Networking - Computer networking refers to interconnected computing devices that can exchange data

and share resources with each other.

Advantages of networking

• Connectivity and Communication

• Data Sharing

• Hardware Sharing

Internet Access

• Internet Access Sharing

• Data Security and Management

• Performance Enhancement and Balancing

• Entertainment

The Disadvantages (Costs) of Networking

• Network Hardware, Software and Setup Costs

• Hardware and Software Management and Administration Costs

• Undesirable Sharing

• Illegal or Undesirable Behavior

• Data Security Concerns

Fundamental Network Classifications

Local Area Networks (LANs):

A local area network (LAN) is a is a computer network covering a small geographic area, or group of
buildings like a home, office,

Wide Area Networks (WANs):

• Wide Area Network (WAN) is sa computer network that covers a broad areal (le, any network whose
communications links cross metropolitan, regional, or national boundaries). Or, less formally, a network
that uses routers and public communications links

• The largest and most well-known example of a WAN is the Internet.

• WANs are used to connect LANs and other types of networks together, so that users and computers in
one location can communicate with users and computers in other locations.

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN):

• A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network that interconnects users with computer resources in
a geographic area or region larger than that covered by even a large local area network (LAN) but
smaller than the area covered by networks in a city into a a wide area network (WAN). The term is
applied to single larger network (which may It is also used to area network). It i the interconnection of
then also offer efficient connection to a wide mean the interconnection of several local them with
backbone lines. The latter usage is also sometimes referred area networks by bridging to as a campus
network.

INTERNET VS INTRANET
Intranet: An intranet is a private network that is contained within an enterprise. It may consist of many
interlinked local area networks and also use leased lines in the wide area network.

• An intranet uses TCP/IP, HTTP, and other Internet protocols and in general looks like a private version
of the Internet. With tunneling, companies can send private messages through the public network, using
the public network with special encryption/decryption and other security safeguards to connect one
part of their intranet to another.

• Internet: is a worldwide system of computer networks - a network of networks in which users at any
one computer can, if they have permission, get information from any other computer (and sometimes
talk directly to users at other computers).
SERVER AND CLIENT
Server computer is a core component of the network, providing a link to the resources necessary to
perform any task.

• A server computer provides a link to the resources necessary to perform any task.

• The link it provides could be to a resource existing on the server itself or a resource on a client
computer.

• Client computers normally request and receive information over the network client. Client
computers also depends primarily on the central server for processing activities.

A peer-to-peer network is a network where the computers act as both workstations and servers.

• great for small, simple, and inexpensive networks.

• In a strict peer-to-peer networking setup, every computer is an equal, a peer in the network.

• Each machine can have resources that are shared with any other machine.

• There is no assigned role for any particular device, and each of the devices usually runs similar
software. Any device can and will send requests to any other.

Network topology
A topology is a way of "laying out" the network. Topologies can be either physical or logical.

• Physical topologies describe how the cables are run.

• Logical topologies describe how the network messages travel.

• it is difficult to add a workstation

• have to completely reroute the cable and possibly run two additional lengths of it.

• if any one of the cables breaks, the entire network is disrupted. Therefore, it is very expensive to
maintain.
TYPES OF NETWORK TOPOLOGY
• Bus (can be both logical and physical)

• Star (physical only)

• Ring (can be both logical and physical)

• Mesh (can be both logical and physical)

Bus

• A bus is the simplest physical topology. It consists of a single cable that runs to every workstation.

• This topology uses the least amount of cabling, but also covers the shortest amount of distance.

• Each computer shares the same data and address path. With a logical bus topology, messages pass
through the trunk, and each workstation checks to see if the message is addressed to itself. If the
address of the message matches the workstation's address, the network adapter copies the message to
the card's on-board memory.

Ring

• Each computer connects to two other computers, joining them in a circle creating a unidirectional path
where messages move workstation to workstation.

• Each entity participating in the ring reads a message, then regenerates it and hands it to its neighbor
on a different network cable.

Mesh

• The mesh topology is the simplest logical topology in terms of data flow,
but it is the most complex in terms of physical design.

• In this physical topology, each device is connected to every other device

• This topology is rarely found in LANs, mainly because of the complexity of the cabling.

• If there are x computers, there will be (xx (x-1)) + 2 cables in the network. For example, if you have five
computers in a mesh network, it will use 5x (5-1) +2, which equals 10 cables. This complexity is
compounded when you add another workstation.

• For example, your five-computer, 10-cable network will jump to 15 cables just by adding one more
computer. Imagine how the person doing the cabling would feel if you told told them you had to cable
50 computers in a mesh network-they'd have to come up with 50x (50- 1)+21225 cables!

Topology Advantages Disadvantages

Bus Cheap. Easy to install Difficult to reconfig

Break in bus disables

entire network.

Star Cheap. Easy to install Easy to More expensive than bus.

reconfigure. Fault tolerant

Ring Efficient. Easy to install Reconfiguration difficult Very

expensive

Mesh Simplest. Most fault tolerant Reconfiguration extremely

difficult Extremely expensive
Very complex

Open Systems Interconnection (OSI)

The OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model is a conceptual framework used to understand and
design network systems by dividing network communication into seven distinct layers.
The OSI (Open Systems Interconnection) model

1. Physical Layer: Deals with the physical connection between devices, including cables, switches, and
the electrical or optical signals transmitted over them.

2. Data Link Layer: Responsible for node-to-node data transfer and error detection/correction. It
ensures that data packets are correctly formatted for transmission and handles MAC addresses.

3. Network Layer: Manages logical addressing and data packets across networks. data It determines the
ata to travel from the source to addresses). routing of best path for the destination (e.g., IP Addresses).

4. Transport Layer: Ensures reliable data transfer between end systems. It provides error recovery, flow
control, and guarantees the proper sequencing of data (e.g., TCP, UDP).

5. Session Layer: Manages sessions or connections between applications. It establishes, maintains, and
terminates communication sessions.

6. Presentation Layer: Translates data between the application layer and the network. It handles data
encryption, compression, and translation to ensure that data is in a format understandable by the
receiving application.

7. Application Layer: Provides network services directly to end-user applications. It includes protocols
for applications such as email, file transfer, and web browsing (e.g.. HTTP. FTP, SMTP).

Basic Network Commands

Networking commands:

1. ipconfig: Displays the current configuration of the IP stack on a Windows computer, including details
such as IP address, subnet mask, and default gateway for all network interfaces.

2. ipconfig/all: Provides detailed information about all network interfaces, including additional details
like DNS servers, MAC addresses, and more.
3. hostname: Displays the name of the current computer or device on the network.

4. ping: Sends ICMP Echo Request messages to a specified IP address or hostname to check the
reachability and measure the round-trip time for messages sent from the source to the destination.

5. nslookup: Queries the Domain Name System (DNS) to obtain domain name or IP address mapping
information. It can be used to find IP addresses associated with domain names or vice versa.

6. Tracert (or traceroute on Unix-like systems): Traces the route taken by packets from the source to the
destination by listing each hop (intermediate router) along the path and measuring the time taken to
reach each hop.

7. arp: Displays and modifies the Address Resolution Protocol (ARP) cache, which maps IP addresses to
MAC addresses on a local network.

8. pathping: Combines the functionality of ping and tracert to provide detailed information about
network latency and packet loss along the route to a destination, showing performance statistics for
each hop.

9. net share: Displays information about shared resources on the local computer, such as shared folders
and printers, or allows you to create, modify, or delete shared resources.

10. route: Displays and modifies the IP routing table on a computer, allowing you to view and change
the network paths used for routing network traffic.

12. netsh: A versatile command-line tool used to configure and manage various network settings and
services, such as IP configuration, firewall rules, and network interfaces.

13. tasklist: Lists all currently running processes on the computer, including their process IDs (PIDs) and
memory usage.

14. systeminfo: Provides detailed system information about the computer, including operating system
version, hardware configuration, and installed updates.

15. wmic: (Windows Management Instrumentation Command-line) Allows querying and managing
system information and configurations, such as retrieving hardware details, installed software, and
system settings.
Main types of dynamic routing protocol

Distance- vector routing protocol

Ex .

RIP = Routing Information Protocol

EIGRP = enhanced Interior Gateway Routing Protocol

2. Link state routing protocol

Ex. OSPF = OPEN SHORTEST PATH FIRST’

IS-IS = INTERMEDIATE SYSTEM to INTERMEDIATE SYSTEM

3. hybrid routing protocol

Ex. EIGRP = Enhanced interior gateway routing protocol

4. path- vector routing protocol

Ex. BGP = Border Gateway Protocol