Introduction to

Computer Networks
• We are living in a connected world which is dominated by information.
• Information can be analog or digital.
• Digital is better
• computers manipulate digital information
• infinitely replicable
• networks can move bits efficiently
• Information is being produced, exchanged, and traced across the globe in real time.
• It's possible as almost everyone and everything in the digital world is
interconnected through one way or the other.
• We need
• Ways to represent all types of information as bits
• Ways to move lots of bits everywhere, cheaply, and with quality of service
Computer Networks

• A group of two or more similar things or people interconnected with

each other is called network .

• “Computer network is a collection of autonomous computers

interconnected by a single technology. Two computers are said to be
interconnected if they are able to exchange information.- Tanenbaum
• A computer network is an interconnection among two or more computers
or computing devices. Such interconnection allows computers to share
data and resources among each other.
• Resource sharing - The goal is to make all programs, equipment, and
especially data available to anyone on the network without regard to the
physical location of the resource or the user.
• The network size may vary from small to large depending on the number
of computers it connects. A computer network can include different types
of hosts (also called nodes) like server, desktop, laptop, cellular phones.
• In a communication network, each device that is a part of a network
and that can receive, create, store or send data to different network
routes is called a node.
• In the context of data communication, a node can be a device such as
a modem, hub, bridge, switch, router, digital telephone handset, a
printer, a computer or a server.
USES OF COMPUTER NETWORKS
• Business Applications
• Resource sharing - to distribute information throughout the company
• Client-server model
• Communication medium – email, VoIP
• Desktop sharing
• e-commerce
• Home Applications
• peer-to-peer
• Mobile Users
• Social Issues
Data Communication
• When we communicate, we are sharing information.
• This sharing can be local or remote.
• Between individuals, local communication usually occurs face to face,
while remote communication takes place over distance.
• A data communications system has five components
• Message
The message is the information (data) to be communicated.
• Sender
The sender is the device that sends the data message.
• Receiver
The receiver is the device that receives the message.
• Transmission medium
The transmission medium is the physical path by which a message travels from sender to
receiver.
• Protocol.
A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communications. It represents an agreement
between the communicating devices. Without a protocol, two devices may be connected but not
communicating,
Data Representation
• Information today comes in different forms such as text, numbers, images, audio, and
video.
• Text
• In data communications, text is represented as a bit pattern, a sequence of bits (0s or 1s).
• Different sets of bit patterns have been designed to represent text symbols. Each set is called a
code, and the process of representing symbols is called coding.
• Today, the prevalent coding system is called Unicode, which uses 32 bits to represent a symbol or
character used in any language in the world.
• Unicode stands for Universal Character Set. ASCII stands for American Standard Code for
Information Interchange. Unicode is standardized by the IT industry to be used in encoding and
representing characters in computers. ASCII is used for electronic communication and in
programming languages such as HTML.
• The American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII), developed some decades ago in
the United States, now constitutes the first 127 characters in Unicode and is also referred to as
Basic Latin.
• Numbers
• Represented by bit patterns.
• However, a code such as ASCII is not used to represent numbers; the number
is directly converted to a binary number to simplify mathematical operations.
• Images
• Represented by bit patterns.
• In its simplest form, an image is composed of a matrix of pixels (picture
elements), where each pixel is a small dot.
• The size of the pixel depends on the resolution.
• Audio
• refers to the recording or broadcasting of sound or music.
• is by nature different from text, numbers, or images. It is continuous, not
discrete.
• Video
• refers to the recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie. Video can either
be produced as a continuous entity (e.g., by a TV camera), or it can be a
combination of images, each a discrete entity, arranged to convey the idea of
motion.
Communication Media
• A path through which information are transmitted from one place to
another is called communication media. It is also referred to as
communication medium or link.
• In network communication, the communication media’ are wires,
cables and other means through which information travels from its
source to its destination.
Features of a communication
Media
• Transmission speed (measured in bps)
• Bandwidth (capacity of communication media, measure is Hertz or bps)
• It measures the amount of information that can be transmitted through the media within
the given period of time.
• For analog signals bandwidth is represented in hertz (Hz).
• For digital signals, it is represented in bits per second (bps).
• Transmission mode
• Asynchronous transmission
• Synchronous transmission
• Transmission direction
• Simplex
• Half duplex
• Full-duplex
Asynchronous and Synchronous transmission

• Asynchronous transmission is where data is transmitted one character

at a time, where each character is five to eight bits in length.
• The most common transfer rates in these are between 1200 & 19200
bits per second.
• This is used mainly to transfer medium quantities of data over a long
distances.
• Synchronous transmission is a mode of transmission where data is
transferred in a block of bits at a go without a start and stop.
• It is a more efficient mode of transfer used mainly to transfer large
quantities of data e.g. contents in disk already assembled.
Data Flow
• Communication between two devices can be simplex, half-duplex, or
full-duplex
• Simplex
• In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one way street. Only one
of the two devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive. Keyboards and
traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices.
• Half-Duplex
• In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same
time. When one device is sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa. Walkie-
talkies and CB (citizens band) radios are both half duplex systems.
• Full-Duplex
• In full-duplex, both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously. One common
example of full-duplex communication is the telephone network. When two people are
communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same time. The full-
duplex mode is used when communication in both directions is required all the time.