DATA COMMUNICATION AND COMPUTER NETWORK

UNIT 1

DEFINITION:
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 wecan send
or receive data. A network of computers is defined as an interconnected
collection of autonomous computers. Autonomous means nocomputer can
start, stop or control another computer.

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.
Therefore, there are some set of rules (protocols) that is followed by every
computer connected to the internet and they are:
• TCP(Transmission Control Protocol): It is responsible for dividing
messages into packets on the source computer and reassembling the
received packet at the destination or recipient computer. It also makes
sure that the packets have the information about the source of the
message data, the destination of the message data, the sequence in
which the message data should be re-assembled, and checks if the
message has been sent correctly to the specific destination.

• IP(Internet Protocol): Do You ever wonder how does computer

determine which packet belongs to which device. What happens if the
message you sent to your friend is received by your father? Scary
Right. Well! IP is responsible for handling the address of the destination
computer so that each packet is sent to its proper destination.

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.

Communication Channels
 Communication channels are the medium that connects two or more
workstations. Workstations can be connected by either wired media or wireless
media. It is also known as a transmission medium. The transmission medium or
channel is a link that carries messages between two or more devices. We can
group the communication media into two categories:
• Guided media transmission
• Unguided media transmission

1. Guided Media: In this transmission medium, the physical link is created

using wires or cables between two or more computers or devices, and then the
data is transmitted using these cables in terms of signals. Guided media
transmission of the following types:

a. Twisted pair cable: It is the most common form of wire used in

communication. In a twisted-pair cable, two identical wires are wrapped
together in a double helix. The twisting of the wire reduces the crosstalk. It is
known as the leaking of a signal from one wire to another due to which
signal can corrupt and can cause network errors. The twisting protects the
wire from internalcrosstalk as well as external forms of signal interference.

What are the categories of twisted pair cables?

The EIA has classified the twisted pair cables into seven distinct categories −

• Category 1 or Cat 1 – UTP cables with data rate < 0.1 Mbps, used in
telephone lines
• Category 2 or Cat 2 − UTP cables with a data rate of 2 Mbps, used in
transmission lines
• Category 3 or Cat 3 − UTP cables with a data rate of 10 Mbps, used in
LANs or 10baseT Ethernet
• Category 4 or Cat 4− UTP cables with a data rate of 20 Mbps, used in
token ring networks
• Category 5 or Cat 5 – UTP cables with a data rate of 100 Mbps, used in
LANs or 100baseT Ethernet
• Category 5e or Cat 5e – 1000baseT Ethernet with a data rate of 1000
Mbps
• Category 6 or Cat 6 − UTP cables with a data rate of 200 Mbps, used in
high-speed LANs
• Category 7 or Cat 7 − STP used in super high-speed Gigabit Ethernet.
 Types of Twisted Pair Cable :

• Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP): It is used in computers and

telephones widely. As the name suggests, there is no external
shielding so it does not protects from external interference. It is
cheaper than STP.
UTP cables are primarily used in LANs, telephone wires and ethernet
cables.
• Shielded Twisted Pair (STP): It offers greater protection from
crosstalk due to shield. Due to shielding, it protects from external
interference. It is heavier and costlier as compare to UTP.
CAT6 STP cable is a category of STP cables. They are best suited
for network cabling in scenarios where there is too much external
interference.

b. Coaxial Cable: It consists of a solid wire core that is surrounded by one or

more foil or wire shields. The inner core of the coaxial cable carries the
signal and the outer shield provides the ground. It is widely used for
television signals and also used by large corporations in building security
systems. Data transmission of this cable is better but expensive as
compared to twisted pair.
 c. Optical fibers: Optical fiber is an important technology. It transmits
large amounts of data at very high speeds due to which it is widely used in
internet cables. It carries data as a light that travels inside a thin glass fiber.
The fiber optic cable is made up of three pieces:
1. Core: Core is the piece through which light travels. It is generally
created using glass or plastic.
2. Cladding: It is the covering of the core and reflects the light back to
the core.
3. Sheath: It is the protective covering that protects fiber cable from the
environment.

2. Unguided Media: The unguided transmission media is a transmission mode

in which the signals are propagated from one device to another device
wirelessly. Signals can wave through the air, water, or vacuum. It is generally
used to transmit signals in all directions. Unguided Media is further divided into
various parts :
1. Microwave: Microwave offers communication without the use of cables.
Microwave signals are just like radio and television signals. It is used in
long-distance communication. Microwave transmission consists of a
transmitter, receiver, and atmosphere. In microwave communication,
there are parabolic antennas that are mounted on the towers to send a
beam to another antenna. The higher the tower, the greater the range.

2. Radio wave: When communication is carried out by radio frequencies,

then it is termed radio waves transmission. It offers mobility. It is consists
of the transmitter and the receiver. Both use antennas to radiate and
capture the radio signal.

3. Infrared: It is short-distance communication and can pass through

anyobject. It is generally used in TV remotes, wireless mouse, etc.
Components of Computer Network

Computer network components are the major parts which are needed to install the
software. Some important network components are NIC, switch, cable, hub, router,
and modem. Depending on the type of network that we need to install, some network
components can also be removed. For example, the wireless network does not require a
cable.

Following are the major components required to install a network:

1. NIC
o NIC stands for network interface card.
o NIC is a hardware component used to connect a computer with another computer onto a
network
o It can support a transfer rate of 100 to 1000 Mb/s.
o The MAC address or physical address is encoded on the network card chip which is
assigned by the IEEE to identify a network card uniquely. The MAC address is stored in the
PROM (Programmable read-only memory).

There are two types of NIC:

a. Wired NIC
b. Wireless NIC

Wired NIC: The Wired NIC is present inside the motherboard. Cables and connectors are used
with wired NIC to transfer data.

Wireless NIC: The wireless NIC contains the antenna to obtain the connection over the wireless
network. For example, laptop computer contains the wireless NIC.
 2. Hub

A Hub is a hardware device that divides the network connection among multiple devices.
When computer requests for some information from a network, it first sends the request
to the Hub through cable. Hub will broadcast this request to the entire network. All the
devices will check whether the request belongs to them or not. If not, the request will be
dropped.

The process used by the Hub consumes more bandwidth and limits the amount of
communication. Nowadays, the use of hub is obsolete, and it is replaced by more
advanced computer network components such as Switches, Routers.

3. Switch

A switch is a hardware device that connects multiple devices on a computer network. A

Switch contains more advanced features than Hub. The Switch contains the updated table
that decides where the data is transmitted or not. Switch delivers the message to the
correct destination based on the physical address present in the incoming message. A
Switch does not broadcast the message to the entire network like the Hub. It determines
the device to whom the message is to be transmitted. Therefore, we can say that switch
provides a direct connection between the source and destination. It increases the speed
of the network.
 4. Router
o A router is a hardware device which is used to connect a LAN with an internet connection.
It is used to receive, analyze and forward the incoming packets to another network.
o A router works in a Layer 3 (Network layer) of the OSI Reference model.
o A router forwards the packet based on the information available in the routing table.
o It determines the best path from the available paths for the transmission of the packet.

Advantages Of Router:
o Security: The information which is transmitted to the network will traverse the entire
cable, but the only specified device which has been addressed can read the data.
o Reliability: If the server has stopped functioning, the network goes down, but no other
networks are affected that are served by the router.
o Performance: Router enhances the overall performance of the network. Suppose there
are 24 workstations in a network generates a same amount of traffic. This increases the
traffic load on the network. Router splits the single network into two networks of 12
workstations each, reduces the traffic load by half.
o Network range
 5. Modem
o A modem is a hardware device that allows the computer to connect to the internet over
the existing telephone line.
o A modem is not integrated with the motherboard rather than it is installed on the PCI slot
found on the motherboard.
o It stands for Modulator/Demodulator. It converts the digital data into an analog signal
over the telephone lines.

Based on the differences in speed and transmission rate, a modem can be classified in the
following categories:

o Standard PC modem or Dial-up modem

o Cellular Modem
o Cable modem
Layers of ISO - OSI Model
OSI stands for Open Systems Interconnection. It has been developed by ISO – ‘International
Organization of Standardization‘, in the year 1984. 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.
Physical Layer

o The main functionality of the physical layer is to transmit the individual bits from
one node to another node.
o It is the lowest layer of the OSI model.
o It establishes, maintains and deactivates the physical connection.
o It specifies the mechanical, electrical and procedural network interface specifications.

Functions of a Physical layer:

o Line Configuration: It defines the way how two or more devices can be connected
physically.
o Data Transmission: It defines the transmission mode whether it is simplex, half-
duplex or full-duplex mode between the two devices on the network.
o Topology: It defines the way how network devices are arranged.
o Signals: It determines the type of the signal used for transmitting the information.
 Data Link Layer

o This layer is responsible for the error-free transfer of data frames.

o It defines the format of the data on the network.
o It provides a reliable and efficient communication between two or more devices.
o It is mainly responsible for the unique identification of each device that resides on
a local network.
o It contains two sub-layers:
o Logical Link Control Layer
o It is responsible for transferring the packets to the Network layer of
the receiver that is receiving.
o It identifies the address of the network layer protocol from the header.
o It also provides flow control.
o Media Access Control Layer
o A Media access control layer is a link between the Logical Link
Control layer and the network's physical layer.
o It is used for transferring the packets over the network.

Functions of the Data-link Layer

o Framing: The data link layer translates the physical's raw bit stream into packets
known as Frames. The Data link layer adds the header and trailer to the frame.
The header which is added to the frame contains the hardware destination and
source address.
 o Physical Addressing: The Data link layer adds a header to the frame that contains a
destination address. The frame is transmitted to the destination address mentioned
in the header.
o Flow Control: Flow control is the main functionality of the Data-link layer. It is the
technique through which the constant data rate is maintained on both the sides so
that no data get corrupted. It ensures that the transmitting station such as a
server with higher processing speed does not exceed the receiving station, with
lower processing speed.
o Error Control: Error control is achieved by adding a calculated value CRC (Cyclic
Redundancy Check) that is placed to the Data link layer's trailer which is added to
the message frame before it is sent to the physical layer. If any error seems to occur,
then the receiver sends the acknowledgment for the retransmission of the
corruptedframes.
o Access Control: When two or more devices are connected to the same
communication channel, then the data link layer protocols are used to
determine which device has control over the link at a given time.

Network Layer
 o It is a layer 3 that manages device addressing, tracks the location of devices on
the network.
o It determines the best path to move data from source to the destination based on
the network conditions, the priority of service, and other factors.
o The Data link layer is responsible for routing and forwarding the packets.
o Routers are the layer 3 devices, they are specified in this layer and used to provide
the routing services within an internetwork.
o The protocols used to route the network traffic are known as Network layer
protocols. Example of protocols are IP and Ipv6.

Functions of Network Layer:

o Internet working: An internet working is the main responsibility of the network

layer. It provides a logical connection between different devices.
o Addressing: A Network layer adds the source and destination address to the
header of the frame. Addressing is used to identify the device on the internet.
o Routing: Routing is the major component of the network layer, and it
determines the best optimal path out of the multiple paths from source to the
destination.
o Packetizing: A Network Layer receives the packets from the upper layer and converts
them into packets. This process is known as Packetizing. It is achieved by internet
protocol (IP).

Transport Layer
 o The Transport layer is a Layer 4 ensures that messages are transmitted in the order
in which they are sent and there is no duplication of data.
o The main responsibility of the transport layer is to transfer the data completely.
o It receives the data from the upper layer and converts them into smaller units
known as segments.
o This layer can be termed as an end-to-end layer as it provides a point-to-
point connection between source and destination to deliver the data
reliably.

The two protocols used in this layer are:

o Transmission Control Protocol

o It is a standard protocol that allows the systems to communicate over
the internet.
o It establishes and maintains a connection between hosts.
o When data is sent over the TCP connection, then the TCP protocol divides
the data into smaller units known as segments. Each segment travels over
the internet using multiple routes, and they arrive in different orders at the
destination. The transmission control protocol reorders the packets in the
correct order at the receiving end.
o User Datagram Protocol
o User Datagram Protocol is a transport layer protocol.
o It is an unreliable transport protocol as in this case receiver does not send
any acknowledgment when the packet is received, the sender does not wait
for any acknowledgment. Therefore, this makes a protocol unreliable.

Functions of Transport Layer:

o Service-point addressing: Computers run several programs simultaneously due to

this reason, the transmission of data from source to the destination not only from
one computer to another computer but also from one process to another process.
The transport layer adds the header that contains the address known as a service-
point address or port address. The responsibility of the network layer is to transmit
the data from one computer to another computer and the responsibility of the
transport layer is to transmit the message to the correct process.
 o Segmentation and reassembly: When the transport layer receives the message
from the upper layer, it divides the message into multiple segments, and each
segment is assigned with a sequence number that uniquely identifies each
segment. When the message has arrived at the destination, then the transport
layer reassembles the message based on their sequence numbers.
o Connection control: Transport layer provides two services Connection-oriented
service and connectionless service. A connectionless service treats each segment as
an individual packet, and they all travel in different routes to reach the destination.
Aconnection-oriented service makes a connection with the transport layer at the
destination machine before delivering the packets. In connection-oriented service,
all the packets travel in the single route.
o Flow control: The transport layer also responsible for flow control but it is
performed end-to-end rather than across a single link.
o Error control: The transport layer is also responsible for Error control. Error control
is performed end-to-end rather than across the single link. The sender transport
layer ensures that message reach at the destination without any error.

Session Layer
 o It is a layer 5 in the OSI model.
o The Session layer is used to establish, maintain and synchronizes the
interaction between communicating devices.

Functions of Session layer:

o Dialog control: Session layer acts as a dialog controller that creates a dialog between
two processes or we can say that it allows the communication between two
processes which can be either half-duplex or full-duplex.
o Synchronization and recovery: Session layer adds some checkpoints when
transmitting the data in a sequence. If some error occurs in the middle of the
transmission of data, then the transmission will take place again from the
checkpoint. This process is known as synchronization and recovery.

Presentation Layer
 o A Presentation layer is mainly concerned with the syntax and semantics of
the information exchanged between the two systems.
o It acts as a data translator for a network.
o This layer is a part of the operating system that converts the data from
one presentation format to another format.
o The Presentation layer is also known as the syntax layer.

Functions of Presentation layer:

o Translation: The processes in two systems exchange the information in the form of
character strings, numbers and so on. Different computers use different encoding
methods, the presentation layer handles the interoperability between the different
encoding methods. It converts the data from sender-dependent format into a
common format and changes the common format into receiver-dependent format
at the receiving end.
o Encryption: Encryption is needed to maintain privacy. Encryption is a process of
converting the sender-transmitted information into another form and sends the
resulting message over the network.
o Compression: Data compression is a process of compressing the data, i.e., it
reduces the number of bits to be transmitted. Data compression is very important
in multimedia such as text, audio, video.

Application Layer
 o An application layer serves as a window for users and application processes to
access network service.
o It handles issues such as network transparency, resource allocation, etc.
o An application layer is not an application, but it performs the application
layer functions.
o This layer provides the network services to the end-users.

Functions of Application layer:

o File transfer, access, and management (FTAM): An application layer allows a user
to access the files in a remote computer, to retrieve the files from a computer and
to manage the files in a remote computer.
o Mail services: An application layer provides the facility for email forwarding and
storage.
o Directory services: An application provides the distributed database sources
and is used to provide that global information about various objects.

NOTE:
• MAC Address ensure that physical address of the computer is unique.
• IP Address is a logical address of the computer and is used to uniquely locate
computer connected via a network.
• MAC Address is of 6 byte hexadecimal address.
• IP Address is of 4 bytes or of 16 bytes.
Switching
We have switching at the physical layer, at the data link layer, at the
network layer, and even logically at the application layer(message
switching).
A switched network consists of a series of interlinked nodes, called
switches. Switches are devices capable of creating temporary
connections between 2 or more devices linked to the switch. Some of
these nodes are connected to the end systems (computers or telephones)
others are used only for routing.

Taxonomy of switched networks

1. Circuit Switched Network

 • A network consists of a set of switches that are connected by the physical links
commonly known as Circuit-Switched Network.
• Whenever one device communicates with another device then a dedicated
communication path is established between them over the network.
• There is only a dedicated channel on each link used by each connection. Also, each
link can be easily divided into n channels by using the TDM(Time Division
Multiplexing)or FDM( Frequency Division Multiplexing)technique.
• The Circuit Switching technique is mainly used in the public telephone
network for voice communication as well as for data communication.

Phases in Circuit Switching

In order to transfer data using Circuit switching there is a need to establish a circuit(these
circuits can either be permanent or temporary) so that data transfer can take place
smoothly. Given below are three phases that are used in Circuit Switching for actual
communication:

• Setup Phase
• Data Transfer Phase
• Teardown Phase

1.Setup Phase

It is the first phase of the Circuit switching technique and in this, there is an establishment
of the circuit that simply means a dedicated link is established between the sender and
the receiver with the help of several switching centers or nodes.

2.Data Transfer Phase

After the establishment of the circuit, the connection is established which means that
data transfer can take place between sender and receiver.

3.Teardown Phase

On the completion of communication between the sender and receiver the circuit
disconnects. In order to disconnect a signal is sent either by the sender or receiver

Example: Telephone Suppose there are two persons Person A and Person B; they both
want to communicate with each other and located at a distance far from each other.

Person A makes a call to Person B this phase is the setup phase of circuit switching. After
the establishment of the connection and after call pick up by Person B; they both can
communicate with each other. This is the data transfer phase of Circuit switching

Once the communication is complete one of them can cut the call or break the
connection. This is a teardown phase.
Some of the examples of Circuit switched network

• Public Switched Telephone Network(PSTN)

• Optical Mesh Network
• ISDN B-channel
• Circuit-Switched Data(CSD) and High-speed Circuit-Switched Data(HSCSD) services
in the cellular system like GSM

Advantages of Circuit Switching

1.Offers Dedicated Transmission

As there is a dedicated link between the sender and the receiver. Thus Circuit-Switched
network provides a guarantee of dedicated transmission.

2.No Delay in Transmission

There is a dedicated path between sender and receiver thus there are no chances for the
delay.

3. The Circuit Switching technique is best for long transmission because it facilitates a
dedicated link between sender and receiver.

Disadvantages of Circuit Switching

• One of the main disadvantages of Circuit switching is that as there is a dedicated

path between sender and receiver; thus this path is received for these two
particular devices and cannot be used by any other device.
• There is a need for more bandwidth as a dedicated path requires more bandwidth.
• Utilization of resources is not done properly as resources are allocated to a
connection for the entire duration and thus became unavailable for all other
connections.
• It becomes inefficient in the case if the connection is established between sender
and receiver but there is no data transfer between them.
• Sometimes it takes a long time to establish the connection between sender and
receiver.
• As there is a dedicated path between sender and receiver; thus, this technique is
expensive.

2. Packet switching
In a packet switched networks there is no resource reservation,
resources are allocated on demand. We have 2 types of packet-
switched networks.
 a. Datagram Networks

1. It is done at the network layer of the communication system. Each

packet is treated independently of all others. Even if a packet is
part of multipacket transmission, the network treats it as though it
existed alone. Packets in this approach are referred to as
datagram.
2. All packets are free to use any available path. As a result,
intermediate routers calculate routes on the go due to dynamically
changing routing tables on routers.
3. Since every packet is free to choose any path, all packets must be
associated with a header with proper information about the source
and the upper layer data.
4. The connection-less property makes data packets reach the
destination in any order, which means that they can potentially be
received out of order at the receiver’s end.
5. There are no setup or teardown phases.
6. Datagram networks are not as reliable as Virtual Circuits.

Routing table
In this type of network, each switch has a routing table which is based on the
destination address. The routing tables are dynamic and are updated periodically.
The destination addresses and the corresponding forwarding output ports are
recorded in the tables.

Destination address
Every packet in a datagram network carries a header that contains, among other
information, the destination address of the packet. This address remain the same
during the entire journey of the packet.

Efficiency
Its better than that of Circuit switched network, resources are allocated only when
there are packets to be transferred.

Delay
Since there are no setup and teardown phase, each packet may experience a wait
at a switch before it is forwarded. The delay is not uniform for the packets of a
message.
 b. Virtual Circuits Networks

Virtual – circuit network is a category of packet switching network, where a virtual path
is established between the source and the destination systems for data communication
to occur. This path appears to the user as if it is a dedicated physical path, but actually is
a logical circuit allocated from a managed pool of circuit resources as per traffic
requirements.

Features of Virtual – Circuit Network

• Virtual – circuit switching is done at the network layer of the communication
system.
• In these networks, the path between the source and the destination nodes that is
followed by first data packet gets allocated. All other data packets transmitted
between them will use the same path.
• All the resources like buffers and bandwidth get reserved before the
transmission, and all data packets consume same resources.
• Since all packets follow the same path, a common header and routing information
is used by them.
• They provide greater reliability and less complexity owing to fixed paths and
fixed resources.

Phases of Virtual - Circuit Transmission

• Set up Phase − In this phase, a virtual circuit or a route is established from the
source to the destination through number of switches. The source and
destination use global addresses using which the switches make routing table
entries.
• Data Transfer − Once the virtual circuit is set up, all packets follow the route
established during the set up phase adhering to the routing tables.
• Teardown Phase − When data transfer is complete, the source sends a teardown
request. The destination responds using a teardown confirmation. The switches
flush their routing table entries, thus relinquishing the circuit.
NOTE:

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