IP model

  It operated independently.
 It is scalable.
 Client/server architecture.
 Supports a number of routing protocols.
 Can be used to establish a connection between two computers.

Demerits of TCP/IP
 In this, the transport layer does not guarantee delivery of packets.
 The model cannot be used in any other application.
 Replacing protocol is not easy.
 It has not clearly separated its services, interfaces and protocols.

PHYSICAL LAYER
Analog Signal and Digital Signal
Analog signal –
 It is a kind of continuous wave form that changes over time.
 An anlaog signal is further classified into simple and composite signals.
 A simple analog signal is a sine wave that cannot be decomposed further. On the other
hand, a composite analog signal can be further decomposed into multiple sine waves.
 An analog signal is described using amplitude, period or frequency and phase.
 Amplitude marks the maximum height of the signal. Frequency marks the rate at which
signal is changing. Phase marks the position of the wave with respect to time zero.
  An analog signal is not immune to noise hence, it faces distortion and decrease the
quality of transmission. The range of value in an analog signal is not fixed.

Digital Signal -
 Digital signals also carry information like analog signals but is somewhat is different
from analog signals.

 Digital signal is non-continuous, discrete time signal.

 Digital signal carries information or data in the binary form i.e. a digital signal represent
information in the form of bits.
 Digital signal can be further decomposed into simple sine waves that are called
harmonics.
 Each simple wave has different amplitude, frequency and phase.
 Digital signal is described with bit rate and bit interval.
 Bit interval describes the time require for sending a single bit. On the other hand, bit
rate describes the frequency of bit interval.

 A digital signal is more immune to the noise; hence, it hardly faces any distortion.
 Digital signals are easier to transmit and are more reliable when compared to analog
signals. Digital signal has a finite range of values. The digital signal consists 0s and 1s.

Basis for
Analog Signal Digital Signal
Comparison
An analog signal is a continuous wave that A digital signal is a discrete wave that
Basic
changes over a time period. carries information in binary form.
An analog signal is represented by a sine A digital signal is represented by square
Representation
wave. waves.
An analog signal is described by the A digital signal is described by bit rate
Description
amplitude, period or frequency, and phase. and bit intervals.
Digital signal has a finite numbers i.e. 0
Range Analog signal has no fixed range.
 and 1.

Distortion An analog signal is more prone to distortion. A digital signal is less prone to distortion.
An analog signal transmit data in the form A digital signal carries data in the binary
Transmit
of a wave. form i.e. 0 nad 1.
The human voice is the best example of an Signals used for transmission in a
Example
analog signal. computer are the digital signal.

Bandwidth
 Bandwidth is the difference between the upper and lower frequencies in a continuous
band of frequencies.
 It is typically measured in hertz, and depending on context, may specifically refer to
passband bandwidth or baseband bandwidth.

 Passband bandwidth is the difference between the upper and lower cutoff frequencies
of, for example, a band-pass filter, a communication channel, or a signal spectrum.
 Baseband bandwidth applies to a low-pass filter or baseband signal; the bandwidth is
equal to its upper cutoff frequency.
 A key characteristic of bandwidth is that any band of a given width can carry the same
amount of information, regardless of where that band is located in the frequency
spectrum. For example, a 3 kHz band can carry a telephone conversation whether that
band is at baseband (as in a POTS telephone line) or modulated to some higher
frequency.

Transmission Impairment
In communication system, analog signals travel through transmission media, which tends to
deteriorate the quality of analog signal. This imperfection causes signal impairment. This
means that received signal is not same as the signal that was send.

Multiplexing
Multiplexing is used in the cases where the signals of lower bandwidth and the transmitting
media is having higher bandwidth. In this case, the possibility of sending a number of signals
is more. In this the signals are combined into one and are sent over a link which has greater
bandwidth of media than the communicating nodes.

1. Frequency Division Multiplexing (FDM) –

In this a number of signals are transmitted at the same time, and each source transfers its
signals in the allotted frequency range. There is a suitable frequency gap between the 2
adjacent signals to avoid over-lapping. Since the signals are transmitted in allotted time so this
decreases the probability of collision. The frequency spectrum is divided into several logical
channels, in which every user feels that they posses a particular bandwidth. A number of
signals are sent simultaneously on the same time allocating separate frequency band or channel
to each signal. It is used in radio and TV transmission. Therefore to avoid interference between
two successive channels Guard bands are used.

2. Time Division Multiplexing (TDM) –

This happens when data transmission rate of media is greater than that of the source, and each
signal is allotted a definite amount of time. These slots are so small that all transmissions
appear to be parallel. In frequency division multiplexing all the signals operate at the same
time with different frequencies, but in time division multiplexing all the signals operate with
same frequency at different times.
It is of following types:
 Synchronous TDM –
The time slots are pre-assigned and fixed. This slot is even given if the source is not ready
with data at this time. In this case the slot is transmitted empty. It is used for multiplexing
digitized voice stream.

 Asynchronous (or statistical) TDM –

The slots are allocated dynamically depending on the speed of source or their ready state. It
dynamically allocates the time slots according to different input channel’s needs, thus saving
the channel capacity.

3. Wavelength Division Multiplexing

Wavelength division multiplexing (WDM) is a technique of multiplexing multiple optical
carrier signals through a single optical fiber channel by varying the wavelengths of laser lights.
WDM allows communication in both the directions in the fiber cable.

Concept and Process

In WDM, the optical signals from different sources or (transponders) are combined by a
multiplexer, which is essentially an optical combiner. They are combined so that their
wavelengths are different.
The combined signal is transmitted via a single optical fiber strand. At the receiving end, a
demultiplexer splits the incoming beam into its components and each of the beams is send to
the corresponding receivers.
Example
The following diagram conceptually represents multiplexing using WDM. It has 4 optical
signals having 4 different wavelengths. Each of the four senders generates data streams of a
particular wavelength. The optical combiner multiplexes the signals and transmits them over
a single long-haul fiber channel. At the receiving end, the splitter demultiplexes the signal into
the original 4 data streams.

Categories of WDM
Based upon the wavelength, WDM can be divided into two categories −
Course WDM (CWDM): CWDM generally operates with 8 channels where the spacing
between the channels is 20 nm (nanometers) apart. It consumes less energy than DWDM and
is less expensive. However, the capacity of the links, as well as the distance supported, is
lesser.
Dense WDM (DWDM): In DWDM, the number of multiplexed channels much larger than
CWDM. It is either 40 at 100GHz spacing or 80 with 50GHz spacing. Due to this, they can
transmit the huge quantity of data through a single fiber link. DWDM is generally applied in
core networks of telecommunications and cable networks. It is also used in cloud data centers
for their IaaS services.

Transmission Media
In data communication terminology, a transmission medium is a physical path between the
transmitter and the receiver i.e it is the channel through which data is sent from one place to
another. Transmission Media is broadly classified into the following types:

1. Guided Media:
It is also referred to as Wired or Bounded transmission media. Signals being transmitted are
directed and confined in a narrow pathway by using physical links.

Features:
 High Speed
 Secure
  Used for comparatively shorter distances

There are 3 major types of Guided Media:

(i) Twisted Pair Cable –
It consists of 2 separately insulated conductor wires wound about each other. Generally,
several such pairs are bundled together in a protective sheath. They are the most widely used
Transmission Media. Twisted Pair is of two types:

(a) Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP):

This type of cable has the ability to block interference and does not depend on a physical
shield for this purpose. It is used for telephonic applications.

Advantages:
 Least expensive
 Easy to install
 High speed capacity

Disadvantages:
 Susceptible to external interference
 Lower capacity and performance in comparison to STP
 Short distance transmission due to attenuation

(b) Shielded Twisted Pair (STP):

This type of cable consists of a special jacket to block external interference. It is used in
fast-data-rate Ethernet and in voice and data channels of telephone lines.

Advantages:
 Better performance at a higher data rate in comparison to UTP
 Eliminates crosstalk
 Comparitively faster
 Disadvantages:
 Comparitively difficult to install and manufacture
 More expensive
 Bulky

(ii) Coaxial Cable –

It has an outer plastic covering containing 2 parallel conductors each having a separate
insulated protection cover. Coaxial cable transmits information in two modes: Baseband
mode(dedicated cable bandwidth) and Broadband mode(cable bandwidth is split into separate
ranges). Cable TVs and analog television networks widely use Coaxial cables.

Advantages:
 High Bandwidth
 Better noise Immunity
 Easy to install and expand
 Inexpensive

Disadvantages:
 Single cable failure can disrupt the entire network

(iii) Optical Fibre Cable –

It uses the concept of reflection of light through a core made up of glass or plastic. The core is
surrounded by a less dense glass or plastic covering called the cladding. It is used for
transmission of large volumes of data.

Advantages:
 Increased capacity and bandwidth
 Light weight
 Less signal attenuation
 Immunity to electromagnetic interference
 Resistance to corrosive materials
Disadvantages:
 Difficult to install and maintain
 High cost
 Fragile

 unidirectional, ie, will need another fibre, if we need bidirectional communication

2. Unguided Media:
It is also referred to as Wireless or Unbounded transmission media.No physical medium is
required for the transmission of electromagnetic signals.

Features:
 Signal is broadcasted through air
 Less Secure
 Used for larger distances

There are 3 major types of Unguided Media:

(i) Radiowaves –
These are easy to generate and can penetrate through buildings. The sending and receiving
antennas need not be aligned. Frequency Range:3KHz – 1GHz. AM and FM radios and
cordless phones use Radiowaves for transmission.
Further Categorized as (i) Terrestrial and (ii) Satellite.

(ii) Microwaves –
It is a line of sight transmission i.e. the sending and receiving antennas need to be properly
aligned with each other. The distance covered by the signal is directly proportional to the
height of the antenna. Frequency Range:1GHz – 300GHz. These are majorly used for mobile
phone communication and television distribution.

(iii) Infrared –
Infrared waves are used for very short distance communication. They cannot penetrate through
obstacles. This prevents interference between systems. Frequency Range:300GHz – 400THz.
It is used in TV remotes, wireless mouse, keyboard, printer, etc.

Switching Techniques
Circuit Switching
 Circuit switching is a switching technique that establishes a dedicated path between
sender and receiver.

 In the Circuit Switching Technique, once the connection is established then the
dedicated path will remain to exist until the connection is terminated.
 Circuit switching in a network operates in a similar way as the telephone works.
 A complete end-to-end path must exist before the communication takes place.
 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.
 Circuit switching is used in public telephone network. It is used for voice transmission.
 Fixed data can be transferred at a time in circuit switching technology.

Advantages:
 In the case of Circuit Switching technique, the communication channel is dedicated.
 It has fixed bandwidth.

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

Message Switching
 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.
 In Message Switching technique, there is no establishment of a dedicated path between
the sender and receiver.
 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.
 Message switches are programmed in such a way so that they can provide the most
efficient routes.

 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.

 Message switching treats each message as an independent entity.

Advantages:
 Data channels are shared among the communicating devices that improve the efficiency
of using available bandwidth.
 Traffic congestion can be reduced because the message is temporarily stored in the
nodes.
 Message priority can be used to manage the network.
 The size of the message which is sent over the network can be varied. Therefore, it
supports the data of unlimited size.
Disadvantages:
 The message switches must be equipped with sufficient storage to enable them to store
the messages until the message is forwarded.
 The Long delay can occur due to the storing and forwarding facility provided by the
message switching technique.

Packet Switching
 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.
 The message splits into smaller pieces known as packets and packets are given a unique
number to identify their order at the receiving end.
 Every packet contains some information in its headers such as source address,
destination address and sequence number.
 Packets will travel across the network, taking the shortest path as possible.
 All the packets are reassembled at the receiving end in correct order.
 If any packet is missing or corrupted, then the message will be sent to resend the
message.
 If the correct order of the packets is reached, then the acknowledgment message will be
sent.
Advantages:
 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.
 Reliable: If any node is busy, then the packets can be rerouted. This ensures that
the Packet Switching technique provides reliable communication.
 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:
 Packet Switching technique cannot be implemented in those applications that
requirelow delay and high-quality services.
 The protocols used in a packet switching technique are very complex and
requires highimplementation cost.
 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.

ISDN
The Integrated Services of Digital Networking, in short ISDN is a telephone network
based infrastructure that allows the transmission of voice and data simultaneously at a
high speed with greater efficiency. This is a circuit switched telephone network
system, which also provides access to Packet switched networks. Several kinds of
access interfaces are:
 Narrowband ISDN
  Broadband ISDN

Narrowband ISDN
 The Narrowband Integrated Services Digital Network is called the N-ISDN.
 This can be understood as a telecommunication that carries voice
information in anarrow band of frequencies.
 This is actually an attempt to digitize the analog voice information. This uses
64kbpscircuit switching.
 The narrowband ISDN is implemented to carry voice data, which uses lesser
bandwidth,on a limited number of frequencies.

Broadband ISDN
 The Broadband Integrated Services Digital Network is called the B-ISDN.
 This integrates the digital networking services and provides digital
transmission overordinary telephone wires, as well as over other media.
 The broadband ISDN speed is around 2 MBPS to 1 GBPS and the transmission is
relatedto ATM, i.e., Asynchronous Transfer Mode.
 The broadband ISDN communication is usually made using the fiber optic
cables.
 As the speed is greater than 1.544 Mbps, the communications based on this
are calledBroadband Communications.

ATM (Asynchronous Transfer Mode)

 ATM stands for Asynchronous Transfer Mode. It is a switching technique that
uses timedivision multiplexing (TDM) for data communications.
 ATM networks are connection oriented networks for cell relay that supports
voice,video and data communications.
 It encodes data into small fixed - size cells so that they are suitable for
TDM andtransmits them over a physical medium.
  The size of an ATM cell is 53 bytes: 5 byte header and 48 byte payload.
 There are two different cell formats - user-network interface (UNI) and
network- network interface (NNI). The below image represents the Functional
Reference Model of the Asynchronous Transfer Mode.

Benefits of ATM Networks are

 It provides the dynamic bandwidth that is particularly suited for bursty traffic.
 Since all data are encoded into identical cells, data transmission is simple,
uniform andpredictable.
 Uniform packet size ensures that mixed traffic is handled efficiently.
 Small sized header reduces packet overload, thus ensuring effective bandwidth
usage.
 ATM networks are scalable both in size and speed.

ATM reference model comprises of three layers

1. Physical Layer: This layer corresponds to physical layer of OSI model. At this
layer, the cells are converted into bit streams and transmitted over the physical
medium. This layer has two sub layers: PMD sub layer (Physical Medium
Dependent) and TC (Transmission Convergence) sub layer.

2. ATM Layer: This layer is comparable to data link layer of OSI model. It
accepts the 48 byte segments from the upper layer, adds a 5 byte header to each
segment and converts into 53 byte cells. This layer is responsible for routing of
each cell, traffic management, multiplexing and switching.
3. ATM Adaptation Layer (AAL): This layer corresponds to network layer of
OSI model. It provides facilities to the existing packet switched networks to
connect to ATM network and use its services. It accepts the data and converts
them into fixed sized segments. The transmissions can be of fixed or variable
data rate. This layer has two sub layers: Convergence sub layer and
 Segmentation and Reassembly sub layer.
4. ATM endpoints: It contains ATM network interface adaptor. Examples of
endpoints are workstations, routers, CODECs, LAN switches, etc.
5. ATM switch: It transmits cells through the ATM networks. It accepts the
incoming cells from ATM endpoints (UNI) or another switch (NNI), updates
cell header and retransmits cell towards destination.