Shankara Institute Of Technology

NOTES BY-ADARSH SHUKLA SIR

UNIT -1ST

NETWORKING FUNDAMETALS

Computer networking refers to interconnected computing devices that can exchange

data and share resources with each other. These networked devices use a system of
rules, called communications protocols, to transmit information over physical or
wireless.

OR

“ The process of making connection and building relationship”

Data

It is defined as the collection of various facts and details, which includes any symbols,
description of any item, events, entity gathering, figures, observations, etc. It is also
present in the form of a set of a number of variables. Data processing is a common
method to refine the raw data to settle proper information. The data is categorised into
two types,

1. Primary data: The primary data is further categorised into two groups, namely,
qualitative data and quantitative data

Secondary data: The secondary data is further categorised as internal data and
external data.

Information-

Information is a collection of data that gives everyone an advantage size its help in
decision –making for the individual involved on them.

Data Communication-

Communication is defined as a process in which more than one computer transfers

information, instructions to each other and for sharing resources. Or in other words,
communication is a process or act in which we can send or receive data. A network
of computers is defined as an interconnected collection of autonomous computers.
Autonomous means no computer can start, stop or control another computer.

OR
 “communication is the process or act in which we can send or receive data”

Components of Data Communication

A communication system is made up of the following components:

1. Message: A message is a piece of information that is to be transmitted from one
person to another. It could be a text file, an audio file, a video file, etc.

2. Sender: It is simply a device that sends data messages. It can be a computer,

mobile, telephone, laptop, video camera, or workstation, etc.

3. Receiver: It is a device that receives messages. It can be a computer, telephone

mobile, workstation, etc.

4. Transmission Medium / Communication Channels: Communication channels are

the medium that connect two or more workstations. Workstations can be connected
by either wired media or wireless media.

5. Set of rules (Protocol): When someone sends the data (The sender), it should be
understandable to the receiver also otherwise it is meaningless. For example, Sonali
sends a message to Chetan. If Sonali writes in Hindi and Chetan cannot understand
Hindi, it is a meaningless conversation.

Type of data communication

 As we know that data communication is communication in which we can send or
receive data from one device to another. The data communication is divided into three
types:

1. Simplex Communication: It is one-way communication or we can say that

unidirectional communication in which one device only receives and another
device only sends data and devices uses their entire capacity in transmission.
For example, IoT, entering data using a keyboard, listing music using a
speaker, etc.

2. Half Duplex communication: It is a two-way communication, or we can say

that it is a bidirectional communication in which both the devices can send and
receive data but not at the same time. When one device is sending data then
another device is only receiving and vice-versa. For example, walkie-talkie.

3. Full-duplex communication: It is a two-way communication or we can say that

it is a bidirectional communication in which both the devices can send and
receive data at the same time. For example, mobile phones, landlines, etc.

Data representation in computer networks-

Data is can be anything which represents the specific result or any number, text, image,
audio, video etc. For example, If you will take an example of human being then data for
a human being such that name, personal id, country, profession, bank account details
etc. are the important data. Data can be divide into three categories such that data can
be personal, public and private.

At present Information comes in different forms such as follows.

1. Numbers
2. Text
3. Audio
Numbers –
Numbers are not represented as ASCII but by bit patterns. Numbers are directly
converted into binary representation to specify mathematical operations. The 0s and
1s used to represent digital data. The number system that humans normally use is in
base10.NumberFileFormats

Integer, Fixed point, Date, Boolean, Decimal, etc.

Text –
Text is also represented as bit pattern or sequence of bits(such as 0001111). Various
types of bits are assigned to represent text symbols. A code where each number
represents a character can be used to convert text into binary.
Text File Formats –
.doc,.docx, .pdf, .rtf, .txt, etc.

Audio –
Audio signal is a representation of sound or music. Audio differs from all i.e. from
text, number and images. Audio is a series of binary numbers for digital signals. It is
continuous but not discrete.
Audio File Formats –
MP3, M4A audio file type, FLAC, WAV, WMA, AAC, etc.

Categories of a Networks

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:

TYPES OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

1 LAN(Local Area Network)

2 WAN(Wide Area Network)

3 MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)

4 PAN(Personal Area Network)

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.

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.

Advantages Of Wide Area Network:

Following are the advantages of the Wide Area Network:

o Geographical area: A Wide Area Network provides a large geographical area.

Suppose if the branch of our office is in a different city then we can connect with
them through WAN. The internet provides a leased line through which we can
connect with another branch.

o Centralized data: In case of WAN network, data is centralized. Therefore, we do

not need to buy the emails, files or back up servers.

o Get updated files: Software companies work on the live server. Therefore, the
programmers get the updated files within seconds.

o Exchange messages: In a WAN network, messages are transmitted fast. The

web application like Facebook, Whatsapp, Skype allows you to communicate
with friends.

o Sharing of software and resources: In WAN network, we can share the

software and other resources like a hard drive, RAM.

o Global business: We can do the business over the internet globally.

o High bandwidth: If we use the leased lines for our company then this gives the
high bandwidth. The high bandwidth increases the data transfer rate which in
turn increases the productivity of our company.
 Disadvantages of Wide Area Network:

The following are the disadvantages of the Wide Area Network:

o Security issue: A WAN network has more security issues as compared to LAN
and MAN network as all the technologies are combined together that creates the
security problem.

o Needs Firewall & antivirus software: The data is transferred on the internet
which can be changed or hacked by the hackers, so the firewall needs to be
used. Some people can inject the virus in our system so antivirus is needed to
protect from such a virus.

o High Setup cost: An installation cost of the WAN network is high as it involves
the purchasing of routers, switches.

o Troubleshooting problems: It covers a large area so fixing the problem is

difficult.

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.

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).

o 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.

Protocol-

Protocols are the set of rules that govern data communication. Protocols can be
defined as a communication standard followed by both the parties (Sender and
Receiver) in a computer network to communicate with each other.

Syntax: Syntax basically represents the format of the data means in which order
data is presented. It also indicates how to read the data. It simply means the way
to represent data.

Semantics: Semantics basically refers to the meaning of each section mentioned

in syntax. It includes control information for coordination and error handling. It
also specifies which file defines which action.

Timing: Timing simply means when the data is to be sent and how fast the data
can be sent. For Example, if the Sender sends the data at 100 MBPS and the
receiver receives it at 1 MBPS, then the data gets overflowed at the receiver end.

Functions of Protocol-

The main functions of Protocols are discussed below:

 Establishment of Connection: There are two ways of data transfer, Connectionless
or Connection-Oriented. Basically, services acquired by protocols are Connection-
Oriented Services. It also helps during the transfer of large volumes of data.
 Encapsulation: A protocol describes how the data is encapsulated in packets. It is
basically the process of distribution of one protocol to other.
 Data Transfer Management: It is simply the management of the flow of data to
provide sequencing and matching.
 Segmentation and Reassembly: Segmentation is the process of breaking data
into smaller blocks and adding some extra information for peer use and
Reassembly means when the upper-level protocol combines to get actual data
when we remove control information sent by the sender.
 Error Control: Error Control is simply the loss of data or sometimes damage in
data upon transmission in data. It is implemented in two ways
 Error Detection
 Retransmission of Data
 Flow Control: The process of controlling the flow of data to limit the rate of data
sent by transmitting frame. Techniques used for this method are stop and wait
etc. It is used to basically control the problems like data loss, data overloading,
etc.
 Multiplexing/Demultiplexing: Multiplexing is a technique generally used in the
context of Addressing. It is basically of two types:
 Upward Multiplexing
 Downward Multiplexing
 Addressing: Addressing is used during communication by defining addresses. The
concept of Addressing is complex and includes addressing levels and addressing
scope.

Protocols of Network Communication-

Network communication protocol requires the following elements:

1. Message Encoding
2. Message Formatting and Encapsulation
3. Message Size
 4. Message Timing
5. Message Delivery Options

Message Encoding: A source message from the sender is encoded into signals
or waves then transmitted through a medium wired/wireless then received and
decoded and the message is passed to the destination. Encoding is the process
of transforming a set of Unicode characters into a sequence of bytes.

Message Formatting and Encapsulation: There is an agreed format between the

sender and receiver. It encapsulates information to identify the sender and receiver
rightly. A message format will depend on the type of message and the medium through
which the message is delivered. Message encapsulation is a process that is used to
place one message inside another message for transfer from the source to the
destination.

3. Message Size: Here long messages must break into small pieces to travel across a
network or The process of breaking up a long message into individual pieces before
being sent over the network. For example, In mobile phones, SMS limits message size
to 160 normal alphabet characters. For non-alphabet characters, It needs 16 bits of data
to represent them limiting the size to 70 characters only.

4. Message Timing: It manages flow control. Acknowledgments response time out.

This requires certain timing control information. It checks for any delays in data passing.
It includes rules like Access method, flow control, and response timeout.

5. Message Delivery Options: There are different delivery options . Sending

information to a single person is referred to as a one-to-one delivery and is called
unicast which implies that there is only one destination (single destination). To
communicate information to more than one person (a group of people at the same time)
is referred to as one-to-many and is called multicast which implies that one sender to
multiple destinations/recipients for the same message. Sometimes information is to be
communicated to every person in the same area. This is referred to as one-to-all and is
 OSI MODEL-

OSI stands for Open Systems Interconnection, where open stands to say non-
proprietary. 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. The OSI reference model was developed by ISO –
‘International Organization for Standardization‘, in the year 1984.

The OSI model consists of seven abstraction layers arranged in a top-down order:
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 the Physical Layer

 Bit synchronization: The physical layer provides the synchronization of the bits by
providing a clock. This clock controls both sender and receiver thus providing
synchronization at the bit level.

 Bit rate control: The Physical layer also defines the transmission rate i.e. the
number of bits sent per second.

 Physical topologies: Physical layer specifies how the different, devices/nodes are
arranged in a network i.e. bus, star, or mesh topology.

 Transmission mode: Physical layer also defines how the data flows between the
two connected devices. The various transmission modes possible are Simplex,
half-duplex and full-duplex.

Data Link Layer (DLL) – Layer 2

The data link layer is responsible for the node-to-node delivery of the message. The
main function of this layer is to make sure data transfer is error-free from one node to
another, over the physical layer. When a packet arrives in a network, it is the
responsibility of the DLL to transmit it to the Host using its MAC address.
The Data Link Layer is divided into two sublayers.

Functions of the Data Link Layer

 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

 Physical addressing: After creating frames, the Data link layer adds physical
addresses (MAC addresses) of the sender and/or receiver in the header of
each frame.
  Error control: The data link layer provides the mechanism of error control in
which it detects and retransmits damaged or lost frames.

 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 an acknowledgment.

Network Layer – Layer 3

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.
Functions of the Network Layer
 Routing: The network layer protocols determine which route is suitable from source
to destination. This function of the network layer is known as routing.
 Logical Addressing: To identify each device inter-network 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 – Layer 4

The transport layer provides services to the application layer and takes services
from the network layer. The data in the transport layer is referred to
as Segments. It is responsible for the end-to-end delivery of the complete
message. The transport layer also provides the acknowledgment of the
successful data transmission and re-transmits the data if an error is found.
At the sender’s side: The transport layer receives the formatted data from the upper
layers, performs Segmentation, and also implements Flow and error control to
ensure proper data transmission. It also adds Source and Destination port numbers in
its header and forwards the segmented data to the Network Layer.

Functions of the Transport Layer

 Segmentation and Reassembly: This layer accepts the message from the
(session) layer, and breaks the message into smaller units. Each of the
segments produced has a header associated with it. The transport layer at the
destination station reassembles the message.

 Service Point Addressing: To deliver the message to the correct process, the
transport layer header includes a type of address called service point address
or port address. Thus by specifying this address, the transport layer makes sure
that the message is delivered to the correct process.

Session Layer – Layer 5

This layer is responsible for the establishment of connection, maintenance of

sessions, and authentication, and also ensures security.

Functions of the Session Layer

 Session establishment, maintenance, and termination: The layer allows the

two processes to establish, use, and terminate a connection.

 Synchronization: This layer allows a process to add checkpoints that are

considered synchronization points in 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.

 Dialog Controller: The session layer allows two systems to start

communication with each other in half-duplex or full-duplex.
 For example:-
 Let us consider a scenario where a user wants to send a message through
some Messenger application running in their browser. The “Messenger” here
acts as the application layer which provides the user with an interface to create
the data. This message or so-called Data is compressed, optionally encrypted
(if the data is sensitive), and converted into bits (0’s and 1’s) so that it can be
 transmitted.

 Presentation Layer – Layer 6

The presentation layer is also called the Translation layer. The data from the
application layer is extracted here and manipulated as per the required format
to transmit over the network.

Functions of the Presentation Layer

 Translation: For example, ASCII to EBCDIC.

 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.

 Compression: Reduces the number of bits that need to be transmitted on the

network.

Application Layer – Layer 7

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 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.

Example: Application – Browsers, Skype Messenger, etc.

Functions of the Application Layer

The main functions of the application layer are given below.

 Network Virtual Terminal(NVT): It allows a user to log on to a remote host.

  File transfer access and management(FTAM): This application allows a user to
access files in a remote host, retrieve files in a remote host, and manage or
control files from a remote computer.

 Mail Services: Provide email service.

 Directory Services: This application provides distributed database sources

and access for global information about various objects and services.

Advantages of OSI Model

The OSI Model defines the communication of a computing system into 7

different layers. Its advantages include:

 It divides network communication into 7 layers which makes it easier to

understand and troubleshoot.

 It standardizes network communications, as each layer has fixed functions and

protocols.

 Diagnosing network problems is easier with the OSI model.

 It is easier to improve with advancements as each layer can get updates

separately.

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.

 Application layer.
 Transport layer.
 Internet layer.
 Network Access layer.

APPLICATION LAYER

. Application 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 three main protocols
present in this layer are:

 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 needs to
fill out forms, sign in, authenticate, and carry out bank transactions .

 Transport layer-

The TCP/IP transport layer protocols exchange data receipt acknowledgments

and retransmit missing packets to ensure that packets arrive in order and without
error. End-to-end communication is referred to as such. Transmission Control
Protocol (TCP) and User Datagram Protocol are transport layer protocols at this
level (UDP).

 Internet layer-

This layer parallels the functions of OSI’s Network layer. It defines the protocols
which are responsible for the logical transmission of data over the entire network

Network Access layer -

 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 needs to
fill out forms, sign in, authenticate, and carry out bank transactions.
 SSH: SSH stands for Secure Shell. It is a terminal emulations software similar
to Telnet. The reason SSH is preferred is because of its ability to maintain the
encrypted connection. It sets up a secure session over a TCP/IP connection