Chapter 1

Introduction

1.1 Copyright © The McGraw-Hill Companies, Inc. Permission required for reproduction or display.
 1-1 DATA COMMUNICATIONS
Local /remote communication
Data refers to information presented in whatever form
is agreed upon by the parties creating and using the
data.
Data communications - Exchange of data between two
devices via some form of transmission medium.

Effectiveness of data communication depends on :

1.Delivery
2.Accuracy
3.Timeliness(real time)
4.Jitter- variation in packet arrival time

1.2
 1.1.1 Components of Data Communication System
 Message - Information (data) to be communicated.
 Sender - Device that sends the data message.
 Receiver -Device that receives the message.
 Transmission medium - Physical path by which a
message travels from sender to receiver.
 Protocol- Set of rules that govern data communications.
It represents an agreement between the communicating
devices. Without a protocol, two devices may be
connected but not communicating.

1.3
 1.1.2 Data Representation
 Text (coding)
 Numbers
 Images
 Audio – continuous signal
 Video – continuous or combination of
images

1.4
 1.1.3 Data Flow
 Simplex

 Keyboard
 Half Duplex

 Pc to printer
 Full Duplex

 Two lane highway, telephone lines

1.5
 Figure 1.2 Data flow (simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex)

1.6
 1-2 NETWORKS
A network is an interconnection set of devices (often
referred to as nodes) connected by communication
links.

Nodes - ?

Links- ?

Topics discussed in this section:

1.2.1 Network Criteria
1.2.2 Physical Structures / Topologies

1.7
 1.2.1 Network Criteria

 Performance
 Depends on Network Elements
 Measured by transit time and response time
 Measured in terms of Delay and Throughput
 Reliability
 Failure rate of network components
 Measured in terms of availability/robustness in catastrophe
 Security
 Data protection against corruption/loss of data due to:
 Errors
 Malicious users

1.8
 1.2.2 Physical Structures- Network Attributes
 Type of Connection
 Point to Point - single transmitter and receiver(remote and

TV). Channel capacity is reserved.

 Multipoint/ multidrop - multiple recipients of single

transmission. Channel capacity may be spatially or

temporally.

1.9
  Physical Topology- network is laid out physically.
Representation of relationship
 Connection of devices

 Type of transmission - unicast, broadcast

1.10
 Figure 1.5 A fully connected mesh topology (five devices)

 Total number of physical connections: ?

 Total number of duplex mode links ?

 Eliminating the traffic problems

 A robust topology.
 Advantage of privacy and security.
 Fault identification

 Cabling and number of ports.

 Installation and reconnection.
 Sheer bulk of wiring.
 Expensive.

 E.g Telephone Regional Office.

1.11
 Figure 1.6 A star topology connecting four stations

 Less expensive than mesh.

 Easy to install and configure.
 Less cabling.
 Robustness.
 Easy fault identification and fault isolation.

 Dependency issues.
 More cabling as compare to other topologies except mesh.
 Mostly used in LAN.

1.12
 Figure 1.7 A bus topology connecting three stations

 Multipoint connections.
 Ease of installation.
 Less cabling than mesh or star.

 Long wired backbone may be weak due to heat.

 Difficulty in reconnection and fault isolation.
 Signal degradation at taps.
 Adding new devices require modification.
 Fault and break.
 Noise while reflection of signal back to backbone.
 Less popular.

1.13
 Figure 1.8 A ring topology connecting six stations

 Dedicated point to point connections.

 Signal pass in one direction.
 Easy to install and reconfigure.
 Fault isolation is simplified.
 Alarm issuing is there.

 Unidirectional traffic.
 Dependency.

1.14
 Figure 1.9 A hybrid topology: a star backbone with three bus networks

1.15
 Categories of Networks

 Local Area Networks (LANs)

 Short distances
 Designed to provide local interconnectivity
 Interconnects the hosts
 Wide Area Networks (WANs)
 Long distances
 Provide connectivity over large areas
 Interconnects the cities/ towns, state, countries
 Metropolitan Area Networks (MANs)
 Provide connectivity over areas such as a city, a campus

1.16
 LAN
Local Area Network
●1.Covers a small region of space, typically a single building.
● Smallest network
● Simplest form of LAN is to connect two computers together
●4. LAN is operated within a limited physical area such as at
home, school, a single building or several buildings.
●5. A network which consists of less than 500 interconnected
devices across several buildings, is still recognized as a LAN.

●6. LAN is very high speed network (from previously 10Mbps)

to 100Mbps,which is faster than MAN and WAN.
 MAN
Metropolitan Area Network
●1. Is collection of LANs with the same geographical
area, for instance a city.
●2. Is a network of computers located at different sites
within a large physical area, such as a city.
●3. MAN often acts as a high speed network(although
not as fast as LAN) to allow sharing of regional
resources.
●4. MAN can defined as a group of computers and
network devices connected together within a large
physical area.
●5. Companies that have several branches within the
kuala lumpur city such as banks, might find a MAN
useful to them.
 Figure 1.10 An isolated LAN connecting 12 computers to a hub in a closet

1.19
MAN
 WAN
Wide Area Network
●1. Is the largest network of all network types.
●2. The internet is the largest WAN in the world.

●3. WAN generally covers large distances such as states,

countries or continents.
●4. WAN is group of MANs or LANs or the mixture of both

network.
●5. An example in the society using WAN is the banking

organization.
WAN
WAN
 Differences between Types of Computer Networks
Criteria LAN MAN WAN

Cost Low High Higher

Network Size Small Larger Largest

Speed Fastest Faster Fast

Transmission Twisted-Pair Twisted-Pair and Fibre-Optic,

Media Type Fibre-Optic radio wave and
satellite

Number of Smallest Large Largest

computer
 Figure 1.11 WANs: a switched WAN and a point-to-point WAN

1.25
 Figure 1.12 A heterogeneous network made of four WANs and two LANs

1.26
 1-3 THE INTERNET

The internetwork or Internet has revolutionized many

aspects of our daily lives. It has affected the way we do
business as well as the way we spend our leisure time. The
Internet is a communication system that has brought a
wealth of information to our fingertips and organized it
for our use.
Internet is a switched network.

Topics discussed in this section:

Accessing the Internet
Internet Service Providers (ISPs)

1.27
 Internet Today

1.28
 1-4 PROTOCOLS

A protocol is synonymous with rule. It consists of a set of

rules that govern data communications. It determines
what is communicated, how it is communicated and when
it is communicated. The key elements of a protocol are
syntax, semantics and timing

1.29
 Elements of a Protocol

 Syntax
 Structure or format of the data
 Indicates how to read the bits

Semantics
 Interprets the meaning of the bits
 Knows which fields define what action
 Timing
 When data should be sent and what
 Speed at which data should be sent or speed at which it is
being received.

1.30