Contents

 Introduction
 Applying Telecommunications in Business
 Network Basic
 Types of Telecomm Network
INTRODUCTION
 The term telecommunication means communication at a distance.
 Telecommunications is the exchange of information in any form (voice, data, text,
images, audio, video) over networks.
 Modern telecommunication technologies or devices allow businesses to send and
receive messages in seconds.
 With the use of computers and networks, people can now work as if they are sitting next
to each other even when they are thousands of miles apart.
 The Internet and its most significant feature – the web, would be impossible without
telecom devices

Applying Telecommunications in Business

 Firms in the past used two different types of networks: Telephone network and
computer network.
 Telephone networks historically handle voice communication, and computer networks
handled data traffic.
 Telephone companies were built by telephone companies, using voice transmission
technologies (hardware and software).
 Computer networks were built by computer companies seeking to transmit data
between computers in different locations.
 Thanks to IT, telephone and computer networks are slowly converging into a single
digital network using shared internet-based standards and equipment.
 Using cellular technologies in business
Telecommunications Strategic Capabilities
 Overcome geographical barriers:

◦ Capture business transactions from remote locations. E.g. Customer orders

 Overcome Time barriers:

◦ Provide information to remote locations upon request. E.g. Credit enquires

 Overcome cost barriers:

◦ Reduce the cost of more traditional communications. E.g. Skye, video

conferencing
 Overcome structural barriers:

◦ Linkages for competitive advantage

NETWORK BASIC

A computer network is a system of interconnected computers that enable computers to

communicate with each other and share their resources, data, and applications. The computers
on a network may be linked through cables, telephone lines, radio waves, satellites, or infrared
light beams.

Advantages of Installing a Network

 Devices (e.g. laser printers) can be shared.

 The software can be shared.
 All users can access and update files from anywhere on the network.
 Data and software can be stored centrally.
 Network security can ensure that only authorized users can access data
  Workgroup computing: Workgroup software allows many users to work on a document
or project concurrently. For example, educators located at various colleges within a
country could simultaneously contribute their ideas about new curriculum standards to
the same document and spreadsheets.

Disadvantages of Installing a Network

 Expensive to Install. Although a network will generally save money over time, the initial
costs of installation can be prohibitive. Cables, network cards, and software are
expensive, and the installation may require the services of a technician.
 Requires Administrative Time. Proper maintenance of a network requires considerable
time and expertise. Many colleges have installed a network, only to find that they did
not budget for the necessary administrative support.
 File Server May Fail. Although a file server is no more susceptible to failure than any
other computer, when the files server "goes down," the entire network may come to a
halt. When this happens, the entire organization may lose access to necessary programs
and files.

TOPOLOGY
 Network topology is the name given to the way in which the devices (called nodes) are
connected in the network; it is the same as the physical topology.

Types of Telecom Networks

 Local Area Network

 ◦ Connect PCs and other devices within a limited geographical area, such as office,
building, etc. Not exceeding 1km.

◦ Very common in today’s office environment

◦ Facilitates file and data sharing within an organization

◦ Can be wired or wireless

◦ Usually controlled by a File or Network Server

 Using network connectivity devices such as:

◦ Router

◦ Ethernet Switch

◦ Hub

◦ Bridge

◦ Repeater

 Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

o A network of computers that covers a large area likes a city.
o The size of a MAN generally lies between that of a LAN and WAN typically covering a
distance of 5 KM to 50 KM.
o The geographical area covered by MAN is comparatively larger than LAN but smaller
than WAN.
 Wide Area Networks (WAN)

◦ Extend beyond the immediate geographical location

◦ May cover a large city or metropolitan area

◦ Used by multinational organizations and governments to transmit and receive

information among employees, customers, suppliers, etc across cities, regions,
countries, etc
 Virtual Private Networks (VPN)

◦ A private network configured within a public network

◦ A secure network that uses the internet as its main backbone

◦ Relies on firewalls and other security features of its internet & intranet
connections and that of participating organizations

◦ Enables an organization to establish an intranet between branches or extranet

with customers via the internet
Major components in simple network
 Client computer
 Server computer
 Network interfaces (NICs)
 Connection medium
 Network operating system
 Hub or switch
 Router
The major hardware, software, and transmission components used in a simple network: a client
computer and a dedicated server computer, network interfaces, a connection medium,
networking operating system software, and either a hub or a switch.
 Each computer on the network contains a network interface device called a network
interface card (NIC).
 The connecting medium for linking network components can be a wire, coaxial, fiber
optic, or radio signal in the case of cell phones or wireless local area network.
 The network operating system (NOS) routes and manages communications on the
network and coordinates network resources. It can reside on every computer in the
network, or it can reside primarily on a dedicated server computer for all the
applications on a network. The server controls the network. NOS software such as Linux,
Novell Netware, Microsoft Windows Server is the most widely used operating system.
 Networks also contain a switch or a hub acting as a connection point between
computers. Hubs are a simple device that connects network components, sending data
to all other connected devices.
 A switch has more intelligence than a hub and can filter and forward data to a specified
destination on a local network. So hubs and switches link up the devices on a local area
network.
 Routers are network devices that connect two or more networks.
 Routers are fairly intelligent devices that can figure out where the packets of
information you send are supposed to go.
 Routers maintain a routing table internally that keeps track of the addresses of
destinations you frequently send packet towards.
The direction of Data Flow
 Simplex Mode: the communication is Unidirectional. Only one of the two devices on a
link can transmit, the other can only receive the information.
 Half-Duplex Mode: each station can both transmit and receive but not at the same time.
When one device is sending, the other can only receive and vice-versa.
 Full-Duplex Mode: Both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously.

Transmission media
• Physical transmission media
• Twisted wire (modems)
• Coaxial cable
• Fiber optics and optical networks
• Wireless transmission media and devices
• Microwave
• Satellites
• Cellular telephones
• Wireless LAN
 Client/Server Networks: Key digital networking technologies
Two-tier architecture divides the information system processes into two classes:
– Server: manages system resources and provides access to those resources and services to
other computers on the network
– Client computer: uses communication interface to requests services from other
computers on the network

◦ PCs or workstations are connected to a server via LAN/WAN or series of LANs

◦ Processing and network management is mainly handled by the server.

Client-Server Networks: PCs and workstations, called clients are interconnected by local area
networks and share application processing with network servers.

 Peer-to-Peer Networks

◦ Computers are connected with no centralized authority

◦ Each computer handles its own processing

◦ All computers are equal; they are peers

◦ Each computer can be both a client that requests resources and a server that
provides resources
Access rights are localized
Peer-to-Peer: two or more computers are connected and share resources without going
through a separate server computer.
Each node simultaneously functions as both a client and a server to the other network nodes
 Intranets
 Use existing network infrastructure with Internet connectivity standards
software developed for the Web.
 A local or restricted communications network, especially a private network
created using World Wide Web software.
 Create networked applications that can run on many types of computers
 Protected by firewalls
An Intranet can enhance productivity through
• Internal e-mail
• Collaborative processing
• Access to organizational memory residing in databases
• Order processing
• Personal Web pages
• Departmental Web pages
• Enterprise information portal that supports communication and collaboration, web
publishing, business operation and management, and intranet portal management
 • Group communications
• Organization-wide communications
• Product and company information
Extranets
An extranet is an intranet that is available to strategic allies such as customers, suppliers, and
partners. It is subject to firewall protection.
An extranet can enhance productivity through:
• Implementing electronic data interchange (EDI) with suppliers and clients;
• Collaborating with other organizations in the development of new products and services
• Sharing product catalogues exclusively with wholesalers
• Sharing news and other information of shared interest exclusively with business
partners
• It can be used to build and strengthen strategic relationships with customers and
suppliers
• It can enable and improve collaboration by a business with its customers and other
business partners.
THE FUTURE OF THE INTERNET: IPV6 AND INTERNET2
 IPV4 is not enough.
 The internet will start to run out of available IP addresses
 IPV6 is a new version of IP, it was developed by the internet engineering task force
(IETF).
 It provides more addresses than IPV4, it provides 128 bits, and it is represented in
hexadecimal.
 Internet2 and Next Generation-Internet (NGI).
 The internet has some shortcomings.
 Internet2 is a high-performance network that uses an entirely different infrastructure
than the public Internet we know today.
 Already, more than 300 universities and scientific founding institutions and 60,000
member institutions throughout the United States and the rest of the world are part of
the Internet2 network.
  The Internet2 network may never become totally open; it might remain solely in the
domain of universities, research centers, and governments

Network Architectures & Protocols

Telecommunications and Networking in Today’s Business World

• TCP/IP and connectivity: Key digital networking technologies
• Connectivity between computers enabled by protocols
• Protocols: Rules that govern the transmission of information between
two points
• Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol (TCP/IP)
• The common worldwide standard that is the basis for Internet
• TCP handles the movement of data between computers, TCP
establishes a connection between computers, sequences the
transfer of packets, and acknowledge the packets sent.
• IP is responsible for the delivery of packets and includes the
disassembling and reassembling of packets during transmission
The Global Internet
• What is the Internet?
• Connecting to the Internet
• Internet service providers (ISPs)
• Services
• DSL, cable, satellite, T lines (T1, T3)
• Internet addressing and architecture
• IP addresses
• The domain name system
•
• The World Wide Web is a system with universally accepted standards for storing,
retrieving, formatting and displaying information.
 • WWW is also a collection of web servers, which contains several web pages pertaining
to a different website.
• HTML (Hypertext Markup Language):
• Formats documents for display on Web
• Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP):
• Communications standard used for transferring Web pages
• Uniform resource locators (URLs):
• Addresses of Web pages
• E.g.,http://www.megacorp.com/content/features/082602.html
• Web servers
• Software for locating and managing Web pages
• Web browser
• VOIP

Musa Jalloh
+23276674746/ +23288406840
musajalloh86@yahoo.com
musa.jalloh@ipam.edu.usl
BSc Hons (IPAM, USL), MSc (SU) New Delhi Campus
CCNA, CCNP, MCITP