COMPUTER NETWORK
BY MR KWIRIGA
Definition. Network
A network can be defined as two or more computers
connected together in such a way that they can share
resources.
The purpose of a network is to share resources. For
example
A file
A folder
A printer
A disk drive
Or just about anything else that exists on a computer.
A network is simply a collection of computers or other
hardware devices that are connected together, either physically
or logically, using special hardware and soft- ware, to allow
them to exchange information and cooperate. Networking is
the term that describes the processes involved in designing,
implementing, upgrading, managing and otherwise working
with networks and network technologies.
⦁Advantages of networking
Connectivity and Communication
•
Data Sharing
•
Hardware Sharing
•
Internet Access
•
Internet Access Sharing
•
Data Security and Management
•
Performance Enhancement and Balancing
•
Entertainment
•
⦁ The Disadvantages (Costs) of Networking
• Network Hardware, Software and Setup Costs
• Hardware and Software Management and Administration Costs
• Undesirable Sharing
• Illegal or Undesirable Behavior
• Data Security Concerns
⦁ Fundamental Network Classifications
Local Area Networks (LANs)
A local area network (LAN) is a computer network covering a small geographic
area, like a home, office, or group of buildings
Wide Area Networks (WANs)
Wide Area Network (WAN) is a computer network that covers a broad area
(i.e., any network whose communications links cross metropolitan, regional, or
national boundaries). Or, less formally, a network that uses routers and public
communi- cations links The largest and most well-known example of a WAN is
the Internet. WANs are used to connect LANs and other types of networks
together, so that users
Local area network
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
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 even a large local area network
(LAN) but smaller than the area covered by a wide area network
(WAN).
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). It is also used to mean the
interconnection of several local area networks by bridging them
with backbone lines.
Wider area network (WAN)
⦁ Network topology
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
• Bus (can be both logical and physical)
• Star (physical only)
• Ring (can be both logical and physical)
• Mesh (can be both logical and physical)
⦁ Bus
A bus is the simplest physical topology. It consists of a single cable that
runs to every workstation This topology uses the least amount of cabling,
but also covers the shortest amount of distance.
Each computer shares the same data and address path. With a logical bus
topology, messages pass through the trunk, and each workstation checks to
see if the message is addressed to itself. If the address of the message
matches the workstation’s address, the network adapter copies the message
to the card’s on-board memory. It is difficult to add a workstation have to
completely reroute the cable and possibly run two additional lengths of it.
if any one of the cables breaks, the entire network is disrupted. Therefore,
it is very expensive to maintain.
Bus Topology
⦁ Star Topology
A physical star topology branches each network device off a
central device called a hub, making it very easy to add a new
workstation. Also, if any workstation goes down it does not
affect the entire network. (But, as you might expect, if the
central device goes down, the entire network goes down.)
Star topologies are easy to install. A cable is run from each
workstation to the hub. The hub is placed in a central location in
the office. Star topologies are more expensive to install than bus
networks, because there are several more cables that need to be
installed, plus the cost of the hubs that are needed.
Star Topology
Ring
Each computer connects to two other computers, joining them in a circle
creating a unidirectional path where messages move workstation to
workstation. Each entity participating in the ring reads a message, then
regenerates it and hands it to its neighbor on a different network cable.
The ring makes it difficult to add new computers. Unlike a star topology
network, the ring topology network will go down if one entity is
removed from the ring. Physical ring topology systems don’t exist much
anymore, mainly because the hard- ware involved is fairly expensive and
the fault tolerance is very low.
Ring Topology
⦁ Mesh
The mesh topology is the simplest logical topology in terms of data flow,
but it is the most complex in terms of physical design. In this physical
topology, each device is connected to every other device This topology is
rarely found in LANs, mainly because of the complexity of the cabling. If
there are x computers, there will be(x × (x − 1)) ÷ 2cables in the network. For
example, if you have five computers in a mesh network, it will use 5×(5 −
1)÷2, which equals 10 cables. This complexity is compounded when you
add another workstation. For example, your five-computer, 10-cable
network will jump to 15 cables just by adding one more computer. Imagine
how the person doing the cabling would feel if you told them you had to
cable 50 computers in a mesh network - they’d have to come up with 50 ×
(50 − 1) ÷ 2 = 1225 cables!
Because of its design, the physical mesh topology is very
expensive to install and maintain. Cables must be run from each
device to every other device. The ad- vantage you gain from it is
its high fault tolerance. With a logical mesh topology, however,
there will always be a way of getting the data from source to
destination. It may not be able to take the direct route, but it can
take an alternate, indirect route. It is for this reason that the mesh
topology is still found in WANs to connect multi- ple sites across
WAN links. It uses devices called routers to search multiple
routes through the mesh and determine the best path. However,
the mesh topology does become inefficient with five or more
entities.
Mesh topology
