Building A Simple

Network
Exploring the Functions of Networking
Objectives
What Is a Network? Components, Resource-Sharing
Functions and Benefit, Characteristics of a Network,
Explain the Physical Versus Logical Topologies
Explain the Connection to the Internet.
What Is a Network?
Enterprise:
Main Office
Remote Local
Branch office
Home Office
Mobile users
Common Physical Components of a Network
1. Personal computers (PCs)
2. Interconnections
3. Network Devices
4. Protocols
1. Personal computers (PCs): The PCs serve as
endpoints in the network, sending and receiving data.
2. Interconnections:
Network interface cards (NICs):
Network media, such as cables or wireless media,
Connectors
3. Network Devices:
Hubs:
Switches:
Routers:
Firewall:
4. Protocols: Ethernet, TCP/IP, DHCP, ARP,
Common Physical Components of a Network
Interpreting a Network Diagram
Resource-Sharing Functions and Benefits
Data and applications
Resources
Network storage: DAS, NAS, SAN
Backup devices
Network User Applications
E-mail: E-mail is a valuable application for most network users.
Users can communicate information (messages and les)
electronically in a timely manner, to not only other users in the
same network but also other users outside the network (Outlook,
POP3, Yahoo, and so on)
Web browser: A web browser enables access to the Internet
through a common interface. The Internet provides a wealth of
information and has become vital to the productivity of both home
and business users (IE, Firefox, and so on)
Instant messaging: Instant messaging started in the personal
user-to-user space; however, it soon provided considerable
benet in the corporate world (Yahoo IM, Microsoft Messenger,
and so on)
Collaboration: (Whiteboard, Netmeeting, WebEx, and so on)
Databases: (file servers)
Impact of User Applications on the Network
Batch applications
FTP, TFTP, inventory updates
No direct human interaction
Bandwidth important, but not critical
Interactive applications
Inventory inquiries, database updates.
Human-to-machine interaction.
Because a human is waiting for a
response, response time is important
but not critical, unless the wait
becomes excessive.
Real-time applications
VoIP, video
Human-to-human interaction
End-to-end latency critical
Characteristics of a Network
1. Speed: Speed is a measure of how fast data is transmitted over the
network. A more precise term would be data rate
2. Cost: indicates the general cost of components, installation, and
maintenance of the network
3. Security: indicates how secure the network is, including the data that is
transmitted over the network. The subject of security is important and
constantly evolving.
4. Availability: is a measure of the probability that the network will be
available for use when required.
5. Scalability: indicates how well the network can accommodate more users
and data transmission requirements. If a network is designed and optimized
for just the current requirements, it can be very expensive and difcult to
meet new needs when the network grows
6. Reliability: indicates the dependability of the components (routers,
switches, PCs, and so on) that make up the network
7. Topology: Networks have two types of topologies: the physical topology
and the Logical topology
Physical Topology Categories
Logical Topologies
Bus Topology
All devices receive the signal.
Star Topology
Transmission through a central point.
Single point of failure.
Extended-Star Topology
More resilient than star topology.
Ring Topology
Signals travel around ring.
Single point of failure.
Dual-Ring Topology
Signals travel in opposite directions.
More resilient than single ring.
Full-Mesh Topology
Highly fault-tolerant
Expensive to implement
Partial-Mesh Topology
Trade-off between fault tolerance and cost
Connection to the Internet
Summary
A network is a connected collection of devices that can
communicate with each other. Networks carry data in many kinds
of environments, including homes, small businesses, and large
enterprises.
There are four major categories of physical components in a
computer network: the computer, interconnections, switches, and
routers.
Networks are depicted graphically using a set of standard icons.
The major resources that are shared in a computer network
include data and applications, peripherals, storage devices, and
backup devices.
The most common network user applications include e-mail, web
browsers, instant messaging, collaboration, and databases.
User applications affect the network by consuming network
resources.
The ways in which networks can be described include
characteristics that address network performance and structure:
speed, cost, security, availability, scalability, reliability, and
topology.
A physical topology describes the layout for wiring the physical
devices, while a logical topology describes how information flows
through a network.
In a physical bus topology, a single cable effectively connects all
the devices.
In a physical star topology, each device in the network is
connected to the central device with its own cable.
When a star network is expanded to include additional networking
devices that are connected to the main networking device, it is
called an extended-star topology.
Summary (Cont.)
Summary (Cont.)
In a ring topology, all the hosts are connected in the form of a ring
or circle. In a dual-ring topology, there are two rings to provide
redundancy in the network.
A full-mesh topology connects all devices to each other; in a
partial-mesh topology, at least one device has multiple
connections to all other devices.
There are three common methods of connecting the small office
to the Internet: DSL using the existing telephone lines, cable
using the CATV infrastructure, and serial links using the classic
digital local loops.