Hansika Mannapperuma

NETWORKING BASICS 0768961322

B.Sc. ICT (@RUSL)
What is Data Communication?
Transmission of data from one place to a another is called Data communication.
In computing, this means sending streams of bits from one location to another using
technologies such as copper wire, fiber optics, lasers, radio, or IR.

There are 5 components in data communication

1. Sender/Transmitter-Person who sends the data
2. Receiver-Person who receives the data
3. Medium
4. Message
5. Protocol-Set of rules for communication(ex-road signs are the protocol for
 Transmission
Media

Unguided Guided

Unguided Media(Radiated Guided Media/Wired Media-It is a physical

Media)/Wireless Media-Communicating medium is used for data communication.
data using media which are not physical.
Twisted pair
Infrared Coaxial Cable
Radio waves Fiber optical
Microwaves
GUIDED/WIRED MEDIA

Twisted Pair
Twisted pair is the ordinary copper wire that connects home and many business local area
networks.
Inexpensive, flexible and light weight, easy to work with and install.
Susceptibility to interference and noise(external signals)
The pairs of plain copper wires are wrapped around each other this helps minimized the
EMI(Electromagnetic interference)
Low data transmission rate
Short range, can't send data for long distance(100m recommended)
Indoor cabling mostly.
This comes in two flavors: UTP(Unshielded twisted pair) and STP(Shielded twisted pair)
Co-axial Cable
A coaxial cable has an inner conductor surrounded by an insulating layer and copper net.
It is also installed in organizations for local area network
Although expensive than standard telephone wires, it is much less EMI and can carry much
more data.
This is used in antenna wires for Television sets, Cable TV, long distance telephones.
Noise immunity is good.
Recommended distance 500m for data communication.
Fiber optics
Most popular guided media .Also used in modern telephone lines.
Optical fiber(or “fiber optic”) refers to the medium and the technology associated with the
transmission of information as light signals along a glass or plastic fiber.
An optical fiber cable is a cable containing one or more optical fibers.
Fiber optic carry much more data than twisted pair and in general not subjected to EMI.
Generally data transmission speed is measured in Gbps.
Data can be transmit to long distance without using repeaters.
UNGUIDED MEDIA/WIRELESS
No physical medium is used for data communication.
Waves
Waves are produced by something that vibrates, and they carry energy from one place to another.
Infrared
Infrared signals used for short distance connections.
It is used for data communication in wireless keyboards, mice and television remote
controls.
However, they are easily interrupted by obstacles, and offer a relatively slow connection,
typically less than 10Mbps.

8bits=1Byte
1024Bytes=1Kilo byte
1024KB=1Mega byte
1024MB-1Giga byte
1024GB=1Tera byte
Radio waves and Micro waves
Radio waves and microwaves are two types of electromagnetic waves with relatively long
wave lengths.
Radio waves- are low-frequency waves used for communication wave length>1m
Microwaves- waves used for communication/cooking food higher frequency & shorter
wavelength<1m
Radio waves, which are very familiar to our normal lives, can be used for data
communication very easily.
Microwaves are used to communicate data to a longer distance and short signals which
contains higher frequencies are used here.(Ex- bluetooth,Wifi,Wimax,etc..)
Radio waves are the low-energy, low-frequency and long-wavelength electromagnetic
waves.
Satellite- Pros and Cons
Access to remote area, Covers large geographical area, High bandwidth.
Economic value increases with number of locations.
High initial cost, Propagation delay
Vulnerable to environmental interference.
NETWORK
TOPOLOGY
Network topology shows how computers and other devices are physically connected
STAR TOPOLOGY
All the computers are directly connected to the middle device(hub or switch) in star
topology.
It is very easy to install and also easy to identify and correct errors.
New nodes can be added easily without affecting rest of the components. Similarly
components can also be removed easily.
Centralized management helps in monitoring the network.
Disadvantage is the necessity to use a large number of wires. If hub or switch breaks down
the whole system will collapse.
RING/LOOP TOPOLOGY
This network is arranged connecting computers in the form of a ring or loop.
Advantage is need of few wires and no additional devices needed.
Message passing from one computer to another until it reach the destination machine.
Disadvantages are difficult to expand the network, if one computer does not operate, the
whole network will collapse. Only one computer can transmit data at a time.
BUS TOPOLOGY
This computer network is built centering on a main wire and connecting all the computers
and other devices to it.
Advantage is the need of few wires and the convenience to fix computers and other
devices.
Disadvantage is that the whole network depends on the main wire and closing the main
wire at both ends using terminators.
TREE TOPOLOGY (EXTENDED
STAR)
Tree topology takes the shape of separated branches of a tree. Advantage is the possibility
to control each branch separately.
However, building and controlling this network can be a bit complicating task. Further, a
main wire as in bus topology is used here to connect the branches of this network and the
function of the network depends on it.
Needs a lot of wire. Tree topology can be considered as an extended star network.
MESH
TOPOLOGY
Mesh networks connect many computers(routers) directly to each other.
This means faster communication ,and provides alternatives routes if a computer or link
breaks.
However, more connections means mesh networks are expensive to build.
DATA COMMUNICATION TYPES
Data transmission can be done in serial or parallel ways.
Serial data transmission
Data is transmitted one after the other(in a serial way)
Data transmission is done in one bit at a time in a computer network.
One wire(transmission line) is enough here for data transmission.
Parallel data transmission
Multiple bits are transmitted at a time and several wires are required for this.
Data transmission speed
Speed of data transmission is done using bits, bits per second(bps) is considered as the
basic unit. Kbps(kilo bits per second),Mbps(Mega bits per second) are used to measure the
data transmission.
exercise
Data transmission Modes
There are three main modes in data transmission:
1. Simplex
2. Half-Duplex
3. Full Duplex
Simplex-Data is directed one way only. Only from sender to receiver.(Ex-Television and Radio
transmission)
Half-Duplex-Data can be transmitted I both directions on a signal line, but not at the same time(Ex-
Walkie talkie, Fax)
Full duplex-Data is transmitted both ways at the same time(Ex-Two computers connected via
Ethernet cable can send and receive data at the same time)
 Network devices
MODEM
Modem is a device that enables a computer to send data over a telephone line. Analog signals are
used in general telephone lines and digital signals are used in computers.
The task of Modulation is to covert digital signals to analog signals while the task of
Demodulation is to convert analog signals to digital. The MODEM is short for modulator-
demodulator.
Repeater
A repeater is an electronic device that receives signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher
power. A repeater can remove some errors in digital signals also.
Repeaters extends distance limitation on networks.

Gateway
Protocols are the rules used for communication on a network. All PCs on a network must
understand the protocols used, otherwise they cannot communicate effectively.
A gateway translates the protocols of one network to another, allowing different types of network
to be interconnected. For example a gateway will allow a token ring network using Novell
IPX/SPX protocols to connect to an Ethernet network using TCP/IP protocols.
Network Interface Card/Controller(NIC)
NIC(also know as network interface card, network adapter, LAN adapter) is a computer hardware
component that connects a computer to a network.
Early network interface controllers were commonly implemented on
expansion cards that plugged into a computer bus. Now on
board NIC is the common.
Network Hub
Hub is a simple way to connect multiple nodes into one central
component in order to communicate each other. Hub can’t read the
receiving data packets and identify the destination computer. Hub
transmits all the receiving data packets to all the connected computers. Less
security. Hub is a multiport repeater.
Network Switch
Switch connects devices together in a computer network which can receive data packets and
identify the destination address then send to the destination device only.
The main difference between switch and hub is that the hub broadcast data to all devices that
are connected, while a switch send data only to the relevant device.
Generally switch replace the hub more intelligently. Switch can be considered as a multiport
bridge
Bridge
A Bridge has 2 ports- each attached to a different segment of the network.
A Bridge can identify the destination address of the receiving data packet is available in the next
segment. If it is available only allow to pass through it.
A bridge device filters data traffic at a network boundary. Bridges reduce the amount of traffic at a
network boundary. Bridges reduce the amount of traffic on a LAN by dividing it into two segments.
The switch is commonly refers to a multiport network bridge.
Router
Connects multiple LANs with WANs
The router makes intelligent decisions on how to “route” a data packet based on IP network
address.
Routers connect networks together. They control the traffic between networks by examining the
destination IP address of data packets.
 Types of computer Networks
Computer networks can be classified according to the geographical distribution.
LAN(Local Area Network)
LAN is a network that interconnects computer and other devices
within a limited area such as a room, floor of a building or within a
single building.
MAN(Metropolitan Area Network)
A network spreads over a large city. Area is larger than a LAN and smaller than a WAN. The range
of such a network can range from 5km to 50km Example-An
office network to connect branches within the Colombo city. Several LAN can be joined to make a
MAN.
WAN(Wide Area Network)
A WAN is a communication network that expands a large geographical are such as
several cities or countries. Different LAN’s and MAN’s are connected using
routers to build a WAN. In a WAN generally can see wired & wireless
technology satellite communication also can be included in WAN. Example –
Internet is the world largest WAN network.
PAN(Personal Area Network)
A PAN is the interconnection of information technology devices within the range of an individual
person.( a network within a vehicle, around a table) Generally within 10m range. Indoor Bluetooth,
twisted pair wires can be seen as data communication medias.
Can be considered as a subset of LAN.
 Advantages & Disadvantages of Networking
Advantages Disadvantages
Data and information can be shared Possibility of security issues
Less storage space Network breakdown
Ability to share resources Viruses
Ability to control central software Training requirements
Ability to from anywhere at any time
Email
WLAN
Wireless local area network. Wi-Fi is the main technology to build WLAN.I
ISP
Internet Service Provider

Firewall
Firewall is used to prevent the unauthorized access. Firewall
exist in both software and hardware.
It primary objective is to control the incoming and outgoing
network traffic by analyzing the data packets and
determining whether it should be allowed through or
not, based on predetermined set of rules.
Client-Server Networks
The client computer makes requests from the server computer. The server computer provides
services for the client computer based on the request.
Ex-A client computer sends the request www.nie.lk , the server computer(webserver) sends the
home page to the client computer.
Types of Server computers
1. Web servers
2. Mail servers
3. Proxy servers
4. DNS servers
5. DHCP servers
Peer-to-Peer
When a computer is capable of acting as both client and server, we call it a peer. Peer to peer
networks contain computers that are requesting services from each other.
Internet
Things required to access internet-Generally, the following things are required to access internet.
1. A computer(a device)
2. A communication software(web browser)
3. A telephone connection
4. A Modem
5. An ISP
Intranet
It is a private network which is arranged by a particular institute using the techniques of Internet in a
way that it can be used only by the internal people of the institute and it is restricted only to the
institute.
Extranet
An extranet is a private computer network that allows controlled access from the outside for specific
selected clients.
Server computer (more of a role)
A computer provides services for other computers(based on the requests) is a server computer.
Server computers possess a higher configuration than the normal computers.
Server software is often located on a powerful, high specification machine, allowing it to serve
many clients at once. For this reason, the computer itself is usually referred to as a server. A range
of server programs are available.
File server: Stores files centrally
Print server: process all printing jobs for the network and sends work to selected printers.
Database server: allows simultaneous access a large database by many clients.
Web server: hands out webpages of request.
Mail server: stores and processes email; like a post office.
Client computer
A client computer is requesting and accessing services from another computer(server computer).
When you use the internet, your computer functions as the client computer and the computer,
which provides you with the service functions as the server computer.
A client machine has some software to get the services(client software)
Web browser: requests web pages from web server.
Email client: sends and receives messages from a mail server.
URL (Uniform Resource Locator)
Top level
service domain

protocol
Web server
It is a server application that provides web contents(web pages, images,video,audio, etc..) to the
WWW using http.
Web server software should be running in all the web servers(host computer) in the internet.
Every web server has a public IP address and one or many domain names.
For example, if you enter a URL http://www.webopedia.com/TERM/M/MICR.html in your browser ,
this sends a request to the Web server whose domain name is webopedia.com. The server then
fetches the page named MICR.html from the folder TERM/M and sends it to your browser.
Some popular web server software's are,
oApache server
oIIS (Microsoft Internet Information Server)
oOracle web tier
oCERN server
Default logical port for the web server is 80.
Mail server
Mail server(or email server) is a server computer that handles and delivers email over a network.
And email server is a computer within your network that works as your virtual post office. A mail
server usually consists of a storage area, where email is stored and manage user accounts with set of
rules.
SMTP and POP3 are two services used by the email server to send emails over a network.

When you press the “send” button in your email program the program will connect to a server on the
network /Internet that is called an SMTP(simple mail transfer protocol) server.
It is the protocol that is used when emails are delivered from clients to servers and from servers to
other servers.
When you download emails to your email program will connect to a server on the net that is known
as a POP3 server. A POP3 server uses a protocol named POP3(post office protocol version3) for
communication.
The Gmail mail server domains are pop3.gmail.com and smtp.gmail.com
Proxy server
In a computer network, a proxy server is a server that provides an intermediary services when
clients seeking resources from other servers.
The proxy server evaluates the request according to its filtering ruleset-to block undesired sites.
Caches (stores) web pages accessed by host on the network for a certain amount of time. This leads
to quicker access of the web pages.(Prevent downloading same content multiple times and save
bandwidth).
To log /audit usage, i.e. to provide company employee internet usage reporting.
Scan transmitted content for malware before delivery.
Proxy server can block HTTP,HTTPS, FTP requests. Can allow or block ports.
Advantages of Proxy server
•Improve performance
•Monitoring
•Filtering data packets/ control of data
•Caching
Domain Name System Servers(DNS)
DNS is a distributed hierarchical naming system for internet or a private network.
The Domain name system is like a “phone book” for the internet by translating human-friendly
computer hostnames(domain names) into IP addresses.
For example www.example.com translates to the address 192.238.62.101(IPv4).
DNS provides services for TCP/IP based networks. Sometimes the DNS resolution process often
requires that multiple servers be involved.
DHCP server(Dynamic Host Configuration Protocol)
A protocol for assigning dynamic IP addresses to devices on a network. With dynamic addressing ,
a device can have a different IP address every time it connects to the network.
It also provides central database for keeping track of computers that have been connected to the
network. This prevents the computers from accidentally being configured with the same IP address.
In the absence of DHCP, hosts may be manually configured with an IP address.
Dynamic addressing simplifies network administration because the software keeps track of IP
addresses rather than requiring an administration to manage the task.
Application server
An application server is a software framework dedicated to the efficient execution of office
applications for supporting clients. The term was originally used when discussing early client-
server server systems.
Typically, the Application server role is recommended when you are deploying a business
application that was developed within your organization. Application modification also easy.
An application server creates an efficient environment to run applications in a central computer.
File server
File server can be used as a storage server.
In the client/server model a file server is a computer responsible for the central storage and
management of data files so that other computers on the same network can access the files.(most of
the times use FTP services)
A file server allows users to share information over a network without having to physically transfer
files by pen drivers, diskettes or some other external storage devices.
Printer Server
Print devices can be connected to a print server and then shared among many users.
It accepts print jobs from computers and send the jobs to the appropriate printers, if one printer is
temporarily out of service for some reason, then it is a simple task to send the print job to a
different printer on the network. The ability to inspect the queue of jobs to be process, the ability to
reorder or delete waiting print jobs, or the ability to do various kinds of accounting(such as
counting pages).
Assign priorities for specific users.
Managing print jobs, job prioritization and print spooling(arrange in a queue)
NETWORK TESTING METHODS

Ipconfig (ip configuration)

Ipconfig is a command line utility(it is designed to be run from the windows command
prompt)available on all versions of Microsoft Windows starting with Windows NT. The output of
the default command(ipconfig) contains the IP address, network mask(subnet mask) and default
gateway for all physical and virtual network adapters
Ipconfig/all- displays all the current TCP/IP network configuration values:
IP address(logical address)
Ethernet MAC address(physical address)
Subnet mask
Dynamic Host Control Protocol(DHCP) informant
Domain Name System(DNS) settings,
Computer’s name(hostname),
Default gateway for all adapters.
(one computer has more than one NIC)
Netstat
(NETwork STATistics) A command line utility that reports the status of TCP/IP and Ethernet
connections.
Display various detailed information about how your computer is communicating with other
computers or network devices. You can determine what ports are open and being used. What
programs are using your ports, details about individual network connections, overall and protocol-
specific networking statistics. The number of packets received, transmitted and dropped int the
communication, it displays information regarding traffic on the configured network interfaces. All
of which could help troubleshoot certain kinds of networking issues.
Nslookup
Nslookup yahoo.com
Nslookup xxx.xxx.xxx.xxx
Nslookup is like a domain name lookup from the IP address. You can also do a reverse lookup
from the domain name to the IP Address.
Ping
Ping is a computer network administration utility used to test the reachability of a host
on an Internet Protocol(IP)network and to measure the round-trip-time form messages
sent from the originating host to a destination computer .
Ping operates by sending Internet Control Message Protocol(ICMP) echo request
packets to the target host and waiting for an ICMP response.
By default ping waits 4,000 milliseconds(4seconds) for each response to be returned
before displaying the ”request timed out” message
Ping can be used for troubleshooting to test connectivity and determine response time.
Ping 127.0.0.1
(IPv4 lococalhost IP address or IPv4 loopback IP address)
Ping yahoo.com(web address)
To ping a website you would type ping followed by the website name
Ping xxx.xxx.xx.xx-t
To send a continuous ping, to stop the ping press cntrl+C
Round-trip time (RTT) is
the duration in milliseconds
(ms) it takes for
a network request to go
from a starting point to a
destination and back again to
TRACERT(trace route)-display the path from source computer to destination device
tracert yahoo.com
tracert 120.34.55.167
The TRACERT(trace route) command is a route tracing utility used to determine the path that an IP
has taken to reach a destination. Display all the routes between the source and the destination.
With trace route you can trace the path your packets take across the internet from your destination.
You can used the traceroute to figure out where the longest delays are occurring and which routers
are working or not working
THANK YOU