Data Communications

Chapter 1 – Data Communications,

Data Networks, and the Internet
A Communications Model
 Key Communications Tasks
Transmission system utilization Addressing

Interfacing Routing

Signal generation Recovery

Synchronization Message formatting

Exchange management Security

Error detection and correction Network management

Flow control
Data Communications Model
 Networking
Computer networking refers to
interconnected computing devices that can
exchange data and share resources with
each other.
Resource includes both data and hardware
devices e.g. printer, CD rom drive, hard disk
space etc.
For sending data from one device to another,
transmission medium (e.g. cable or wireless)
is required.
 Networking
When a network interconnect with another
network using hardware and software is
called internetworking.
When two devices use different protocols,
connection can be built in two devices
using internetworking devices (e.g. routers,
switches, bridges, hubs, and modems)
 Networking
growth of number & power of computers is
driving need for interconnection
also seeing rapid integration of voice,
data, image & video technologies
Three broad types of communications
networks:
● Local Area Network (LAN)
● Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
● Wide Area Network (WAN)
 Wide Area Networks
Span a large geographical area
Less speed than LAN and MAN
Uses internetworking devices such as
modem, router, WAN switch etc.
Alternative WAN technologies used include:
● circuit switching
● packet switching
● frame relay
● Asynchronous Transfer Mode (ATM)
 Circuit Switching
uses a dedicated communications path
established for duration of communication
comprising a sequence of physical links
with a dedicated logical channel
eg. telephone network
 Packet Switching
data sent out in sequence
small chunks (packets) of data at a time
packets passed from node to node
between source and destination
used for terminal to computer and
computer to computer communications
A circuit-switched network relies on a physical connection
between two nodes, which requires the link to be set up before the
nodes can communicate. In contrast, a packet-switched network is
a digital network that manages data transfer in the form of small
and optimized packets, an improvement from older network types
 Frame Relay
Frame relay is a packet-switching
telecommunications service designed for
cost-efficient data transmission for
intermittent traffic between local area
networks (LANs) and between endpoints in
wide area networks (WANs).
Errors can be caught in end system
Frame Relay provides higher speeds with
most error control overhead removed
Asynchronous Transfer Mode
ATM - evolution of frame relay
It is a switching technique used by
telecommunication networks that uses
asynchronous time-division multiplexing to
encode data into small, fixed-sized cells.
ATMs can be used for efficient data
transfer over high-speed data networks.
anything from 10Mbps to Gbps
constant data rate using packet switching
technique with multiple virtual circuits
 Local Area Networks
smaller scope
● Building or small campus
usually owned by same organization as the
attached devices
To connect two or more LANs, router or
bridge is required and for wired system,
network adapter, NIC or LAN card is required.
data transfer rates 10 mbps generally
switched LANs, eg Ethernet
wireless LANs
Metropolitan Area Networks
MAN build up with more LANs
middle ground between LAN and WAN
private or public network
high speed
large area – city or metro
Govt. offices use this MAN
MAN uses devices such as microwave
antenna, router, telephone etc.
 Categories of topology

1.17
 A fully connected mesh topology (five devices)

• Each computer is
connected to each
other.
• Difficult to install
and manage in large
network for large
number of
connections

1.18
 A star topology connecting four stations

• Easy to insert or
delete any
connection.
• Network will be
failed when the hub
is affected.

1.19
 A bus topology connecting three stations

• All devices are connected to a single cable called a

"bus."
• Easy to connect and install. Disadvantages: The entire
network shuts down if there is a failure in the central
connecting cable.
1.20
 A ring topology connecting six stations

• Data is transmitted in a single direction, which reduces the

chances of collisions and increases the overall speed of
data transmission.
• If one computer in ring fails, network will be failed.
1.21
 A hybrid topology: a star backbone with three bus networks

Built with many topologies such as star bus topology, star

ring topology etc.
1.22
 The Internet
Internet evolved from ARPANET
● first operational packet network
● applied to tactical radio & satellite nets also
● had a need for interoperability
● led to standardized TCP/IP protocols
Internet Elements
 Internet Elements
The purpose of the Internet, of course, is
to interconnect end systems, called hosts;
these include PCs, workstations, servers,
mainframes, and so on. Most hosts that
use the Internet are connected to a
network, such as a local area network
or a wide area network (WAN).
These networks are in turn connected by
routers. Each router attaches to two or
more networks. Some hosts, such as
mainframes or servers, connect directly to
a router rather than through a network.
the Internet operates as follows. A host
may send data to another host anywhere
on the Internet. The source host breaks
the data to be sent into a sequence of
packets, called IP datagrams or IP
packets.
Each packet includes a unique numeric
address of the destination host. This
address is referred to as an IP address,
because the address is carried in an IP
packet.
Based on this destination address, each
packet travels through a series of routers
and networks from source to destination.
Each router, as it receives a packet,
makes a routing decision and forwards the
packet along its way to the destination.