DCT101- Introduction to Cybersecurity and

Networking
Module II: Network Basics, Protocols, and Services

Lecturer: Engr. Dr. A. D. Adekale

Ahmadu Bello University – 2024/2025 session
Networks communicate by transmitting signals.
Common methods of signal transmission used in
networks:
• Electrical Signals – electrical pulses on copper
wire
• Optical Signals – Light pulses
• Wireless Signals – infrared, microwave, radio
waves

These signal transmissions can be categorized into

two transmission medium:
• Wired transmission – Electrical signals, Optical
signals
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NETWORKING CONCEPTS
Some important networking concepts:
• Bandwidth: This is the capacity of a medium to
carry data. Digital bandwidth: measures the
amount of data that can flow from one place to
another in a given amount of time.

• Throughput: This is the measure of the transfer

of bits across the media over a given period of
time. Factors that influence throughput are –
amount of data being sent and received over the
connection (media), types of data being
transmitted, latency created by the number 3of
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• Latency: This refers to the amount of time
(including delays) for data to travel from one
given point to another. It is the time taken for a
message to traverse the network.

• Delay: This specifies how long it takes for a bit of

data to travel across the network from one node
or endpoint to another.

• Jitter: This refers to a variation or inconsistency

in latency.

What
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Causes Latency? How can we 4
measure
 NETWORK ARCHITECTURE TYPES
There are two types of Network Architecture:
 Peer–to–Peer network: Is the type of
network that connects two computer or
more to share resources. The computer
having the file to be shared is the server at
that time while the other one is a client.
Computer

Hub/Switch

Ethernet Cable

Peer-to-Peer Network

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Advantages of peer-to-peer are:
 It is easy to setup.
 It is less complex.
 Lower cost because network devices and dedicated
servers may not be required.
 It can be used for simple tasks such as transferring files
and sharing printers.

Disadvantages of peer-to-peer are:

 It has no centralized administration
 Not as secure
 Not scalable
 All devices may act as both clients and servers which can
slow their performance
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  Client/Server Network: allows the network
to have a centralized function and
applications in one or more dedicated servers.
The servers become the heart of the system
providing access to network resources and
providing security. Individual workstations
(client )have access to the network resources
available on the server. Example: Windows
server 2003, Linux server and Unix Server

Client-Server Network

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 NETWORK INFRASTRUCTURE
This is the platform that supports the network. It
provides the stable and reliable channel over which
our communications can occur.
It contains 3 categories of hardware components:
• End devices – This is the interface between users
and the underlying communication network. E.g.
computers, network printers, telephones and
teleconferencing equipment, security cameras,
Mobile devices etc.
• Intermediate devices – connect end devices to
the network. These devices connect network
segments and manage data transmission,
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• Network Media – This refers to the physical or virtual
channels that transmit data between devices in a
network. This includes the guided media (wired) and the
unguided media (wireless). Wired media (coaxial cable,
twisted-pair cable, fiber optic cable) and wireless media
(Wi-Fi, Bluetooth, Cellular Data Networks).

Some factors to consider when choosing network

media:
• Distance: How far the media can successfully carry a
signal.
• Environment: The environment in which the media will
be installed.
• Data and Speed: The amount of data and the speed at
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which it must be transmitted.
NETWORK PROTOCOLS
For communication to occur, there must be
agreements to govern the conversation such as:
 What method of communication should we use?
 What language should we use?
 Do we need to confirm that our messages are
received?
Hence, Standards and Protocols.

Protocols are the rules that govern network

communications including the message format,
message size, timing and encapsulation. They are
required for computers to properly communicate
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Q. What organizations are responsible for standards and
protocols in network communication?

Networks are primarily managed by upper and lower

layers protocols. Networks communicate using Layered
Models.

Layered Model:
This helps to visualize how the various protocols work
together to enable network communications. Benefits of the
layered model include:
 Assist in protocol design
 Foster competition among vendors
 Enables technology changes
 Provide a common language
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Two common Layered models are:
• TCP/IP Model – This is also called the Internet Model.
It is a protocol model that describes the functions that
occur at each layer of protocols within the TCP/IP suite.
• OSI Model – The open systems interconnection (OSI)
is developed by ISO. This is a reference model that
describes the functions that must be completed at a
particular layer, but does not specify exactly how a
function should be accomplished.

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Physical Layer
Responsible
Responsible for
for transmitting
transmitting individual
individual bits
bits
from
from one
one node
node to
to the
the next
next

• Duties/services
• Physical characteristics of interfaces and
media
• Representation of bits
• Data rate (transmission rate)
• Synchronization of bits
• Devices – Hubs, Repeaters
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Categories of UTP/STP Cables

Category Bandwidth Digital/Analog Use

1 very low Analog Telephone

2 < 2 MHz Analog/digital 4Mbps token ring
3 16 MHz Digital 10-100 Mbps Ethernet
4 20 MHz Digital 16 Mbps token ring
100 – 1000 Mbps
5 100 MHz Digital
Ethernet
100 – 1000 Mbps
5E 100 MHz Digital
Ethernet
6 250 MHz Digital 1 – 10 Gbps Ethernet
6A 500 MHz Digital 1 – 10 Gbps Ethernet
7 600 MHz Digital 10 Gbps Ethernet
7A 1000 MHz Digital 40-100 Gbps Ethernet
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Data Link Layer
Responsible
Responsible for
for transmitting
transmitting frames
frames
from
from one
one node
node toto the
the next
next

• Duties/services
• Framing
• Physical addressing
• Flow control (hop-to-hop)
• Error detection
• Access control
• Devices – Switch, Bridge
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Ethernet
Data link layer frames (Ethernet Frames) are used to
govern transmission over the communication medium.
Q1 What is Ethernet?

• Collision Domain: a network scenario in which two

devices on one physical network segment transmit at the
same time – causing a collision event.
Q2 Does collision affect network performance?
Q3 Are there collisions in full-duplex mode?
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• Broadcast Domain: this refers to the set of all devices on a
network segment that hear all the broadcasts sent on that
segment.

• CSMA/CD: a media access control method that helps

devices share the bandwidth evenly without having two
devices transmit at the same time on the network medium.
It addresses the problem of collision.

Can bridges prevent a transmission from propagating

throughout the entire network?
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• IEEE 802 standards: the universal standard for managing
the physical transmission of data across the physical
network. e.g. Ethernet LAN (802.3)

Ethernet Addressing
The MAC address is burned into each and every Ethernet
NIC. The MAC address is a 48-bit address written in
hexadecimal format – 24bits is the organizationally unique
identifier (OUI) and 24bits is the vendor assigned address
value.

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Ethernet Frames
The data link layer is responsible for combining bits into
bytes and bytes into frames. There are two types of
Ethernet Frame formats; Ethernet frame II and IEEE 802.3
Ethernet.

The Ethernet frame format consists of Preamble, SOF,

Destination MAC address, Source MAC address, Type
(Length, LLC, SNAP), Data, and FCS.

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Frame Forwarding
• Unicast Frame Forwarding: Single source to single
destination.
• Broadcast Frame Forwarding: Single source to all
destinations within the LAN.
• Multicast Frame Forwarding: A form of selective
broadcast. A source to selected destination.

Why is broadcast frame important?

Frame Processing?

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Network Layer
Responsible
Responsible for
for the
the delivery
delivery ofof packets
packets
from
from the
the source
source host
host to
to the
the destination
destination host
host
• Duties/services
• Logical addressing
• Routing
• Devices – Routers, Layer 3 Switches

Differentiate between Layer 2 Switches and Layer 3

Switches?

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Network Layer
Packets are transported in the network layer using IP addresses. IP address is a
32-bit address. Packets in the network layer are referred to as IP datagram.
• IP datagram – This is a highly structured series of fields that are strictly
defined. The fields in the IP datagram are: version, header length, service type,
total length, TTL, Source and Destination address.

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 IP Datagram
.

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• IP address: Two types – Dynamic IP address and Static IP address.
IP address = Network address (or Network ID) + Host address (or Host ID)
• Address Class System: A way of defining how the global IP address space is split
up. Primary Classes – Class A,B,C
Class Range Maximum Hosts
A 0 – 126 16 million NHHH
B 128 -191 64000 NNHH
C 192 – 223 254 NNNH
D 224 – 239 N/A Multicast
E 240 -255 N/A Experimental

Special addresses
Diagnostic address: 127.0.0.0 – 127.255.255.255)
Any network: 0.0.0.0
Network Broadcast: 255.255.255.255
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• Address Resolution Protocol (ARP): A protocol used to discover
the hardware address of a node with a certain IP address.
• Subnetting: The process of taking a large network and splitting it
up into many individual and smaller subnetworks (or subnets).
• Subnet Mask: This helps to determine if an IP address exists on
the same network.
• Routing: The use of routers to forward traffic on the network,
depending on the traffic destination address.

The basic Routing process?

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 Transport Layer
Responsible for delivery of a message
from one process to another process

• Duties/services
• Port addressing
• Segmentation and reassembly
• Connection control
• Flow control (end-to-end)
• Error control (end-to-end)

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 TCP: This is a connection-oriented, end-to-end protocol.
A connection is established before data is sent. TCP based
Applications FTP, HTTP, TELNET, SMTP etc.
TCP Segment = TCP header + Data Section

• TCP Header: This consists of Source port, Destination

port, Sequence Number, Acknowledgement Number, Data
Offset Field, Control Flags, TCP Window, Checksum,
Options Field, and Padding.

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TCP Header

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• TCP Control Flags: URG, ACK, PSH, RST, SYN,
FIN.

• Port: A 16-bit number that is used to direct traffic to

specific services running on a networked computer.
Range from 0 to 65535. System ports or well-known
ports (1 to 1023), Registered ports (1024 to 49151),
and Ephemeral ports (49152 to 65535).

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• TCP Connection Establishment: A TCP connection
is established after a three-way handshake - SYN,
SYN + ACK, ACK.

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• TCP Connection Termination: This is achieved after
a four-way handshake.

How is a TCP Connection Terminated?

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UDP: This is a connection-less protocol (data is
sent without establishing a connection). UDP does
not guarantee delivery of data, nor protection from
datagram duplication.

• UDP Datagram format: The UDP header consists of

source and destination port, length field, and
checksum.

Where is UDP used?

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UDP Datagram Format

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Session Layer
Responsible for establishing, managing and terminating
connections between applications
• Duties/services
• Interaction management
 Simplex, half-duplex, full-duplex
• Session recovery

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Presentation Layer
Responsible for handling differences in
data representation of applications
• Duties/services
• Data translation
• Encryption
• Decryption
• Compression

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Application Layer
Responsible for providing services to the user
• The only layer to interact with user

Data Data
Logical communication

Application
Layer SMTP HTTP FTP SMTP HTTP FTP

Data H5 Data H5

to Transport from Transport

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Summary of TCP/IP Model Layers

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Summary of OSI Model layers

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 TCP/IP and OSI model

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 Relationship of layers and addresses in TCP/IP

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 Encapsulation/De-encapsulation

L5 data H5 5 5 L5 data H5

L4 data H4 4 4 L4 data H4

L3 data H3 3 3 L3 data H3

T2 L2 data H2 2 2 T2 L2 data H2

0111011010101001010101001 1 1 0111010101010010101010101

Transmission medium

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 Communication through Internet

sender router
router receiver

Applicati Applicati
on on
Transport Transport
Network Network
Network Network
Data Link Data Link
Data Link Data Link
Physical Physical
Physical Physical
Transmission medium
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NETWORK SERVICES
The major types of IT Infrastructure services are:
• Intranet Services – NFS, Samba, LDAP, DHCP.
Virtualization, Backups etc

• Internet Services – DNS, FTP, Apache Web Server,

SMTP, POP, IMAP, VOIP, SSH

NB: Proxy server is an example of network

supported services

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THANK YOU.....................
SEE YOU IN THE NEXT CLASS
[email protected]