COMPUTER NETWORKING

DEFINE COMPUTER NETWORK

• This is whereby computer systems are linked
together so that they are able to share
computing power, storage facilities and various
computer resources.
Or
• It refers to the interconnection of two or more
computers and associated devices to facilitate
communication between or among them.
Advantages of networking
• facilitates sharing of information
• Sharing of expensive peripherals like scanners, printers
• Sharing expensive software
• Easier and faster communication
• Avoids duplication of information since the same shared file
is used
• User activities can be monitored easily
• User can login to any connected computer in order to access
network service.
• Allows employees to work away from the office thereby
cutting overhead expenses of the organisation.
DISADVANTAGES
• Hardware, software and setup costs for designing and
implementing the network are very high.
• Hardware and software management are very high since a
network administrator has to be hired.
• Malware spreads/propagates faster over computer
networks
• Promotes illegal or undesirable behaviour eg
downloading/uploading explicit content.
• Hackers can gain access to data and information
• The whole network becomes unusable if a server breaks
down.
TYPES OF NETWORKS
• LAN
• WAN
• METROPOLITAN (MAN)
• PERSONAL AREA NETWORK (PAN)
Local area networks (LANs)
• LANs are usually contained within one
building, or within a small geographical area. A
typical LAN consists of a number of computers
and devices (such as printers) connected to
hubs or switches. One of the hubs or switches
is usually connected to a router and/or
modem to allow the LAN to connect to the
internet or become part of a wide area
network (WAN)
Wide area networks (WANs)
• Wide area networks (WANs) are used when
computers or networks are situated a long
distance from each other (for example, they
may be in different cities or on different
continents). If a number of LANs are joined
together using a router or modem, they can
form a WAN
• METROPOLITAN AREA NETWORK( MAN)
• Are larger than LANs. They can connect
together many small computer networks (e.g
LANs) housed in different buildings within a
city. MANs are restricted in their size
geographically, for example a city.
• PERSONAL AREA NETWORK
This is very much limited network, usually used
by one person. It strictly relates to the
interconnection of ICT devices or gadgets within
an individual users environment
NETWORK TOPOLOGY
• Network Topology is physical layout or the
way in which network connections are made is
called topology.
The types of network topologies are ;
• Bus or Line Topology
• Star
• Mesh
• Hybrid
Bus Topology
BUS NETWORK
• The bus or Line network is a single line of cable to which equipment is attached.
• Information can be transmitted in either direction from PC to any other.
• Each message sent will be bearing a label or identity tag which is recognised by
the appropriate device.
Advantages
1. Easy and inexpensive to install as it requires the least amount of cable.
2. Easy to add more stations without disrupting the network.
Disadvantages
3. The whole network goes down if the main cable fails at any point
4. Network performance degrades under a heavy load
5. If one forgets to put an identity tag it will be difficult for the file server to
recognize the origin of data or receiver.
BUS NETWORK
personal computer personal computer personal computer

personal computer personal computer

STAR NETWORK
– All computers are connected to a central host computer which
controls the network. All data must pass through the host computer.
Advantages
1. If one fails, the other stations are not affected
2. Easy to add new stations without disrupting the network
3. No problem with collision of data since each station has its own cable to the server.
Disadvantages
1. Costly to install because of length of cables required.
personal computer

personal computer

personal computer

host computer

personal computer

printer

file server
MESH NETWORKS
• There are two types of mesh network topologies:
routing and flooding.
• Routing works by giving the nodes routing logic (in
other words, they act like a router) so that data is
directed to its destination by the shortest route and can
be re-routed if one of the nodes in the route has failed.
• Flooding simply sends the data via all the nodes and
uses no routing logic, which can lead to unnecessary
loading on the network. It is a type of peer-to-peer
network, but is fundamentally different.
• The internet and WANs/MANs uses of mesh
networks
Advantages of mesh network
• The advantages of a mesh network include:
• » It is easy to identify where faults on the
network have occurred.
• » Any broken links in the network do not
affect the other nodes.
• » Good privacy and security, since packets
travel along dedicated routes.
• » The network is relatively easy to expand.
Disadvantages
• The disadvantages of a mesh network include:
» A large amount of cabling is needed, which
is expensive and time consuming.
• » Set-up and maintenance is difficult and
complex.
Hybrid Network
• A hybrid network is a mixture of two or more
different topologies (bus and star, bus and
mesh, and so on). The main advantages and
disadvantages depend on which types of
network are used to make up the hybrid
network, but an additional disadvantage is
that they can be very complex to install,
configure and maintain.
• Additional advantages include:
• » They can handle large volumes of traffic.
• » It is easy to identify where a network fault
has occurred.
• » They are very well suited to the creation of
larger networks.
Networking Hardware
• Network Interface Card (NIC)
• Any computer that is to be connected to a network needs to have a
network interface card (NIC). Most modern computers have these devices
built into the motherboard, but in some computers you have to add an
extra expansion card (small circuit board) Some computers, such as
laptops, have two NICs: one for wired connections, and one for wireless
connections (which uses radio signals instead of wires)
Network Cables
• To connect together different devices to make up a network,
you need cables. Cables are still used in most networks, rather
than using only wireless, because they can carry much more
data per second, and are more secure (less open to hacking).

• The most common type of network cable in use today looks

like the one shown above
HUB

• Hub A hub is a device that connects a number of computers together

to make a LAN. The typical use of a hub is at the centre of a star
network (or as part of a hybrid network) - the hub has cables plugged
into it from each computer

• A hub is a „dumb‟ device: if it receives a message, it sends it to every

computer on the network. This means that hub-based networks are
not very secure - everyone can listen in to communications. Hubs are
pretty much obsolete now (you can't buy them any more), having been
superseded by cheap switches.
Switch
• A switch, like a hub, is a device that connects a number of computers
together to make a LAN. The typical use of a switch is at the centre of a
star network (or as part of a hybrid network) - the switch has cables
plugged into it from each computer. A switch is a more „intelligent‟ device
than a hub: if it receives a message, it checks who it is addressed to, and
only sends it to that specific computer. Because of this, networks that use
switches are more secure than those that use hubs, but also a little more
expensive
Bridge
• A bridge is a network device that typically links together two
different parts of a LAN. A router is usually used to link a LAN
to a WAN (such as the Internet), whereas a bridge links
independent parts of a LAN so that they act as a single LAN.
Router

• Routers enable data packets to be routed between the different networks for example, to
join a LAN to a WAN.
• act as a default gateway
• Routers enables networks with different Protocols to communicate,
-allowing a wired network to communicate with a wireless (Wi-Fi) network
-can perform protocol translation; for example,– the router can take an Ethernet data packet,
remove the Ethernet part and put the IP address into a frame recognised by the wireless
protocol (in other words, it is performing a protocol conversion)
• Routers restrict broadcasts to a LAN
• can move data between networks
• can calculate the best route to a network destination address
GATEWAY
• A gateway is a network point (or node) that acts as an
entrance to another network.
• It can be used to connect two or more dissimilar LANs (LANs
using different protocols).
• Gateways can also act as routers, firewalls or servers – in other
words, any device that allows traffic to flow in and out of the
networks.
• Gateways can be wired or wireless devices. All networks have
boundaries so that all communication within the network is
conducted using devices such as switches or routers. If a
network node needs to communicate outside its network, it
needs to use a gateway.
Gateway vs Router
• Before arriving at the router, the packets go to the Gateway
channel first, and the gateway checks the header information at
once.
• After checking for any kind of error in the destination IP address
and packet. According to the needs of the destination network, it
carries out data conversion and protocol conversion on the packet.
• Finally the processed packet is forwarded to the router to establish
intelligent communication between the two different networks.
• The router matches the destination address with the routing table.
Finally the packet is sent to the computer with the best route.
Firewall
• A firewall is a device, or a piece of software that is placed between your computer
and the rest of the network (where the hackers are!) If you wish to protect your
whole LAN from hackers out on the Internet, you would place a firewall between
the LAN and the Internet connection. A firewall blocks unauthorized connections
being made to your computer or LAN. Normal data is allowed through the firewall
(e.g. e-mails or web pages) but all other data is blocked. In addition to physical
devices, firewalls can also be software. In fact most computer operating systems
have a software firewall built in (e.g. Windows, Linux and Mac OS)
TRANSIMISSION MEDIA
Guided Transmission media
These are cables (physical wires) that act as a pathway
through which data is transferred from the transmitter to the
receiver.
1. Twisted pair- this are two copper wires about 1 ml thick
that are twisted together to avoid crosstalk.
2. Coaxial cable- has a centre conductor of solid copper
wire which is enclosed in an insulating sheath. The whole
cable is protected by
3. Fibre Optic- is a thin flexible medium capable of guiding
an optical ray
Physical Transmission Media
• A tangible media
– Examples: Twisted-pair cable, coaxial cable, Fiber-optics, etc.
• Twisted-pair cable:
– One or more twisted wires bundled together twisted together to avoid
crosstalk. (why)
-Made of copper
• Coaxial-Cable:
– Consists of single copper wire surrounded by three layers of insulating
and metal materials
– Typically used for cable TV
• Fiber-optics:
– Strands of glass or plastic used to transmit light
– Very high capacity, low noise, small size, less suitable to natural
disturbances
TWISTED-PAIR CABLE

twisted-pair cable twisted-pair wire

COAX-CABLE

woven or braided metal

copper wire

plastic outer coating insulating material

FIBRE OPTIC
• Telephone line
• Telephone lines are used to connect
computers in separate sites or far away places.
A device called a MODEM is needed which
understands both the language of the
computer and of the telephone. It converts
digital signals to analog signals.
Wireless Transmission Media
• Broadcast Radio
– Distribute signals through the air over long distance
– Uses an antenna
– Typically for stationary locations
– Can be short range
• Cellular Radio
– A form of broadcast radio used for mobile communication
– High frequency radio waves to transmit voice or data
– Utilizes frequency-reuse
• Microwaves
– Radio waves providing high speed transmission
– They are point-to-point (can’t be obstructed)
– Used for satellite communication
• Infrared
- Wireless transmission media that sends signals using infrared light- waves b
• Bluetooth and WI-FI
-They both use electromagnetic radiation as the carrier of data transmission
Bluetooth is useful when transferring data between two or more devices which are less
than 30 meters apart
-using low bandwidth applications (for example sending music files from a mobile phone
to a headset.
WI-FI uses spread spectrum technology. Enables computers or smartphones to connect
to the internet at any wireless access point or hot spot up to 100meters.
B ITSR EA M

• Bit streaming is a sequence of bits (0s and 1s) that are used to represent
data, instructions or information in a computer or digital system.
• In other words bitstream is unprocessed or raw digital data consisting of
binary (bits) that are used to represent information such as : Text,
Images, Audio, Video, Program instructions, Data packets.
• Bitstream can be used in various applications, including:
-Data transmission over networks
-data storage on devices
-digital signal processing
-Data Compression and encoding
-decoding and decompression
-Encryption and decryption

•
• Data encoding is the process of converting data into a format that can be efficiently
stored or transmitted e.g
• 1. Compress Data: Reduce the size of the data to save storage space or transmission
time.
• 2. Protect Data: use encryption to secure data from unauthorised access.
• 3. Correct Errors: Add redundancy to detect and correct errors that occur during
transmission or storage.
• 4. Format Data: convert data into a specific format for use in a particular application or
system
COMMON TYPES OF DATA ENCODING
1. Text encoding: ASCII, BCD, EBCDIC, UNICODE
2. Image Encoding: JPEG, PNG, GIF
3. Audio Encoding: MP3, WAV, AAC
4. Video encoding: MPEG, H.264,AVI
5. Compression encoding: ZIP, GZIP, LZ77
6. Encryption encoding: AES, RSA, SHA-256.
PONS OF BIT STREAMING
• no need to wait for a whole video or music file
to be downloaded before the user can watch or
listen
• no need to store large files on your device n
allows video files and music files to be played on
demand (as required)
• no need for any specialist hardware
• affords piracy protection (more difficult to copy
streamed files than files stored on a hard drive)
Cons of bit streaming
• cannot stream video or music files if broadband
connection is lost
• video or music files will pause to allow the data
being streamed to ‘catch up’ if there is
insufficient buffer capacity or slow broadband
connection
• streaming uses up a lot of bandwidth
• security risks associated with downloading files
from the internet n copyright issue
Types of bit streaming
• Bit streaming can be either on demand or real time.
• On demand
• » Digital files stored on a server are converted to a bit streaming
format (encoding takes place and the encoded files are uploaded to a
server).
• » A link to the encoded video/music file is placed on the web server to
be downloaded.
• » The user clicks on the link and the video/music file is downloaded in
a continuous bit stream.
• » Because it is on demand, the streamed video/music is broadcast to
the user as and when required.
• » It is possible to pause, rewind and fast forward the video/music if
required
Real time
• » An event is captured by camera and microphone and is
sent to a computer.
• » The video signal is converted (encoded) to a streaming
media file.
• » The encoded file is uploaded from the computer to the
dedicated video streaming server.
• » The server sends the encoded live video to the user’s
device.
• » Since the video footage is live it is not possible to pause,
rewind or fast forward
FURTHER TOPICS
• Public and private cloud computing
• IP addresses
ACTIVITY
• 1 a) Explain the differences between the internet and the world wide
web (www). [2]
• b) Hasina wrote, ‘The internet is not necessarily a type of WAN.’ Is
Hasina’s statement correct? Give reasons for your answer. [2]
• c) Explain these two terms.
• i) Web browser [1]
• ii) Internet service provider (ISP) [1]
• 2. Star and mesh are two types of network topology that can be used to
make a LAN. Star network Mesh network
• i) State one benefit and one drawback of the star network topology. [2]
• ii) State one benefit and one drawback of the mesh network topology. [2
• 3.
• 4a) What is meant by bit streaming?
• b) Why is it necessary to use buffers whilst
streaming a video from the internet?
• c) Explain the differences between on
demand and real time bit streaming.