Computer Network: Computer network is interconnected collection of autonomous
computers. Two computers are said to be interconnected if they are able to exchange
information. These systems are connected through either wired media or wireless media.
Wired media like twisted pair, coaxial cable, fibre optics and wireless media like
microwaves, communication satellites are generally used for communication. If one
computer can forcibly start, stop or control another one, the computers are not autonomous.
A system with one control unit and many slaves is not a network.
Computer networks components comprise both physical parts as well as the software
required for installing computer networks, both at organizations and at home. The hardware
components are the server, client, peer, transmission medium, and connecting devices like
Bridges, Hubs, Repeaters, Gateways, Switches etc.. The software components are operating
system and protocols.
Goals of Computer Network: The main goals of computer networks are as follows :
(i) Communication: A computer network can provide a powerful communication medium
and enhance human-to-human communication. When one person makes a change to an
online document, the others can see the change immediately. Access to remote
information, Person-to-person communication, Interactive entertainment, and video
conferencing are some categories of communication that achieved through computer
network.
(ii) Resource Sharing: First goal is resource sharing that make all programs, equipment, and
especially data available to anyone on the network without regard to the physical location
of the resources and the user.
(iii) High Reliability: Second goal is to provide high reliability by having alternative sources
of supply. For example, all files could be replicated on two or three machines, so if one of
them is unavailable, the other copies could be used. For this reason, computer network is
used in various application area like military, banking, air traffic control, nuclear safety
etc.
(iv) Saving Money: Another goal is saving money. Small computers have a much better
price/performance ratio than large ones. Client-server model help to build economical
network system where many server machines fulfil the request of clients.
(v) Scalability: Another networking goal is scalability, the ability to increase system
performance gradually as the workload grows just by adding more processors.
Networking Devices: Following devices are used in networking.
(i) Repeaters: A repeater is a device that operates only in the physical layer. A repeater
receives a signal and, before it becomes too weak or corrupted, regenerates the original bit
pattern. The repeater then sends the refreshed signal. A repeater can extend the physical
length of a LAN.
(ii) Hubs: Hubs are networking devices operating at a physical layer of the OSI model that
are used to connect multiple devices in a network. They are generally used to connect
computers in a LAN. A hub has many ports in it. A computer which intends to be
connected to the network is plugged in to one of these ports. When a data frame arrives at
a port, it is broadcast to every other port, without considering whether it is destined for a
particular destination device or not.
Features of Hub: Hub has following features:
o A hub operates in the physical layer of the OSI model.
o A hub cannot filter data. It is a non-intelligent network device that sends message to all
ports. It primarily broadcasts messages.
o Transmission mode is half duplex.
o Collisions may occurs during setup of transmission when more than one computers place
data simultaneously in the corresponding ports.
o Hub has passive device, it has lack of intelligence to compute best path for transmission
of data packets, inefficiencies and wastage occur.
Types of Hubs: Initially, hubs were passive devices. However, with development of
advanced technology, active hubs and intelligent hubs came into use.
o Passive Hubs − Passive hubs connects nodes in a star configuration by collecting wiring
from nodes. They broadcast signals onto the network without amplifying or regenerating
them.
o Active Hubs − Active hubs amplify and regenerate the incoming electrical signals before
broadcasting them. Due to their regenerating capabilities, they can extend the maximum
distance between nodes, thus increasing the size of LAN.
o Intelligent Hubs − Intelligent hubs are active hubs that provide additional network
management facilities. They can perform a variety of functions of more intelligent
network devices like network management, switching, providing flexible data rates etc.
(iii) Switches: Switches are networking devices operating at data link layer of the OSI
model. They connect devices in a network and use packet switching to send, receive or
forward data packets or data frames over the network. A switch has many ports, to which
computers are plugged in. When a data frame arrives at any port of a network switch, it
examines the destination address, performs necessary checks and sends the frame to the
corresponding device(s). It supports unicast, multicast as well as broadcast
communications.
Features of Switches
o A switch operates at data link layer of the OSI model.
o It is an intelligent network device that can be conceived as a multiport network bridge.
o It uses MAC addresses to send data packets to selected destination ports.
o It uses packet switching technique to receive and forward data packets from the source to
the destination device.
o It supports unicast (one-to-one), multicast (one-to-many) and broadcast (one-to-all)
communications.
o Transmission mode is full duplex.
o Switches are active devices, equipped with network software and network management
capabilities.
o Switches can perform some error checking before forwarding data to the destined port.
Types of Switches: There are varieties of switches that can be broadly categorised
into Four Types:
o Unmanaged Switch: These are inexpensive switches commonly used in home networks
and small businesses. They can be set up by simply plugging in to the network, after
which they instantly start operating.
o Managed Switch: These are costly switches that are used in organisations with large and
complex networks due to their scalability and flexibility. The augmented features may be
QoS (Quality of Service) like higher security levels, better precision control and
complete network management. Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP) is used
for configuring managed switches.
o LAN Switch − Local Area Network (LAN) switches connects devices in the internal
LAN of an organization. They are also referred as Ethernet switches or data switches.
These switches are particularly helpful in reducing network congestion.
o PoE Switch − Power over Ethernet (PoE) switches are used in PoE Gigabit Ethernets.
PoE technology combines data and power transmission over the same cable so that
devices connected to it can receive both electricity as well as data over the same line.
PoE switches offer greater flexibility and simplifies the cabling connections.
(iv) Bridge: LANs can be connected by devices called bridges, which operate in the
physical and the data link layer both. As a physical layer device, it regenerates the
signal it receives. As a data link layer device, the bridge can check the physical (MAC)
addresses (source and destination) contained in the frame. A bridge has filtering
capability, it can check the destination address of a frame and decide if the frame
should be forwarded or dropped.
If the frame is to be forwarded, the decision must specify the port. A bridge has a table
that maps addresses to ports. Various types of bridges are available as per their
functionality like Transparent bridge, Spanning tree Bridges, Source routing Bridges,
Remote bridges etc. Bridge considered and handled the many issue in LAN like Frame
format, Maximum data size, Data rate, Bit order, Security, and Multimedia support.
(v) Routers: A router is a three-layer device that routes packets based on their logical
addresses (host-to-host addressing). A router normally connects LANs and WANs in
the Internet and has a routing table that is used for making decisions about the route.
The routing tables are normally dynamic and are updated using routing protocols.
A three-layer switch is a router, but a faster and more sophisticated. The switching
fabric in a three-layer switch allows faster table lookup and forwarding. Routers are
manufactured by some popular companies like Cisco, D-Link, HP, Juniper, Nortel etc..
Features of Routers: Router has following Features:
o A router is a network layer device.
o It connects different networks together and sends data packets from one network to
another.
o A router can be used both in LANs and WANs.
o It transfers data in the form of IP packets. In order to transmit data, it uses IP address
mentioned in the destination field of the IP packet.
o Routers have a routing table in it that is refreshed periodically according to the changes
in the network. In order to transmit data packets, it consults the table and uses a routing
protocol.
o Routers are more expensive than other networking devices like hubs, bridges and
switches.
Types of Routers: A variety of routers are available depending upon their usages.
o Wireless Router: It provides WiFi connection and connect WiFi devices like laptops,
smart phones etc.
o Broadband Router: It used to connect to the Internet through telephone. It use voice
over Internet Protocol (VoIP) technology for providing high-speed Internet access.
o Core Routers: It can route data packets within a given network, but cannot route the
packets between the networks. It is used by ISP and communication interfaces.
o Edge Router: It is low-capacity routers that connect the internal network to the external
networks, and are suitable for transferring data packets across networks. They use Border
Gateway Protocol (BGP) for connectivity.
o Brouters: Brouters are specialised routers that can provide the functionalities of bridges
as well.
(vi) Gateway: A gateway is normally a computer that operates in all five layers of the
Internet or seven layers of OSI model. A gateway takes an application message, reads
it, and interprets it. This means that it can be used as a connecting device between two
internetworks that use different models. Gateways can provide security. On basis of
direction of data flow, gateways are broadly divided into two categories.
o Unidirectional Gateway: It allows data to flow in only one direction. Changes made in
the source node are replicated in the destination node, but not vice versa.
o Bidirectional Gateway: It allows data to flow in both directions. They can be used as
synchronization tools.
Features of Gateways
o Gateway is located at the boundary of a network and manages all data that inflows or
outflows from that network.
o It forms a passage between two different networks operating with different transmission
protocols.
o A gateway operates as a protocol converter, providing compatibility between the
different protocols used in the two different networks.
o It also stores information about the routing paths of the communicating networks.
o When used in enterprise scenario, a gateway node may be supplemented as proxy server
or firewall.
o A gateway is generally implemented as a node with multiple NICs connected to different
networks. However, it can also be configured using software.
o It uses packet switching technique to transmit data across the networks.
