Introduction to Computer Networks

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CHAPTER ONE: Introduction to Computer Networks:
(a) Definition
(b) Basic Networking Principles
(c) Importance of networks
(d) Network Core Design requirements
(e) Network Applications
(f) Components of a network
(g) Types of networks
(h) Computer Network terminologies


Definition:

A network can be thought of as an interconnection of devices through a
transmission medium in such a way that, the interconnected devices can
communicate i.e. allows for the transfer and exchange of different types of data
(Video, text or voice).

Basic networking Principles:

The underlying basic principles of networking are:

The must be at least two devices linked by a networking media; wired or
wireless
There must be a set of rules (protocol) that define how communication
between the two devices will take place
There should be a unique way of identifying each device on the network in
order to keep track of sender and recipient of the transmitted data.
Each on the communicating devices on the network should be able to package
the information and place the same on the network media in a form that can
be received and understood by the receiving device.
The communicating devices should have away of confirming that the
transmitted data was received by the intended recipient without error and


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incase an error is detected, there should be away of recovering from the
error.
The communicating devices should have a flow control mechanism that allows
them to slow down the rate of transmission when there is network congestion
and increase the rate when the congestion is cleared.


Importance/significance and the impact of networks in the
society

The invention and development of the internet; a global mesh of computer
networks, wireless and satellite telecommunication technologies has revolutionized
the way communication takes places.

Sharing of information has been made easy e.g. employees within the office and
those in the field can receive instructions via email, telephone or
teleconference.
Sharing of expensive resources within an organization e.g. the printers and
sharing of other facilities e.g. online college libraries where the same document
may be accessed simultaneously by more than one student and/or researchers.
Business (e-commerce) transactions can be done through computer networks.
For example withdrawing of money and checking of bank account balance,
requesting/ordering of goods and services and paying for purchased goods
online.
Distance learning (e-learning) has simplified. Students can receive instruction
online and learn from a remote location. The learner and the teacher can
exchanges views or discuss concepts by chatting online or through instant short
text messages.
Important/breaking news can be made available to the public within a short
time e.g. weather, outbreak of diseases, road conditions or changes of certain
important events.
Monitoring of events/areas remotely by use of surveillance cameras or
satellites connected to computer systems. The computers can be designed to
trigger an alert or alarm system.
Securing of resources, ensuring constant availability and controlling access to
the resources. Through a centralized backup system, chances of recovering
from disaster are much higher. The centralized access control to resources

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ensures that the resources are made available to authorized personnel only;
when they supply authentic credentials.
Coordinating of research activities e.g. collaborations between companies and or
universities.


Network Core Design requirements

Security:
Confidentiality, integrity and accounting
Achieved through network authentication and authorization
Encryption on network communications
Restriction of access to only authorized users

Growth and scalability:
Future growth and its effect on network performance
Careful network design: hierarchical design, selection of the type of
media that will allow expansion and growth with little or no effect on
network performance

Availability and fault tolerance (Reliability):
Ability to recover from a catastrophic network failure within the shortest
possible time
Mean time between failure (MTBF)
Mean time to repair (MTTR)
Achieved through network monitoring, service clustering, RAID etc

Quality of Service:
Quality of the transmitted data despite the distance
Achieved through use of data prioritization (devices with this capability)








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Network devices/components:

A network is made up of a number of components which can be grouped into two:
Hardware components and
Software components

a) HARDWARE COMPONENTS
These are the physically components that we can see and touch. They are normally
divided into three:
End (Source or Destination) Devices
These are the sources or destination points of the transmitted data.
On one hand, these are partly the devices that provide an interface that helps
users interact with in order to place data onto the network; thus act as the
source of the information that is to be transmitted e.g. when a user using a
workstation or laptop that is connected to the network sends an access request
to a file server or a web server on the internet, the workstation or laptop in this
case is an end device.
On the other hand, devices located at the other end of the network i.e. those
that respond to the users request (data stores) e.g. a file server are also end
devices.
End devices include: Personal Computers, laptops, NIC, printers, digital cameras
and network servers (print servers, file servers etc), and IP phones.


Interconnecting (Networking and internetworking) Devices
When transmitting data between computers located in the same or different
networks, there are interconnecting devices that ensure data is directed to the
correct destination device or network segment.
Some devices in this category simply duplicate a copy of data that they receive
through one port to all other ports on the same device i.e. they do not have the
capability or reading and understanding addresses.
Examples here include Hubs and repeaters.




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Other devices are designed in such away that, they have the ability to analyze
the addressing information on the data and can forward it to the desired
destination device or network segment.
Examples include; switches, routers, brouters, bridges and wireless access
points, MSAU (Multi-station Access Units).
In addition to directing the transmitted data, these devices perform additional
tasks like the regeneration of the transmitted signal (repeaters, switches and
routers) and depending on the security settings on the device; some can be used
to filter data base on IP address, MAC address, port number or protocol e.g.
switches and routers.


Networking devices and internetworking devices can be subdivided into two main
groups:

Network Access device:

The enable devices to connect to the network i.e. they are the means
through which the end devices connect to the network. Examples include
hubs, switches, multi-station Access Units and Wireless Access Points
(WAP).
The network Access Devices link devices on the same network segment,
with the same network access method (e.g. CSMA/CD, CSMA/CA or
Token Passing) and network standard (Ethernet or token ring)

Internetworking Devices:
The devices link different network segments and enable communication
between different networks or network segments.
Some may link network segments that use the same standard and same
network access methods e.g. the bridge while others may link segments
that use different standards and different network access methods e.g.
router, brouters and gateways






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Network Media (To be covered later in details)
These are the pathways/channels through which the transmitted data flows
from one end device to another or from an end device through an
interconnecting device, to another end device.

They can be classified in two ways;

By the type of path that the signals follow from source to destination and
this leads to guided and unguided media.
By the form of energy that the media in question can transmit: In this
case there are that transmit electrical energy (wires), Light energy
(optical fiber cables) and radio transmission (wireless e.g. Bluetooth)


The data takes different formats depending on the medium; in unguided
(wireless) transmission the data is normally in the form of electromagnetic
waves; infrared light and radio signals (Bluetooth) etc while in the guided
(cabled) transmission, it may take the form of electrical signals (UTP, STP or
Coaxial cables) or light pulses in the case of optical fiber cable.



b) SOFTWARE COMPONENTS
i) NOS (Network/server Operating System)
A server is a computer on the network build using special hardware and it
provides the means of sharing a resource so that multiple clients can
access the resource at the same time.

A server/Network operating system controls the general running of the
server.

It is a multi-user, multi-tasking and multi-processor operating system.

The server operating system can be configured to provide the following
services:

File/Application server service:

A file/application server holds files/applications that can be
accessed by more than one network users simultaneously.

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Domain Name System services:

A useful service that enables name to IP address resolution i.e.
the mapping of names to IP addresses and thus allowing users on a
network to access a network resource by specifying a name rather
than an IP address.

Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol Services:
Automatic configuration of network clients with TCP/IP
information; IP address, subnet mask, default gateway IP address
etc.
Domain controller role:
Manages users and groups by allowing the creation of users user
accounts, assign privileges, define login period, remove users and
monitor network behaviors of users.
It also provide authentication (verifies the supplied credentials;
username and password during login) for network users and
computers.

Examples of common NOS include; Windows NT Server, Windows 2000
Server family (Server, Advanced Server and Data Center), Windows
2003 Server (Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter Editions),
Windows Server 2008 (Standard, Enterprise and Datacenter Editions)
Mac Os X Server, Linux, Unix Server, NetWare Servers etc.

ii) Clients/Workstation software (Operating System)

This type of operating system is normally installed on a workstation, PC
or Laptop.

It generally controls the running of the computer, provides an
environment where applications software can run and also provides a
means of connecting and accessing the shared resources on the network.

E.g. Windows XP, Windows 2000 Professional, Redhat (Linux)or ubuntu
client.

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Protocols
These are rules that govern communication between network devices. There are
mainly two types of protocols
Network Protocols

The network protocols are rules that are configured on the network
devices especially the PC, Workstations, Server and routers to govern
the way they communicate and exchange data/information.

These protocols define a type of a logical addressing scheme that
uniquely identifies each device and its location in the network.

Different network protocols have different characteristics and the
choice of a protocol depends on a number of factors, for example the
environment where it will be used (within a network or between networks
i.e. routed environment) and the desired end results.

Network protocols include NetBEUI, TCP/IP, IPX/SPX. For inter-
network transfer of data, the preferred universal protocol would be
TCP/IP.

Routing Protocols

The routing protocols are configured on routing devices like routers,
brouters and the Routing and remote Access servers (Microsoft).

These protocols allow the routers to exchange routing information in
their routing table e.g. the different paths available to a certain
destination, if a path to a certain destination is still available or the
metric (cost) of sending a packet to a certain destination through a
certain path.

These protocols include RIP (Routing Information Protocol), OSPF (Open
Shortest Path First), EIGRP (Enhanced Interior Gateway Routing
Protocol) and BGP (Border Gateway Protocol).


iii) NIC drivers

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For any hardware device to operate properly, it requires a means through
which its actions can be interpreted to the Operating system.

A network interface card drivers puts life into the network card and
allows the network card to carry out its function properly.


iv) IOS (Inter-Network Operating System)

An Inter-network Operating System is the name given to a special type
of Network Operating System (NOS) that is normally used in routers
(CISCO) to enable it carry out its functions of selecting the most cost
effective path to the destination network (Path Selection) and directing
packets to the correct destination network (Packet switching).

The features available in an IOS installed on a given router, just like a
general operating system of a PC depends on the manufacturer of the
router, the model of the router and the environment where the router is
deployed.

Some of the router manufacturer include; CISCO, DLINK and
ENTERASYS.



Types of networks

Local Area Network (LAN):

A network that connects computers within a small geographical area, such as a
single building

The network normally belongs to one organization

The network diameter does not exceed 2km from end to end

Usually under a single administration

Typical LAN devices may include; PC, Laptops, hubs, switches, bridges etc

Wireless Local Area Network 9WLAN) Page
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Uses wireless technology

Connects network devices in a small geographical area

Uses radio signals as a medium through which data is exchanged

Connects to a cabled environment through a wireless access points (WAP)

Usually set up in areas where the physical terrain does not permit the laying out
of physical cable. In other instances, it may be set up as a back-up to the
existing cabled network or in areas where the physical layout changes often e.g.
company boardrooms

Connects to other networks through a wireless router

Wide Area Network (WAN):

A network that connects computers across a large geographical region

Mostly connects LANs across cities, country or continents

Connections are done through internetworking devices; Routers and bridges

In some cases, transmission between the LANs is via microwave or satellite links

Example include networks that connect branches of a given bank sprad out in a
given country or region



Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

It is larger than a LAN, but smaller than a WAN.

It links LAN that are spread out in a metropolitan area e.g. linking of major
hospitals, or police stations or branches of a retain chain

The linking of the LAN may be achieved through microwave antennas or long
haul carriers like optical fiber links



Computer Network terminologies

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1) Node:
A node is any device connected to a computer network.
Nodes can be computers, personal digital assistants (PDAs), cell phones, or
various other network appliances.



On an IP network, a node is any device with an IP address.

2) Network Operating System:
Systems software designed to handle multiple requests for services and
resources from network users and devices

3) Backbone:
A high speed, high bandwidth link connecting network segments

4) Host
A computer on the network that is accessed from a remote location

5) Bandwidth
The data carrying capacity of a network media

6) Bit
Definition: A bit is the smallest unit of data transfer on a computer network.
Bits represent the two binary values "on" or "off."

Bits are often stored on computers as the digital numbers '1' and '0', but in
networking, bits can also be "encoded" by electrical signals and pulses of
light.

In computer networking, some network protocols send and receive data in
the form of bit sequences.

7) Byte
A byte is a sequence of bits. A byte contains eight bits. In computer
networking, some network protocols send and receive data in the form of
byte sequences.

8) Server:
A network server is a computer designed to process requests and deliver
data to other (client) computers over a local network or the Internet.

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Network servers typically are configured with additional processing, memory
and storage capacity to handle the load of servicing clients.
Common types of specialized network servers include: (see the workbook)

9) Segment:
A segment is a specially-configured subset of a larger network.

The boundaries of a network segment are established by devices capable of
regulating the flow of packets into and out of the segment, including
routers, switches, hubs, bridges, or multi-homed gateways (but not simple
repeaters).

10)Client:
An application or system that accesses a service made available by a server

11)Firewall:
A device or software program that protects a computer network from
unauthorized access

Network firewalls may be hardware devices, software programs, or a
combination of the two.

Network firewalls guard an internal computer network (home, school,
business intranet) against malicious access from the outside.

Network firewalls may also be configured to limit access to the outside from
internal users.

12)Workstation:
A microcomputer that contains a client operating system and designed
primarily for running applications.

Intended primarily to be used by one person at a time, they are commonly
connected to a local area network

13)Workgroup:
Workgroup is a collection of computers on a local area network (LAN) that
share common resources and responsibilities.

Sometimes referred to as Peer to peer network


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14)Media:
Channels or pathways through which data flows from one device to another
in a network

The three main types are copper cable, fiber optic cable, and wireless.

15)Network:
An interconnection of devices that can communicate. An infrastructure that
links and allows computing devices to exchange data









































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