Computer Applications in Management

CHAPTER FOUR
DATA COMMUNICATION & COMPUTER NETWORK
4.1. DATA COMMUNICATION

A Communication system can be defined as the collection of hardware and software

that facilitates intersystem exchange of information between different devices. When
we communicate, we are sharing information. This sharing can be local (face to face
communication) or it may be remote (communication over distance).

Data communication is the exchange of data between two devices via some form of
wired or wireless transmission medium. It includes the transfer of data, the method
of transfer and the preservation of the data during the transfer process. To initiate
data communication, the communicating devices should be a part of an existing
communications system. For data communication to be effective, the following three
fundamental characteristics should be considered:

1. Delivery: The system must deliver data to the correct or the interned
destination.

2. Accuracy: The system must deliver data accurately (error free).

3. Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner without enough
time lags.

4.1.1. Data Communication Components

There are five basic components in data communication system:

1. Message: it is the information that is to be communicated.

2. Sender: The sender is the device that sends the message.

3. Receiver: The receiver is the device that receives the message

4. Medium: The transmission medium is the physical path that

communicates the message from sender to receiver.

5. Protocol: Protocol refers to a set of rules that coordinates the exchange of

information. Both the sender and receiver should follow the same protocol to

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communicate data. Without the protocol, the sender and receiver cannot
communicate with each other; just as a person speaking English cannot be
understood by a person speaks only Hindi.

Sender Receiver

Message Medium

Fig: data communication component

4.1.2. Data Transmission Mode

Data transmission mode refers to the direction of signal flow between two linked
devices. There are three types of transmission modes: simplex, half-duplex, and
full–duplex.

Simplex: transmission is unidirectional. The information flows in one direction

across the circuit, with no capability to support response in the other direction.
Only one of the communicating devices transmits information, the other can only
receive it. Television transmission can be considered as an example of simplex mode
of transmission where the satellite only transmits the data to the television, vice
versa is not possible.

Sender Receiver

Fig: Simplex

Half-duplex, in half-duplex mode, each communicating device can receive and

transmit information, but not at the same time. When one device is sending the
other can only receive at that point of time. In half-duplex transmission mode, the
entire capacity of the transmission medium is taken over by the device, which is
transmitting at that moment. The most common example of half-duplex
transmission is the wireless handsets (generally used by military personnel) where
one user talks at a time and another listens.

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Sender Receiver

Fig: Half - duplex

Full-duplex: Full-duplex transmission mode, also known as the duplex mode,

allows both communicating devices to transmit and receive data simultaneously. A
full-duplex mode can be compared to a two-way road with traffic flowing in both
directions. A common example of full-duplex transmitting mode is the telephone
network, where two people communicate over a telephone line; both can talk as well
as listen at the same time.

Sender Receiver

Fig: Full - duplex

4.1.3 Transmission Media

Transmission media refers to the physical media through which communication

signals (data and information are transmitted. Transmission media can be divided
in to two broad categories: guided media and unguided media.

A. Guided media

Guided transmission media use a cabling system that guide the data signals along a
specific path. The data signals are bound by the cabling system. Cabling refers to
transmission medium that consists of cables. There are four basic types of guided
media.

 Copper (Twisted pair)

 Coaxial cable

 Optical fiber

Twisted Pair: In this kind of cabling, pairs of wires are twisted together which are
surrounded by an insulating material and an outer layer called Jacket.

 Each pair consists of a wire, used for receiving data signal, and for
transmission data signal.

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 The wires are twisted in order to reduce noise (unwanted signal) and interface
for external sources.

 Used in short distance communication (<=100 meters).

Forms of Twisted Pair: There are two forms of Twisted Pair. These are

 Unshielded Twisted Pair, and

 Shielded Twisted Pair

Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP): It is the most common type of telecommunication

medium in use today.

 It is most suited for both data and voice transmission, and hence is commonly
use in telephone system.

 Have a maximum transmission speed of up to 9600 bps.

Fig: UTP

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP): Has a metal foil or braided-mesh covering that covers
each pair of insulated conductor.

 The metal foil is used to prevent infiltration of electromagnetic noise.

 Helps to eliminate cross talk.

Fig: STP

Coaxial cable: Has a single central conductor, which is made up of solid wire
(usually copper). This conductor is surrounded by an insulator.

 It is very robust and is commonly used in cable TV network.

 As compared to twisted pair, it offers higher band width.

 Transmitting data at a rate of 10mbps.

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Copper
core
Insulation Metal connector

Braided outer conductor

Protective plastic
covering

Fig: Coaxial cable

Optical fiber: Both twisted pair and coaxial cable transmit data in the form of
current, but optical fiber carry information in the form of visible light.

 Has three parts, i.e. Core, cladding , and jacket

Fig: Optical fiber

Advantages of Optical fiber

 Since transmission is light based rather than electricity, it is immune to noise

interface.

 Transmission distance is greater than other guided media, because of less

signal attenuation.

 It is more secure because cable cannot be tapped.

 They are smaller and lighter than copper wire and are free from corrosion as
well.

Disadvantages of Optical fiber

 It is expensive

 They are more fragile.

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Unguided media: Unguided transmission media is data signals that flow through
air. They are not bounded to a fixed channel to follow. One of the common unguided
media is radio frequency propagation. Microwave and Satellite

4.2. COMPUTER NETWORK

Consider a situation in which many employees in an organization need to work with

the same data. A copy of the data can be loaded on each computer so that the
employees can access the data individually. However, a more efficient method is to
load the data on one computer and provide the other computers access to the data
from this computer remotely. This option saves disk space on the computers and
provides a central location for storing and managing the data that multiple users
need to access.

This need to share data and resources led to the development of networking. A
network is a group of connected computers that allows people to share information.
In a network, multiple users can access the same information and connect to the
same resource. For example, instead of linking each computer to its own printer, all
computers can be linked to a common printer for shared access by multiple users.

Terms used in computer networking

1. Server – is a dedicated computer that serves the client with huge storage ca-
pacity, database, interconnections to other networks etc.
2. Clients_ Computers that access shared network resources provided by a
server.
3. Media – The wires that make the physical connections.
4. Shared data- Files provided to clients by servers across the network.
5. Shared printers and other peripherals– Additional resources provided by
the server.
6. Resources- Any service or device, such as files, printers or other items.
7. A workstation computer is a peer –to- peer network architecture.
8. Stand-alone computer a computer that is not connected in the network.

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9. Node- is a computer, printers, or whatever, simply latch onto the cable at any
position between the two terminals in a topology.

4.2.1 Types of Networks

Networks may be classified based on a number of parameters:

Span of Control

Geographical Span

I. According to Span of Control

Based on span of control computer networks can be classified into two major
groups:

Centralized Network

Distributed Network

Centralized Network: Centralized network has one main CPU that processes all
information requests and handles communication. The main CPU in a centralized
network is usually a mainframe or minicomputer capable of handling the processing
workload of many people simultaneously. People interface with the host computer
by using terminals and other input and output devices.

A terminal is a hardware device consisting of a keyboard and monitor.

There are two types of terminals:

Dumb Terminals

Intelligent Terminals

Terminals that have no storage or processing capabilities are called dumb terminals.
Because dumb terminals do not have any processing capabilities, they must be
connected to a host computer that can perform any processing functions necessary.
Intelligent terminals, on the other hand, do have limited storage and processing
capabilities.

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Distributed Network: Distributed network is a collection of workstations connected

to each other, along with various shared storage and input and output devices (for
example, scanners and printers). In a distributed network each workstation can
handle some, if not all, of its own processing. Workstations in a distributed network
also maintain local information and software.

Distributed Network can be either

Client/Server, or

Peer-to-Peer

Client/Server network: A Client/Server network is a distributed network in which

many workstations (called Clients) are connected to a central host computer (called
the Server). The clients are the workstations in a Client/Server network that
maintain local software and information and do as much of the processing as
possible.

FileServer

Peer-to-Peer: In a peer-to-peer network, workstations are connected to each other

and do not rely on a server for global software and data, data processing tasks, or
communication within the network. Basically, a peer-to-peer network consists of
many workstations connected together that can share resources and communicate
with each other. Each workstation can be a client at one time and a server at
Client
another time.
and
Server

Fig: Peer- to- peer

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II. According to Geographical Span

Local Area network (LAN): A LAN, or local Area Network, is a computer network
that spans only a small geographical area (usually within a square mile or less),
such as an office, home or building.

Metropolitan Area network (MAN): A MAN, or Metropolitan Area network, is a

network of computers spread over a “Metropolitan” area such as a city and its
suburbs, As the name suggests, this sort of network is usually reserved for
metropolitan areas where the city bridges its local area networks with a series of
backbones, making one large network for the entire city. It may be a single network
such as a cable television network or it may be a means of connecting a number of
LANs, Note that, MAN may be operated by one organization ( a corporate with
several offices in one city), or be shared resources used by several organization in
the same city.

Wide Area Network (WAN): A WAN, or Wide Area Network, is a system of

interconnecting many computers over a large geographical area such as cities,
states, countries or even the whole world. These kinds of networks use telephone
lines, satellite links, and other long-rang communications technologies to connect.
Such networks are designed to serve an area of hundreds or thousands of miles
such as public and private packet switching networks and national telephone
networks.

MAN
LAN LAN LAN

WAN

Fig: Type of network according geographical span

4.2.2. NETWORK TOPOLOGIES

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The term topology refers to the way a network is laid out, either physically or
logically. A topology can be considered as the network’s shape. It is thee geometric
representation of the relationship of all the links. There are four basic
topologies: Bus, Ring, Star, and Mesh.

Bus Topology: Bus topology uses a common bus or backbone ( a single cable) to
connect all devices with terminators at both ends. The backbone acts as a shared
communication medium and each node (file server, Workstations, and peripherals)
is attached to it with an interface connector. Whenever a message is to be
transmitted on the network, it is passed back and forth along the cable, past the
stations (computers) and between the two terminators, from one end of the network
to the other. As the message passes each station, the station checks the message’s
destination address. If the address in the message matches the station’s address,
the station receives the message. If the addresses do not match, the bus carries the
message to the next station, and so on. Figure 12.33 illustrates how devices such as
file serve workstations, and printers are connected to the linear cable or the
backbone.

Advantages of Bus Topology

 Connecting a computer or peripheral to a linear bus is easy.

 This topology requires least amount of cabling to connect the computers and
therefore, less expensive than other cabling arrangement.

 It is easy to extend a bus since two cables can be joined into longer cable with
a connector.

Disadvantages of Bus Topology

 Entire network shuts down if there is a failure in the backbone.

 Heavy traffic can slow down a bus because computers on such networks
do not coordinate with each other to reserve time to transmit.

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Ring Topology: In ring topology, computers are placed on a circle of cable without
any terminated ends since there are no unconnected ends. Every node has exactly
two neighbors for communication purposes. All messages travel through a ring in
the same direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) until it reaches its destination.
Each node in the ring incorporates a repeater. When a node receives a signal
intended for another device, its repeater regenerates the bits and passes them along
the wire.

Advantage of Ring Topology

 Ring topology is easy to install and reconfigure.

 Every computer is given equal access to the ring. Hence, no single computer
can monopolize the network.

Disadvantages of Ring Topology

 Failure in any cable or node breaks the loop and can take down the entire
network.

 Maximum ring length and number of nodes are limited.

Star Topology: In star topology, devices are not directly linked to each other but
they are connected via a centralized network component known as hub or

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concentrator. The hub acts as a central controller and if a node wants to send data
to another node, it boosts up the message and sends the message to the intended
node. This topology commonly uses twisted pair cable; however, coaxial cable or
fiber optic cable can also be used.

Advantages of Star Topology

 Star topology is easy to install and wire.

 The network is not disrupted even if a node fails or is removed from the network.

 Fault detection and removal of faulty parts is easier in star topology.

Disadvantages of Star Topology

 It requires a longer length of cable.

 If the hub fails, nodes attached to it are disabled.

 The cost of the hub makes the network expensive as compared to bus and ring
topology.

Mesh Topology: In the mesh topology, every node has a dedicated point-to-point
link to every other node. Messages sent on a mesh network can take any of several
possible paths from source to destination. A fully connected mesh network has n(n-
1)/2 physical links to link n devices. For example, if an organization has 5 nodes
and wants to implement a mesh topology, 5(5-1)/2, that is, 10 links are requires. In
addition, to accommodate that many links, every device on the network must have
n-1 communication (input/output) ports.

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Advantages of Mesh Topology

 The use of large number of links eliminates network congestion.

 If one link becomes unusable, it does not disable the entire system.

Disadvantages of Mesh Topology

 The amount of required cabling is very large.

 As every node is connected to the other, installation and reconfiguration is

very difficult.

 The amount of hardware required in this type of topology can make it

expensive to implement.

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