The grading pattern.

Attendance: 05%
Assignments: 20%
Mid-Term: 15%
End-Term: LAB Test: 15%
End-Sem: 45%

Credits and Course Format:

Grading Pattern = 1
Credits = 4
2 Classes/week, 1hr/Class,
2 Labs/Week, 2hr/Lab,

Motivation
Computer network programming enables computers to share data with each
other via inter-process communication. Operating system kernel plays an
important role in managing the basic requirements of networking. One of such
operating system is Unix. Unix is an open source operating system that is the
most versatile and coustomizable operating system available. Moreover the
netwoshing function that are essential for network communication is already
built in to its kernel. Hence, programmer prefer Unix as the main system for
running servers.

Hence, this course focuses on understanding the basic concepts of Unix

operating system that will help us to design efficient server and client applications.

First, this course talks about the basics of networking and network protocols.
Then it dives in to C programming concepts for designing server and clients on
Unix system.
Introduction to computer networks
A computer network is a group of devices connected with each other through a
transmission medium such as wires, cables etc. These devices can be
computers, printers, scanners, Fax machines etc.

The purpose of having computer network is to send and receive data stored in
other devices over the network. These devices are often referred as nodes.

Rules Rules

Message
Sender Transmission Media Receiver

There are five basic components of a computer network

Message: It is the data or Sender: Sender is the Protocol: A protocol is a set

information which needs device that has the data of rules that are agreed by
to be transferred from and needs to send the both sender and receiver,
one device to another data to other device without a protocol two
device over a computer connected to the devices can be connected to
network. network. each other but they cannot
communicate.

Transmission media: In Network components Receiver: A receiver is the

order to transfer data from
device which is expecting
one device to another
the data from other device
device we need a transmission media
such as wires, cables, radio waves etc.
l on the network.
What is a computer network?

Computer network is a collection of computing devices (computers, mobiles,

routers etc.) are connected to each other by a link (wired like optical fiber,
coaxial cable etc. Or wireless like radio, satellite, etc.) and are agreed to
share information and resources.

Cost Sharing
CN enable resources like Speed
effectiveness
file, software, hardware The data sharing speed
Resources sharing
to be shared among has increased significantly
enable user to use
devices due to the computer
costly software and
networks.
hardware without
Features of
owning them
computer
Security network Scalability
Size of computer network can
Gives user nights to
Integration dynamically increase with time
restrict or allow sharing
of information and Computer network
resources devices can seamlessly
coordinate to give user an
experience of having large
resources
Some uses of computer network
Computer networks have become invaluable to organizations as well as
individuals. Some of its main uses are as follows −
• Information and Resource Sharing − Computer networks allow organizations
having units which are placed apart from each other, to share information in a
very effective manner. Programs and software in any computer can be
accessed by other computers linked to the network. It also allows sharing of
hardware equipment, like printers and scanners among varied users.
• Retrieving Remote Information − Through computer networks, users can
retrieve remote information on a variety of topics. The information is stored in
remote databases to which the user gains access through information systems
like the World Wide Web.
• Speedy Interpersonal Communication − Computer networks have increased
the speed and volume of communication like never before. Electronic Mail
(email) is extensively used for sending texts, documents, images, and videos
across the globe. Online communications have increased by manifold times
through social networking services.
• E-Commerce − Computer networks have paved way for a variety of business
and commercial transactions online, popularly called e-commerce. Users and
organizations can pool funds, buy or sell items, pay bills, manage bank
accounts, pay taxes, transfer funds and handle investments electronically.
• Highly Reliable Systems − Computer networks allow systems to be
distributed in nature, by the virtue of which data is stored in multiple sources.
This makes the system highly reliable. If a failure occurs in one source, then the
system will still continue to function and data will still be available from the
other sources.
• Cost–Effective Systems − Computer networks have reduced the cost of
establishment of computer systems in organizations. Previously, it was
imperative for organizations to set up expensive mainframes for computation
and storage. With the advent of networks, it is sufficient to set up
interconnected personal computers (PCs) for the same purpose.
Network hardware, and network software

Computer networks components comprise both physical parts as well as the

software required for installing computer networks, both at organizations and at
home. The hardware components are the server, client, peer, transmission
medium, and connecting devices. The software components are operating system
and protocols.
The following figure shows a network along with its components −

Router
Internet

Bridge
Hub

Server

Repeater

Hardware Components
• Servers −Servers are high-configuration computers that manage the resources
of the network. The network operating system is typically installed in the server
and so they give user accesses to the network resources. Servers can be of
various kinds: file servers, database servers, print servers etc.
• Clients − Clients are computers that request and receive service from the
servers to access and use the network resources.
• Peers − Peers are computers that provide as well as receive services from
other peers in a workgroup network.
 • Transmission Media − Transmission media are the channels through which data
is transferred from one device to another in a network. Transmission media
may be guided media like coaxial cable, fibre optic cables etc; or maybe
unguided media like microwaves, infra-red waves etc.
• Connecting Devices − Connecting devices act as middleware between
networks or computers, by binding the network media together. Some of the
common connecting devices are:
             a. Routers
             b. Bridges
             c. Hubs
             d. Repeaters
             e. Gateways
              f. Switches 

Software Components

• Networking Operating System − Network Operating Systems is typically

installed in the server and facilitate workstations in a network to share files,
database, applications, printers etc.
• Protocol Suite − A protocol is a rule or guideline followed by each computer for
data communication. Protocol suite is a set of related protocols that are laid
down for computer networks. The two popular protocol suites are −              
◦ a. OSI Model ( Open System Interconnections)
◦  b. TCP / IP Model
 What is a topologies?
Topology is a way of arranging network elements and link.
A physical star topology branches each network
Each computer shares the same data and address
device off a central device called a hub, making it
path. With a logical bus topology, messages pass
very easy to add a new workstation.
through the trunk, and each workstation checks to
see if the message is addressed to itself. If the
Also, if any workstation goes down it does not
address of the message matches the workstation’s
affect the entire network. (But, as you might
address, the network adapter copies the message
expect, if the central device goes down, the entire
to the card’s on-board memory.
network goes down.)

A single BUS connects all computer components

Each computer connects to two other

The mesh topology is the simplest logical
computers, joining them in a circle creating a
topology in terms of data flow, but it is the
unidirectional path where messages move
most complex in terms of physical design.
workstation to workstation.

In this physical topology, each device is

Each entity participating in the ring reads a
connected to every other device
message, then regenerates it and hands it to its
neighbor on a different network cable.
This topology is rarely found in LANs, mainly
because of the complexity
of the cabling.

Topology Advantage Disadvantage

Bus Cheap & easy to install Difficult to reconfigure ,

Break in the bus stop network,

Cheap & easy to install,

Star More expensive than Bus
reconfigured easily, fault tolerant

Ring Efficient Reconfiguration difficult

easy to install Very expensive

Mesh Simplest Reconsitiguration difficult

most fault tolerant Extremely expensive, very complex
Metric units

Normally, ‘‘m’’ is used for milli and ‘‘µ’’ (the Greek letter mu) is used for micro.
Network performance metrics

Transmission time. It is the expected time taken by the message to move in a

medium. i.e. the time 1st bit leaving the source and last bit
arriving at destination.

Message size
Transmission time =
Bandwidth

Propagation Time Propagation time measures the time required for a bit to
travel from the source to the destination.

Distance
Propagation time =
Speed in medium

What are the propagation time and the transmission time for a 2.5-kbyte
message (an e-mail) if the bandwidth of the network is 1 Gbps? Assume that the
distance between the sender and the receiver is 12,000 km and that light
travels at 2.4 x 108 m/s.

12,000 x 1000
Propagation time 50 ms
8
2.4 x 10

3
2.5 x 10 x8
Transmission time 0.020 ms
9
1 x 10

Latency The latency or delay defines how long it takes for an entire message to
completely arrive at the destination from the time the first bit is sent
out from the source.

Latency =propagation time + transmission time + queuing time + processing delay

/
Bandwidth: The range of frequencies contained in a composite signal is its
bandwidth.

Bandwidth = maximum frequency - minimum frequency

Unit is in hertz

Capacity The maximum number of bits that can be transmitted in second over
a channel.

Signal to noise ratio

Not in dB

Capcity Bandwidth

Throughput: Number bits actually reaching the destination in second.

Imagine a highway designed to transmit 1000 cars per minute from one point to
another. However, if there is congestion on the road, this figure may be reduced
to 100 cars per minute. The bandwidth is 1000 cars per minute; the throughput
is 100 cars per minute.

What is the theoretical capacity of a channel if the bandwidth is 20 KHz and

SNR is 40dB?
-
What is the total delay (latency) for a frame of size 5 million bits that is being sent
on a link with 10 routers each having a queuing time of 2 µs and a processing time
of 1 µs. The length of the link is 2000 Km. The speed of light inside the link is 2 x
-

8
10 m/s. The link has a bandwidth of 5 Mbps. Which component of the total delay
is dominant?

We have,
Latency = processing time + queuing time + transmission time + propagation time

Processing time = 10 × 1 µs = 10 µs = 0.000010 s

Queuing time = 10 × 2 µs = 20 µs = 0.000020 s
Transmission time = 5,000,000 / (5 Mbps) = 1 s
8
Propagation time = (2000 Km) / (2 × 10 ) = 0.01 s

Latency = 0.000010 + 0.000020 + 1 + 0.01 = 1.01000030 s

The transmission time is dominant here because the packet size is huge.

What is the length of a bit in a channel with a propagation speed of 2 x 10 8 m/s if

the channel bandwidth is 1 Mbps?

(bit length) = (propagation speed ) x (bit duration)

The bit duration is the inverse of the bandwidth.

Hence,

8
Bit length = (2 ×10 m/s) × [(1 / (1 Mbps)] = 200 m. This means a bit
occupies 200 meters on a transmission medium.