EEL 4781

Computer Communication Networks

Lecture 1
Network types, Architecture
Connection-Oriented vs. Connectionless

Introduction
Computer network a system of separate computers interconnected to
complete a task

ie: internet, LAN

Distributed system similar to a computer network except the network

appears to the user as one system

Ie: WWW (World Wide Web), MMORPG

Introduction

Client

Server

Client
An example of a computer network with two clients and one server

Uses of Computer Networks

Business Applications

Resource sharing, VPN, web application, email, VoIP, remote desktop

Home Applications

Peer-to-peer communication, Twitter, instant messaging, Facebook, Wikipedia, IPTV

Uses of Computer Networks

E-Commerce

Business-to-consumer ordering books online

Business-to-business car manufacturer ordering tires from supplier
Government-to-consumer government distributing tax forms electronically
Consumer-to-consumer auctioning second-hand products online
Peer-to-peer music sharing

Uses of Computer Networks

Mobile and Wireless Users

Mobile user Mobile device but connection does not have to be wireless
Wireless user Connects through wireless medium but not necessarily a mobile device
Applications Text messaging, GPS, NFC, sensor networks

Uses of Computer Networks

Social Issues

Net neutrality All data on the internet should be treated equally

Digital Millennium Copyright Act Authorizes takedown notices
Companies can profile users based on their search history
Cookies are small files that can be used to supply this information
Gmail targets ads based on your activity.
Viruses, malware, botnet, phishing, CAPTCHAs

Network Hardware
Personal Area Network (PAN) 1m
Local Area Network (LAN) 10m - 1km
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) 10km
Wide Area Network (WAN) 100km - 1000km
Internet 10,000km

Network Hardware
Personal Area Network communication of the range of a person

Bluetooth, RFID, peripheral devices (keyboard, mice, printer)

Local Area Network privately owned network that covers a single building

Called enterprise networks used by businesses

Devices used are access points, wireless routers, and base stations
WiFi IEEE 802.11, Ethernet 802.3

Network Hardware
Metropolitan Area Network covers an entire city

Cable television networks, WiMAX IEEE 802.16

Wide Area Networks covers a country or continent

Connects users from a long distance apart and are generally internetworks
Virtual private networks, network service provider

Network Hardware

Internetworks (Internet)

Largest network
Encompasses the entire world
Most simply put, it is a large network made up of smaller networks connected together
Originated from ARPANET (1950s) and NSFNET (1970s)

Network Hardware

Routing Algorithm

How the network decides which path to use

Forwarding Algorithm

How the router decides where the packet will be sent to next

Network Software

The network has been organized into a stack of layers

Each of these layers performs some type of function
Every layer needs protocols in order to standardize the communication

Network Software
User 1

User 2

Application

Application

H4

Transport

H4

Transport

H3 H4

Network

H3 H4

Network

H2 H3 H4
H1 H2 H3 H4

Link
Physical

H2 H3 H4
H1 H2 H3 H4

Link
Physical

Physical Medium
Example of the protocol stack used in this book
Headers with additional data are added at each layer

Network Software
Design issues for the layers

Reliability

Evolution of the network

some packets might get corrupted (error detection and error correction)

Packets might need to be split in order to meet routers specifications

Scalability

Network architecture needs to be able to vary in size without hurting performance

Network Software
Design issues for the layers

Resource allocation

Fair vs unfair, static vs dynamic

Flow control, congestion control, Quality of Service (QoS)

Security

Encryption, authentication

Network Software
Static allocation of bandwidth

Each user is given a fixed fraction of bandwidth whether or not they are using it
Wastes extra resources when the user is inactive

Dynamic allocation of bandwidth

Statistical multiplexing
A queuing system is setup and users send data as they want
The queue can be fair (FCFS) or unfair (priority)

Network Hardware

Two modes of transmission are point-to-point and broadcasting

Unicasting is a form of point-to-point transmission with one sender and one receiver
Multicasting sends data to every connected machine that registers as a receiver
Broadcasting sends data to every connected point

Network Software

Connection-oriented service

Telephone philosophy (direct)

A negotiation between the sender and receiver is made before a connection is made

Connection-less service

A packet is sent to the receiver without an established handshake

Store-and-forward switching Intermediate nodes wait for the entire packet before
forwarding
Cut-through switching Intermediate nodes forward packets as they come instead of
waiting for the complete message

Network Software

Connections-oriented services

Reliable message stream ie: sequence of pages

Reliable byte stream ie: movie download
Unreliable connection ie: VoIP

Network Software

Connections-less services

Unreliable datagram ie: junk email

Acknowledged datagram ie: text messaging
Request-reply ie: database query

Internet Architecture
Please refer to handwritten notes

Tiers (figure 1-29)

Data centers and server farms

Backbone, IXP, POP, DSLAM, CMTS
FTTH, Dialup, Cable, DSL

TCP vs UDP