1.

1
Chapter 1

Introduction
Copyright The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
1.2
1-1 DATA COMMUNICATIONS
The term telecommunication means communication at a
distance. The word data refers to information presented
in whatever form is agreed upon by the parties creating
and using the data. Data communications are the
exchange of data between two devices via some form of
transmission medium such as a wire cable.

3 Fundamental characteristics:
a) Delivery
b) Accuracy
c) Timeliness
1.3
Figure 1.1 Five components of data communication
Components
Data Reprsentation
Data Flow
Topics discussed in this section:
1.4
1-2 NETWORKS
A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes)
connected by communication links. A node can be a
computer, printer, or any other device capable of sending
and/or receiving data generated by other nodes on the
network.
Distributed Processing
Network Criteria
Physical Structures
Network Models
Categories of Networks
Interconnection of Networks: Internetwork
Topics discussed in this section:
1.5
1-3 Networks-Distributed Processing

Advantages:-
Security /Encapsulation
Distributed database
Faster Solving Problem
Security Through redundancy
Collaborative Processing
Networks uses distributed processing in which a task is divided
among multiple computers.
1.6
1-3 Networks-Networks Criteria

Factors to be considered for Networks Criteria-



Performance
Number of Users, Type of Transmission Media, Hardware,
Software

Reliability
Frequency of Failure, catastrophe, Recovery time of network
after failure.

Security
Unauthorized access ,Viruses
1.7
LINE CONFIGURATION

Figure 1.2 Data flow (simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex)
1.8
Figure 1.3 Types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint
1.9
Figure 1.4 Categories of topology
1.10
Figure 1.5 A fully connected mesh topology (five devices)
1.11
Figure 1.6 A star topology connecting four stations
1.12
Figure 1.7 A bus topology connecting three stations
1.13
Figure 1.8 A ring topology connecting six stations
1.14
Figure 1.9 A hybrid topology: a star backbone with three bus networks
1.15
Figure 1.10 An isolated LAN connecting 12 computers to a hub in a closet
1.16
Figure 1.11 WANs: a switched WAN and a point-to-point WAN
1.17
Figure 1.12 A heterogeneous network made of four WANs and two LANs
1.18
1-3 THE INTERNET
The I nternet has revolutionized many aspects of our daily
lives. I t has affected the way we do business as well as the
way we spend our leisure time. The I nternet is a
communication system that has brought a wealth of
information to our fingertips and organized it for our use.
1.19
Figure 1.13 Hierarchical organization of the I nternet
1.20
1-4 PROTOCOLS AND STANDARDS
I n this section, we define two widely used terms: protocols
and standards. First, we define protocol, which is
synonymous with rule. Then we discuss standards, which
are agreed-upon rules.
Protocols
Standards
Standards Organizations
Internet Standards
Topics discussed in this section:
Players in the Field
Main players in the field of Computer Networks Systems are:
Service Providers: they have a network to which users can
connect and use the network for their communication and
information needs.
PTT's (e.g.BTCL, British Telecom, Belgacom, Telefonica, )
Internet Service Providers (e.g. Pradeshta,WorldOnline, Wanadoo,
Zonet, Surfnet, XS4ALL, )
Vendors / Manufacturers: they built the 'components' needed by
service providers to built their network and needed by users to
connect to these networks.
Cisco, Cabletron, Lucent, Ericsson, Alcatel, Fore, Nortel, IBM, Sun,
HP, Toshiba, DEC, 3COM, Intel, MicroSoft,
Standardization organizations: the 'components' made by
(possibly different) Vendors have to cooperate. To make such
cooperation possible standards are needed.
Players in the Field - Standards
What are standards?
Standards are documented agreements containing
technical specifications or other precise criteria to be used
consistently as rules, guidelines, or definitions of
characteristics, to ensure that material, products,
processes and services are fit for their purpose.
Standards are specified by standardization
organizations, the four most important ones for
Computer Networks are:
International Standards Organization (ISO)
International Telecommunications Union -
Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T)
Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF)
Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Players in the Field - Standards
(2)
International Standards
Organization (ISO)
Who participate?
National standardization
institutes like: NNI, DIN,
ANSI,
What do they standardize?
Almost everything: paper size
(A0, , A4)
Screw threads
Film Speed
Data Communication
How are they organized?
Technical Committees (TC),
Subcommittees (SC) and
Working Groups (WG)
URL: www.iso.ch
International
Telecommunications Union -
Telecommunication (ITU-T)
Who participate?
Public Network Operators,
accredited telecom
organizations,
What do they standardize?
Telecommunication, network
operation and tariffs.
Their standards are called
Recommendations.
How are they organized?
Study Groups
URL: www.itu.int/ITU-T
Players in the Field - Standards
(3)
Internet Engineering Task
Force (IETF)
Who participate?
It's an open community of
network designers,
operators, vendors,
researchers. Anyone can
join (you too).
What do they standardize?
The Internet.
Standards are called
Request For Comments
(RFC)
How are they organized?
Areas and Working Groups
All documents are freely
available!
URL: www.ietf.org


Institute of Electrical and
Electronics Engineers (IEEE)
Who participate?
Organization of EE-
professionals.
What do they standardize?
E.g. Local Area Networks
(LAN) and Metropolitan
Area Networks (MAN)
URLs:
www.ieee.org
http://grouper.ieee.org/gr
oups/802/