Business & Networks

Case 1: Starbucks and Others: The future of Wi-Fi (O’Brien Pg 260)

Case 2: Metric & Multistandard Components Corp.: The Business Value of a
Secure Self-Managed Network for a Small-to- Medium Business (O’Brien Pg280)
Case 3: Evolution of Business-to-Consumer Electronic Commerce at FedEx
(Jessup Pg 188)

Prof. Sudarshan
IBS Gurgaon
 Information Systems in Business
Course content of this chapter-
– Business in a networked environment,
– Basic concepts of networks,
– Network architecture (client server, 3-tier),
– work group technologies,
– Intranet, extranet, internet, world wide web,
– Search engines.
 Network
• Railway Network and Network of roads
• Network of Temples/ Churches/ Mosques/ Gurudwaras
• Network of Universities
• Network of military establishments
• Network of Bank
• Network of computers
– Possible interconnections in one-way environment
= N * (N-1)
• (where N refers to the number of Nodes)
 Computer Network
• Allows telecommunication to take place.
• Enabling exchange of –Text, Images, Audio and
Video data, Information and knowledge.
• Speed of telecommunication has impacted the
entire scenario of taking a decision or
managing a business.
 Telecommunications
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Technology Front

Application Front
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 Computer Network
• A group of computers and other devices connected in some
ways so as to be able to exchange data.

• Each of the devices on the network can be thought of as a node

with a unique address.

• Addresses are numeric quantities that are easy for computers to

work. Example: 204.160.241.98

• Internet uses names that humans can more easily remember

than numbers. Example: www.javasoft.com
Cisco Network
 Addressing
• NIC – Network Interface Card (Controller) connects each computer
to network bus.
• NIC Internet address: Consists of 4 bytes. Example: 136.102.233.49
• Address ranges corresponding to networks.
• Criteria considered:
Geographical area (country) →
Organization, enterprise →
Department →
Host →
• Domain Name System (DNS)
Mnemonic textual addresses are provided to facilitate the
manipulation of internet addresses.
• DNS servers are responsible for translating mnemonic textual
Internet addresses into numeric Internet addresses.
 Ports
• An IP address identifies a host machine on the
Internet.
• An IP port number will identify a specific
application running on an Internet host machine.
Application Dedicated Port
HTTP 80 Hyper Text Transfer Protocol from WWW.
FTP 20 & 21 File Transfer Protocol similar to HTTP or SMTP for large file download
and upload using TCP/IP.
Gopher 70 Program for managing Internet server files.
SMTP (e-mail) 25 Simple Mail Transfer Protocol, for sending e-mail messages using SMTP
to send messages from one server to another.
POP3 (e-mail) 110 E-mail messages can be retrieved with an e-mail client using either Post
Office Protocol or IMAP (Internet Messaging Access Protocol.
Telnet 23 A terminal program for TCP/IP networks such as theInternet.
Finger 79 UNIX based program to get email id details.
 Types of Networks
WANs
• Cover cities, countries, and continents. Examples: Asynchronous
Transfer Mode (ATM), Integrated Services Digital Network (ISDN)
LANs
• Cover buildings or a set of closely related buildings. Examples:
Ethernet, Token Ring, and Fibber Distributed Data Interconnect
(FDDI).
• Ethernet LANs: based on a bus topology and broadcast
communication
• Token ring LANs: based on ring topology
• FDDI LANs: use optical fibbers and an improved token ring
mechanism based on two rings flowing in opposite directions.
MANs
 Network Topologies (Physical and Logical)

Topology Description

All devices are

connected to a
central hub. Nodes
Star communicate
Topology across the network
by passing data
through the hub.
 Network Topologies (Physical and Logical)
Topology
Description
Type

All devices are

Bus connected to a central
Topology cable, called
the bus or backbone.
 Network Topologies (Physical and Logical)
Topology Description

All devices are

connected to one
another in the shape
Ring of a closed loop, so
Topology that each device is
connected directly to
two other devices, one
on either side of it.
 Network Topologies (Physical and Logical)
Topology Type Description

A hybrid topology.
Groups of star-
Tree Topology configured networks
are connected to a
linear bus backbone.
 Network Topologies (Physical and Logical)

Topology
Description
Type

Devices are connected

with many redundant
interconnections between
Mesh network nodes. In a true
Topology mesh topology every
node has a connection to
every other node in the
network.
 Protocol Layers
The OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) Data
Model
– ISO standard for computer networks design and
functioning involves at least 7 layers, each playing
a specific role when applications are
communicating over the net.

– During the sending process, each layer (from top

to down) will add a specific header to the raw
data. At the reception, headers are eliminated
conversely until the data arrived to the receiving
application.
 OSI Layers
• Physical layer: Defines the physical characteristics of the network.
Topologies of Ethernet, Arpanet and Token Ring.
• Data-link layer: Provides safe communication of data over the
physical network [Routers] using IP [Internet Protocol].
• Network layer: Handles IP encapsulation with data packet and
mapping to physical address by higher layers.
• Transport layer: Provides end-to-end errors detection and correction
using TCP [Transmission control protocol] and UDP [User datagram
Protocol].
• Session layer: Manages sessions among applications. Network Protocols

• Presentation layer: Provides standard data representations for

applications.
• Application layer: Applications connected to the network using HTTP,
FTP, SMTP.
 Characteristics of LAN
• Every computer can communicate with any other computers of the network
• Inexpensive medium of data transmission
• High data transmission rate
Advantages
• The reliability of network is high because the failure of one computer in the
network does not effect the functioning for other computers.
• Addition of new computer to network is easy.
• High rate of data transmission is possible.
• Peripheral devices like magnetic disk and printer can be shared.
Disadvantages
• If the communication line fails, the entire network system breaks down.
Use of LAN
• File transfers and Access
• Word and text processing
• Electronic message handling
• Remote database access
• Digital voice transmission and storage
 Characteristics of WAN
• Communication Facility: Long distance phone
calls, Computer conferencing.
• Remote Data Entry
• Centralized Information
Examples of WAN
• Ethernet: Ethernet developed by Xerox.
• Aparnet: First network from Advanced
Research Projects Agency of U. S. Department.
 Network Architecture
There a role to play for Business Analysts and
System analysts working as a team and suggesting a
best network architecture for an organization
depending on-

– Number of users
– Database size
– Daily transaction and operational data
– Business Operations local or global
– Telecommunication requirement
 Different Architectures
Option Transaction Volume Database Number of Users

Mainframes High volume Large Large

transaction
processing

Miniframes Medium volume Medium to large Moderate

transactions. Number

Workstations Low Medium to small One at a time

LANs Low to Medium Medium to small Multiple

Client- Server Varied Small to large Multiple

(2 Tier and 3 Tier)
 Workgroup Technologies
When a group is suggested to follow similar
tools and rules for their day to day activities.
• Helps in sharing the information in a team.
• Coordination
• Helps in distributed teams.
• Diversity is maintained
• Helps in resolving conflicts on the choice of tools
• Helps in resolving cultural issues
• Overall team goal performance improves
 GDSS
• Group Decision Support System
– MS Project
– Conference Room Booking
– VOIP
– Telnet
– SharePoint
– Team viewer
– Visual Source Safe
– Group Ware
 TCP/IP Based Networks
• Intranet is shared content accessed by members within a single
organization.

• Extranet is shared content accessed by groups through cross-

enterprise boundaries.

• Internet is global communication accessed through the Web.

Internet/ Intranet/ Extranet
Internet Intranet Extranet
•World-wide network •Network that is not •An Extranet is
of computers available to the world actually an Intranet
accessible to anyone: outside of the that is partially
http://www.ibsindia.org Intranet. accessible to
http://quicforce.ibsind authorized outsiders
ia.org through Internet.
Internet Intranet Extranet
•For accessing •If the Intranet •The actual server
a named computer, network is connected (the computer that
the name needs to be to the Internet, the serves up the web
translated into an IP Intranet will reside pages) will reside
address. behind a firewall. behind a firewall. The
firewall helps to
control access
between the Intranet
and Internet
permitting access to
•To do this your •The firewall helps to people who are
browser (for example control access suitably authorized.
Netscape or Internet between the Intranet
Explorer) will access a and Internet to permit •The level of access
Domain Name Server access to the Intranet can be set to different
(DNS) computer to only to people who levels for individuals
lookup the name and are members of the or groups of outside
return an IP address - same company or users.
or issue an error organization.
message.
Internet Intranet Extranet
•Once your browser •For example, consider •The access can be
has the IP address it an office with a few based on a username
can access the remote PCs and a few printers and password or an IP
computer. all networked address (a unique set
•The actual server (the together. The network of numbers such as
computer that serves would not be 209.33.27.100 that
up the web pages) connected to the defines the computer
does not reside behind outside world. On one that the user is on).
a firewall - if it did, it of the drives of one of
would be an Extranet. the PCs there would
•It may implement be a directory of web
security at a directory pages that comprise
level so that access is the Intranet. Other
via a username and PCs on the network
password, but could access this
otherwise all the Intranet by pointing
information is their browser to this
accessible. directory - for
example
D:\inet\index.htm.
?