INTRODUCTION TO

COMPUTER
NETWORKS

SCHOOL OF COMPUTING MITCH M. ANDAYA

DEFINITION OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

• A Computer Network is an
interconnected collection
of autonomous (no master-
slave relationship)
computers.

• The interconnection of
these computers is
facilitated through the use
of certain medium.

• The connecting medium

may be physical (copper or
fiber optic type) or non-
physical (radio waves).

Introduction to Computer Networks

DEFINITION OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

• In a computer
network,
computers, and/or
peripherals such as
printers, are
interconnected
using connectivity
devices such as
hubs, switches, and
routers.

Introduction to Computer Networks

DEFINITION OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

Introduction to Computer Networks

DEFINITION OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

Introduction to Computer Networks

DEFINITION OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

Introduction to Computer Networks

BENEFITS OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

• Resource Sharing

One goal of
establishing computer
networks is to facilitate
sharing of applications,
programs, data and
other resources
without any regard to
the physical location of
the resource and the
user.

Introduction to Computer Networks

BENEFITS OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

• Security

Networks improve the reliability of the

control and security of internal
information.

Knowing where information is, that it

is the most current and correct
version, that it is available to
authorized users and restricted from
others, and that it will be there when
needed are key elements to success.

The central storage of all important

data also provides for reliable back-
ups.
Introduction to Computer Networks
BENEFITS OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

• Communication
Medium
A computer network can
provide a powerful
communication medium
among widely separated
employees.
Networks can enhance
human-to-human
communication.

Introduction to Computer Networks

BENEFITS OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

• GroupWare

Networks enable
numerous people to
work together on
projects.

Centralization
enables many
inputs to a single
project from
multiple locations.
Introduction to Computer Networks
BENEFITS OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

• Improved Business
Processes
Organizations can service
their clients more effectively
by using computer networks.
Businesses can service
customers by their
personnel working in the
field itself.
Also businesses can migrate
to places where there is a
cost advantage.

Introduction to Computer Networks

BENEFITS OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

• The Internet

Organizations today, both from

the industry and the academe,
connect to the Internet to create
opportunities.

• It helps make things more

efficient in their respective
business processes

Since the early 1990's Internet

user growth has been
exponential.

Introduction to Computer Networks

BENEFITS OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

Introduction to Computer Networks

BENEFITS OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

Introduction to Computer Networks

DRAWBACKS OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

• Requires Significant
Planning – Networks
require careful
planning, organization,
and forethought.

• Requires Training –
Networks may require
additional training for both
the persons responsible for
maintaining the network as
well as for the users.

Introduction to Computer Networks

DRAWBACKS OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

• Maintenance – Networks require

routine maintenance and regular
care. The regular maintenance of
a network involves testing every
connection, cable, and device on
the system.

• Escalated Critical Failures

– Networks can cause
significant business
disturbances if they fail.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 50's

• There was little need for

computer networks since
devices were closely spaced.
• Computers were so huge
and expensive that a typical
computer system setup
consists of one computer
only - this computer is called
the mainframe.
• Interconnection is done
between the mainframe
computer and its peripheral
devices.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 50's

• Computer jobs, such as execution of programs or applications,

were processed in batches.
• Output reports or print-outs were available in defined schedules.
• This led to the labelling of the 50's as the Batch Processing era.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 60's

• Batch processing was

slowly replaced with
On-line Processing.
• The only difference is
having several
terminals that allows
users to enter their
respective data
simultaneously.

• Several terminals are connected to the host computer

through serial or parallel connections.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 60's

• Although data is entered at the

same time, processing is still in
the scheme of one-computer-
job-at-a-time.
• This scheme is referred to as
time-sharing.
• Having a powerful central
computer gives the impression
to the users that their
submitted computer jobs are
processed in real-time.
• The more users are logged-on,
the slower processing becomes
for each user.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 70's

• Computers were becoming

smaller in physical size.
• Mainframes, as the central
computer, are being replaced
by a smaller computer called
the minicomputer.
• Although inferior in size, the
minicomputer is as powerful,
if not more powerful, as the
mainframe computer.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 70's

• Later in the decade a

portable computer for
personal use was launched.
• This computer was called the
personal computer, or PC.
• PC's were not designed then
to be as powerful as
mainframe or
minicomputers.
• It can only run small
applications enough for
personal use.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 80's

• The software industry came

up with more computer
applications.
• This made the PC more
popular leading to the PC's
becoming affordable.
• Many offices are now with
PC's and eventually these
companies were able to
interconnect their PC's into
small-sized networks –known
as the Local Area Network,
or simply LAN.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 80's

• LAN's are computer networks contained within an

office space. Several manufacturers pushed for
their own LAN standards.
• The likes of Ethernet and Token-Ring were born.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 80's

• Still, these LAN technologies are not compatible and can

not be mixed and matched with just any device from any
computer vendor.
• Ethernet was a LAN standard developed by DEC together
with Intel and Xerox, while Token-Ring is an IBM
proprietary LAN standard.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 80's

• Although the various small-sized networks

are ready to be interconnected, the use of
long-haul communication using satellites
or submarine cables is still expensive.
• Because of this, the small-sized networks
of select companies remained to be
isolated islands of LAN's.
• The industry is not yet ready for Wide
Area Networks, or WAN.
• WAN's are different from LAN's in terms of
distance or coverage. Computer-to-
computer separation can span at least
10km.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 80's

• WAN technology options at the time were just leased

circuits from telecommunication companies.
• Leased lines are long-haul physical cables laid out by service
providers that allows for dedicated use of subscribers.
• Individual LANs connect to these leased circuits using
modems.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 90's

• In the 80's, LAN's were just like

"islands" of information that are
isolated from one another.
• The 90's came and the different
vendors started to interconnect these
different isolated LAN's - this idea is
more known today as
internetworking.
• Internetworking is defined as an
interconnection of different kinds of
computer networks – Ethernet-to-
Token-Ring, UNIX platforms-to-Novell-
to-Microsoft, and making sure they are
interoperable.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 90's

• The biggest network to do

this was called the Internet.
• The Internet (with an
uppercase "I") is now a
commercial network that
allows for internetworking.
• Vendors of different
computer system products
started redefining their
designs to work with the
Internet.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 90's

• The Internet started with the purpose of just research – for the U.S. Department
of Defense (DOD) and top U.S. Universities.
• Pioneer universities were University of California Los Angeles (UCLA), University
of California Santa Barbara (UCSB), Stanford Research Institute (SRI), and
University of Utah.
• The Internet started with the four institutions having their respective LAN's
interconnected with leased lines with a transmission rate of just 56kbps.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORKING IN THE 90's

• The Internet continued to evolve

beyond military and academic
research.
• Today, the Internet is a key factor in
globalization. It has change the way
people do commerce. Businesses can
be done more efficiently through
electronic means.
• The 90's proved that information was
important to organizations.
• It was Information Management (IM)
that drove organizations to business
growth – information was power.

Introduction to Computer Networks

THE NEW MILLENIUM

• If one were to describe how the

computing industry has evolved the past
years, convergence would be the word.
• In the past, distinct services require
distinct platforms.
– A voice service will only be available
on voice networks such as the
telephone network
– TV broadcasts are only available on
video networks such as cable TV
networks
– Computer networks only provide
computer data services such as web
browsing and email.

Introduction to Computer Networks

THE NEW MILLENIUM
• Today, however, a single platform could carry multi-services – voice, data and
video.
• An IP network infrastructure can carry voice and video services on top of the
traditional data services.
• A single service that can prove this would be instant messaging.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

• Computer Network
Architecture specifies how the
physical and logical
components of a computer
network are assembled and
connected with each other to
facilitate information
exchange and resource
sharing.
• Network Architecture Types:
– Client/Server Architecture
– Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
Architecture

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

• A Client-Server Network is a network

architecture in which each computer
Printer
Router
Files DBase
or process on the network is either a
client or a server.
• Servers are powerful computers or
Printer Server Communications File Server Database Server Applications Server processes dedicated to managing
disk drives (file servers), printers
Server

(print servers), or network traffic

` `
(network servers).
Client Client

• In short, a server is a computer that

` `

Client Client
`

Client Client
`
provides a certain service (printing
`

Client
`

Client
services, communication services, file
sharing services, etc.)

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

Files DBase
• Clients are PCs or
Printer
Router

workstations on which
users run applications.
Printer Server Communications File Server Database Server Applications Server
Server

• Clients rely on servers

` ` for resources, such as
files, devices, and even
Client Client
` `

Client Client
`

Client
`
Client
`

`
processing power.
Client Client

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORK ARCHITECTURE
• A server can be centralized or
dedicated.
• A dedicated server is a single
Router
Files DBase
server on a multi-server
Printer
network that handles one or
more server-specific tasks.
Dedicated server networks
Printer Server Communications File Server Database Server Applications Server
Server

have separate machines for

` `
each major information
Client
`
Client
` service.
Client Client
` `

Client
`
Client
` These networks can support
Client Client
large numbers of users
because the processing load is
distributed over multiple
CPUs.
Introduction to Computer Networks
COMPUTER NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

• A centralized server is the

single-server on a network
that handles all the server-
specific networking tasks.
Centralized servers must be
high-performance machines
to handle the demands of a
network adequately.
Centralized servers are not
recommended for networks
with more than 10 users or
services.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

• The speed of the network is often determined by

the speed of the slowest server. The speed of the
server is determined by three factors: CPU,
memory, and storage.
• Servers, like all computers, require an operating
system.
• A server is a machine on a network; it must be able
not only to handle all of the internal computations,
but also to manipulate the communications media
connecting it with the rest of the network.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

• Usually, the operating system of

a server is combined with the
network control code to create a
networking operating system
(NOS).
• Examples of NOS include
Windows NT, NetWare, Vines,
OS/2 LAN Server, and LANtastic.
• However, this is now largely
historical, as common operating
systems generally now have
networking features included.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

• A thin client, sometimes

called a lean client, is a
low-cost endpoint
computing device that
relies heavily on a server
for its computational role.
The term thin client is also
used to describe software
applications that use the
client-server model in
which the server performs
all the processing.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

• A fat client (sometimes called a thick client) is a networked

computer with most resources installed locally, rather than
distributed over a network as is the case with a thin client.
Most PCs (personal computers), for example, are fat clients
because they have their own hard drive, DVD drives, software
applications and so on.
Fat clients are almost unanimously preferred by network users
because they are very customizable and the user has more control
over what programs are installed and specific system
configuration.
Thin clients are more easily managed, are easier to protect from
security risks, and offer lower maintenance and licensing costs.

Introduction to Computer Networks

COMPUTER NETWORK ARCHITECTURE

• A peer-to-peer
network is a network of
personal computers,
each of which acts as
both client and sever,
so that each can
exchange files and
email directly with
every other computer
on the network.

Introduction to Computer Networks