BASIC NETWORK CONCEPTS

Human Network:
The human network has created unprecedented wealth and has allowed society to connect
and evolve in new ways.
The human network is generally regarded as a social structure composed of individual,
business partners, friends or other organizations connected through technology using devices such as
PCs, cell phones etc.
Evidence of human network can be found in the rapid rise of social networking. A social
network is a social structure made of nodes which are generally individuals or organization.
Computer Network:
A computer network may be described as the interconnection of two or more computer
systems for the purpose of communicating and sharing resources.
Computers are connected to each other so that they can share files and folders, applications
or resources like printers, scanners webcams etc. nternet is also type of computer networks which
connects all the computers of the world having internet facility in them.
What is Networking
A network is a system that allows communication to take place between two people or machines. n
the world of computer networking the rules for communication must be well defined.
Communication computers need to know the rules, so like two people speaking the same language.
They can communicate without delay. f the computers don!t understand each other!s nothing is
accomplished if there is no internet access, sharing of files or printing and all work stops.
A network may connect computers, printers, C"#$%& drives, scanners and other e'uipments. The
advantage of having computers and other machine connected is that people can pass information
back and forth much 'uickly.
(efore computer networks, people had to use cumbersome diskettes to share information. Another
advantage of using networks is that, they allow people to share resources such as, printers, hard disk
and applications can be shared greatly reducing the cost of providing this resources to each person in
an organization.
A computer network is built around the idea that there are senders and receivers. The sender or
source is a computer that wants to send information to another computer. The receiver is a computer
that the information is sent to also known as destination computer. %ften computers are not the only
machines communicating on a network, other machines such as printers with network capabilities
can also act as senders and receivers. A printer, computer or any machine that is capable of
communicating on the network is referred to as a device or node.
)hen devices are participating in communication on a network they need some way to pass
information among them. n most networks cables are used to interconnect devices. "evices may be
strung together with the cable going from device to device. n other layout, cables connect each
device to a central location like the spokes of a bicycle wheel.
The cable usually used in networking is made of copper wires similar to the wires in telephone cable
but of a much higher 'uality. n addition to the copper wire cables, other types of media can be used
in networks including cables made of glass and plastic. &ost recently network communication has
been accomplished through the air using radio and microwave transmission.
Bene!its o! Network:
*. Sharing In!ormation: Computers in a network can share lots of information with each other. At
many place some information is need to be used by many people. Thus information to be shared
should be centrally controlled and centrally stored and timely access must be given to those who
need the information and have right to access it.
+. Sharing Resour"es: ,etwork facilitated the sharing of hardware devices such as, printers,
modems and back#up storage devices. -oftware resources can be shared among all computers in
a network by keeping a single copy of software on central mechine and everyone sharing the
resources.
.. #a"i$itating Centra$i%e& 'anagement: The client server network allows
Central data storage
Central network management
Central data backup
Central security
Central software installation etc.
/. 'anaging So!tware: nstead of maintaining separate software on each computer of a network
only one copy of it can be installed on main server and then it can be shared among the rest of
the computers. t saves time and money and easy to manage.
0. 'aintaining the Network: n client server network, network is centrally maintained. t is
important and difficult 1ob. n this administrator has to keep track on status of network regarding
its performance, speed, traffic, security etc. so that some bottlenecks of network can be avoided.
2. Ba"king o! (ata: n a network instead of taking backup of user data independently in each
computer, user can save their data on central server and backup can be taken on server at any
time. t reduces time and easy access from server
Network Classifcation
,etwork are classified
- %n their geography
- 3 by their component role
C$assi!i"ation network )* their geograph*:
%n this basis network is divided into4
*. 5A,
+. &A,
.. )A,
+, -o"a$ Area Network .-AN/
i. ,etworks used to interconnect computers in a single room, rooms within a building or
buildings on one side are called 5A,
ii. 5A, transmits data with a speed of several megabytes per second 6*7
2
bits per second8
iii. 9sually 5A, linked computers within a limited geographical area because they must be
connected by a cable 6coa:ial cable8 which is 'uite e:pensive.
iv. 5A, linked computers, i.e. software and hardware, in the same area for the purpose of
sharing information.
Characteristics4
i. ;igh degree of interconnection between computers.
ii. Easy physical connection of computers in a network.
iii. ne:pensive medium of data transmission.
iv. ;igh data transmission rate.
Advantages of 5A,4
i. $eliability of network is high because failure of one computer in network does not effect
other computers
ii. Addition of new computer to network is easy.
iii. ;igh rate of data transmission is possible.
iv. $esources like discs and printer can be shared easily.
9-E %< 5A,
i. <ile transfer and access.
ii. )ord and te:t processing.
iii. E#mail handling.
iv. $emote database access.
v. %ffice automation.
5A,
0, 'etropo$itan Area Network .'AN/
i. A &etropolitan Area ,etwork is bigger version of 5A, and usually uses similar technology.
ii. A &A, can cover a group of corporate offices or a town or city and can be either privately
or publicly owned.
iii. A &A, can support both data and voice and may be related to the local Cable T= network.
iv. A &A, employs one or two cables and does not contain switching elements, which
simplifies the design.
1, Wi&e Area Network .WAN/
i. The term )ide Area ,etwork is used to describe a computer network spanning a regional,
national or global area as shown in figure bellow.
ii. The distance between the computers connected to )A, is larger. Therefore the transmission
medium used is normally telephone lines, microwaves and satellite links.
C;A$ACTE$-TC-4
A. Communication <acility4
5ong distance phone calls can be saved and it overcomes the time lag in overseas
communication.
Computer conferencing.
(. $emote "ata entry4
means sitting at any location you can enter data, update data and 'uery other
information of any computer attached to the )A,, but located in other cities.
C. Centralized nformation4
"ata generated by big organization which is spread over many cities are stored at a
single place 6Centralized "ata -torage8.
This data can be accessed from different sites and save at a single site.
E>A&P5E %< )A,4
*. Ethernet
+. A$AP,ET
C$assi!*ing network )* their "omponent rate:
%n this basis network is classified as
*. Peer#to#Peer ,etwork
+. -erver based ,etwork

+, Peer2to2Peer Network
i. t is a network in which two or more PCs share file and access devices such as printers
without re'uiring separate server computer or software.
ii. Each PC on the network is e'ual to the other so that the PC can communicate with each
other directly and do not have a centralized PC monitoring and controlling the
communication on the network.
iii. All clients provide resources, including bandwidth, storage space and computing power.
iv. Thus as nodes arrive and demand increases, the total capacity of the system also increases.
v. Each computer is autonomous and its functionality is independent of all other systems.
vi. ,etwork addresses are often configured manually and any settings for directory shares
printers and other services are uni'ue and accessible from each system.
vii. All access, logons, services and policies are provided to the users of their computer only.
viii.There is no centralized management.
A"=A,TA?E-4
i. ,o dedicated server.
ii. 5ess e:pensive.
iii. Easy to install and maintain.
iv. ?ood file, printer 3 C"#$%& sharing.
"-A"=A,TA?E-4
i. -low
ii. ,o good for database application.
iii. 5ess reliable.
iv. 5imited e:pandability.
0, C$ient 3Ser4er Network
i. t has a central authority figure that controls the communication and access to resources on
the network. This centralized controlling PC is called -erver.
ii. -ervers are PCs that control access to different resources on the network.
iii. The server has generally bigger processor and more storage than other PCs or the client on
the network.
iv. A network client is a PC on a client@server network that communicates to other PCs on the
network community through the server. t takes advantage of server!s resources and is very
similar to other AclientsB on the network.
v. Client#server networks consist of any number of workstations linked to one or more servers
and are highly scalable.
vi. As number of user increases, additional servers can be added to the network to spread the
workload.
A"=A,TA?E-4
i. <ast.
ii. E:pandable.
iii. )ill work with any application
iv. ;andles shared database application
v. ;igh level security.
"-A"=A,TA?E-4
i. ,eeds dedicated server.
ii. &ore e:pensive to buy.
iii. &ore e:pensive to maintain.
,ET)%$C <EAT9$E-4
i. <ile -haring4
Any file can be centrally stored and can be used by more than one user by sharing it.
ii. Printer -haring4
t allows you to share costly higher 'uality printer among network users. The most
common way of sharing a printer is to use printer 'ueue on a server.
iii. Application -ervices4
Dust as you can share files on a network, you can also share the application on
network by keeping it on server. Ceeping the applications centralized reduces the
amount of disk space re'uired. t is reliable and provides more security for the
applications.
iv. E#mail4
t is an important and valuable resource. t is an important feature for communication
within organization or outside the organizations also. E#mail is an application that
allows users connected to the same network to e:change files without having to login
at a same time. t makes communication faster but re'uires more security mechanism.
v. $emote access4
t is used by users to access their data6files, e#mail8 when they are working from
remote locations or when they are travelling. 9sers can access data from any remote
location. t enables user to access centralized applications, but re'uire more security
and hardware.
Network TOPOLOGIES AND NETWORKING
DEVICES
Topo$og*: The word topology means shape. The term network topology refers to the shape of a network ,
how all the nodes of a network are wired together.
A topology is essential and stable geometric arrangement of computers in a network.
T*pes o! Topo$og*:
+, Bus Topo$og*
(us Topology, more completely called a common (us &ultipoint Topology. t is a network where,
basically one single network is used from one end of the network to the other, with different network
devices connected to the cable at different locations.
Terminator
Terminator