1.

Data Communication:
The exchange of data between two devices through a transmission medium is called Data Communication. The data is
exchanged in the form of 0's and 1's. The transmission medium used is wire cable. For data communication to occur, the
communication device must be a part of a communication system. Data Communication has two types - Local and Remote.

Data communications refer to transmitting data to and from different locations. Many accounting applications use data
communications in normal business operations. For example, banking systems enable individual offices to transmit deposit
and withdrawal information to centralized computer locations, airline reservation systems enable passengers to book flights
from remote locations, and stock brokerage systems enable brokers to transmit buy and sell orders for their customers.
Accountants must understand data communication concepts because so many AISs use them and also because so many
clients acquire AISs that depend on them. In addition, auditors must sometimes audit the capabilities of a network—for
example, evaluate its ability to transmit information accurately and to safeguard the integrity of the data during such
transmissions.
Components of Data Communication:
Message: It is the information to be delivered.
Sender: The sender is the person who is sending the message.
Receiver: The receiver is the person to whom the message is being sent.
Medium: It is the medium through which the message is sent. For example- A Modem.
Protocol: These are some sets of rules which govern data communication.

2. Basic Communication Model:

Examples:
Source: Data to be transmitted is generated by this device. A telephone, a personal computer, etc.
Transmitter: The data generated by the source system is not directly transmitted in the form it’s generated. The transmitter
transforms and encodes the data in such a form to produce electromagnetic waves or signals.
Transmission System: A transmission system can be a single transmission line or a complex network connecting source
and destination.
Receiver: The receiver accepts the signal from the transmission system and converts it into a form that is easily managed
by the destination device.
Destination: The destination receives the incoming data from the receiver.
3. Communication Channels:
A communication channel is the physical path that data takes in data transmissions. Examples include (1) the twisted-pair
wires of telephone lines, (2) coaxial cables, (3) optical fibers, (4) microwaves, and (5) radio (satellite) waves. Local area
networking applications typically use the first three of these, while Internet applications often use all five of them.
To transmit data over these communications channels, the digital pulses of the sending computer must be translated into the
sound patterns, light pulses, or radio waves of the communications channel. Over voice-grade telephone lines, this
translation is performed by a modem (an acronym for ‘‘modulator-demodulator’’). The transmission rates are commonly
measured in bits per second (bps).
4. Communication Protocols:
In all data communications applications, the sending and receiving stations must use a compatible transmission format. A
data communications protocol refers to the settings that provide this format. Two common protocols are TCP (transmission
control protocol), which networks commonly use for e-mails, and HTTP (hypertext transmission protocol), which networks
commonly use for Web pages.
A protocol is basically a synonym for a rule. In Computer Networks, basically, communication occurs between entities in
different systems. An entity is anything that is capable of sending or receiving information. Any two entities cannot simply
send bitstreams to each other and expect to be understood.

The entities must need to agree on a protocol in order of occurrence of the communication.

A Protocol is a set of rules that mainly govern data communications. The protocol mainly defines what is communicated,
how it is communicated, and when it is communicated.

Key elements of a Protocol:

The key elements of a protocol are as given below:

• Syntax This term mainly refers to the structure or format of the data which simply means the order in which data
is presented. For example, A simple protocol might expect the first 8 bits of data to be the address of the sender,
then the second 8 bits to be the address of the receiver, and then the rest of the stream to be the message itself.
• Semantics This term mainly refers to the meaning of each section of bits. How does a particular pattern to be
interpreted, and On the basis of interpretation what action is to be taken? For example, does an address identify the
route to be taken or the final destination of the message?
• Timing This term mainly refers to two characteristics: At what time the data should be sent and how fast data can
be sent. For example, if a sender produces data at 100 Mbps but the receiver can process data at only 1 Mbps, the
transmission will overload the receiver and there will be some data loss.

Two very important communication protocols are –

i) TCP/IP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Transmission_Control_Protocol
ii) HTTP: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hypertext_Transfer_Protocol

5. What is a Network?
The modern world scenario is ever-changing. Data Communication and network have changed the way business and other
daily affair works. Now, they highly rely on computer networks and internetwork.
A set of devices often mentioned as ‘nodes’ connected by media links is called a Network.
A node can be a device that is capable of sending or receiving data generated by other nodes on the network like a computer,
printer, etc. These links connecting the devices are called Communication channels.
A computer network is a telecommunication channel using which we can share data with other computers or devices,
connected to the same network. It is also called Data Network. The best example of a computer network is the Internet.
A computer network does not mean a system with one Control Unit connected to multiple other systems as its slave. That
is Distributed system, not Computer Network.
A network must be able to meet certain criteria, these are mentioned below:
1. Performance
2. Reliability
3. Scalability
Performance:
It can be measured in the following ways:
Transit time: It is the time taken to travel a message from one device to another.
Response time: It is defined as the time elapsed between inquiry and response.
Other ways to measure performance are:
1. Efficiency of software
2. Number of users
3. The capability of connected hardware
Reliability:
It decides the frequency at which network failure takes place. More the failures are, the less is the network's reliability.
Security:
It refers to the protection of data from any unauthorized user or access. While traveling through network, data passes many
layers of the network, and data can be traced if attempted. Hence security is also a very important characteristic for
Networks.

6. Various Types of Networks:

Communication Networks can be of the following 5 types:
1. Local Area Network (LAN)
2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
3. Wide Area Network (WAN)
4. Wireless
5. Inter Network (Internet)

1. Local Area Network (LAN):

It is also called LAN and is designed for small physical areas such as an office, groups of buildings, or a factory. LANs are
used widely as it is easy to design and to troubleshoot. Personal computers and workstations are connected to each other
through LANs. We can use different types of topologies through LAN, these are Star, Ring, Bus, Tree, etc.
LAN can be a simple network like connecting two computers, to share files and network among each other while it can
also be as complex as interconnecting an entire building.
LAN networks are also widely used to share resources like printers, shared hard-drive etc.

Characteristics of LAN:
• LAN's are private networks, not subject to tariffs or other regulatory controls.
• LAN's operate at relatively high speed when compared to the typical WAN.
 • There are different types of Media Access Control methods in a LAN, the prominent ones are Ethernet, Token
ring.
• It connects computers in a single building, block or campus, i.e. they work in a restricted geographical area.

Applications of LAN:
• One of the computer in a network can become a server serving all the remaining computers called clients.
Software can be stored on the server and it can be used by the remaining clients.
• Connecting Locally all the workstations in a building to let them communicate with each other locally without
any internet access.
• Sharing common resources like printers etc are some common applications of LAN.

Advantages of LAN:
• Resource Sharing: Computer resources like printers, modems, DVD-ROM drives and hard disks can be shared
with the help of local area networks. This reduces cost and hardware purchases.
• Software Applications Sharing: It is cheaper to use same software over network instead of purchasing separate
licensed software for each client a network.
• Easy and Cheap Communication: Data and messages can easily be transferred over networked computers.
• Centralized Data: The data of all network users can be saved on hard disk of the server computer. This will help
users to use any workstation in a network to access their data. Because data is not stored on workstations locally.
• Data Security: Since, data is stored on server computer centrally, it will be easy to manage data at only one place
and the data will be more secure too.
• Internet Sharing: Local Area Network provides the facility to share a single internet connection among all the
LAN users. In Net Cafes, single internet connection sharing system keeps the internet expenses cheaper.

Disadvantages of LAN:
• High Setup Cost: Although the LAN will save cost over time due to shared computer resources, but the initial
setup costs of installing Local Area Networks is high.
• Privacy Violations: The LAN administrator has the rights to check personal data files of each and every LAN
user. Moreover he can check the internet history and computer use history of the LAN user.
• Data Security Threat: Unauthorised users can access important data of an organization if centralized data
repository is not secured properly by the LAN administrator.
• LAN Maintenance Job: Local Area Network requires a LAN Administrator because, there are problems of
software installations or hardware failures or cable disturbances in Local Area Network. A LAN Administrator is
needed at this full time job.
• Covers Limited Area: Local Area Network covers a small area like one office, one building or a group of nearby
buildings.

2. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN):

It was developed in 1980s.It is basically a bigger version of LAN. It is also called MAN and uses the similar technology as
LAN. It is designed to extend over the entire city. It can be means to connecting a number of LANs into a larger network
or it can be a single cable. It is mainly hold and operated by single private company or a public company.

Characteristics of MAN:
 • It generally covers towns and cities (50 km)
• Communication medium used for MAN are optical fibers, cables etc.
• Data rates adequate for distributed computing applications.

Advantages of MAN:
• Extremely efficient and provide fast communication via high-speed carriers, such as fibre optic cables.
• It provides a good back bone for large network and provides greater access to WANs.
• The dual bus used in MAN helps the transmission of data in both directions simultaneously.
• A MAN usually encompasses several blocks of a city or an entire city.

Disadvantages of MAN:
• More cable required for a MAN connection from one place to another.
• It is difficult to make the system secure from hackers and industrial espionage(spying) graphical regions.

3. Wide Area Network (WAN):

It is also called WAN. WAN can be private, or it can be public leased network. It is used for the network that covers large
distance such as cover states of a country. It is not easy to design and maintain. Communication medium used by WAN are
PSTN or Satellite links. WAN operates on low data rates.

Characteristics of WAN:
• It generally covers large distances(states, countries, continents).
• Communication medium used are satellite, public telephone networks which are connected by routers.

Advantages of WAN:
• Covers a large geographical area so long distance business can connect on the one network.
• Shares software and resources with connecting workstations.
• Messages can be sent very quickly to anyone else on the network. These messages can have picture, sounds or
data included with them(called attachments).
• Expensive things(such as printers or phone lines to the internet) can be shared by all the computers on the network
without having to buy a different peripheral for each computer.
• Everyone on the network can use the same data. This avoids problems where some users may have older
information than others.

Disadvantages of WAN:
• Need a good firewall to restrict outsiders from entering and disrupting the network.
• Setting up a network can be an expensive, slow and complicated. The bigger the network the more expensive it is.
• Once set up, maintaining a network is a full-time job which requires network supervisors and technicians to be
employed.
• Security is a real issue when many different people have the ability to use information from other computers.
Protection against hackers and viruses adds more complexity and expense.

4. Wireless Network:
Digital wireless communication is not a new idea. Earlier, Morse code was used to implement wireless networks. Modern
digital wireless systems have better performance, but the basic idea is the same.

Wireless Networks can be divided into three main categories:

1. System interconnection
2. Wireless LANs
3. Wireless WANs

System Interconnection:
System interconnection is all about interconnecting the components of a computer using short-range radio. Some
companies got together to design a short-range wireless network called Bluetooth to connect various components such as
monitor, keyboard, mouse and printer, to the main unit, without wires. Bluetooth also allows digital cameras, headsets,
scanners and other devices to connect to a computer by merely being brought within range.
In simplest form, system interconnection networks use the master-slave concept. The system unit is normally the master,
talking to the mouse, keyboard, etc. as slaves.

Wireless LANs:
These are the systems in which every computer has a radio modem and antenna with which it can communicate with other
systems. Wireless LANs are becoming increasingly common in small offices and homes, where installing Ethernet is
considered too much trouble. There is a standard for wireless LANs called IEEE 802.11, which most systems implement
and which is becoming very widespread.

Wireless WANs:
The radio network used for cellular telephones is an example of a low-bandwidth wireless WAN. This system has already
gone through three generations.

• The first generation was analog and for voice only.

• The second generation was digital and for voice only.
• The third generation is digital and is for both voice and data.

5. Inter-Network:

An inter-Network or Internet is a combination of two or more networks. Inter-network can be formed by joining two or
more individual networks by means of various devices such as routers, gateways, and bridges.
7. Internet and the World Wide Web (WWW):

Do not confuse the internet with the world wide web. They are not the same thing even though they are very closely related
to each other.

The Internet is the global system of interconnected computer networks that use the Internet protocol suite (TCP/IP) to link
devices worldwide. It is a network of networks that consists of private, public, academic, business, and government networks
of local to global scope, linked by a broad array of electronic, wireless, and optical networking technologies. The Internet
carries a vast range of information resources and services, such as the inter-linked hypertext documents and applications of
the World Wide Web (WWW), electronic mail, telephony, and file sharing.

The World Wide Web (abbreviated WWW or the Web) is an information space where documents and other web resources
are identified by Uniform Resource Locators (URLs), interlinked by hypertext links, and can be accessed via the Internet.
English scientist Tim Berners Lee invented the World Wide Web in 1989. He wrote the first web browser computer program
in 1990 while employed at CERN in Switzerland. The Web browser was released outside of CERN in 1991, first to other
research institutions starting in January 1991 and to the general public on the Internet in August 1991.
The World Wide Web (WWW) is a combination of all resources and users on the Internet that are using the Hyper Text
Transfer Protocol (HTTP).
The World Wide Web Consortium (W3C) stated that – “The World Wide Web is the universe of network-accessible
information, an embodiment of human knowledge”

Chronology:
• Internet ~1972 (known then as the ARPANET) Advanced Research Program Agency Network
• World Wide Web ~1990. The WWW depends on the Internet

8. Components of Computer Networks:

The key parts that are required to install a network are included in the components of the computer network. From simple
to complex there are numerous types of networks in Computer networks. The components that we need to install for a
network mainly depend upon the type of Network. We can also remove some network components according to our needs.
For example: In order to establish a wireless network, there is no need for cables.

Given below is a list of components of a Computer Network:

• Network Interface Card (NIC)

• HUB
• Switch
• Repeater
• Router
• Modem
• Server
• Bridge

1. Network Interface Card (NIC):

NIC mainly provides the physical interface between computer and cabling. NIC prepares data, sends the data, and controls
the flow of data. It can also receive and translate the data into bytes for the CPU to understand.
• NIC is a hardware component that is mainly used to connect one computer with another on a Network.
• The main role of NIC is to move the serial signals on the network cables or media into parallel data streams inside
the PCs.
• Transfer rate supported by NIC is 10Mb/s,100 Mb/s ,1000 Mb/s.
• Two or more NIC’s are used in the server in order to split the load.
• The main job of NIC is controlling access to the media.
• NIC can be wired or wireless. In wired NIC, there are cables and connectors that act as a medium to transfer data.
While in the wireless card, the connection is generally made using an antenna that uses radio-wave technology

Factors to be taken into consideration when choosing a NIC:

1. Preparing data
2. Sending and Controlling data
3. Configuration
4. Drivers
5. Compatibility
6. Performance

2. Hub:

Hubs are those devices that are used to link several computers together. Hubs repeat one signal that comes in on one port
and then copy it to other ports.
• A network hub is basically a centralized distribution point for all the data transmission in a network.
• Hub is a passive device.
• The hub receives the data and then rebroadcasts the data to other computers that are connected to it. Hub mainly
does not know the destination of a received data packet. Thus, it is required to send copies of data packets to all the
hub connections.
• Also, Hubs consume more bandwidth on the network and thus limit the amount of communication.
• One disadvantage of using hubs is that they do not have the intelligence to find out the best path for the data packets
which then leads to inefficiencies and wastage.

Types of Hubs -

1. Active Hub:
Active Hubs make use of electronics in order to amplify and clean up the signals before they are broadcast to other ports.
Active Hubs are mainly used to extend the maximum distance between nodes. It works both as a wiring center as well as a
repeater.

2. Passive Hub:
Passive Hubs are those hubs that connect only to Active Hubs. Passive Hubs are simply used to connect all ports together
electrically and these are usually not powered. These hubs are cheaper than Passive hub. Passive hubs neither amplifies the
signal nor regenerates the signal.

3. Intelligent Hub:
Intelligent hubs give better performance than active and passive hubs. Nowadays Intelligent hubs are widely used and are
in more demand than active and passive hubs. These hubs are mainly used to connect various devices. It supports
amplification and regeneration of signals at any point of incoming signals.
Intelligent hub sustains the network along with the selection path. The tasks of both passive and active are manageable by
the intelligent hub.
With the help of an Intelligent hub, the Speed and efficiency of the whole network increases which helps to gain the fast
and efficient performance of the network.

3. Switch:

Switch mainly resembles a Hub. It is a layer-2 device and it is used for the intelligent forwarding of messages. By
intelligence we mean the decision-making ability of the switch. As hub works in this way by sending data to all ports on the
device, whereas the switch sends the data to only that port that is connected with the destination device.
• The switch is a network component and is mainly used to connect the segments of the network.
• The switch is more intelligent than the network hub.
• Mainly Switches are capable of inspecting the data packets as soon as they are received, then determining the source
and destination of that packet, and then forwarding it appropriately.
• Switch differs from the hub as it also contains ports of different speeds.
• Before forwarding the data to the ports switch perform the error checking and this feature makes the switch efficient.
• As the switch delivers the message to the connected device it was intended for, thus it conserves the bandwidth of
the network and offers better performance than the hub.
• The most important feature of the switch is that it supports unicast (one to one), multicast (one to many), and
broadcast (one to all) communications.
• The switch makes use of MAC address in order to send data packets to the selected destination ports.

Switches are categorized into 4:

1. Managed Switch: These are expensive switches and are mainly used in those organizations that have large and complex
networks. Managed switches are configured using the Simple Network Management Protocol (SNMP). These switches
provide a high level of security, complete management of the network thus beside their expensiveness these are used in
large organizations because they provide high scalability and flexibility

2. Unmanaged Switch: These are cheap switches and are mainly used in home networks and in small businesses. The
unmanaged switch does not need to be configured. Unmanaged switches can be easily set up just by plugging them into the
network, after plugging they instantly start operating.

3. PoE Switch: These are referred to as Power over Ethernet switches. With the help of the PoE technology, these switches
combine the data and power transmission over the same cable, and with the help of that devices connected to this switch are
able to receive both electricity as well as data over the same line. Thus, PoE switches offer more flexibility.
4. LAN Switch: LAN switch is referred to as Local Area Network switch and it is mainly used to connect devices in the
internal local area network of an organization. These are helpful in reducing network congestion. Bandwidth with these
switches is allocated in a manner such that there is no overlapping of data packets in the network.

4. Repeater:

The repeater is a Physical layer device. As the name suggests, the repeater is mainly used to regenerate the signal over the
same network, and it mainly regenerates before the signal gets corrupted or weak.
They are incorporated into the networks in order to extend the coverage area. Repeaters can connect signals by making use
of different types of cables.
• Repeaters are cost-effective.
• Repeaters are very easy to install, and after their installation, they can easily extend the coverage area of the network.
• But there is a problem with repeaters, and it is they cannot those networks that are not of the same type.
• Repeaters do not help to reduce the traffic in the network.

Types of repeaters:

Types of repeaters that are available are as follows:

1. Analog Repeaters: These are only used to amplify the analog signals.
2. Digital Repeaters: These are only used to amplify digital signals.
3. Wired Repeaters: These repeaters are mainly used in wired Local area networks.
4. Wireless Repeaters: These are mainly used in wireless local area networks and also in cellular networks.
5. Local Repeaters: These are used to connect segments of a local area network that are separated by a small distance.
6. Remote Repeaters: These are mainly used to connect those local area networks that are far away from each other.

5. Router:

The router is a network component that is mainly used to send or receive data on the computer network. The process of
forwarding data packets from the source to the destination is referred to as Routing.
• The router is a Network Layer (i.e Layer 3) device.
• The main responsibilities of the router are receiving data packets, analyzing them, and then forwarding the data
packets among the connected computer networks.
• Whenever any data packet arrives, then first of all the router inspects the destination address and then consults with
its routing tables in order to decide the optimal route and then transfers the packet along this route towards the
destination.
• Routers are mainly used to provide protection against broadcast storms.
• Routers are expensive than a hub, switches, repeaters, and bridges.
• Routers can also connect different networks together and thus data packets can also be sent from one network to
another network.
• Routers are used in both LAN as well as in WAN (wide area network).
• Routers share data with each other in order to prepare and refresh the routing tables.

Types of Routers:

Different types of routers are as follows:

1. Core Routers: Core routers are mainly used by service providers (like AT&T, Vodafone) or by cloud providers like
(Amazon, Microsoft, and Google). Core Routers provide maximum bandwidth so as to connect additional routers or
switches. Core routers are used by large organizations.
2. Edge Routers: An edge router is also known as a Gateway router or gateway simply. The gateway is the network's
outermost point of connection with external networks and also includes the Internet. These routers are mainly used to
optimize bandwidth and are designed in order to connect to other routers so as to distribute data to end-users. Border
Gateway protocol is mainly used for connectivity by edge routers.

These are further categorized into two:

• subscriber edge routers
• label edge routers.

3. Brouters: Brouter means bridging routing device. These are special routers and they also provide functionalities of
bridges. They perform the functioning of the bridge as well as of router; like a bridge, these routers help to transfer data
between networks, and like the router, they route the data within the devices of a network.

4. Broadband Routers: It is a type of networking device that mainly allows end-users to access broadband Internet from
an Internet service provider (ISP). The Internet service provider usually provides and configures the broadband router for
the end-user.

5. Distribution Routers: These routers mainly receive the data from the edge router (or gateway) via a wired connection
and then send it on to the end-users with the help of Wi-Fi.

6. Wireless Routers: These routers combine the functioning of both edge routers and distribution routers. These routers
mainly provide a WiFi connection to WiFi devices like laptops, smartphones, etc. These routers also provide the standard
Ethernet routing. For indoor connections, the range of these routers is 150 feet while for outdoor connections it is 300 feet.

6. Modem:

The modem is basically a hardware component that mainly allows a computer or any other device like a router, switch to
connect to the Internet. A modem is basically a shorthand form of Modulator-Demodulator.
One of the most important functions of the modem is to convert analog signals into digital signals and vice versa. Also, this
device is a combination of two devices: modulator and demodulator. The modulator mainly converts the digital data into
analog data at the time when the data is being sent by the computer.
The demodulator basically converts the analog data signals into digital data at the time when it is being received by the
computer.

7. Server:

A Server is basically a computer that serves the data to other devices. The server may serve data to other devices or
computers over a local area network or on a Wide area network with the help of the Internet. There can be virtual servers,
proxy servers, application servers, web servers, database servers, file servers, and many more.

Thus, servers are mainly used to serve the requests of other devices. It can be hardware or software.

8. Bridge:

It is another important component of the computer network. The bridge is also a layer-2 (that is data link layer device). A
bridge is mainly used to connect two or more local area networks together. These are mainly used as they help in the fast
transferring of the data.

But these are not versatile as routers.

Thus, Bridge can mainly transfer the data between different protocols (i.e., a Token Ring and Ethernet network) and operates
at the data link layer or level 2 of the OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) networking reference model as told above.

Bridges are further divided into two:

• Local bridges These are ordinary bridges.
• Remote bridges These are mainly used to connect networks that are at a distance from each other. Generally Wide
Area Network is provided between two bridges

Some Bridge protocols are spanning tree protocol, source routing protocol, and source routing transparent protocol.