COMPUTER NETWORKS

What is a network?
Network is a collection of interconnected autonomous computers .Networking provides the
communication tools to allow computers to share information and abilities.

Goals of computer networks

The main goals of computer networking are to enable its user to share resources and to access
these resources, regardless of their physical locations. Other goal is to provide communication
services.

Need for networking

1. Sharing of resources: both hardware and software can be optimally utilized.
2. Reliability or security through Redundancy
3. Cost Effective
4. Central Storage of data
5. Security through Authorization
6. Faster Problem solving
Computer networks are often classified by size, distance covered, or structure. Even though the
distinctions are rapidly fading, the following classification are commonly used.

What are the basic requirements of network?

1. At least two entities (computer) which have something to share.
2. A method or pathway for contacting each other (cables or wireless, some medium).
3. Rules so that two or more individuals can communicate (operating system software).

What are the elements in a network?

1. Node
A node or a workstation is a computer that is connected to a network through which
information and resources of the network can be utilized.

2. Server
A server can be defined as the computer that facilitates the sharing of data, software and
hardware resources on the network.

ARPANET
ARPANET (Advanced Research Projects NETwork ). The goal of this project was to connect
computers at different universities and U.S. defense. Soon the engineers, scientists, students and
researchers who were part of this system, began exchanging data messages on it. The users of this
system were also able to play long distance games and socialize with people who shared their
interests.

NSFNET (NATIONAL SCIENCE FEDEATION NETWORK) — In the mid 80’s another

federal agency NSFNET created a new network which was more capable tha ARPANET.
INTERNET – is a network linking computers that are sharing the TCP/IP protocols. It is a global
collection of computers, which are linked together by cables and telephone line. It can be defined
as a global network over a million of heterogeneous computer networks.

INTERSPACE – it is a client/server software program that allows multiple users to communicate

online with real-time audio, video and text chat in dynamic 3D environments.

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NETWORK SWITCHING TECHNIQUES

1. Circuit Switching: First the complete physical connection between two computers are
established then data are transmitted from the source computer to the destination computer.
When a computer places a telephone call, equipment within the telephone system seeks out
a physical copper path all the way from sender telephone to the receivers telephone. The
important property of this switching technique is to setup an end-to-end between computers
before any data can be sent.
2. Message Switching: The source computer sends data or the message to the switching
office first, which stores the data in its buffer. It then looks for a free link to another
switching office and then sends the data to this office. This process is continued until the
data are delivered to the destination computers. Owing to its working principle, it is also
known as store and forward. This is, store first (in switching office), forward later, one
jump at a time.
3. Packet Switching: A fixed size of packet can be transmitted across the network….the
difference between Message Switching and Packet Switching is that data packets are stored
on the disk in message switching whereas in packet switching, all the packets of fixed size
are stored in main memory….. this improves the performance as the access time is reduced
and thus the output of the network is improved.

DATA COMMUNICATION TERMINOLOGY

1. Data Channel. A channel is the medium used to carry information or data from one point
to another.
2. Baud. It is the unit of measurement for the information carrying capacity of a
communication channel. The baud is synonymous with bps (bits per second), another unit
of measuring data transfer rates.
3. Bits per second(bps). It refers to the speed at which data transfer is measured. It is
generally used to measure the speed of information through a high speed phone or modems.
4. Bytes per second are denoted as Bps – notice the capital B. Small b i.e., bps stands for bits
per second.

8 bits = 1 byte
1 KB = 210 bytes = 1024 bytes
1 MB = 210KB = 210 X 210bytes = 1024 X 1024 bytes
1 GB = 210 MB = 210 X 210 X 210bytes = 1024 X 1024 X 1024 bytes
1 TB = 210 GB = 210 X 210 X 210 X 210bytes = 1024 X 1024 X 1024 X1024 bytes

5. Bandwidth. Is directly proportional to the amount of data transmitted or received per unit.
In analog systems, bandwidth is defined in terms of the difference between the highest
frequency signal component and the lowest-frequency signal component. Frequency is
measured in cycles per second i.e., hertz.

1 KHz=103 Hz
1 MHz=103 KHz
1 GHz=103 MHz
1 THz=103 GHz

6. Data transfer rates. The data transfer rate represents the amount of data transferred per
second by a communications channel or a computing or storage device.

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 Data rate is measured in units of bits per second (bps), bytes per second (Bps), or
Baud, Kbps, Mbps, Gbps, Tbps

COMMUNICATION CHANNEL OR TRANSMISSION MEDIA

What is communication channel? What choices do you have while choosing a communication
channel for a network?
OR
What are various physical media used for data transmission in a network system?
Communication channels mean the connecting cables that link various workstations.
:

Wired Technology or GUIDED MEDIUM

1. Twisted-pair cables. These cables consist of two insulated copper wires twisted around
each other. These are also used for short and medium range telephone communication.
Advantages:
a) It is simple to use
b) In expensive and does not require skilled personnel
c) Less susceptible to electrical interferences
d) Can be used for both analog and digital transmission
Disadvantages
a) Easily pick up noise signals
b) Break easily

2. Coaxial Cables. A coaxial cable consists of one or more small cables in protective
covering. These are more expensive than twisted cables but perform better.
Advantages
a) It supports greater cable length
b) Can be used for both analog and digital transmission
c) Can transmit several channels simultaneously
d) In expensive compared to Fibre optic
Disadvantages
a) Does not bend easily
b) Expensive compared to twisted pair

3. Fiber-optic Cables. These cables are made of plastic or glass and are about as thick as
human hair. These cables are highly durable and offer excellent performance but are
expensive.
Advantage
a) Offers better bandwidth
b) Less attenuation and signal degradation
c) Immune to eavesdropping
d) No light
line of sight restrictions

Disadvantages
a) Very expensive
b) Complex installation
c) As it is made of glass they can be easily broken.

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 Wireless Technology or Unguided medium
4. Radio waves-: They use continuous sine waves to transmit information(audio,video and
dat) Each different radio signal uses a different sine wave frequency. Any radio setup has
two parts. The Transmitter takes some sort of message and encodes it into sine wave and
transmits it with radio waves. The receiver receives the radio waves and decodes the
message from the sine wave it receives.
Advantages
a) Easy to generate
b) Can travel long distance
c) No line of sight
d) Can penetrate buildings
e) They are Omnidirectional ie., can travel in all directions
Disadvantages
a) Insecure communication
b) Weather conditions may affect the propagation

5. Microwave signals are used to transmit data without the use of cables. The microwave
signals are similar to radio and television signals and are used for long distance
communication, moreover, these signals prove cheaper than dragging trenches for laying
cables and their maintenance. It is a line of sight transmission as signal travels in
straight line.

Advantages
a) It’s a cheaper source of communication as it avoids cables
Disadvantages
a) It is an insecure communication
b) Signals can be split and propagated in different directins
c) Weather conditions may affect the propagation
d) Line of sight Transmission

6. Infrared—this type of transmission uses infrared light to transmit data. This type of
transmission is used in TV remotes, wireless speakers etc. the infrared light transmit data
through the air and can propagate through out a room but will not penetrate walls.
Advantages
a) Secure medium
b) Cheap
Disadvantages
a) Work only for distances less
b) Cannot penetrate walls and is affected by distance , noise and heat
7. Satellite.: In Satellite communication, the earth station consists of a satellite dish that
functions as an antenna and communication equipment to transmit and receive data from
satellites passing overhead. The satellite act as relay stations for communication signals.

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 The satellites accept data signals transmitted from an earth station, amplify them and
retransmit them to another earth station. The area covered by satellite transmission is quite
large. The heavy usage of intercontinental traffic makes the satellite commercially
attractive.
Advantages
a) Area covered is large
b) No line of sight
Disadvantages

a) Very expensive
b) Complex installation

NETWORK TOPOLOGY

What is a topology? List the factors that govern the choice of topology.
The pattern of interconnection of nodes in a network is called topology. There are a number of
factors which should be considered before choosing the topology, the most important of which are:
1. Cost
2. Flexibility
3. Reliability

Explain the various types of topology. Mention the advantages and disadvantages of each type.
The various types of topologies are as follows:
1. Star or Radial topology

This topology consists of a central node to which all other nodes are connected by a single
path.

ADVANTAGES
a) Ease of service :
The star topology has a number of concentration points. These provide easy access for
service or reconfiguration of the network.
b) Centralized control/ problem diagnosis :
The central node is connected directly to every other node in the network, so faults can be
easily detected and isolated.
c) One device per connection :
In the star topology, failure of a single connection typically involves disconnecting one
node from an otherwise fully functional network.
d) Simple access protocol :
Rules governing this network is simple

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DISADVANTAGES :
1. Long cable length
2. Difficult to expand: adding a new node is very difficult.
3. Central node dependency: if the central node fails, the whole network fails.
2. Bus or linear topology

Bus topology uses a main cable called a ‘backbone’ cable into which the peripherals or PCs are
connected with the help of short cables (drop cables). There will be atleast one dedicated node
(server) which provides the communication among the nodes.

ADVANTAGES
a) A new node can be added to the LAN without disturbing or disrupting the network and
other nodes.
b) Low cabling cost
c) A wide range of equipments can be attached to LAN without problem.

DISADVANTAGES
a) Only one message can travel at a time.
b) If there is a fault in the main cable the entire network shuts down
c) The chances of collision are more.
d) Low reliability (a break or short circuit in the cable can halt the whole network).
e) Isolating the erring node is very difficult.

3. Ring and Circular Topology

In ring topology, the nodes are connected in a circular manner. Each node is -connected by
a cable by a cable directly (direct link or point-to-point).

ADVANTAGES
a) A central server is not required as the data is passed through the entire network.
b) Adding a new node is easy
c) Each node regenerates the packets. So repeaters are not required.
d) Collisions do not occur as data is transmitted in direction..

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 e) It can tolerate up to one node failure
DISADVANTAGES
1. Each node on the ring must handle the data being transferred by other nodes.
2. A fault in the a single node or in the cable cause the failure of the entire network.
3. More than one node failure can halt the network.
4. Network reconfiguration is difficult.
5. Difficult to diagnose faults.
6.
4. Tree topology
Tree topology can be considered as a collection of bus topologies.

ADVANTAGES
1. Centralized administration
2. Fault identification is easy
3. Failing of one segment will not affect the rest of the network.

DISADVANTAGES:
1. Back bone cable needed, mostly fiber optic.
2. Use of special devices like bridge, repeater are required.

MESH TOPOLOGY
Advantages
a) Expansion and modification can be done easy
b) A mesh topology is robust. If one link breaks it wont affect the entire network.
Disadvantages
a) Maintenance is expensive and difficult

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TYPES OF NETWORK
Mostly, computers are classified on the basis of geographical spread and size. Three are three types
of networks:
1. Personal Area Network(PAN)
2. Local Area Networks (LANs)
3. Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)
4. Wide Area Networks (WANs)

1. Personal Area Network-(PAN)- refers to a small network of communication devices

within a range of an individual person. The range is upto 10 mts.
2. Local Area Networks (LANs): Small computer networks that are confined to a
localized area (e.g. an office, a building or a factory) are known as Local Area
Networks. The key purpose of LAN is to share data, information, programs, printer,
hard-disks, modems etc in the network. The range is 1 to 10 kms
3. Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs): These networks are the networks spread over a
city. The scope of this class network lies between LANs and WANs i.e. spanning a
small city or a town. The range is from 10 kms to 100 kms
4. Wide Area Networks (WANs): The networks spread across countries are known as
WANs. A Wide Area Network (WAN) is a group of computers that are separated by
large distance and tied together. The range is beyond 100kms

Network devices:
Modem— A Modem( Modulator Demodulator) is a computer peripheral that connects a work
station to other work stations via telephone lines and facilitates communications. Modem
converts digital signals to analog form which are in frequency range that the telephone lines
can transmit . Analog data is less prone to noise and damages. Modem can also convert the
analog form back to digital information for the computer to understand.

RJ45 connector—Registered Jack-45 is an eight wire connector which is commonly used to

connect computers on LANs especially Ethernets

Ethernet- is LAN architecture developed by Xerox Corp along with DEC and Intel. It uses
either a bus or star topology and supports data transfer rate of upto 10 Mbps.

Enternet Card—is also known as Network card or Network Interface card which helps in the
connection of nodes within the network. .
Hub--
• it is an unintelligent network device which simply transfers data from one port to
another.
• It is used to connect several computers together.
• It shares bandwidth with all the attached devices. Ie it sends the data to all the
connected nodes.
• It cannot filter the data and causes traffic jams.
There are Active Hubs and Passive Hubs
Active Hubs—electrically amplify the signal as it moves from one connected device to
another.
Passive Hubs—allow the signal to pass from one computer to another without any change.
Switch—
• It is a network device which is used to interconnect computers in a network.

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 • It filters and forwards the data packets across the networks
• It is an intelligent device so that the data packets received frm one port of network are
refreshed and delivered to the other port.
• It keeps track of the Mac addresses of the devices attached to it.
Gateway—is a network that connects dissimilar networks. It establishes an intelligent
connection between a local network and external networks with completely different
structures.
Repeater—is a network device that amplifies and restores signals for long distance
communications it amplifies the signal and regenerates the original signal. .
Bridge—is a device designed to connect two LAN segment. The purpose of bridge is to filter
traffic on a LAN. When a frame enters a bridge, the bridge not only regenerates the signal but
also checks the physical address of the destination and forwards the new copy to that port.
Router-- is a network device that is used to separate different segments in a network to
improve performance and reliability. A router works like a bridge but can handle different
protocols. The Router decide which path a packet should take. A router is a networking device
whose software and hardware are tailored to the risks of routing and forwarding data packets in
the networks.

Wifi-Card—
• is either an internal or external Local Area Network adapter with a built in wireless
radio and Antenna.
• It is also called WireLess Fidelity card which is used to establish internet connection.

NETWORKING PROTOCOLS
Protocol: A protocol is a set of standardized rules for data packets, techniques for detecting and
correcting errors and so on
WWW- World Wide Web
WWW is a part of Internet. It is a set of protocol that allows us to access any document on the net,
through a naming system based on URL (uniform resource locator).
It can include the pointer to other types of resources such that ftp server and goffer server.

There are multiple protocols defined for computer networks which are as follows.
1. TCP/IP- Transmission Control Protocol / Internet Protocol
It is used to communicate across the different network and again each of these network can be inter
connected. It can be used in Internet. .
TCP/IP refers to the rules to be followed for communication between computers.

Features of TCP/IP
➢ TCP /IP ensures the correct deliveries of packets
➢ TCP/IP allows any pair of computer to communicate.
➢ TCP/IP provides facility for acknowledge between source and destination.
. Internet is based on TCP/IP.
IP – Internet protocol is the central unifying protocol in the TCP/IP suite. It provides the basic
delivery mechanism of packets of data sent between all system on the internet.
IP provides a connectionless unacknowledged network service.
TCP provides a reliable byte stream transfer service between two end points on the internet. It
protects against data loss, data corruption, packet reordering and data duplication by adding
checksums and sequence numbers to the transmitted data.
TCP is a connection – oriented acknowledged transport protocol.

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2. FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
• It is the simplest and most secure way to exchange files over the internet.
• It is a protocol used to upload files from a workstation to an FTP server and download files
from an FTP server to a workstation.

3. TELNET :
• Telnet is most widely used remote login program, which is used to access the remote base
information.
• Using this software, the students sitting in Delhi can access a server at America.

4. Point-to –point link (PPP)—used to establish a direct connection between two nodes.
It provide connection, authentication , transmission encryption and compression.
The main features of PPP are as follows
• Establishing a link between two devices.
• Maintaining and Configuring the link
• PPP provides error detection
• PPP supports multiple protocols

5. POP3 (Post Office Protocol) is a simple and standard method to access mailbox and
download messages, to the local computers. the user can receive messages with the help of
POP protocol.
6. SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol)-- SMTP (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) is a
TCP/IP protocol used in sending and receiving e-mail. However, since it is limited in its ability
to queue messages at the receiving end, it is usually used with one of two other protocols,
POP3 or IMAP, that let the user save messages in a server mailbox and download them
periodically from the server. In other words, users typically use a program that uses SMTP for
sending e-mail and either POP3 or IMAP for receiving e-mail. On Unix-based systems,
sendmail is the most widely-used SMTP server for e-mail. A commercial package, Sendmail,
includes a POP3 server. Microsoft Exchange includes an SMTP server and can also be set up to
include POP3 support.

 Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) is a communications protocol for the transfer of

information on the intranet and the World Wide Web. Its original purpose was to provide a
way to publish and retrieve hypertext pages over the Internet.
HTTP is a request/response standard between a client and a server. A client is the end-
user; the server is the web site.
 SLIP/PPP (Serial Line Internet Protocol / Point to Point Protocol)

SLIP/PPP provides the ability to transport TCP/IP traffic ever serial line between two
computers. The home user’s computer has a communications link to the internet. The home
user’s computer has the networking software that can speak TCP/IP with other computers on
the Internet. The home user’s computer has an identifying address (IP address) at which it can
be contacted by other computers on Internet. E.g. dial up connection.
9. IMAP:- IMAP (Interactive Mail Access Protocol).It is not like the mailbox on your house.
With IMAP mail is delivered to the server, and we connect to the server to see our mail. The
mail is not stored on our machine. When a message is marked as read, it is marked as read on
the server, not on our computer.

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Advantages of IMAP:-
• Email is available from any machine we happen to use
• Email is stored on the server, so our email cannot be deleted/destroyed if our computer should
happen to crash, be stolen, or destroyed
• We can access IMAP mail via the web, without even needing a mail client installed. This
means We can check our mail from someone else's machine or even a public terminal and
not have to worry about the security of your passwords.
PROTOCOLS FOR CHAT AND VIDEO CONFERENCING
a) IRC—Internet Relay Chat—allows users to share text messages. It is used for chatting by
sending and receiving text messages. The sender sends request to IRC server, which then
forwards this request to another client to communicate with each other.
b) VoIP—Voice Over Internet Protocol –is used for transmitting voice data and multimedia
data over internet protocol. It uses high speed internet connection.
c) SIP( Session Initiation Protocol)—it provides videoconferencing service to the user so
that a user can communicate with ore than one person at a time.

Hackers and crackers -

Hackers are more interested in gaining knowledge about computer systems and possibly using this
knowledge for playful pranks.
Hackers are the professional programmers who access the computer system/ networking
unauthorized way. They will steal the data or will corrupt the data or software.

Crackers are the malicious programmers who break into secure systems.
Crackers are malicious programmer who breaks the computer or network securities system. They
can crack the password and leak the information.

Difference between Hacking and Cracking

Cracking—is defined as an attempt to remove the copy protection inserted into the software programs.
A program successfully stripped of protections is then known as CRACKED.
Hacking can be ethical/ legal but cracking is totally illegal method and is also called piracy.

WEB SERVERS
WWW (WORLD WIDE WEB)
It is a small part of Internet. It is a kind of Application of internet. It is a set of protocols that allows us
to access any document on the Net through a naming system based on URLS. Internet was mainly used
for obtaining textual information. But post-WWW the internet popularity grew tremendously because
of graphic intensive nature of www.

Attributes of WWW
(i) User friendly- www resources can be easily used with the help of browser.
(ii) Multimedia documents-A web page may have graphic, audio, video, and animation etc at a time.
(iii) Hypertext and hyperlinks-the dynamic links which can move towards another web page is
hyperlink.
(iv) Interactive -www with its pages support and enable interactivity between users and servers.

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(v) frame-display of more than one section on single web page.

Web server- It is a WWW server that responds to the requests made by web browers.
e.g. : Apache, IIS, PWS(Personal web server for Windows 98).

Web browser- It is a WWW client that navigates through the World Wide Web and displays web
pages. E.g.: FireFox Navigator, Internet Explorer etc.
Web sites- A location on a net server where different web pages are linked together by dynamic links
is called a web site. Each web site has a unique address called URL.

Web page - A document that can be viewed in a web browser and residing on a web site is a web page.
Home page- a web page that is the starting page and acts as an indexed page is home page.
Web portal - that facilitates various type of the functionality as web site. for e.g.
www.yahoo.com,www.rediff.com
Domain name- An internet address which is a character based is called a Domain name. Some most
common domains are com, edu, gov, mil, net, org, and co.Some domain names are location based also.
For e.g. au for Australia, a for Canada, in for India etc.

URL- A URL (uniform resource locator) that specifies the distinct address for each resource on the
internet.e.g.http://encycle.msn.com/getinfo/stypes.asp
https://cbseacademic.nic.in/SQP_CLASSXII_2022-23.html is a URL

Web hosting - means hosting web server application on a computer system through which electronic
content on the internet is readily available to any web browser client.

HTML -
It stands for Hyper Text Markup Language that facilitates to write web document that can be
interpreted by any web browser. It provide certain tags that are interpreted by the browser how to
display and act with the text, graphics etc. tags are specified in <>. For e.g.

<body bgcolor=green> it is opening tag

</body> it is closing tag.
body is the tag with bgcolor attributes.
XML (eXtensible Markup Language)
XML is a markup language for documents containing structured information. Structured information
contains both content (words, pictures etc.) and some indication of what role content plays.

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DHTML- It stands for Dynamic Hyper Text Markup Language. DHTML refers to Web content that
changes each time it is viewed. For example, the same URL could result in a different page depending
on any number of parameters, such as: *geographic location

*time of the day

*previous pages viewed by the user
*profile of the reader
WEB SCRIPTING – The process of creating and embedding scripts in a web page is known as web-
scripting.
SCRIPT: A Script is a list of commands embedded in a web page. Scripts are interpreted and
executed by a certain program or scripting –engine.
Types of Scripts:
1. Client Side Script: Client side scripting enables interaction within a web page.
Some popular client-side scripting languages are VBScript, JavaScript, PHP(Hyper Text
Preprocessor).
2. Server-Side Scripts: Server-side scripting enables the completion or carrying out a task at the
server-end and then sending the result to the client –end.

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Some popular server-side Scripting Languages are PHP, Perl, ASP(Active Server Pages),
JSP(Java Server Pages) etc.

Web 2.0 services : Web 2.0 is the term given to describe a second generation of theWorld Wide Web
that is focused on the ability for people to collaborate and share information online. Web
2.0 basically refers to the transition from static HTML Web pages to a more dynamic Web that is more
organized and is based on serving Web applications to users.
Other improved functionality of Web 2.0 includes open communication with an emphasis on Web-
based communities of users, and more open sharing of information. Over time Web 2.0 has been used
more as a marketing term than a computer-science-based term. Blogs, wikis, and Web services are all
seen as components of Web 2.0.
Web 2.0 was previously used as a synonym for Semantic Web, but while the two are similar,
they do not share precisely the same meaning

. 8. The range of IP address is 8.Ex of Mac address 00:00:5e:00:53:af

0.0.0.0 to 255.255.255.255
Ex : 192.158.1.38

TIPS to solve Technical questions on Networking

1. Suitable cable layout:
On the basis of the server: Star Topology
On the basis of distance (shortest distance) : Bus Topology.
2. Server—Building with maximum number of computers
3. HUB/SWITCH—Each building
4. Modem—in server room
5. Repeater—if the distance is >=70m. it regenerates data and voice signals
6. Router—When LAN is required to be connected to another LAN
7. Best Layout—STAR(from Server), BUS(distance)
8. BEST Cable—Twisted pair, Ethernet cable, co-axial cable (when distance is in meters)\]
For large distance-- Fibre Optics
9. Best Connecting Technique—in hilly region, radio waves to be used
City to city, state to state satellite to be used
10. Types of network in distance ranges

PAN-- The range is upto 10 mts.

LAN-- The range is 1 to 10 kms
MAN--The range is from 10 kms to 100 kms
WAN-- The range is beyond 100kms
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Long Answer Questions

Q2. Ravya Industries has set up its new center at Kaka Nagar for its office and web
based activities. The company compound has 4 buildings as shown in the
diagram below:

Fazz

Raj
Building
Building
Jazz
Harsh
Building
Building

Centre to centre distances between various buildings Number of Computers

Harsh Building to Raj Building 50 m Harsh Building 15
Raz Building to Fazz Building 60 m Raj Building 150
Fazz Building to Jazz Building 25 m Fazz Building 15
Jazz Building to Harsh Building 170 m Jazz Bulding 25
Harsh Building to Fazz Building 125 m
Raj Building to Jazz Building 90 m

(a) Suggest a cable layout of connections between the buildings.

(b) Suggest the most suitable place (i.e. building) to house the server of this organisation with a
suitable reason.
(c) Suggest the placement of the following devices with justification:
(i) Internet Connecting Device/Modem
(ii) Switch
(b) The organisation is planning to link its sale counter situated in various parts of the same
city, which type of network out of LAN, MAN or WAN will be formed? Justify your
answer.
Ans : (a) Layout 1:

Raj Fazz
Building Building

Jazz
Harsh Building

Layout 2: Since the distance between Fazz Building and Jazz Building is quite short

Raj Fazz
Building
Building

Harsh Jazz

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 (b) The most suitable place / block to house the server of this organisation would be Raj
Building, as this block contains the maximum number of computers, thus decreasing
the cabling cost for most of the computers as well as increasing the efficiency of the
maximum computers in the network.
(c) (i) Raj Building
(ii) In both the layouts, a hub/switch each would be needed in all the buildings, to
interconnect the group of cables from the different computers in each block
(d) The type of network that shall be formed to link the sale counters situated in various
parts of the same city would be a MAN, because MAN (Metropolitan Area Networks)
are the networks that link computer facilities within a city.

Q3. Nootan Vidya Mandir in OOTY is setting up the network between its different wings.
There are 4 wings named as SENIOR(S), MIDDLE(M), JUNIOR(J) and OFFICE(O).
Distance between the various wings are given below: Number of Computers
Wing O to Wing S 100m Wing O 10
Wing O to Wing M 200m Wing S 200
Wing O to Wing J 400m Wing M 100
Wing S to Wing M 300m Wing J 50
Wing S to Wing J 100m
Wing J to Wing M 450m

(i) Suggest a suitable Topology for networking the computer of all wings.
(ii) Name the wing where the server to be installed. Justify your answer.
(iii) Suggest the placement of Hub/Switch in the network.
(iv) Mention an economic technology to provide internet accessibility to all wings.

Ans: (i) Star or Bus or any other valid topology.

(ii) Wing S, because maximum number of computers are located at Wing S.
(iii) Hub/ Switch in all the wings.
(iv) Coaxial cable/Modem/LAN/TCP-IP/Dialup/DSL/Leased Lines or any other valid
technology.

Q4. East and West Public Ltd. has decided to network all its offices spread in five buildings.

[ ] indicates the
Building Building3
total no. of
2 [45] [110] computers.

Building1
[40]
Building
Building4
5 [70] [60]
155

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e distances between buildings are given below:
Between 1 & 2 20 Mts Between 3 & 5 70 Mts
Between 2 & 3 50 Mts Between 1 & 5 65 Mts
Between 3 & 4 120 Mts Between 2 & 5 50 Mts
Between 4 & 5 30 Mts Between 1 & 3 60 Mts
(i) Suggest cable layout(s) for connecting the buildings.
(ii) Suggest the most suitable building to install the server of this organization with a
suitable reason, with justification.
(iii) Suggest the placement of the following devices with justification?
(a) Hub/Switch
(b) Repeater
(iv) The company also has another office in the same city but at a distant location about
25-30 kms away. How can link be established with this building? (i.e. suggest the
transmission medium).
Ans : (i)

Buil Buil Buil Buil Buil

ding ding ding ding ding

(ii) The server should be installed in building 3 as it contains the maximum number of
computers, thus decreasing the cabling cost for most of the computers as well as
increasing the efficiency of the maximum computers in the network.
(iii) (a) Hub/switch each would be needed in all the buildings, to interconnect the group of
cables from the different computers in each building.
(b) Since the cabling distance between Building 3 and Building 4 is quite large, so a
repeater would ideally be needed along their path to avoid loss of signals during the
course of data flow in these routes.
(iv) Microwave / Radiowave / Satellite

Q5. Standard Bank has set up its new center in India for its office and web based activities. It has
five buildings as shown in the diagram below:

A B C

D E

156

24
 Distance between various buildings
A to B 50 Mts
B to C 30 Mts
No of computers
C to D 30 Mts
A 55
D to E 35 Mts B 180
E to C 40 Mts C 60
D to A 120 Mts D 55
D to B 45 Mts E 70
E to B 65 Mts

(a) Suggest a possible cable layout for connecting the buildings.

(b) Suggest the most suitable place to install the server of this organization.
(c) Suggest the placement of the following devices with justification.

(d) The company wants to link its head office in ‘A’ building to its Office in Sydney
(i) Which type of transmission medium is appropriate for such a link?
(ii) What type of network this connection result into?

Ans: (a)

A B C D E

OR

A B C

D
E

(b) The server should be installed in building B as it contains the maximum number of
computers, thus decreasing the cabling cost for most of the computers as well as
increasing the efficiency of the maximum computers in the network.
(c) (i) A hub/switch each would be needed in all the buildings, to interconnect the group of
cables from the different computers in each block.
(ii) Since the cabling distances between buildings are not quite large, so no repeater is
required.
(d) (i) Internet (ii) WAN

157

25
 Q. 6. Knowledge Supplement Organization has set up its new centre at Mangalore for its office
Gaanm
dmwaeb based activities. It has four building as shown in the diagram below

alpha

Beta

Lambda

Number of Computers: Centre to Centre distance between various buildings

Alpha 25 Alpha to Beta 50m
Beta 50 Beta to gamma 150m
Gamma 125 Gamma to Lambda 25m
Lambda 10 Alpha to Lambda 170m
Beta to Lambda 125m
Alpha to Gamma 90m

(a) Suggesting a cable layout of connection between building state with justification where
Server, Repeater and hub will be placed.
(b) The organization is planning to link its front office situated in the city in a hilly region
where cable connection is not feasible, suggest an economic way to connect it with
reasonably high speed?

Ans: (i)The most suitable place to house the server of this organization would be building
Gamma , as this building contains the maximum number of computers , thus decreasing the
cabling cost for most of the computers as well as increasing the efficiency of the maximum
computers in the network Distance between alpha to gamma and beta to gamma is large so there
repeater will require and hub is necessary for all premises because it is used in local networking.

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 Repeater Gamma
Alpha
HUB
HUB

Lambda
Beta
HUB
HUB

(ii) The most economic way to connect it with a reasonable high speed would be to use radio wave
transmission, as they are easy to install, can travel long distances, and penetrate buildings easily,
so they are widely used for communication, both indoors and outdoors. Radio waves also have the
advantage of being omni directional, which is they can travel in all the directions from the source,
so that the transmitter and receiver do not have to be carefully aligned physically.

Q. 6. Software Development Company has set up its new center at Jaipur for its office and web
based activities. It has 4 blocks of buildings as shown in the diagram below:

Center to center distances between various blocks

Number of Computers:
Black A to Block B 50 m Black A 25
Block B to Block C 150 m Block B 50
Block C to Block D 25 m Block C 125
Block A to Block D 170 m Block D 10
Block B to Block D 125 m
Block A to Block C 90 m

e1) Suggest a cable layout of connections between the blocks.

e2) Suggest the most suitable place (i.e. block) to house the server of this company with a
suitable reason.
e3) Suggest the placement of the following devices with justification
(i) Repeater

27
 (ii) Hub/Switch
e4) the company is planning to link its front office situated in the
city in a hilly region where cable connection is not feasible, suggest
an economic way to connect it with reasonably high speed?
Ans:
(e1) (Any of the following option)
Layout Option 1 Layout Option 2

(e2) The most suitable place / block to house the server of this organization would be Block C, as
this block contains the maximum number of computers, thus decreasing the cabling cost for most
of the computers as well as increasing the efficiency of the maximum computers in the network.
(e3)
(i) For Layout 1, since the cabling distance between Blocks A and C, and that between B and C
are quite large, so a repeater each would ideally be needed along their path to avoid loss of
signals during the course of data flow in these routes.
For layout 2, since the distance between Blocks A and C is large so a repeater would ideally be
placed in between this path.

(ii) In both the layouts, a hub/switch each would be needed in all the blocks, to
Interconnect the group of cables from the different computers in each block.

(e4) The most economic way to connect it with a reasonable high speed would be to use radio
wave transmission, as they are easy to install, can travel long distances, and penetrate buildings
easily, so they are widely used for communication, both indoors and outdoors. Radio waves also
have the advantage of being omni directional, which is they can travel in all the directions from
the source, so that the transmitter and receiver do not have to be carefully aligned physically.

Q. 7. Ram Goods Ltd. has following four buildings in Ahmedabad city.

Computers in each building are networked but buildings are not networked so far. The company
has now decided to connect building also.
(a) Suggest a cable layout for these buildings.

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(b) In each of the buildings, the management wants that each LAN segment gets a
dedicated bandwidth i.e. bandwidth must not be shared. How can this be achieved?
(c) The company also wants to make available shared Internet access for each of the
buildings. How can this be achieved?
(d) The company wants to link its head office in GV1 building to its another office in Japan.
(i) Which type of transmission medium is appropriate for such a link?
(ii) What type of network would this connection result into?

Ans:
(a) Total cable length required for this layout = 75 mts

(b) To give dedicated bandwidth, the computers in each building

should be connected via switches as switches offer dedicated
bandwidths.
(c) By installing routers in each building, shared internet access can be
made Possible.
(d) (i) Satellite as it can connect offices across globe.
(ii) WAN (Wide Area Network)

Q. 8.. Abhivandan Sanskriti in Udaipur is setting up the network between its different wings.
There are 4 wings named as SENIOR(S), MIDDLE(M), JUNIOR(J) and OFFICE(O).
Distance between the various wings are given below:

No. of Computers

(i) Suggest a suitable Topology for networking the computer ofall wings.
(ii) Name the wing where the server to be installed. Justify your answer.
(iii) Suggest the placement of Hub/Switch in the network.
(iv) Mention an economic technology to provide internet accessibility to all wings.
Ans:
(i) Star or Bus or any other valid topology.
(ii) Wing S, because maximum number of computers are located at Wing S.
(iii) Hub/ Switch in all the wings.
(iv) Coaxial cable/Modem/LAN/TCP-IP/Dialup/DSL/Leased
Lines or any other valid technology.

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