Chapter one

Basics of Computer Network

Introduction
Network Hardware
Network Software
Topology
Types of networks
Transmission media
OSI and TCP/IP
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 Introduction
What is Network?
A network is a group of connected,
communicating devices
What is Internet?
An internet is two or more networks that can
communicate with each other.
What is The Internet?
A global internet based on the IP protocol
Why do we need network?
Share Resources, Information

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 Requirements of Network
Networks must be:
General Purpose
Open
Networks are implemented by:
Hardware (hosts, media, switching
elements)
Software (protocols and services)
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Components of network

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 Standard components of a network
Connection or cabling system:
Wired connection may be twisted-pair wiring,
coaxial cable, or fiber optics.
Wireless connection may be infrared or radio-
wave Transmission
Interconnection devices:
Hubs, Switches, Routers, etc
Microcomputer with interface card
Network operating system
Example: Ms Windows NT, Novells NetWare, Linux
Other shared devices
printers, fax machines, scanners, storage devices,
and other peripherals

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 The Internet
Network of Networks
The Internet is a global network of
computers connecting individual
computers and networks together
into one huge network.
Even if a main centre is not
functioning, data can take a different
route through the Internet to reach its
final destination
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Internet

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 Network Hardware
Servers
File server
Database server
Mail server
Web server
Application server
DNS server
DHCP server
Proxy server
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 Network Hardware
Interconnecting Devices
Hub - is a device that connects a number of
network cables coming from client computers
to a network.broadcasts to all connected
nodes
Switch - is wired very similarly to a hub but
makes each network connection a private
one.. MAC address

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 Network Hardware
Interconnecting Devices
Bridge - a hardware and a software
combination used to connect different media
types of networks MAC address
Router - a special computer that directs
communicating messages when several
networks are connected together IP address
Gateway - an interface that enables dissimilar
networks to communicate, such as a LAN with a WAN
or two LANs based on different topologies or network
operating systems
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 Network Software
Network software is now highly structured
Most networks are organized as a stack of layers
or levels, each one built upon the one below it.
Layers differ from network to network
Name of each layer
Number of layers
contents of each layer
function of each layer
The interface (between each adjacent layer)
defines which primitive operations and services
the lower layer makes available to the upper one
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Network Software

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 Network Software
A protocol is an agreement between the
communicating parties on how communication is
to proceed on a specific layer.
A set of layers and protocols is called a network
architecture
The specification of an architecture must contain
enough information to allow an implementer to
write the program
A list of protocols used by a certain system, one
protocol per layer, is called a protocol stack
Network architectures, protocol stacks, and the
protocols themselves are the principal topics of
this course
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Network Software

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 Network Software
Design issues for layered architecture
Addressing is needed in order to specify a
specific destination
The protocol must also determine how many
logical channels the connection corresponds
to and what their priorities are, for the
transfer of data
Error control is an important issue because
physical communication circuits are not
perfect

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 Network Software
Design issues for layered architecture
To deal with a possible loss of sequencing,
the protocol must make explicit provision for
the receiver to allow the pieces to be
reassembled properly
An issue that occurs at every level is how to
keep a fast sender from swamping a slow
receiver with data, know as flow control
Another problem that must be solved at
several levels is the inability of all processes
to accept arbitrarily long messages, MTU
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Network Topology

Star

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Network Topology
Ring

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Network Topology
Bus

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Network Topology

Mesh

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 Network Topology

Home work
Write advantage and disadvantage
of each topology.
You will be presenting your work in class in during the tutorial session.

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 Types of Network
Based on Architecture
Client-Server
Peer-to-Peer
Based on geographical coverage
LAN
MAN
WAN

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 Types of Network
Client/Server Peer-to-Peer

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Use Peer-to-Peer model of communication

In peer-to-peer system there are no fixed clients and servers.

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Client/Server

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Types of Networks

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 Types of Networks

Local Area Network

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Types of Networks
Metropolitan Area Network

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Types of Networks

A metropolitan area network based on cable TV

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 Types of Networks

LANs transmit
data within
corporate sites
WANs transmit
data between WAN

corporate sites
Each LAN or
WAN is a single
network Computer Networks I 30
 Types of Networks

WAN

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 Types of Networks

Home work
Write the application of each
network type and its
advantage/disadvantage.
You will be presenting your work in class during the tutorial session.

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 Transmission Media
Overview
guided - wire / optical fiber
unguided - wireless
characteristics and quality determined by
medium and signal
in unguided media - bandwidth produced by the
antenna is more important
in guided media - medium is more important
key concerns are data rate and distance
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 Design Factors
bandwidth
higher bandwidth gives higher data rate
transmission impairments
E.g. attenuation
interference
number of receivers in guided media
more receivers introduces more attenuation

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Twisted Pair

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 Twisted Pair
Transmission Characteristics
limited distance
limited bandwidth (1MHz)
limited data rate (100MHz)
susceptible to interference and noise

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Coaxial Cable

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 Coaxial Cable
Transmission Characteristics
superior frequency characteristics to TP
performance limited by attenuation & noise

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Optical Fiber

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 Optical Fiber - Benefits
greater capacity
data rates of hundreds of Gbps
smaller size & weight
lower attenuation
electromagnetic isolation
greater repeater spacing
10s of km at least

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 Optical Fiber
Transmission Characteristics
uses total internal reflection to transmit light
effectively acts as wave guide for 1014 to 1015 Hz
can use several different light sources
Light Emitting Diode (LED)
cheaper, wider operating temp range, lasts longer
Injection Laser Diode (ILD)
more efficient, has greater data rate
relation of wavelength, type & data rate

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 Terrestrial Microwave
used for long haul telecommunications
and short point-to-point links
requires fewer repeaters but line of sight
higher frequencies give higher data rates
main source of loss is attenuation
distance, rainfall
also interference

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 Satellite Microwave
satellite is relay station
receives on one frequency, amplifies or repeats
signal and transmits on another frequency
typically requires geo-stationary orbit
height of 35,784km
typical uses
television
long distance telephone
private business networks
global positioning/locating

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Satellite Point to Point Link

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Satellite Broadcast Link

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 Broadcast Radio
radio is 3kHz to 300GHz
use broadcast radio, 30MHz - 1GHz, for:
FM radio
UHF and VHF television
is omnidirectional
still need line of sight
suffers from multipath interference
reflections from land, water, other objects
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 Infrared
modulate noncoherent infrared light
end line of sight (or reflection)
are blocked by walls
no licenses required
typical uses
TV remote control
IRD port

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 Protocols
Cooperative action is necessary
computer networking is not only to exchange bytes
huge system with several utilities and functions.
Examples:
error detection
Encryption
Routing
etc.
For proper communication, entities in different systems
must speak the same language
there must be mutually acceptable conventions and rules about
the content, timing and underlying mechanisms
Those conventions and associated rules are referred as
PROTOCOLS

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 Protocol Architecture
Task of data transfer is broken up into
some modules
Why?
How do these modules interact?
For example, file transfer could use three
modules
File transfer application
Communication service module
Network access module
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 Architecture philosopher-translator-
secretary architecture
Location A Location B

Issues: I like
rabbits
Message Philosopher
J'aime
bien les
peer-to-peer 3
lapins
3
protocols are
independent of
each other
Information
for example, L: Dutch for the remote Translator L: Dutch
secretaries may Ik vind translator Ik vind
konijnen konijnen
change the 2
leuk leuk
2
comm. medium
to email
or the
translators may Fax #---
Information
Fax #---
for the remote
agree on using L: Dutch secretary Secretary L: Dutch
another 1
Ik vind Ik vind
1
konijnen konijnen
common leuk leuk
language
Each layer
adds a header
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 Simplified File Transfer
Architecture

File Transfer Application Layer: Application specific commands,

passwords and the actual file(s) high level data
Communications Service Module: reliable transfer of those data error
detection, ordered delivery of data packets, etc.
Network Module: actual transfer of data and dealing with the network
if the network changes, only this module is affected, not the whole
system Computer Networks I 51
 A General Three Layer Model
Generalize the previous example for a generic
application
we can have different applications (e-mail, file
transfer, )

Network Access Layer

Transport Layer
Application Layer
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 Network Access Layer
Exchange of data between the computer and the
network
Sending computer provides address of destination
so that network can route
Different switching and networking techniques
Circuit switching
Packet switching
LANs
etc.
This layer may need specific drivers and interface
equipment depending on type of network used.
But upper layers do not see these details
independence property

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 Transport Layer
Reliable data exchange
to make sure that all the data packets arrived
in the same order in which they are sent out
Packets nor received or received in error are
retransmitted
Independent of network being used
Independent of application

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 Application Layer
Support for different user applications
e.g. e-mail, file transfer

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 Addressing Requirements
Two levels of addressing required
Each computer needs unique network
address
Each application on a (multi-tasking)
computer needs a unique address within
the computer
The service access point or SAP
The port number in TCP/IP protocol stack

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Protocol Architectures and
Networks
or ports

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 Protocol Data Units (PDU)
User data is passed from layer to layer
Control information is added/removed
to/from user data at each layer
Header (and sometimes trailer)
each layer has a different header/trailer
Data + header + trailer = PDU (Protocol
Data Unit)
each layer has a different PDU

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 Transport PDU
Transport layer may fragment user data
Each fragment has a transport header
added
Destination port
Sequence number
since the transport layer may split application data
into smaller packets
Error detection code (generally at trailer)

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 Network PDU
Adds network header
network address for destination computer
optional facilities from network (e.g. priority
level)

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Operation of a Protocol
Architecture

Transport Transport
Header Header

Network Network
Header Header

(Network PDU)

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61
 Standard Protocol Architectures

Common set of conventions

Standard protocols
If common protocol used, we design only once
Products from different vendors interoperate
If a common standard is not implemented in a
product, then that products market is limited;
customers like standard products
Customers do not stick to a specific vendor

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 Standard Protocol Architectures

Two approaches (standard)

OSI Reference model
never used widely
but well known
TCP/IP protocol suite
Most widely used

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 OSI Reference Model
OSI = Open Systems Interconnection
Reference model
provides a general framework for standardization
defines a set of layers and services provided by each
layer
one or more protocols can be developed for each
layer
Developed by the International Organization for
Standardization (ISO)
also published by ITU-T (International
Telecommunications Union)
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 OSI Reference Model
A layered model
Seven layers seven has been presented as
the optimal number of layer
Delivered too late (published in 1984)!
by that time TCP/IP started to become the de
facto standard
Although no OSI-based protocol survived,
the model is still valid (in the textbooks)

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 OSI - The Layer Model
Each layer performs a subset of the
required communication functions
Each layer relies on the next lower layer to
perform more primitive functions
Each layer provides services to the next
higher layer
Changes in one layer should not require
changes in other layers
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 OSI as Framework for Standardization

layer functionalities are

described by ISO; different
standards can be
developed based on these
functionalities

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67
Layer Specific Standards

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68
 Elements of Standardization
Protocol specification
Operates between the same layer on two systems
May involve different platforms
Protocol specification must be precise
Format of data units
Semantics of all fields
Service definition
Functional description of what is provided to the next
upper layer
Addressing
Referenced by SAPs

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The OSI Environment

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 OSI Layers
Physical
Physical interface between devices
Characteristics
Mechanical - interface specs
Electrical - voltage levels for bits, transmission rate
Data Link
link to link (point to point)
Basic services: error detection and control, flow
control
Higher layers may assume error free transmission
Later a sublayer is added to Data Link Layer
MAC (Medium Access Control) sublayer
to deal with broadcast networks

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 OSI Layers

Network
Transfer of information through comm. network
Network nodes (relays/routers) should perform
switching and routing functions
QoS (Quality of Service) and congestion control are
also addressed in this layer
Several other internetworking issues
e.g. differences in addressing, max. data length, etc.
Higher layers do not need to know about underlying
networking technology
Not needed on direct links

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 OSI Layers
Transport
End to end exchange of data
In sequence, no losses, no duplicates
If needed, upper layer data are split into
smaller units
Session
Control of dialogues
whose turn to talk?
Dialogue discipline (full-duplex, half-duplex)
Check-pointing and recovery
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 OSI Layers

Presentation
Data formats
Data compression
Encryption
Application
Support for various applications

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 TCP/IP Protocol Suite
Most widely used interoperable network protocol
architecture
Specified and extensively used before OSI
OSI was slow to take place in the market
Funded by the US Defense Advanced Research
Project Agency (DARPA) for its packet switched
network (ARPANET)
DoD automatically created an enormous market for
TCP/IP
Used by the Internet and WWW

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 TCP/IP Protocol Suite
TCP/IP does not have an official layer structure
But protocols imply one
Application layer
Transport (host to host) layer
Internet layer
Network access layer
Physical layer
Actually TCP/IP reference model has been built on its
protocols
That is why that reference model is only for TCP/IP protocol suite
and this is why it is not so important to assign roles to each layer
in TCP/IP; understanding TCP, IP and the application protocols
would be enough

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OSI vs. TCP/IP

HTTP,
SMTP,

TCP, UDP

IP

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 Network Access and Physical
Layers

TCP/IP reference model does not discuss

these layers too much
the node should connect to the network with a
protocol such that it can send IP packets
this protocol is not defined by TCP/IP
mostly in hardware
a well known example is Ethernet

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 Internet Layer
Connectionless, point to point internetworking
protocol (uses the datagram approach)
takes care of routing across multiple networks
each packet travels in the network independently of
each other
they may not arrive (if there is a problem in the network)
they may arrive out of order
a design decision enforced by DoD to make the
system more flexible and responsive to loss of some
subnet devices
Implemented in end systems and routers as the
Internet Protocol (IP)
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 Transport Layer
End-to-end data transfer
Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
connection oriented
reliable delivery of data
ordering of delivery
User Datagram Protocol (UDP)
connectionless service
delivery is not guaranteed
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 Transport Layer

Home work
Identify some applications
that use TCP and
applications that use UDP?
You will be presenting your work in class in during the tutorial session.

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 Application Layer
Support for user applications
A separate module for each different
application
e.g. HTTP, SMTP, telnet

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Operation of TCP and IP

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