Lecture 2

Introduction to Networking

Week 2

2021-2022
Outline

 Network components

 Network classifications and topologies

 Network peripherals, hardware and software

Any network consists of three main units:
1. Sending Unit: is responsible for sending data and
information to other computers within the network.

2. Receiving Unit: is the unit responsible for the reception

of data, information and messages sent from computers
within the network, or another of the other networks
connected to the same network.

3. Transmission Media: is a telephone line or connection

cable transmits data and information to / from network-
connected PCs.
 Workstations : Is a computer designed to accomplish professional
tasks, typically have specialized components that are optimized to
handle heavy computational or graphical tasks such as, video editing
or scientific calculations.

 Client: Any device in a network can ask to access recourses from a

workstation.

 Server: a powerful computer, do specific service

 Host: host (also known as "network host") is a computer or other

device that communicates with other hosts on a network. Hosts on a
network include client and servers -- that send or receive data,
services or applications.
 LAN(Local Area Networking)

 WAN (Wide Area Networks)

 MAN (Metropolitan Area Networks)

 CAN (Campus Area Networks)

 SAN (Storage or System Area Network)

 PAN (Personal Area Network)

Local Area Networks (LANs):

 A local area network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small

geographic area,

- Small network, short distance

Such as;
• A room, a floor, a building
• Limited by number of computers and distance covered
• Usually one kind of technology throughout the LAN
• Serve a department within an organization
 • A network that uses long-range telecommunication links to connect 2
or more LANs/computers housed in different places far apart.
• Towns, states, countries

• Examples:
• Network of a university Campus Your home
• Internet

WAN
College of Engineering England
o A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network that interconnects
users with computer resources in a geographic area or region larger
than that covered by local area network (LAN) but smaller than the
area covered by a wide area network (WAN).

o The term is applied to the interconnection of networks in a city into a

single larger network (which may then also offer efficient connection
to a wide area network).

o It is also used to mean the interconnection of several local area

networks by bridging them with backbone lines.

o The latter usage is also sometimes referred to as a campus

network.
 Campus Area Networks are usually a connection of many small LAN
networks which are often used on university campuses and office
buildings.

 This type of network offers a lot of simplicity in the transfer and

downloading of files.

 Campus Area Networks allow for easy

file sharing between different departments
as all the files are usually shared on the
server machines of each LAN network.
 SAN is a type of Local Area Network (LAN) designed to handle large data
transfers, and primarily used as information databases.

 They are specifically used for the storage

of information, and easy retrieval of specific
pieces of data whenever required.

 Storage Area Networks are usually used

by websites which offer downloading services.
 System Area Networks are speed oriented networks which provide high
speed internet connections to a cluster of computers.

 These are primarily used for server purposes, and allow other computers to
connect to these System Area Networks.

 System Area Networks deliver very high bandwidth with very low
latency
 A personal area network (PAN) is a computer network used
for communication among computer devices close to one
person.
 Some examples of devices that may be used in a PAN are
printers, fax machines, telephones, PDAs or scanners
 A topology is a way of “laying out” the network.
Topologies can be either physical or logical.
 Physical topologies describe how the cables are run.
 Logical topologies describe how the network messages travel
A bus topology uses a single backbone cable that is terminated at both ends.
• All the hosts connect directly to this backbone.
• In local area networks, each node is connected to a single cable. Each computer
or server is connected to the single bus cable.
• A signal from the source travels in both directions to all machines connected on
the bus cable until it finds the intended recipient. If the machine address does not
match the intended address for the data, the machine ignores the data.
• Alternatively, if the data matches the machine
address, the data is accepted.
 Advantages of Bus Topology
• Easy to connect a computer or peripheral to a bus.
• Requires less cable length than a star topology.

 Disadvantages of a Bus Topology

• Entire network shuts down if there is a break in the main cable.
• Terminators are required at both ends of the backbone cable.
• Difficult to identify the problem if the entire network shuts down.

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 A Star topology connects all the hosts to a central point of concentration
– which is a hub
 A star topology is designed with each node (file server, workstations, and
peripherals) connected directly to a central network hub, or switch.
 Data on a star network passes through the hub, or switch, before continuing to
its destination. The hub, or switch, manages and controls all functions of the
network. It also acts as a repeater for the data flow.

 Advantages of a Star Topology

 Good performance
 Reliable (if one connection fails, it doesn't affect others)
 Easy to replace, install or remove hosts or other devices
 Disadvantages of a Star Topology
 Requires more cable length than a linear topology.
 If the hub, or switch, fails, nodes attached are disabled.
 More expensive than linear bus topologies because of the cost of the hubs,
etc.

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 An Extended Star topology links hosts to hubs, and then all of the hubs are linked to one
central hub or switch. This is the most COMMON topology seen in Ethernet networks
today.

 Advantages of an extended star Topology

 Point-to-point wiring for individual segments.
 Supported by several hardware and software venders.

 Disadvantages of an extended star Topology

 If the backbone line breaks, the entire segment goes down.
 The performance and scalability of the network also depend on the capabilities of the hub or
switch.
 More difficult to configure and wiring than other topologies.

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 A hierarchical topology is similar to an extended star. However, instead of a
centralized hub or switch, the system is linked to a central host computer
(mainframe) that controls the traffic on the topology.
 The host computer at the top of the hierarchy is a mainframe computer. Lower
levels in the hierarchy could consist of minicomputers and microcomputers. It
should be noted that a system can sometimes have characteristics of more than one
of the above topologies.
Advantages:
• Point to point wiring
• Widely supported

Disadvantages:
• Segment length limited by cable type
• Backbone failure – entire goes down
• Difficult configurations and wiring

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 A Ring topology connects each host to 2 other hosts on both sides. In which each
computer is connected to the network in a closed loop or ring , this creates a physical ring of
cable .
The signal passes through each computer connected to the ring in one direction, from device
to device, until it reaches its destination. Each machines or computers connected to the ring act
as signal boosters or repeaters. When a device receives a signal intended for another device, its
repeater regenerates the bits and passes them along.

Advantage:
• High demand
• Easy reconfiguration,

Disadvantage:
• Unidirectional traffic, a break in the ring cable disable the entire network
• Expensive
• Failure of one computer disturbs the whole network.

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 A Mesh topology connects all the hosts to every other host.
 This is used to provide as much protection as possible from interruption of
service.

 Dedicated point-to-point link to every other nodes.

 A mesh network with n nodes has n(n-1)/2 links.

 There are two types of mesh topology:

 Full mesh topology

 Partial mesh topology

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• With a full mesh, each node is directly connected to every other
node. This enables a message to be sent along many individual
routes.
 With a partial mesh, not all nodes are connected directly to each other. A
partial mesh therefore has fewer routes for a message to travel along than a
full mesh but is simpler to implement.
o Wired mesh networks tend to
be uncommon, mainly because
connecting all nodes to all
other nodes is expensive and
impractical. However, wireless
mesh networks are
increasingly being used since it
is far simpler and cheaper to
connect using radio signals
Advantages:
 No traffic problems, robust, security, easy fault identification & isolation
 If one link becomes unusable, it does not affect the entire system.
 It has privacy and security.
 Point-to-point link make fault identification and
fault isolation easy.

Disadvantages:
 Difficult installation/reconfiguration, space, cost
 Requires more cable than the other LAN
topologies
 Hardware, Software and Networks Peripherals (device)

 Network Interface Card (NIC): NIC provides the physical interface between computer and cabling

 Repeater: It allows cabling system to extend beyond its maximum allowed length by amplifying the
network voltages so they travel farther.

 Hub: Used to link several computers together. They repeat any signal that comes in on one port and
copy it to the other ports (a process that is also called broadcasting).

 Bridge: Is a product that connects a local area network (LAN) to another local area network that uses
the same protocol (for example, Ethernet or Token Ring).

 Firewall is a set of related programs, located at a network gateway server, that protects the resources of
a private network from users from other networks.

 Router: Routers are highly intelligent devices that connect multiple network types and determine the
best path for sending data.

 Switch: is a computer networking device that connects network segments.

 TCP / IP

? - Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol

• A set of protocols or rules developed to allow

cooperating computers to share resources across a
network.

• To enable TCP/IP on the workstation, it must be

configured using the operating system tools.

• The process is very similar whether using a Windows or

Mac operating system.
 Ping
•Ping is a utility used to verify Internet connectivity.

•The ping command is used to test the NIC transmit/receive

function, the TCP/IP configuration, and network connectivity.

•ping •ping IP
127.0.0.1 address of
•ping remote host
•ping computer
default- destination
gateway IP IP address
address
Testing Connectivity with Ping
 Next Lecture

Week Three

Networks and Networking media;

Cabling LANs