Unit-1

Computer Network Types

A computer network is a group of computers linked to each other that enables the
computer to communicate with another computer and share their resources, data, and
applications.

A computer network can be categorized by their size. A computer network is mainly

of four types:

o LAN(Local Area Network)

o PAN(Personal Area Network)
o MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
o WAN(Wide Area Network)

LAN(Local Area Network)

o Local Area Network is a group of computers connected to each other in a small
area such as building, office.
o LAN is used for connecting two or more personal computers through a
communication medium such as twisted pair, coaxial cable, etc.
o It is less costly as it is built with inexpensive hardware such as hubs, network
adapters, and ethernet cables.
o The data is transferred at an extremely faster rate in Local Area Network.
o Local Area Network provides higher security.
PAN(Personal Area Network)
o Personal Area Network is a network arranged within an individual person,
typically within a range of 10 meters.
o Personal Area Network is used for connecting the computer devices of personal
use is known as Personal Area Network.
o Thomas Zimmerman was the first research scientist to bring the idea of the
Personal Area Network.
o Personal Area Network covers an area of 30 feet.
o Personal computer devices that are used to develop the personal area network
are the laptop, mobile phones, media player and play stations.

There are two types of Personal Area Network:

o Wired Personal Area Network

o Wireless Personal Area Network

MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)

o A metropolitan area network is a network that covers a larger geographic area
by interconnecting a different LAN to form a larger network.
o Government agencies use MAN to connect to the citizens and private industries.
 o In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other through a telephone
exchange line.
o The most widely used protocols in MAN are RS-232, Frame Relay, ATM, ISDN,
OC-3, ADSL, etc.
o It has a higher range than Local Area Network(LAN).

Uses Of Metropolitan Area Network:

o MAN is used in communication between the banks in a city.
o It can be used in an Airline Reservation.
o It can be used in a college within a city.
o It can also be used for communication in the military.

WAN(Wide Area Network)

o A Wide Area Network is a network that extends over a large geographical area
such as states or countries.
o A Wide Area Network is quite bigger network than the LAN.
o A Wide Area Network is not limited to a single location, but it spans over a large
geographical area through a telephone line, fibre optic cable or satellite links.
o The internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.
o A Wide Area Network is widely used in the field of Business, government, and
education.

Examples Of Wide Area Network:

o Mobile Broadband: A 4G network is widely used across a region or country.

o Last mile: A telecom company is used to provide the internet services to the
customers in hundreds of cities by connecting their home with fiber.
 o Private network: A bank provides a private network that connects the 44
offices. This network is made by using the telephone leased line provided by
the telecom company.

OSI Model
OSI stands for Open Systems Interconnection. It has been developed by
ISO – ‘International Organization for Standardization‘, in the year 1984. It
is a 7 layer architecture with each layer having specific functionality to perform.
All these 7 layers work collaboratively to transmit the data from one person to
another across the globe.

Characteristics of OSI Model:

 o The OSI model is divided into two layers: upper layers and lower layers.
o The upper layer of the OSI model mainly deals with the application related
issues, and they are implemented only in the software. The application layer is
closest to the end user. Both the end user and the application layer interact with
the software applications. An upper layer refers to the layer just above another
layer.
o The lower layer of the OSI model deals with the data transport issues. The data
link layer and the physical layer are implemented in hardware and software. The
physical layer is the lowest layer of the OSI model and is closest to the physical
medium. The physical layer is mainly responsible for placing the information on
the physical medium.

Functions of the OSI Layers

There are the seven OSI layers. Each layer has different functions. A list of seven layers
are given below:

1. Physical Layer
2. Data-Link Layer
3. Network Layer
4. Transport Layer
5. Session Layer
6. Presentation Layer
 7. Application Layer

Physical layer

The lowest layer of the OSI reference model is the physical layer. It is
responsible for the actual physical connection between the devices. The
physical layer contains information in the form of bits. It is responsible for
transmitting individual bits from one node to the next. When receiving data,
this layer will get the signal received and convert it into 0s and 1s and send
them to the Data Link layer, which will put the frame back together.

Functions of a Physical layer:

o Line Configuration: It defines the way how two or more devices can be
connected physically.
 o Data Transmission: It defines the transmission mode whether it is simplex,
half-duplex or full-duplex mode between the two devices on the network.
o Topology: It defines the way how network devices are arranged.
o Signals: It determines the type of the signal used for transmitting the
information.

Data-Link Layer

o This layer is responsible for the error-free transfer of data frames.

o It defines the format of the data on the network.
o It provides a reliable and efficient communication between two or more devices.
o It is mainly responsible for the unique identification of each device that resides
on a local network.
o It contains two sub-layers:
o Logical Link Control Layer
o It is responsible for transferring the packets to the Network layer
of the receiver that is receiving.
o It identifies the address of the network layer protocol from the
header.
o It also provides flow control.
o Media Access Control Layer
o A Media access control layer is a link between the Logical Link
Control layer and the network's physical layer.
o It is used for transferring the packets over the network.

Functions of the Data-link layer

 1. Framing: Framing is a function of the data link layer. It provides a
way for a sender to transmit a set of bits that are meaningful to the
receiver. This can be accomplished by attaching special bit patterns
to the beginning and end of the frame.
2. Physical addressing: After creating frames, the Data link layer
adds physical addresses (MAC address) of the sender and/or
receiver in the header of each frame.
3. Error control: Data link layer provides the mechanism of error
control in which it detects and retransmits damaged or lost frames.
4. Flow Control: The data rate must be constant on both sides else
the data may get corrupted thus, flow control coordinates the
amount of data that can be sent before receiving
acknowledgement.
5. Access control: When a single communication channel is shared
by multiple devices, the MAC sub-layer of the data link layer helps
to determine which device has control over the channel at a given
time.

Network Layer

The network layer works for the transmission of data from one host to the
other located in different networks. It also takes care of packet routing i.e.
selection of the shortest path to transmit the packet, from the number of
routes available. The sender & receiver’s IP addresses are placed in the
header by the network layer.
The functions of the Network layer are :
1. Routing: The network layer protocols determine which route is
suitable from source to destination. This function of the network
layer is known as routing.
 2. Logical Addressing: In order to identify each device on
internetwork uniquely, the network layer defines an addressing
scheme. The sender & receiver’s IP addresses are placed in the
header by the network layer. Such an address distinguishes each
device uniquely and universally.

Transport Layer

o The Transport layer is a Layer 4 ensures that messages are transmitted in the
order in which they are sent and there is no duplication of data.
o The main responsibility of the transport layer is to transfer the data completely.
o It receives the data from the upper layer and converts them into smaller units
known as segments.
o This layer can be termed as an end-to-end layer as it provides a point-to-point
connection between source and destination to deliver the data reliably.
The two protocols used in this layer are:
o Transmission Control Protocol
o It is a standard protocol that allows the systems to communicate over
the internet.
o It establishes and maintains a connection between hosts.
o When data is sent over the TCP connection, then the TCP protocol
divides the data into smaller units known as segments. Each segment
travels over the internet using multiple routes, and they arrive in different
orders at the destination. The transmission control protocol reorders the
packets in the correct order at the receiving end.
 o User Datagram Protocol
o User Datagram Protocol is a transport layer protocol.
o It is an unreliable transport protocol as in this case receiver does not send
any acknowledgment when the packet is received, the sender does not
wait for any acknowledgment. Therefore, this makes a protocol
unreliable.

Functions of Transport Layer:

o Service-point addressing: Computers run several programs simultaneously

due to this reason, the transmission of data from source to the destination not
only from one computer to another computer but also from one process to
another process. The transport layer adds the header that contains the address
known as a service-point address or port address. The responsibility of the
network layer is to transmit the data from one computer to another computer
and the responsibility of the transport layer is to transmit the message to the
correct process.
o Segmentation and reassembly: When the transport layer receives the
message from the upper layer, it divides the message into multiple segments,
and each segment is assigned with a sequence number that uniquely identifies
each segment. When the message has arrived at the destination, then the
transport layer reassembles the message based on their sequence numbers.
o Connection control: Transport layer provides two services Connection-
oriented service and connectionless service. A connectionless service treats
each segment as an individual packet, and they all travel in different routes to
reach the destination. A connection-oriented service makes a connection with
the transport layer at the destination machine before delivering the packets. In
connection-oriented service, all the packets travel in the single route.
o Flow control: The transport layer also responsible for flow control but it is
performed end-to-end rather than across a single link.
o Error control: The transport layer is also responsible for Error control. Error
control is performed end-to-end rather than across the single link. The sender
transport layer ensures that message reach at the destination without any error.

Session Layer
 o It is a layer 3 in the OSI model.
o This layer is responsible for the establishment of connection,
maintenance of sessions, authentication, and also ensures security.

Functions of Session layer:

1. Session establishment, maintenance, and termination: The

layer allows the two processes to establish, use and terminate a
connection.
2. Synchronization: This layer allows a process to add checkpoints
which are considered synchronization points into the data. These
synchronization points help to identify the error so that the data is
re-synchronized properly, and ends of the messages are not cut
prematurely and data loss is avoided.
3. Dialog Controller: The session layer allows two systems to start
communication with each other in half-duplex or full-duplex.

Presentation Layer
 o A Presentation layer is mainly concerned with the syntax and semantics of the
information exchanged between the two systems.
o It acts as a data translator for a network.
o This layer is a part of the operating system that converts the data from one
presentation format to another format.
o The Presentation layer is also known as the syntax layer. ( Translation layer)

Functions of Presentation layer:

1. Translation: For example, ASCII to EBCDIC.

2. Encryption/ Decryption: Data encryption translates the data into
another form or code. The encrypted data is known as the ciphertext and
the decrypted data is known as plain text. A key value is used for
encrypting as well as decrypting data.
3. Compression: Reduces the number of bits that need to be transmitted
on the network.

Application Layer

At the very top of the OSI Reference Model stack of layers, we find the
Application layer which is implemented by the network applications. These
applications produce the data, which has to be transferred over the network.

This layer also serves as a window for the application services to access the
network and for displaying the received information to the user.
Ex: Application – Browsers, Skype Messenger, etc.
**Application Layer is also called Desktop Layer.
Functions of Application layer:

o File transfer, access, and management (FTAM): An application layer allows a

user to access the files in a remote computer, to retrieve the files from a
computer and to manage the files in a remote computer.
o Mail services: An application layer provides the facility for email forwarding
and storage.
o Directory services: An application provides the distributed database sources and
is used to provide that global information about various objects.

TCP/IP model
o The TCP/IP model was developed prior to the OSI model.
o The TCP/IP model is not exactly similar to the OSI model.
o The TCP/IP model consists of five layers: the application layer, transport layer,
network layer, data link layer and physical layer.
o The first four layers provide physical standards, network interface,
internetworking, and transport functions that correspond to the first four layers
of the OSI model and these four layers are represented in TCP/IP model by a
single layer called the application layer.
o TCP/IP is a hierarchical protocol made up of interactive modules, and each of
them provides specific functionality.

Here, hierarchical means that each upper-layer protocol is supported by two or more
lower-level protocols.

Functions of TCP/IP layers:

1. Network Access Layer –

This layer corresponds to the combination of Data Link Layer and Physical
Layer of the OSI model. It looks out for hardware addressing and the
protocols present in this layer allows for the physical transmission of data.
We just talked about ARP being a protocol of Internet layer, but there is a
conflict about declaring it as a protocol of Internet Layer or Network access
layer. It is described as residing in layer 3, being encapsulated by layer 2
protocols.

2. Internet Layer –

This layer parallels the functions of OSI’s Network layer. It defines the
protocols which are responsible for logical transmission of data over the
entire network. The main protocols residing at this layer are :
1. IP – stands for Internet Protocol and it is responsible for delivering
packets from the source host to the destination host by looking at
the IP addresses in the packet headers. IP has 2 versions:
IPv4 and IPv6. IPv4 is the one that most of the websites are using
currently. But IPv6 is growing as the number of IPv4 addresses are
limited in number when compared to the number of users.
2. ICMP – stands for Internet Control Message Protocol. It is
encapsulated within IP datagrams and is responsible for providing
hosts with information about network problems.
3. ARP – stands for Address Resolution Protocol. Its job is to find the
hardware address of a host from a known IP address. ARP has
 several types: Reverse ARP, Proxy ARP, Gratuitous ARP and
Inverse ARP.

Transport Layer
This layer is analogous to the transport layer of the OSI model. It is
responsible for end-to-end communication and error-free delivery of data. It
shields the upper-layer applications from the complexities of data. The two
main protocols present in this layer are :
1. Transmission Control Protocol (TCP) – It is known to provide
reliable and error-free communication between end systems. It
performs sequencing and segmentation of data. It also has
acknowledgment feature and controls the flow of the data through
flow control mechanism. It is a very effective protocol but has a lot
of overhead due to such features. Increased overhead leads to
increased cost.
2. User Datagram Protocol (UDP) – On the other hand does not
provide any such features. It is the go-to protocol if your application
does not require reliable transport as it is very cost-effective. Unlike
TCP, which is connection-oriented protocol, UDP is connectionless.

4. Application Layer –

• This layer performs the functions of top three layers of the OSI
model: Application, Presentation and Session Layer. It is responsible
for node-to-node communication and controls user-interface
specifications. Some of the protocols present in this layer are: HTTP,
HTTPS, FTP, TFTP, Telnet, SSH, SMTP, SNMP, NTP, DNS, DHCP,
NFS, X Window, LPD. Have a look at Protocols in Application Layer for
some information about these protocols. Protocols other than those
present in the linked article are :
I.HTTP and HTTPS – HTTP stands for Hypertext transfer protocol. It is used
by the World Wide Web to manage communications between web browsers
and servers. HTTPS stands for HTTP-Secure. It is a combination of HTTP
with SSL(Secure Socket Layer). It is efficient in cases where the browser
need to fill out forms, sign in, authenticate and carry out bank transactions.

II.SSH – SSH stands for Secure Shell. It is a terminal emulations software

similar to Telnet. The reason SSH is more preferred is because of its ability
to maintain the encrypted connection. It sets up a secure session over a
TCP/IP connection.
III.NTP – NTP stands for Network Time Protocol. It is used to synchronize the
clocks on our computer to one standard time source. It is very useful in
situations like bank transactions. Assume the following situation without the
presence of NTP. Suppose you carry out a transaction, where your computer
reads the time at 2:30 PM while the server records it at 2:28 PM. The server
can crash very badly if it’s out of sync.

Difference between TCP/IP and OSI Model:

TCP/IP OSI
TCP refers to Transmission OSI refers to Open Systems
Control Protocol. Interconnection.

TCP/IP has 4 layers. OSI has 7 layers.

TCP/IP is more reliable OSI is less reliable

TCP/IP does not have very

strict boundaries. OSI has strict boundaries

TCP/IP follow a horizontal

approach. OSI follows a vertical approach.

TCP/IP uses both session and

presentation layer in the OSI uses different session and
application layer itself. presentation layers.

TCP/IP developed protocols

then model. OSI developed model then protocol.

Transport layer in TCP/IP does

not provide assurance delivery In OSI model, transport layer provides
of packets. assurance delivery of packets.

TCP/IP model network layer Connection less and connection

only provides connection less oriented both services are provided by
services. network layer in OSI model.

While in OSI model, Protocols are better

Protocols cannot be replaced covered and is easy to replace with the
easily in TCP/IP model. change in technology.

What is Topology?
Topology defines the structure of the network of how all the components are
interconnected to each other. There are two types of topology: physical and logical
topology.

Physical topology is the geometric representation of all the nodes in a network.

Bus Topology

o The bus topology is designed in such a way that all the stations are connected
through a single cable known as a backbone cable.
o Each node is either connected to the backbone cable by drop cable or directly
connected to the backbone cable.
o When a node wants to send a message over the network, it puts a message over
the network. All the stations available in the network will receive the message
whether it has been addressed or not.
o The bus topology is mainly used in 802.3 (ethernet) and 802.4 standard
networks.
o The configuration of a bus topology is quite simpler as compared to other
topologies.
 o The backbone cable is considered as a "single lane" through which the
message is broadcast to all the stations.
o The most common access method of the bus topologies is CSMA (Carrier Sense
Multiple Access).

Advantages of this topology :

• If N devices are connected to each other in a bus topology, then the
number of cables required to connect them is 1, which is known as
backbone cable, and N drop lines are required.
• The cost of the cable is less as compared to other topologies, but it
is used to build small networks.
Problems with this topology :
• If the common cable fails, then the whole system will crash down.
• If the network traffic is heavy, it increases collisions in the network.
To avoid this, various protocols are used in the MAC layer known
as Pure Aloha, Slotted Aloha, CSMA/CD, etc.
• Security is very low.

Ring Topology

o Ring topology is like a bus topology, but with connected ends.

o The node that receives the message from the previous computer will retransmit
to the next node.
o The data flows in one direction, i.e., it is unidirectional.
o The data flows in a single loop continuously known as an endless loop.
o It has no terminated ends, i.e., each node is connected to other node and having
no termination point.
o The data in a ring topology flow in a clockwise direction.
o The most common access method of the ring topology is token passing.
o Token passing: It is a network access method in which token is passed
from one node to another node.
o Token: It is a frame that circulates around the network.
Advantages of this topology :
• The possibility of collision is minimum in this type of topology.
• Cheap to install and expand.
Problems with this topology :
• Troubleshooting is difficult in this topology.
• The addition of stations in between or removal of stations can
disturb the whole topology.
• Less secure.

Star Topology

o Star topology is an arrangement of the network in which every node is

connected to the central hub, switch or a central computer.
o The central computer is known as a server, and the peripheral devices attached
to the server are known as clients.
o Coaxial cable or RJ-45 cables are used to connect the computers.
o Hubs or Switches are mainly used as connection devices in a physical star
topology.
o Star topology is the most popular topology in network implementation.

a Advantages of star topology :

• If N devices are connected to each other in a star topology, then the
number of cables required to connect them is N. So, it is easy to set
up.
• Each device requires only 1 port i.e. to connect to the hub,
therefore the total number of ports required is N.
Problems with star topology :
• If the concentrator (hub) on which the whole topology relies fails,
the whole system will crash down.
• The cost of installation is high.
• Performance is based on the single concentrator i.e. hub.
Tree topology

o Tree topology combines the characteristics of bus topology and star topology.
o A tree topology is a type of structure in which all the computers are connected
with each other in hierarchical fashion.
o The top-most node in tree topology is known as a root node, and all other
nodes are the descendants of the root node.
o There is only one path exists between two nodes for the data transmission. Thus,
it forms a parent-child hierarchy.

Advantages of tree topology :

• It allows more devices to be attached to a single central hub thus it
decreases the distance that is traveled by the signal to come to the
devices.
• It allows the network to get isolate and also prioritize from different
computers.
Problems with tree topology :
• If the central hub gets fails the entire system fails.
• The cost is high because of cabling.

Mesh topology

o Mesh technology is an arrangement of the network in which computers are

interconnected with each other through various redundant connections.
 o There are multiple paths from one computer to another computer.
o It does not contain the switch, hub or any central computer which acts as a
central point of communication.
o The Internet is an example of the mesh topology.
o Mesh topology is mainly used for WAN implementations where communication
failures are a critical concern.
o Mesh topology is mainly used for wireless networks.
o Mesh topology can be formed by using the formula:
Number of cables = (n*(n-1))/2;

Where n is the number of nodes that represents the network.26Stay

Mesh topology is divided into two categories:

o Fully connected mesh topology

o Partially connected mesh topology

o Full Mesh Topology: In a full mesh topology, each computer is connected to

all the computers available in the network.
o Partial Mesh Topology: In a partial mesh topology, not all but certain
computers are connected to those computers with which they communicate
frequently.

Advantages of mess topology :

• It is robust.
• The fault is diagnosed easily. Data is reliable because data is
transferred among the devices through dedicated channels or links.
• Provides security and privacy.
Problems with mess topology :
• Installation and configuration are difficult.
• The cost of cables is high as bulk wiring is required, hence suitable
for less number of devices.
• The cost of maintenance is high.
Types and Uses of Backbone Networks
Backbone is most important part of a system which provides the central
support to the rest system, for example backbone of a human body that
balance and hold all the body parts. Similarly in Computer Networks
a Backbone Network is as a Network containing a high capacity
connectivity infrastructure that backbone to the different part of the network.
Actually a backbone network allows multiple LANs to get connected in a
backbone network, not a single station is directly connected to the backbone
but the stations are part of LAN, and backbone connect those LANs.
Backbone LANs:
Because of increasing use of distributed applications and PCs, a new flexible
strategy for LANs has been introduced. if a premises wide data
communication system is to be supported then we need a networking system
which can span over the required distance and which capable of
interconnecting all the equipment in a single building or in a group of
buildings.
It is possible to develop a single LAN for this purpose but practically this
scheme faces the following drawbacks:
• Poor Reliability:
With a single LAN, the reliability will be poor since a service
interruption even for a short duration can cause major problem to
the user.
• Capacity:
There is a possibility that a single LAN may be saturated due to
increase in number of devices beyond a certain number
• Cost:
A single LAN can not give its optimum performance for the diverse
requirements of communication and interconnection.
So the alternative for using a single LAN is to use low cost low capacity
LANs in each building or department and then interconnection all these LANs
with high capacity LAN. such a network is called as Backbone LAN. the
backbone network allows several LANs to be connected. in the backbone
network, no station is directly connected with backbone, instead each station
is a part a LAN, and the LANs are connected to the backbone.
The backbone itself is a LAN, it uses a LAN protocol such as ethernet,
Hence each connection in the backbone is itself another LAN. The two very
common used architectures are: Bus backbone, Star backbone. These are
explained as following below.
1. Bus Backbone:
In Bus backbone the topology used for the backbone is bus
topology.

In above the Bus backbone structure is used as a distribution

backbone for connecting different buildings in an organization. each
building may have either a single LAN or another backbone which
comes in star backbone. the structure is a bridge based (bridge is
the connecting device) backbone with four LANs.
Working:
In above structure if a station in LAN 2 wants to send a frame to
some other station in Same LAN then Bridge 2 will not allow the
frame to pass to any other LAN, hence this frame will not reach the
backbone. If a station from LAN 1 wants to send a frame to a
station in LAN 4 then Bridge 1 passes this frame to the backbone.
This frame is then received by Bridge 4 and delivered to the
destination.
2. Star Backbone:
The topology of this backbone is star topology.
 Above figure shows the Star backbone in this configuration, the
backbone is simply a switch which is used to connect various LANs.
The switch does the job of backbone and connect the LANs as well.
This type of backbone are basically used as distribution backbone
inside a building.
There is one more category of backbone network is Interconnecting
of Remote LANs:
3. Interconnection of Remote control:
In this type of backbone network the connection are done through
the bridge called remote bridges which acts as connecting devices
in connect LANs as point to point network link.

Example of point to point networks are leased telephone lines or

ADLS lines. Such a point to point network can be considered as
being equivalent ta a LAN without stations.

What is Transmission media?

In data communication terminology, a transmission medium is a physical path
between the transmitter and the receiver i.e. it is the channel through which
data is sent from one place to another. Transmission Media is broadly
classified into the following types: Some factors need to be considered for

designing the transmission media:

o Bandwidth: All the factors are remaining constant, the greater the bandwidth
of a medium, the higher the data transmission rate of a signal.
o Transmission impairment: When the received signal is not identical to the
transmitted one due to the transmission impairment. The quality of the signals
will get destroyed due to transmission impairment.
 o Interference: An interference is defined as the process of disrupting a signal
when it travels over a communication medium on the addition of some
unwanted signal.

Causes Of Transmission Impairment:

o Attenuation: Attenuation means the loss of energy,

o Distortion: Distortion occurs when there is a change in the shape of the signal.
This type of distortion is examined from different signals having different
frequencies. Each frequency component has its own propagation speed, so they
reach at a different time which leads to the delay distortion.
o Noise: When data is travelled over a transmission medium, some unwanted
signal is added to it which creates the noise.

Classification Of Transmission Media:

Guided Media
It is defined as the physical medium through which the signals are transmitted. It is
also known as Bounded media.
Types Of Guided media:

Twisted pair:
It consists of 2 separately insulated conductor wires wound about each
other. Generally, several such pairs are bundled together in a protective
sheath. They are the most widely used Transmission Media. Twisted Pair is
of two
types:

Types of Twisted pair:

Unshielded Twisted Pair:

• Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP):
UTP consists of two insulated copper wires twisted around one
another. This type of cable has the ability to block interference and
does not depend on a physical shield for this purpose. It is used for
telephonic applications.
Advantages:
⇢ Least expensive
⇢ Easy to install
⇢ High-speed capacity
⇢ Susceptible to external interference
⇢ Lower capacity and performance in comparison to STP
⇢ Short distance transmission due to attenuation

Shielded Twisted Pair

A shielded twisted pair is a cable that contains the mesh surrounding the wire that
allows the higher transmission rate.

Characteristics Of Shielded Twisted Pair:

o The cost of the shielded twisted pair cable is not very high and not very low.
o An installation of STP is easy.
o It has higher capacity as compared to unshielded twisted pair cable.
o It has a higher attenuation.
o It is shielded that provides the higher data transmission rate.

Disadvantages

o It is more expensive as compared to UTP and coaxial cable.

o It has a higher attenuation rate.

Coaxial Cable
It has an outer plastic covering containing an insulation layer made of PVC
or Teflon and 2 parallel conductors each having a separate insulated
protection cover. The coaxial cable transmits information in two modes:
Baseband mode(dedicated cable bandwidth) and Broadband mode(cable
bandwidth is split into separate ranges). Cable TVs and analog television
networks widely use Coaxial
cables.

Coaxial cable is of two types:

1. Baseband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting a single

signal at high speed.
2. Broadband transmission: It is defined as the process of transmitting multiple
signals simultaneously.
Advantages Of Coaxial cable:

o The data can be transmitted at high speed.

o It has better shielding as compared to twisted pair cable.
o It provides higher bandwidth.

Disadvantages Of Coaxial cable:

o It is more expensive as compared to twisted pair cable.

o If any fault occurs in the cable causes the failure in the entire network.

Fibre Optic
It uses the concept of reflection of light through a core made up of glass or
plastic. The core is surrounded by a less dense glass or plastic covering
called the cladding. It is used for the transmission of large volumes of data.
The cable can be unidirectional or bidirectional. The WDM (Wavelength
Division Multiplexer) supports two modes, namely unidirectional and
bidirectional mode.

Diagrammatic representation of fibre optic cable:

Advantages:
•Increased capacity and bandwidth
•Lightweight
• Less signal attenuation
• Immunity to electromagnetic interference
• Resistance to corrosive materials
Disadvantages:
• Difficult to install and maintain
• High cost
• Fragile
 2. Unguided Media:
It is also referred to as Wireless or Unbounded transmission media. No
physical medium is required for the transmission of electromagnetic signals.
Features:
• The signal is broadcasted through air
• Less Secure
• Used for larger distances
There are 3 types of Signals transmitted through unguided media:
(i) Radio waves –
These are easy to generate and can penetrate through buildings. The
sending and receiving antennas need not be aligned. Frequency
Range:3KHz – 1GHz. AM and FM radios and cordless phones use Radio
waves for transmission.

Further Categorized as (i) Terrestrial and (ii) Satellite.

(ii) Microwaves –
It is a line of sight transmission i.e. the sending and receiving antennas need
to be properly aligned with each other. The distance covered by the signal is
directly proportional to the height of the antenna. Frequency Range:1GHz –
300GHz. These are majorly used for mobile phone communication and
television distribution.
(iii) Infrared –
Infrared waves are used for very short distance communication. They cannot
penetrate through obstacles. This prevents interference between systems.
Frequency Range:300GHz – 400THz. It is used in TV remotes, wireless
mouse, keyboard, printer, etc.
Twisted pair Optical fiber
Characteristics cable Co-axial cable cable

Takes place in
Takes place in the electrical form
the electrical form over the inner Takes place in
over the metallic conductor of the an optical form
Signal transmission conducting wires. cable. over glass fiber.
 Twisted pair Optical fiber
Characteristics cable Co-axial cable cable

Affected due to The external The external

External magnetic external magnetic magnetic field is magnetic field is
field field. less affected. not affected.

power loss due

Power loss due to absorption,
to conduction and Power loss due to scattering, and
Cause of power radiation. conduction. bending.

moderately high very high

Bandwidth low bandwidth. bandwidth. bandwidth.

Electromagnetic EMI can take EMI is reduced to EMI is not

interference(EMI) place. shielding. present.

Fairly easy Difficult to

Installation Easy installation. installation. install.

In coaxial cable
very high has low very low
Attenuation attenuation. attenuation. attenuation.

supports a low Moderately high Very high data

Data rate data rate. data rate. rate.

low noise higher noise highest noise

Noise immunity immunity. immunity. immunity.

Cost low. moderate expensive.

Repeater
Repeater spacing Repeater spacing spacing is 10-
Repeater Spacing is 2-10 km. is 1-10 km. 100 km.

Switching techniques
In large networks, there can be multiple paths from sender to receiver. The switching
technique will decide the best route for data transmission.
Switching technique is used to connect the systems for making one-to-one
communication.

Classification Of Switching Techniques

Circuit Switching
o Circuit switching is a switching technique that establishes a dedicated path
between sender and receiver.
o In the Circuit Switching Technique, once the connection is established then the
dedicated path will remain to exist until the connection is terminated.
o Circuit switching in a network operates in a similar way as the telephone works.
o A complete end-to-end path must exist before the communication takes place.
o In case of circuit switching technique, when any user wants to send the data,
voice, video, a request signal is sent to the receiver then the receiver sends back
the acknowledgment to ensure the availability of the dedicated path. After
receiving the acknowledgment, dedicated path transfers the data.
o Circuit switching is used in public telephone network. It is used for voice
transmission.
o Fixed data can be transferred at a time in circuit switching technology.

Communication through circuit switching has 3 phases:

o Circuit establishment
 o Data transfer
o Circuit Disconnect

Message Switching
o Message Switching is a switching technique in which a message is transferred
as a complete unit and routed through intermediate nodes at which it is stored
and forwarded.
o In Message Switching technique, there issa no establishment of a dedicated
path between the sender and receiver.
o The destination address is appended to the message. Message Switching
provides a dynamic routing as the message is routed through the intermediate
nodes based on the information available in the message.
o Message switches are programmed in such a way so that they can provide the
most efficient routes.
o Each and every node stores the entire message and then forward it to the next
node. This type of network is known as store and forward network.
o Message switching treats each message as an independent entity.

Packet Switching
o The packet switching is a switching technique in which the message is sent in
one go, but it is divided into smaller pieces, and they are sent individually.
 o The message splits into smaller pieces known as packets and packets are given
a unique number to identify their order at the receiving end.
o Every packet contains some information in its headers such as source address,
destination address and sequence number.
o Packets will travel across the network, taking the shortest path as possible.
o All the packets are reassembled at the receiving end in correct order.
o If any packet is missing or corrupted, then the message will be sent to resend
the message.
o If the correct order of the packets is reached, then the acknowledgment
message will be sent.

Bit Rate and Baud Rate

Both Bit rate and Baud rate are generally used in data communication,
Bit rate is the transmission of number of bits per second. On the other hand, Baud
rate is defined as the number of signal units per second. The formula which
relates both bit rate and baud rate is given below:
Bit rate = Baud rate x the number of bit per baud.

S.NO Bit Rate Baud Rate

Bit rate is defined as the transmission of Baud rate is defined as the number of signal
1. number of bits per second. units per second.

Bit rate is also defined as per second Baud rate is also defined as per second
2. travel number of bits. number of changes in signal.

Bit rate emphasized on computer While baud rate emphasized on data

3. efficiency. transmission.

The formula of Bit Rate is: The formula of Baud Rate is:
= baud rate x the number of bit = bit rate / the number of bit
per baud per baud
4.

Bit rate is not used to decide the While baud rate is used to decide the
requirement of bandwidth for requirement of bandwidth for transmission
5. transmission of signal. of signal.