Chapter 2

Network Topologies and Network Control Devices

1.1 Introduction
Physical Structures:
A network is two or more devices connected through links. A link is a
communications pathway that transfers data from one device to another. For
visualization purposes, it is simplest to imagine any link as a line drawn between two
points. For communication to occur, two devices must be connected in some way to the
same link at the same time. There are two possible types of connections: point-to-point
and multipoint.

Point-to-Point
A point-to-point connection provides a dedicated link between two devices. The
entire capacity of the link is reserved for transmission between those two devices. Most
point-to-point connections use an actual length of wire or cable to connect the two ends,
but other options, such as microwave or satellite links, are also possible. When you
change television channels by infrared remote control, you are establishing a point-to-
point connection between the remote control and the television's control system.
E.g.: -
1) PC to modem.
2) Workstation to workstation.
3) Server or mainframe to workstation.
4) PC to printer.
5) Microwave to microwave.
6) TV to remote control.
When a point-to-point subnet is used important interconnection topology. It
should look like in Fig (a)

Multipoint (multi-drop)
A multipoint (also called multi-drop) connection is one in which more than two
specific devices share a single link. In a multipoint environment, the capacity of the
channel is shared, either spatially or temporally. If several devices can use the link
simultaneously, it is a spatially shared connection. If users must take turns, it is a
timeshared connection.

1
 Fig. Multi Drop Network

Topology
It defines physical or logical arrangement of links in network. Topology is
physical layout of computers, cables and other connected devices on a network. The
topology of a network is the geometric representation of the relationship of all the links
and linking devices (called node) to each other.
There are two types of topologies-
1. Physical Topology
2. Logical Topology

Physical topology
The complete physical structure of transmission media is called physical topology.
This refers to the layout of cabling, location of nodes and interconnection between the
nodes and cabling.

Logical Topology
The logical topology is refers to how data is actually transferred in a network. This
represents the way that data passes through the network from one device to another.

Selection Criteria for Topologies -

• Size (no. of nodes) of the system.
• Cost of the components and service required.
• Management of network.
• Architecture of network.
• Cable type.
• Expandability of the network.
• The desired performance and reliability of entire system.
Different types of topologies are:
a. Bus Topology
b. Ring Topology
c. Star Topology
d. Mesh Topology
e. Tree and Hybrid Topology

2
Bus topology (Horizontal topology)
 It is a multipoint.
 A physical bus topology network typically uses one long cable called backbone
(bus) to which all computers are connected with drop-cable and taps.
 Short-cables called drop-cables are attached to backbone with the help of taps.
 A tap is a connector that either slices into the main cable or punctures the
sheathing (covering) of a cable to create a contact with the metallic core.
 As a signal travels along the backbone, some of its energy is transformed into heat.
Therefore, it becomes weaker. For this reason there is a limit on the number of
taps a bus can support and on the distance between those taps.
 Bus topology is often used when a network installation is small, simple or
temporary.

Working of Bus topology

 On a typical bus network there are no active electronics to amplify the signal.
 This makes a bus a passive topology.
 When one PC sends a signal up and down the wire, all PC’s on network receive the
information as it is broadcasting.
 But only one (the one with the address that matches the one enclosed in the
message) accepts the information the rest will not respond the message.
 Only one PC at a time can send a message therefor number of PC’s attached to a
bus network can significantly affects the speed of the network.
 A PC must wait until the bus is free before it can transmit. Otherwise the
bandwidth will simply get waste.
Use of Terminator:
 Since the bus is a passive topology the electronic signal from a transmitting
computer is free to travel the entire length of cable.
 Without termination whenever the signals reaches the end of the wire it bounces
back and travels back up the wire.
 When a signal travels back and forth along the bus it is called ringing.
 To stop the signal from ringing terminator is attached at the both end of the
segment which absorbs the electrical energy and stop the reflections.
 Cable can’t be left unterminated in a bus network.
E.g: (Ethernet) 10 base2 also known as thin net is an inexpensive network based on bus
topology.
3
Advantages of bus topology
1. The bus is simple, reliable in very small network, easy to use and easy to
understand.
2. It is easy for installation.
3. The bus network requires less cables and is therefore less expensive.
4. It is easy to extend- (by using BNC Barrel connector) two cables can be joined
into one longer cable.
5. A repeater can also be used to extend a bus- A repeater boosts the signal and
allows it to travel a longer distance.
6. If one node fails others are not affected.

Demerits of bus topology

1. In case of failure of the backbone cable, the whole network will be affected.
2. Heavy network traffic can slow a bus considerably, because only one PC can
transmit at any time resulting in wasting a lot of bandwidth as they interrupt each
other instead of communicating. The problem can get worse when more PC’s are
connected to a network.
3. Each barrel connector weakens the electrical signal and too many may prevent the
signal from being correctly received along the bus.
4. It is difficult to troubleshoot faults - as bus cable breaks or malfunctioning
computer.
5. A cable break or loose connection also cause reflection and bring down the
whole network and causing all the network activity to stop.
6. Difficult for reconfiguration-E.g.: Adding new devices may therefore require
modification or replacement of the backbone.

Ring Topology
 In Ring topology each node is connected to the two nearest nodes so the entire
network forms a circle.
 Rings are used in high performance network.
 A signal is passed along the ring in one direction, from device to device, until it
reaches its destination.
 Each device in the ring works as a repeater.
 When a device receives a signal intended for another device, its repeater
regenerates the bits and passes them along.
 Since each PC retransmits what it receives a ring is an active network.

4
Token Ring -
 Some ring networks use token passing.
 Token is a short message. A token is passed around the ring until a PC wishes to
send information to another PC.
 That PC modifies the token adds an electronic address and data and sends it
around the ring.
 Each PC in sequence receives the token and the information and passes them to
the next PC until either the electronic address of computer matches or the token
returns to its origin the receiving PC returns a message to originator that the
message has been received.
 The sending PC than creates another token and begins transmitting the token. The
token is circulated until the station is ready to send.
E.g.: - FDDI is a fast fiber optic networks based on ring topology. FDDI (Fiber Distributed
data interface)

Advantages of ring topology

i. A ring is relatively easy to install and configure (for fix number of devices).
ii. Fault isolation is simplified- generally in a ring a signal is circulating at all time
if any device does not receive a signal within the specified period. It can issue an
alarm. Alarm alerts the network operator to the problem of its location.
iii. To add or delete a device requires moving only two connections.
iv. Time to send data is known: that is package delivery time is fixed and
guaranteed because every PC is given to the token. No one PC can monopolies
network.
v. No data collisions.

Disadvantages of ring
1. A single node failure leads to the collapse of the full network.
2. Unidirectional traffic can be disadvantage in a simple ring. A break in the ring
can disable the entire network; using dual ring can solve the weakness.
3. Expansion to the network can cause network disruption

5
Star topology
 Physical star topology uses a central device or controller with drop cables
extending in all direction. The devices are not directly linked to one another.
 Each network device is connected via point-to-point link to central device called
‘HUB’ multipoint repeater or concentrator.
 The controller acts as an exchange: If one device wants to send data to another, it
sends the data to the controller, which then relays the data to the other connected
device.
 When network expansion is expected and a greater reliability is expected then star
topology is needed.

Working of star topology

 Each PC on star network communicate with central hub, that resends the message
either to all the PC’s (in a broadcast star network) or only to the destination PC (in
a switched star network).
 An active hub regenerates the electrical signal and sends it to all the computers
connected to it. This type of hub is often called a multipoint repeater. Active hubs
and switches require electrical power to run;
 A passive hub such as wiring panel or patch block merely at as a connection point
and does not amplify or regenerate the signal. Passive hub doesn’t require
electrical power to run.
E.g.: - Ethernet to base t is a popular network based on star topology.

Advantages of star topology

There are several advantages to a star topology.
i. Addition, Moving and deletion involves only one connection between that device
and hub.
ii. When the capacity of central hub is exceeded you can replace it with one that has
larger number of ports to plug lines into new hub.
iii. The center of the star network is a good place to diagnose network faults,
intelligent hub (the hub with microprocessor) also provide for centralize
monitoring and management of network.
iv. Single PC failures do not necessarily bring down whole star network. The hubs can
detect a network fall and isolate the defected PC or network cable and allow the
rest of the network to continue operating.
v. You can use several cable types in the same network with a hub that can
accommodate multiple cable types.

6
Disadvantages of star topology
1. If the central hub fails the whole network fails to operate.
2. Many star networks requires a devices at the central point to rebroadcast or
switched network traffic.
3. It cost more to cable a star networks because all the network cables must be
pulled to one central point requiring more cable than other networking
topologies.

Mesh topology
 In a mesh topology every device has dedicated point-to-point link to every other
device. The term dedicated means that the link carries only between the two
devices it connects.
 A fully connected mesh network has n (n-1)/2 physical connections to link
devices.
 To accommodate that many links every device on the network must have (n-1)
output ports because each device requires an interface for every other on the
network.
 Mesh topology are not usually practical.
 In addition unless each station frequently sends signal to all the other stations and
excessive amount of network bandwidth is wasted.
 Mesh gets unmanageable beyond a very small number of devices. Most mesh
topology networks are not true mesh networks.

Mesh installation
Mesh topology N/w become more difficult to install as the no. of devices increases
because of the sheer quantity of connections that must be made. A true mesh topology of
seven devices would require 21 connections and six I/O ports.

7
Advantages:-
 The use of dedicated links guaranties that connections can carry its own data load.
Thus eliminating the traffic problem that can occur when links must be shared
by multiple devices.
 Mesh topology is Robust (strong) if one link becomes unusable. It doesn’t
incapacitate the entire n/w.
 Another advantage is privacy and security when every message sent travels
along a dedicated line only the intended recipients sees it. Physical boundaries
prevent other users from gaining access to message.
 Point to point link make fault identification and fault isolation easy. Traffic can
be routed to avoid links with respected problems. This facility enables the n/w
manager to discover the precise location of the fault and aids it finding its cause
and solution.
 Extremely fault tolerant.
 It is more reliable compare to other topologies.
 In case of heavy traffic data can be routed around busy root.

Disadvantages
 As it involves a lot of connection. The total no. of physical links and the no. of I/O
ports require to connect will be more and hence is prohibitively expensive.
 Difficult to install and reconfigure specially as no. of devices increases.
 Hardware required to connect each device is highly expensive.
 The sheer bulk of the wiring can be greater than the available space (walls, ceiling
and floors) can accommodate.
 For these reasons a mesh topology is usually implemented in a limited fashion.

Hybrid Topology
 A network can be hybrid.
 For example, we can have a main star topology with each branch connecting
several stations in a bus topology as shown in Figure

Star Bus (Tree Topology)

 Star bus topology combines the bus and the star linking several stars hubs
together with the bus trunk.
 If one computer fails, the hub can detect the fault and isolate the PC.

8
  If a hub fails PC connected to it will not be able to communicate and the bus n/w
will be broken into two segments that can’t reach each other.

Star ring
 This is also called as star wired ring.
 The n/w cables are laid out much like a star n/w but a ring is implemented in the
central hub outgoing hubs can be connected through the inner hubs effectively
extending a loop of the ring.
 E.g. Token ring is considered a star ring although its topology is physical a start its
function logically in a ring.

All Topologies

9
Question Bank:-
 What is topology?
 Describe
1. Bus topology with diagram and state it’s any two merits and demerits.
2. Star topology with diagram and state it’s any two merits and demerits.
3. Ring topology with diagram and state it’s any two merits and demerits.
4. Mesh topology with diagram and state it’s any two merits and demerits.
BTE.Q
 Describe n/w topology. Draw star topology.(4)
 State whether bus is active or passive n/w. Justify.(4)
 Compare bus with ring topology on the basis of cable use and fault tolerance.(4)
 State four adv. Of bus topology.(4)
 You are considering n/wing topologies for a n/w for a telemarketing firm under
what circumstances would a ring be less appropriate than star.
 State any two merits of ring topology. Describe token. State whether ring topology
is broadcast or point to point n/w?
 Describe n/w topology. Draw star, bus, topology connecting three star networks
each star n/w consist of 4 Pc’s.
 State any two adv. And disadvantage of star topology.
 State merits of bus topology. Explain the use of BNC barrel connector in bus
topology.
 You are installing a new n/w for a company that is growing rapidly the current
design calls for 40 computers with expansion to 100 in the next six months
because of the speed at which the n/w is expected to grow. You want to make sure
that trouble shooting will be easy as possible. Considering this factors which
topology should be used in the new n/w. Justify your answer.
 State whether star is active or passive n/w. Justify? Give two advantages of star
topology.

10
2.2 Network control devices

To expand a single network without breaking it into new pass or connecting it

through another different network. All networks require devices to provide connectivity
and functionality.

Purpose of Using Network Devices.

 Allow a greater number of nodes to be connected to the network.
 Extend the distance over which a network can extend.
 Localize traffic on the network.
 Can merge existing networks.
 Isolate network problems so that they can be diagnosed more easily.

Devices and the layers at which they operate

You can usually use one of the following devices.

 Connectors
 Hubs
 Repeaters
 Bridges
 Switches
 Routers
 Modem, etc.

1. Connectors:
Que. List the different types of connector used in communication? State its uses.
 To connect cable between two computers.
 Connectors are of different type such as –
1. Twisted Pair cable
2. Co-axial Cable
3. Fibre optic cable.
 Connectors are type such as-
1. Jacks
2. Plugs
3. Sockets and ports
Example:
 RS232 and V35 for serial interface
 RJ45 and BNC connectors for Ethernet.
 SC or ST connectors for fibre optic
11
BNC Connector
(Bayonet Nut Coupling) A commonly used plug and socket for audio, video and
networking applications that provides a tight connection. This connector has a center pin
connected to the center cable conductor and a metal tube connected to the outer cable
shield. A rotating ring outside the tube locks the cable to any female connector. BNCs are
used to connect a variety of different coaxial cable types. After the plug is inserted, it is
turned, causing pins in the socket to be pinched into a locking groove on the plug.

RJ-11 (Registered Jack)

Standard telephone cable connectors, RJ-11 has 4 wires (and RJ-12 has 6 wires). RJ-11 is
the acronym for Registered Jack-11, a four- or six-wire connector primarily used to
connect telephone equipment.

F-Type
The F connector is a type of RF connector commonly used for cable and universally for
satellite television.

RJ-45 (Registered Jack)

The acronym for Registered Jack-45 is RJ-45. The RJ-45 connector is an eight-wire
connector that is commonly used to connect computers to a local area network (LAN),
particularly Ethernet LANs. Although they are slightly larger than the more commonly
used RJ-11 connectors, RJ-45s can be used to connect some types of telephone
equipment.

12
ST (Straight Tip) and SC (Subscriber Connector or Standard Connector)
Fibre network segments always require two fibre cables: one for transmitting data, and
one for receiving. Each end of a fibre cable is fitted with a plug that can be inserted into a
network adapter, hub, or switch. In the North America, most cables use a square SC
connector (Subscriber Connector or Standard Connector) that slides and locks into place
when inserted into a node or connected to another fibre cable, Europeans use a round ST
connector (Straight Tip) instead.

USB (Universal Serial Bus)

Universal Serial Bus, or USB, is a computer standard designed to eliminate the guesswork
in connecting peripherals to a PC. It is expected to replace serial and parallel ports. A
single USB port can be used to connect up to 127 peripheral devices, such as mice,
modems, keyboards, digital camera's, printers, scanners, MP3 players and many more.
USB also supports Plug-and-Play installation and hot plugging.

2. Repeaters
 A repeater or regenerator is an electronic device that operates on only the physical
layer of the OSI MODEL.
 Signal that carry information within a network can travel a fix distance before
attenuation enlarges the integrity of data.
 A repeater installed on a link receives the signal before it becomes too weak, and
put the refresh copy back on the link.

 The two sections (segments) connected by the repeater in fig are in reality one
network.

13
 Fig.Repeater
Advantages:
 A repeater allows us extending the physical length of a network.
 The repeaters allow stations to receive the true (regenerated) copy of the frame.
 It connects two segments of the same network.
 Types of repeaters are Single port, multi-port repeaters.

Disadvantages:
 The repeater does not change the functionality of the network in any way.
 The repeater doesn’t have the intelligence to keep the frame from passing to the
right side when it is meant for a station on the left.

Que: Describe repeater? State situations under which it is necessary in network?

3. Hub
Que. What is hub? State how they are classified?

 Networks using a Star topology require a central point for the devices to connect.
 Originally this device was called a concentrator since it consolidated the cable
runs from all network devices.
 The basic form of concentrator is the hub.

 As shown in Figure; the hub is a hardware device that contains multiple,

independent ports.
 Most common hubs interconnect Category 3 or 5 twisted-pair cable with RJ-45
ends.
 Hubs offer an inexpensive option for transporting data between devices, but hubs
don't offer any form of intelligence. Hubs can be active or passive.

14
Important Points
 A hub is used as a central device.
 Connects the computers in star topology.
 Hubs are simple devices that direct data packets to all devices connected
to the hub.
 Hubs regenerate and retime network signals
 hubs work at the OSI physical layer
 They cannot filter network traffic.
 They cannot determine best path
 They are really multi-port repeaters

Fig. HUB
There are three main types of hub:
 Passive hub
o A passive hub simply combines the signal of n/w segment.
o There is no signal processing or regeneration.
o No power supply is required.
o A passive hub reduces the cabling distance by half.
E.g. If a segment normally allows a reliable transmission distance of 100 meters,
the distance between a passive hub and a device can be only 50m.
 Active hub
o These are like passive hub except that they have electronic component that
regenerate or amplify signal.
o Because of this the distance between devices can be increased.
o The main drawback to some active hub, i.e. they amplify noise as well as
signal.
o They are also much more expensive than passive hubs.
o Functions as repeaters (Create a duplicate copy of signal).
o They are sometimes called multi-port repeaters.
 Intelligent hub
o In addition to signal regenerations these hubs perform some n/w
management and intelligent path selection.
o A switching HUB chooses only the port of the device where the signal needs
to go rather than sending the signal along all paths.
o Many switching hubs can choose which alternative path.

15
4. Bridges
 A bridge is used to join two network segments together, it allows computers on
either segment to access resources on the other.
 They can also be used to divide large networks into smaller segments.
 Bridges have all the features of repeaters, but can have more nodes, and since the
network is divided, there is fewer computers competing for resources on each
segment thus improving network performance.

 Bridges can also connect networks that run at different speeds, different
topologies, or different protocols.
 But they cannot, join an Ethernet (star) segment with a Token Ring segment,
because these use different networking standards.
 Bridges operate at both the Physical Layer and the Data Link layer.
 Bridges read the MAC header of each frame to determine on which side of the
bridge the destination device is located, the bridge then repeats the transmission
to the segment where the device is located.

Fig. Bridge

 The bridges read the physical location of the source and destination computers
from the addresses and store it to a table.

16
The process works like this
 For learning, bridges receives all signals from both the segments.
 The bridge reads the address and discards (filters) all signals from segment1 that
are addressed to segment1 because they don’t need to cross the bridge.

 The figure shows the messages or signals which do not need to cross the bridge
(Message from computer-A to Computer- D) and,
 other half part shows the messages that needs to pass through the bridge
(Message from computer-A to Computer-G).
 Bridges also provide security through this portioning of traffic.
There are basic two types of bridges.
 Transparent bridges
Keeps a table of addresses in memory to determination where to send the data.
 Also called learning bridges
 Build a table of MAC addresses as frames arrive.
 Ethernet networks use transparent bridge
 Duties are : Filtering frames, forwarding and blocking

 Source routing bridge

Requires the entire rule to be included in the transmission and don’t rout packets
intelligently. IBM token ring n/w uses this type of bridges. If a segment on n/w is been
used only 60% then consider, using bridges will improve performance.
 Used in Token Ring networks
 Frame contains not only the source and destination address but also the
bridge addresses.

Reasons to go for bridges

 To divide the big n/w like university.
 Organization may geographically spread over multiple buildings.
 To split an n/w logical.
 Single LAN is adequate (sufficient but physical distance is too great).
 For reliability bridges can be placed at critical nodes.
 For security insert bridges at various places and being careful not to forward
sensitive traffic.

17
Advantages of using a bridge

– Extend physical network

– Reduce network traffic with minor segmentation
– Reduce collisions
– Connect different architecture

Disadvantages of using bridges

– Slower than repeaters due to filtering

– Do not filter broadcasts
– More expensive than repeaters

Que- What is bridge? Describe its functioning? State types of bridges?

Que- Compare hub & repeater?

5. Switch:
 A switch is a small hardware device that joins multiple computers together within
one Local Area Network (LAN).
 Network switches operate at Data Link Layer of the OSI model.
 A switch is device that provides a central connection point for cables from
workstations, servers and peripherals.
 Like hubs, switches are the connectivity points.
 Devices connect to switches via twisted-pair cabling, one cable for each
device.
 The difference between hubs and switches is in how the devices deal
with the data.
 A hub forwards the data it receives to all of the ports on the device.
 A switch forwards it only to the port that connects to the destination device.
 It does this by learning the MAC address of the devices attached to it, and
 Then by matching the destination MAC address in the data it receives.

Figur: How a switch works.

 By forwarding data only to the connection that should receive it, the switch
can improve network performance.

18
Types of Switches:

➤ Cut-through switch —
 In a cut-through switching environment, the packet is forwarded as soon as it is
received.
 This method is very fast, but creates the possibility of errors being propagated
through the network, as there is no error checking.

➤ Store-and-forward-
 In a store-and-forward switching environment, the entire packet is received and
error is checked before being forwarded.
 The advantage of this method is that errors are not propagated through the
network.
 The disadvantage is that the error checking process takes a relatively long time,
and store-and-forward switching is considerably slower as a result.

➤ Fragment Free-
 It combines both cut through switching and Store and forward switching.
 Fragment Free-switching environment, enough of the packet is read so that the
switch can determine whether the packet has been involved in a collision.
 As soon as the collision status has been determined, the packet is forwarded.

6.Routers
 Routers are used to create larger networks by joining two or more network
segments.
 A router can be a dedicated hardware device or a computer system with more than
one network interface and the appropriate routing software.
 All modern network operating systems include the functionality to act as a router.
 A router derives its name from the fact that it can route data it receives from
one network onto another.
 When a router receives a packet of data, it reads the header of the packet to
determine the destination address.
 Once it has determined the address, it looks in its routing table to determine
whether it knows how to reach the destination and, if it does, it forwards the
packet to the next hop on the route.
 The next hop might be the final destination, or it might be another router.
 As you can see from bellow figure, routing tables play a very important role in the
routing process.
 They are the means by which the router makes its decisions.
 For this reason, a routing table needs to be two things.
o It must be up-to-date, and
o it must be complete.

19
There are two ways that the router can get the information for the routing table through
static routing or dynamic routing .

Static Routers:
 In environments that use static routing, routes and route information are
entered into the routing tables manually.
 Not only can this be a time-consuming task, but also errors are more common.
Additionally, when there is a change in the layout, or topology, of the network,
statically configured routers must be manually updated with the changes.
 Again, this is a time consuming and potentially error-laden task.
 For these reasons, static routing is suited to only the smallest environments with
perhaps just one or two routers.
 A far more practical solution, particularly in larger environments, is
to use dynamic routing.

Dynamic Routers:
 In a dynamic routing environment, routers use special routing protocols to
communicate.
 The purpose of these protocols is simple; they enable routers
to pass on information about themselves to other routers so that other
routers can build routing tables.
 There are two types of routing protocols used the older distance vector protocols
and the newer link state protocols.

 Advantages of routers:
o Routers can connect different types of network.
o Routes can choose the best path across the network.
o Routers reduce network traffic because they do not retransmit network
broadcast traffic.

20
  Disadvantages of routers:
o Routers are more expensive than bridges or repeaters.
o Routers are slower than bridges or switches because they must analyse a
data transmission from the Physical through the Network layer.

7. Brouters

Device that functions as:

 A bridge for non-routable protocols
 A router for routable protocols
Operates at both the Data Link and Network layers.

8. Gateways
 Any device that translates one data format to another is called a gateway.
 Some examples of gateways include a router that translates data from one
network protocol to another, a bridge that converts between two networking
systems, and a software application that converts between two dissimilar
formats.
 The key point about a gateway is that only the data format is translated, not
the data itself.
 In many cases, the gateway functionality is incorporated into another device.

 Categories:
 E-mail gateway - translates messages from one type of e-mail system to
another.
 Internet gateway - allows and manages access between LANs and the
Internet.
 LAN gateway - allows segments of a LAN running different protocols,
network access methods, or transmission types to communicate with each
other.

21
  Voice/data gateway - allows a data network to issue data signals over a
voice network.
 Wireless gateway - integrates a wireline network with a wireless
network.

Que: State the situations under which gateways are necessary in the network.
(Necessary2Marks. example2Marks)
 Gateway operates at all 7 layers of the OSI model.
 Situation where gateways are necessary for different n/w like Ethernet, Token
Ring, and FDDI etc. They can communicate if they are using same protocol or
different protocol.
Eg: if n/w A is a Token Ring network using TCP/IP & network B is a Novell Network,
a gateway can relay frames between two.
 This means that a gateways translate between different protocols.
 In certain situations the only changes required are to the frame header.
 In other cases, the gateway must take care of different frame sizes, data rates,
format, acknowledgement schemes, and priority schemes tec.

9. Modem
 A modem, short for Modulator/demodulator, is a device that converts the digital
signals generated by a computer into analog signals that can travel over
conventional phone lines.
 The modem at the receiving end converts the signal back into a format the
computer can understand.
 In case of networking data has to be transferred from one location to another.
 At present to transfer such data whatever the infrastructure (Public Switched
Telephone Network-PSTN) is available.
 PSTN is of analog technology but computer sends digital data to transfer this data
to another location it is needed to convert into analog format so that it can be
transferred by using currently available infrastructure.
 Allow computers to communicate over a telephone line.

Modem
(DCE)

• Modems are available as Internal or external modem.

Que: In which situation MODEM are useful in network.

(Any two situations: 2 M each)
Answer:
1. Modems are used when digital signal is sent over analog medium.

22
 2. When the data transmission is over an analog medium such as telephone lines,
Modem is used for converting analog signal to digital signal.
3. When a home user need to connect to ISP a modem is used to connect to
telephone lines. Or when user wants to connect internet by telephone line.

10. Network Interface Card(NIC)

 NIC is a small card inserted or plugged on the motherboard of the host.

 It has a small CPU, memory and a limited instruction set required for the network
related functions.
 Each NIC has a unique hardware address or physical address to identify the host
uniquely, which ensures that it’s unique all over world.

Functions:
 It accepts instructions from host to transfer data to cable and receive data from cable.
 It checks the status of the bus and sends the data bit by bit once the bus is idle.
 It inserts the CRC in the header of the frame while transmitting.
 While accepting the data, NIC compares the destination address in the frame with its
own hardware address;
 If matches then only it is accepted otherwise rejected.
 Validating the input frame by checking its CRC to ensure that the data is error free.

2.3 Network Software

1. Device Driver:
 Computer Program that operates or controls a particular type of device
connected to computer.
 The driver sends commands to the device.
 Drivers are hardware dependent and OS specific.
 Eg. Printer, Video adapters, network cards, Sound cards, scanners , etc.
2. NIC Device Drivers
 NIC is adapter that plugs into computer and allows to send and receive
signals on a network.
 NIC driver software is installed on a computer.
 Drivers are manufacturer specific.
 Plug and play drivers.
 Manual installation.
 Add remove hardware wizard.
 Set the IP Addresses.

23
3. Client-Server Software:
 TELNET :

 TELNET is abbreviation for Terminal Network.

 It is standard TCP/IP protocol for virtual terminal services proposed by
ISO.
 TELNET enables establishment of connection to a remote system, in
such a way that a local terminal appears to be terminal at remote
system.
 TELNET is general purpose client server application program.

 FTP- File Transfer Protocol

 FTP is a standard mechanism provided by the Internet for copying a file

from one host to the other.
 Some of the problem in transferring files from one system to the other are
as follows:
 Two systems may use different file name conventions.
 Two systems may represent text data in different types.
 The directory structure of the two systems may be different.
 FTP provides a simple solution to all these problems.
 FTP establishes two connections between the client and server.
 One is for data transfer and
 the other is for the control information.
 The control connection uses simple rules of communication. Only one line
of command or a line of response is transferred at a time.
 But the data connection uses more complex rules due to the variety of data
types being transferred.
 FTP uses port 21 for the control connection and port 20 for the data
connection.

24