Amoud University

Course: IT Fundamentals
Chapter 4: Computer Network
 Networks
A network is a collection of computers and devices connected together via
communications devices and transmission media
A computer network is a group of computers/devices(Nodes) that use a set of
common communication protocols over digital interconnections for the purpose
of sharing resources located on or provided by the network nodes.
The devices of a computer network may include personal computers, servers,
networking hardware, or other hosts.

Pages 470 - 471 Network & Communication 2

 The Network Diagram

Wired Network PC Firewall The Internet

Fiber Optic Network Cable

Router
Switch

Server Other LANS

Wireless Network
 Advantages of a network include:

Facilitating Sharing
communication
s hardware

Sharing data Sharing

and information
software
Page 470 Network & Communication 5
Figure 9-9
 Types of Networks

1. Local Area Network (LAN)

2. Campus Area Network (CAN)

3. Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

4. Wide Area Network (WAN)

 1. Local Area Network
 Xerox Corporation worked in
collaboration with DEC and Intel
to create Ethernet, which is the
most pervasive LAN architecture
used today.
 Ethernet has evolved and has
seen significant improvements in
regard to speed and efficiency.

 An upside of a LAN is fast data transfer with data speed that can reach up to
10Gbps.
 Other significant LAN technologies are Fiber Distributed Data Interface (FDDI)
and token ring.
 LAN
• A local area network
(LAN) is a network that
connects computers and
devices in a limited
geographical area

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Network & Communication
Figures 9-10 – 9-11
 2. Campus Area Network
 Larger than LANs, but smaller than
metropolitan area networks these
types of networks are typically seen
in universities, large K-12 school
districts or small businesses.
 They can be spread across several
buildings that are fairly close to
each other so users can share
resources
 3. Metropolitan Area Network

1. A metropolitan area network (MAN) connects LANs in a

metropolitan area
2. A MAN is larger than a LAN but smaller than or equal in size
to a WAN.
3. The size range anywhere from 5 to 50km in diameter.
4. MANs are typically owned and managed by a single entity.
 4. Wide Area Network

• A wide area network (WAN) is a network that covers a

large geographical area
• A Wide Area Network exist over a large area
• Data travels through telephone or cable lines
• Usually requires a Modem
• The world’s largest Wide Area Network in the Internet
 Wireless Networks

Wireless network is a type

of computer network that
uses wireless data
connections for connecting
network nodes.
Example
Bluetooth
Wi-Fi
 Bluetooth
 Bluetooth is a short-range
wireless technology standard
used for exchanging data
between fixed and mobile
devices over short distances.
 It is using UHF radio waves in
the ISM bands, from 2.402
GHz to 2.48 GHz.
 The IEEE standardized
Bluetooth as IEEE 802.15.1,
but no longer maintains the
standard.
 The Internet
The simplest How Information Travel Through the Internet
definition of A page on the Internet—whether it's full of words, images or
the Internet both—doesn't come to you in one shipment. It's translated into
digital information, chopped into 1500 byte pieces called
is that it's a PACKETS, and sent to you like a puzzle that needs to be
network of reassembled. Each part of the packet has a specific function:

computer
Sequence ID
networks Header
ID’s where the information
belongs in relation to the rest of
Provides the the information
complete
destination
address for the
packet End of Message
ID’s the end of the
packet

Data Block
The portion of the overall information
carried by the packet
 The Internet

The Internet, sometimes called simply "the Net," 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 

The Internet is a vast network that connects computers all over the world.
 Internet

• It is the largest network in the world that connects

hundreds of thousands of individual networks all
over the world.
• The popular term for the Internet is the
“information highway”.
• Rather than moving through geographical space,
it moves your ideas and information through
cyberspace – the space of electronic movement of
ideas and information.
 Internet
• No one owns it
• It has no formal management organization.
• As it was originally developed by the Department
of defense(USA), this lack of centralization made it
less vulnerable to wartime or terrorist attacks.
• To access the Internet, an existing network need to
pay a small registration fee and agree to certain
standards based on the TCP/IP (Transmission
Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) .
 Uses of Internet
• Send E-mail messages.
• Send (upload) or receive (down load) files between computers.
• Participate in discussion groups, such as mailing lists and
newsgroups.
• Search in the web.
• Online Education
• Read news
• Play games
• Watch videos
• Online Shopping
 Internet Service Provider (ISP)

•Acommercial organization with permanent

connection to the Internet that sells temporary
connections to subscribers/ customers.

Examples:
•Telesom
•Somtel
•Somcable
 Networks topology
• A network topology refers to the layout of the computers
and devices in a communications network.
• Network topology defines the structure of the network.

Star network Bus network Ring network

Pages 475 – 477 20

Figures 9-16 – 9-18
 The Networking Devices(Nodes)

1. NIC Card
2. Hub
3. Switch
4. Router
5. wireless modem
6. Firewall
 Communications Devices

•A communications device is any type of

hardware capable of transmitting data and

information between a sending device and a

receiving device

Page 485 Network & Communication 22

 Communications Devices
• A digital modem sends and receives data and information to and
from a digital line

DSL Cable
modem modem

Page 486 Network & Communication 23

 Communications Devices

Page 486 24
Network & Communication
Figures 9-26 – 9-27
 Communications Devices
•A wireless
modem uses the
cell phone
network to
connect to the
Internet wirelessly
from a computer,
a smart phone, or
other mobile
device

25
 Communications Devices
•A network card
enables a computer
or device to access a
network
•Available in a variety
of styles
•Wireless network
cards often have an
antenna
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Network & Communication
Figure 9-29
 Communications Devices
•A wireless access point is a central
communications device that allows computers and
devices to transfer data wirelessly among
themselves or to a wired network

Page 487 Network & Communication 27

Figure 9-30
Wireless Access Point
 Communications Devices
•A router is a device that
connects two or more
networks.
•A router connects
multiple networks or
other routers together
and transmits data to its
correct destination on a
network
•Many are protected by a
hardware firewall
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Network & Communication
Figure 9-31
Router Between Two Networks
 Communications Devices
• A hub or switch connects several devices in one network together

Pages 488 – 489 Network & Communication 31

Figure 9-32
 8. Firewall
 A firewall is a network device or
software for controlling network
security and access rules.
 Firewalls are inserted in connections
between secure internal networks and
potentially insecure external networks
such as the Internet.
 Firewalls are typically configured to
reject access requests from
unrecognized sources while allowing
actions from recognized ones.
 The vital role firewalls play in network
security grows in parallel with the
constant increase in cyber attacks.
END