Basics of Computer Networking

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Computer Networking is the practice of connecting computers together to enable communication
and data exchange between them. In general, Computer Network is a collection of two or more
computers. It helps users to communicate more easily.
How Does a Computer Network Work?
Basics building blocks of a Computer network are Nodes and Links. A Network Node can be
illustrated as Equipment for Data Communication like a Modem, Router, etc., or Equipment of
a Data Terminal like connecting two computers or more. Link in Computer Networks can be
defined as wires or cables or free space of wireless networks.
The working of Computer Networks can be simply defined as rules or protocols which help in
sending and receiving data via the links which allow Computer networks to communicate.
Each device has an IP Address, that helps in identifying a device..

Types of Computer Networks

Computer networks can be classified based on several criteria, such as the transmission medium,
the network size, the topology, and organizational intent. Based on a geographical scale, the
different types of networks are:

1. Nanoscale networks: These networks enable communication between minuscule

sensors and actuators.

2. Personal area network (PAN): PAN refers to a network used by just one person

to connect multiple devices, such as laptops to scanners, etc.

3. Local area network (LAN): The local area network connects devices within a

limited geographical area, such as schools, hospitals, or office buildings.

4. Storage area network (SAN): SAN is a dedicated network that facilitates block-

level data storage. This is used in storage devices such as disk arrays and tape

libraries.
5. Campus area network (CAN): Campus area networks are a collection of

interconnected LANs. They are used by larger entities such as universities and

governments.

6. Metropolitan area network (MAN): MAN is a large computer network that spans

across a city.

7. Wide area network (WAN): Wide area networks cover larger areas such as large

cities, states, and even countries.

8. Enterprise private network (EPN): An enterprise private network is a single

network that a large organization uses to connect its multiple office locations.

9. Virtual private network (VPN): VPN is an overlay private network stretched on

top of a public network.

10. Cloud network: Technically, a cloud network is a WAN whose infrastructure is

delivered via cloud services.

Based on organizational intent, networks can be classified as:

1. Intranet: Intranet is a set of networks that is maintained and controlled by a single

entity. It is generally the most secure type of network, with access to authorized

users alone. An intranet usually exists behind the router in a local area network.

2. Internet: The internet (or the internetwork) is a collection of multiple networks

connected by routers and layered by networking software. This is a global system

that connects governments, researchers, corporates, the public, and individual

computer networks.

3. Extranet: An extranet is similar to the intranet but with connections to particular

external networks. It is generally used to share resources with partners, customers,

or remote employees.
4. Darknet: The darknet is an overlay network that runs on the internet and can only

be accessed by specialized software. It uses unique, customized communication

protocols.

Types of Network Topology

The arrangement of a network that comprises nodes and connecting lines via sender and
receiver is referred to as Network Topology. The various network topologies are:
 Point to Point Topology
 Star Topology
 Bus Topology
 Ring Topology
 Tree Topology
 Hybrid Topology

Point to Point Topology

Point-to-Point Topology is a type of topology that works on the functionality of the sender and
receiver. It is the simplest communication between two nodes, in which one is the sender and
the other one is the receiver. Point-to-Point provides high bandwidth.

Point to Point Topology

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 other nodes are connected to the central node
Bus Topology

In a bus topology, all the nodes are linked using a single cable with a terminator on both ends.
This configuration sees one main cable acting as the backbone for the whole network.

Ring Topology

In a ring topology, each node is linked with its neighbor to form a closed network. This
configuration sees the data move from one node to another, either unidirectionally or
bidirectionally. Such network topology is used in smaller networks, like those in schools.
Ring Topology

Tree Topology
In a tree topology, nodes are arranged in a configuration that resembles a tree’s leaves, branches,
and trunk. Endpoints, or ‘leaves,’ are connected to mid-level nodes or ‘branches’ linked to the
tree’s ‘trunk.’ The trunk is the backbone connection that links multiple mid-level nodes. Tree
topologies are suitable for large networks such as offices, university campuses, and hospitals.

Tree Topology

.Hybrid Topology
A hybrid network topology, as the name suggests, features characteristics of multiple other
topologies. The creation of such a configuration depends on the requirement of the network.
Two most commonly used hybrid topologies are star-ring and star-bus. In the former, the central
hubs of multiple star topologies are linked using a ring topology. In the latter, the hubs of
numerous star topologies are connected using a bus topology.

Different Types of Internet Connection

An internet connection refers to the physical or wireless link that allows devices (such as

computers, smartphones, tablets, etc.) to connect to the internet, a global network of

interconnected computers and servers. It enables users to access a wide range of online

resources, including websites, email services, online applications, and more.

Dial-Up Connection

A dial-up connection is established between your computer and the ISP server using a modem.
A dial-Up Connection is a cheap and traditional connection that is not preferred these days as
this type of connection is very slow.
To access the internet connection in the dial-up connection we need to dial a phone number on
the computer and that’s why it requires a telephone connection. It requires a modem to set up a
dial-up connection, which works as interference between your computer and the telephone line.
In this connection, we can use either an internet connection or telephone at a time.
Dial Up Connection

Broadband Connection

Broadband refers to high-speed internet access that is faster than traditional dial-up access. It is
provided through either cable or telephone composition. It does not require any telephone
connection that’s why here we can use telephone and internet connection simultaneously. In
this connection, more than one person can access the internet connection simultaneously. It is a
wide bandwidth data transmission that transports several signals and traffic types. In this
connection, the medium used is coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, radio, or twisted pair cable.

Broadband Connection
DSL
DSL stands for Digital Subscriber Line . It provides an internet connection through the
telephone line(network). DSL is a form of broadband communication that is always on, there is
no need to dial a phone number to connect. DSL connection uses a router to transport data and
the speed of this connection range between 128k to 8Mbps depending on the service offered. A
DSL connection can translate data at 5 million bytes per second, or 5mbps.
DSL service can be delivered simultaneously with wired telephone service on the same
telephone line due to high-frequency bands for data.

Cable

It is a form of broadband access cable modem that can provide extremely fast access to the
internet. The speed of this connection varies which can be different for uploading data
transmission or downloading.
It uses a cable modem to provide an internet connection and operates over cable TV lines. The
speed of cable connection ranges from 512k to 20Mbps.h

Cable

Satellite Connection
This type of connection is provided mainly in rural areas where a broadband connection is not
yet offered. It accesses the internet via a satellite that is in Earth’s orbit.

The signal travels from a long distance that is from earth to satellite and back again which
provides a delayed connection. Satellite connection speeds range from 512k to 2.0Mbps.

Satellite Connection

Wireless Connection

As the name suggests wireless connection does not use telephone lines or cables to connect to
the internet. The wireless connection uses a radio frequency band to connect to the internet. It
is also an always-on connection and this connection can be accessed from anywhere and speed
may vary for different locations. It ranges from 5Mbps to 20Mbps.

Wireless Connection

Cellular
Cellular technology provides wireless Internet access through cell phones. Speed may vary
depending on the service provider. The most common are 3G and 4G which means from 3rd
generation and 4th generation respectively. The speed of the 3G cellular network is around
2.0Mbps and the 4G cellular network is around 21Mbps the goal of the 4G network is to
achieve peak mobile speeds of 100Mbps but the current speed of the 4G network is about
21Mbps.

Cellular

ISDN
ISDN stands for Integrated Service Digital Network and it is a circuit-switched telephone
network system, but it also provides access to packet-switched networks that transmits both
voice and data over a digital line. It provides a packet-switched connection for data in
increments of 64 kilobit/s.
ISDN connection provides better speeds and higher quality than traditional connections. It
provided a maximum of 128kbit/s bandwidth in both upstream and downstream directions.

Browser

A browser is a free software program or mobile app that displays web pages, graphics, and
other online content. Popular web browsers include Chrome, Firefox, Microsoft Edge,
and Safari, but there are many others.
Web Page

A web page is what you see in a web browser when you're on the internet. You are on a web
page right now. Think of the web page as a page in a magazine. You may see text, photos,
images, diagrams, links, advertisements, and more on any page you view.

URL

Uniform Resource Locators (URLs) are the web browser addresses of internet pages and files.
With a URL, you can locate and bookmark specific pages and files in a web browser.

Here is an example format of a URL:

http://www.examplewebsite.com/mypage

HTTP and HTTPS

HTTP is the acronym for Hypertext Transfer Protocol—the data communication standard of
web pages. When a web page has this prefix, the links, text, and pictures should work correctly
in a web browser.

HTTPS is the acronym for Hypertext Transfer Protocol Secure. This indicates that the web
page has a special layer of encryption added to hide your personal information and passwords
from others. Whenever you log in to your online bank account or a shopping site that you enter
credit card information into, look for https in the URL for security.

HTML and XML

Hypertext Markup Language (HTML) is the programming language of web pages. HTML
commands a web browser to display text and graphics in a specific fashion. Beginning internet
users don't need to know HTML coding to enjoy the web pages the programming
language delivers to browsers.
XML is eXtensible Markup Language, a cousin to HTML. XML focuses on cataloging and
databasing the text content of a web page.

XHTML is a combination of HTML and XML.

IP Address

Your computer and every device that connects to the internet uses an Internet Protocol (IP)
address for identification. In most cases, IP addresses are assigned automatically. Beginners
don't usually need to assign an IP address.

An IP address may look something like this:

202.3.104.55

Or, like this:

21DA:D3:0:2F3B:2AA:FF:FE28:9C5A

ISP

You need an internet service provider (ISP) to gain access to the internet. You may access a
free ISP at school, a library, or work, or you may pay for a private ISP at home. An ISP is the
company or government organization that plugs you into the internet.
Router

A router or router-modem combination is the hardware device that acts as the traffic cop for
network signals arriving at your home or business from your ISP. A router can be wired or
wireless or both.

A router provides a defense against hackers and directs content to the specific computer,
device, streaming device, or printer that should receive it.

Email

Email is electronic mail. It is the sending and receiving of typewritten messages from one
screen to another. Email is usually handled by a webmail service, such as Gmail or Yahoo
Mail, or an installed software package, such as Microsoft Outlook or Apple Mail.

Email Spam and Filters

Spam is the jargon name of unwanted and unsolicited email. Spam email comes in two main
categories: high-volume advertising, which is annoying, and hackers attempting to lure you
into divulging your passwords, which is dangerous.

Filtering is the popular, but imperfect, defense against spam. Filtering is included in many
email clients. Filtering uses software that reads incoming emails for keyword combinations and
then either deletes or quarantines messages that appear to be spam. Look for a spam or junk
folder in your mailbox to view quarantined or filtered email.
Social Media

Social media is the broad term for any online tool that enables users to interact with thousands
of other users.

E-Commerce

E-commerce is electronic commerce, the transactions of selling and buying online. Every day,
billions of dollars exchange hands through the internet and the World Wide Web.

Encryption and Authentication

Encryption is the mathematical scrambling of data so that it is hidden from eavesdroppers.

Encryption uses complex math formulas to turn private data into meaningless gobbledygook
that only trusted readers can unscramble.

Authentication is directly related to encryption. Authentication is the complex way that

computer systems verify that you are who you say you are.

Cloud Computing
Cloud computing began as a term to describe software that was online and borrowed, instead
of purchased and installed on a computer. Web-based email is one example of cloud
computing. The user's email is stored and accessed in the cloud of the internet.

The cloud is the modern version of the 1970s mainframe computing model. As part of the
cloud computing model is software as a service (SaaS). SaaS is a business model that assumes
people would rather rent software than own it. With their web browsers, users access the cloud
on the internet and log in to their online rented copies of their cloud-based software.

Increasingly, services offer cloud storage to access files from more than one device. It is
possible to save files, photos, and images in the cloud and then access those files from a laptop,
smartphone, tablet, or another device.

Firewall

Firewall is a generic term to describe a barrier against destruction. In the case of computing, a
firewall consists of software or hardware that protects a computer from hackers and viruses.

Computing firewalls range from small antivirus software packages to complex and expensive
software and hardware solutions. Some firewalls are free. Many computers ship with a firewall
you can activate. All computer firewalls offer some kind of safeguard against hackers
vandalizing or taking over a computer system.

Malware

Malware is a broad term that describes any malicious software designed by hackers. Malware
includes viruses, Trojans, keyloggers, zombie programs, and other software that seeks to do
one of four things:

 Vandalize your computer in some way.

 Steal your private information.
 Take remote control of your computer (zombie your computer).
 Manipulate you into purchasing something.

Trojan
A Trojan is a special kind of hacker program that relies on the user to welcome it and activate
it. Named after the famous Trojan horse tale, Trojan programs masquerade as legitimate files
or software programs.

Sometimes, it is an innocent-looking movie file or an installer that pretends to be actual anti-

hacker software. The power of the Trojan attack comes from users naively downloading and
running the Trojan file.

Phishing

Phishing is the use of convincing-looking emails and web pages to lure you into typing your
account numbers and passwords or PINs. Often in the form of fake PayPal warning messages
or phony bank login screens, phishing attacks can be convincing to anyone who is not trained
to watch for the subtle clues.

As a rule, all users should distrust any email link that says, "You should log in and confirm
this."

E-Commerce

E-commerce is electronic commerce, the transactions of selling and buying online. Every day,
billions of dollars exchange hands through the internet and the World Wide Web

Types of eCommerce
Ecommerce is used in various business fields; the major categories of ecommerce
are:

 Business-to-Business (B2B)
B2B is e-commerce representing electronic exchange of products, services and
information between businesses. It is expected that the B2B e-commerce market
would reach $1.1 trillion in the U.S.in the upcoming years. Some of the B2B e-
commerce applications are product and supply exchange websites, online
directories, that feature an option to search for particular products and services and
thus initiate payment transactions within.

 Business-to-Consumer (B2C)
B2C is the retail part of e-commerce where businesses sell products, services and
information directly to its customers online. B2C was introduced in the late 90s
which revolutionized the retail system from then. Now the B2C market comprises
all sorts of consumer goods including many virtual stores and online shopping
platforms where Amazon or flipkart leading the markets with domination and
valuable customers.

 Consumer-to-Consumer (C2C)
It is a type of e-commerce where consumers could trade their products or services
with each other online. The transactions are carried out through third party online
platforms. C2C e commerce consists of classified advertisements and online
auctions like the popular eBay and Craigslist. These types of businesses are also
known as C2B2C or consumer-to-business-to-consumer.

 Consumer-to-Business (C2B)
C2B is that type of e-commerce in which the consumer builds their products and
services, making it available online for businesses to bid on and purchase. The most
popular example of C2B platform is an online market which sells everything for
free like the iStock and Job Board. C2B e-commerce is moreover said to be an
opposite kind of traditional commerce B2C model.

 Business-to-Administration (B2A)
This kind of e-commerce platform enables online payment transactions between
companies and administration or government bodies.Many government authorities
depend on e services or products directly or indirectly. Businesses offer supply of e
documents, registers,security, etc electronically which has a tremendous growth in
the recent years.

 Consumer-to-Administration (C2A)
C2A e-commerce refers to transactions conducted between individual customers and
public administration or government authorities. Unlike government authorities,
consumers make use of e-commerce and methods to make transactions for various
industries including educational, health, retail industries.
The proliferation of Ecommerce today is extremely high, leading to a significant
increase in the demand for e-commerce development services .

Most common applications of Ecommerce:

 Retail and Wholesale

Ecommerce has numerous applications in this sector. E-retailing is basically a

B2C, and in some cases, a B2B sale of goods and services through online
stores designed using virtual shopping carts and electronic catalogs. A subset
of retail ecommerce is m-commerce, or mobile commerce, wherein a
consumer purchases goods and services using their mobile device through the
mobile optimized site of the retailer. These retailers use the E-payment
method: they accept payment through credit or debit cards, online wallets or
internet banking, without printing paper invoices or receipts.

 Online Marketing

This refers to the gathering of data about consumer behaviors, preferences,

needs, buying patterns and so on. It helps marketing activities like fixing
price, negotiating, enhancing product features, and building strong customer
relationships as this data can be leveraged to provide customers a tailored and
enhanced purchase experience.

 Finance

Banks and other financial institutions are using e-commerce to a significant

extent. Customers can check account balances, transfer money to other
accounts held by them or others, pay bills through internet banking, pay
insurance premiums, and so on. Individuals can also carry out trading in
stocks online, and get information about stocks to trade in from websites that
display news, charts, performance reports and analyst ratings of companies.

 Manufacturing

Supply chain operations also use ecommerce; usually, a few companies form
a group and create an electronic exchange and facilitate purchase and sale of
goods, exchange of market information, back office information like
inventory control, and so on. This enables the smooth flow of raw materials
and finished products among the member companies and also with other
businesses.

 Online Booking

This is something almost every one of us has done at some time – book
hotels, holidays, airline tickets, travel insurance, etc. These bookings and
reservations are made possible through an internet booking engine or IBE. It
is used the maximum by aviation, tour operations and hotel industry.

 Online Publishing

This refers to the digital publication of books, magazines, catalogues, and

developing digital libraries.

 Digital Advertising

Online advertising uses the internet to deliver promotional material to

consumers;it involves a publisher, and an advertiser . The advertiser provides
the ads, and the publisher integrates ads into online content. Often there are
creative agencies which create the ad and even help in the placement.
Different types of ads include banner ads, social media ads, search engine
marketing, retargeting, pop-up ads, and so on.

 Auctions

Online auctions bring together numerous people from various geographical

locations and enable trading of items at negotiated prices, implemented with
e-commerce technologies. It enables more people to participate in auctions.
Another example of auction is bidding for seats on an airline website –
window seats, and those at the front with more leg room generally get sold at
a premium, depending on how much a flyer is willing to pay.
E-Commerce is all around us today, and as an entrepreneur, you should also
get into this realm if you want to expand your markets, get more customers
and increase your profitability.
Create Company in Tally

Step 1: In tally, after login double click on the create company option under company
information. The following navigation path is used to create the company in Tally:

Gateway of Tally → Company Info → Create Company

Step 2: The following screen displays the company creation window:

Step 3: Enter the "Company's Mailing Name". This is an important field because it shows all the
printouts.

Step 4: Enter the "Company's Full Address". This is shown on all printouts. Thus it is an
important field.

Step 5: Choose the "Name of the Country" as India from the given countries list.
Step 6: Choose the "State" from the given list of states.

Step 7: Update the "Company's Pin Code", where it is located.

Step 8: Update the "Telephone Number"/ landline of the company.

Step 9: Update the "E-Mail id" and "Website" of the company.

Step 10: Update the financial year starting date of the company. In India, the financial year of
the company starts on 1st April and ends on 31st March.

Step 11: Update the date from which accounting is allowed in Tally. Generally, this date and the
starting date of the financial year are the same. But if the company has been formed on any other
date of the year, that date will be mentioned.

For example: If books have been set to begin from 1-Dec 2019, the Tally will not allow the
entries for the 1-April-2019 to 30-Nov-2019.

Step 12: If we want to use TallyVault, enter a password. It is a secure feature that encrypts data.

Step 13: Repeat the password of TallyVault. Tally ERP matches this password with the
previously entered password to ensure that the password we typed previously was the intended
password, which means there is no typing error.

To create a voucher type

1. Go to Gateway of Tally > Accounts Info. or Inventory Info. > Voucher
Type > Create.
2. Enter the Name of the voucher.
3. Select the type of voucher.
4. Enter the abbreviation in the Abbreviation field, if required.
5. Select the Method of voucher numbering from the Methods of Numbering list,
which appears as shown below:

6. Enable Use effective dates for vouchers to enter effective dates for vouchers.
7. Enable Make this voucher type 'Optional' by default to set your voucher to optional
voucher by default.
8. Enable Allow narration in voucher to give a common narration for voucher. A
common narration screen for voucher appears as shown below:

9. Enable Provide narration for each ledger in voucher ? if you want to give a separate
narration for each entry of a voucher. This would be applicable for a multiple entry
voucher where you want separate details for each entry. The narrations for each entry
appears as shown below:

10. Enable Print voucher after saving to print every voucher after entering it.
11. Set Use for POS invoicing to Yes to use the sales invoice as POS invoice.
12. Set the Default title to print on invoice to print the same title for POS invoice.
13. Select the bank in Default bank option to print the default bank ledger when the
option Print Bank Details is enabled in a Sales voucher.
14. Enter the Default jurisdiction to be printed on the invoice, if required.
15. Create a voucher class in the Name of Class field, if required.
The completed Voucher Type Creation screen appears as shown below:

16. Press Enter to save.