Computer Networks:

Devices, Network types,

topologies

These slides are partially based on slides assembled by B. A. Forouzan, with grateful acknowledgement of the many others who made their course materials freely available online.
Outline
 Network devices
 Network types
 Network topologies
 Network devices

1. NIC 5. Repeater
2. Hub 6. Router
3. Bridge 7. Gateway
4. Switch 8. Firewall
Network devices: NIC
 NIC is used to connect host devices to the network
media.
 A NIC is a printed circuit board that fits into the
expansion slot of a bus on a computer motherboard.
 NICs are sometimes called network adapters.
 Each NIC is identified by a unique code called a Media
Access Control (MAC) address.
 This address is used to control data communication for
the host on the network.
Network devices:
Repeater

 A repeater is a network device used to

regenerate a signal.
 Repeaters regenerate analog or digital
signals that are distorted by transmission
loss due to attenuation.
 A repeater does not make an intelligent
decision concerning forwarding packets
Networking devices: Hubs

 Hubs concentrate on connections.

 Hubs take a group of hosts and allow the

network to see them as a single unit. This is
done passively, without any other effect on
the data transmission.
 Active hubs concentrate hosts and
regenerate signals.
 Networking devices: Bridges

 A bridge is a repeater, with add on the functionality of

filtering content by reading the MAC addresses of
source and destination.
 Bridges provide connections between LANs working
on same protocol.
 A bridge operates at the data link layer.

 It has a single input and single output port, thus

making it a 2 port device.
 Network devices: Switches

 Switches add more intelligence to data

transfer management.
 Determine if data should remain on a LAN
and transfer data only to the connection
that needs it.
 A switch is a multiport bridge with a buffer
and a design that can boost its efficiency.
 A switch is a data link layer device.
 The switch can perform error checking
before forwarding data.
 Network devices: Routers

 A router is a device or a hardware which

is responsible for receiving, analyzing and
forwarding the data packets to other
networks.
 It is used in the LAN and WAN domain.
 A router operates on layer 3 of the OSI
model.
 A router installs routing details for
multiple networks and routing traffic
based upon the destination address.
 Network devices: Gateways

A device used for the communication

among the networks which have a different
set of protocols.
It is used to communicate using multiple
protocols to connect a bunch of networks
A gateway operates up to layer 5 of the
OSI model.
It is used to differentiate what is inside the
network and what is outside the network.
  A firewall is a network device/software for controlling security and
Network devices: access rules.
 Firewalls are placed internal networks and external networks such as
Firewall the Internet.
 Firewalls are typically configured to reject access requests from
unrecognized sources while allowing actions from recognized ones.
Network Types

Personal Area Network (PAN)

Local Area Network (LAN)

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

Wide Area Network (WAN)

Network Types: PAN

 Deployed mainly in a home environment,

connecting one or more computers, printers,
phones, other personal gadgets through
modem either in wired or wireless mode.

 It serves the purpose of sharing documents

& photos within nodes, accessing the
internet and entertainment.
Network Types: LAN

 LAN connects computers and other equipment within a

premise or building.
 Computers and devices are connected through Hub,
switches, network adapters, cables, and optic fibers.
 In modern LAN, computers are connected in wireless
mode through access points (Antenna)
 A LAN can be logically split into multiple Virtual local
area networks (VLANs).
 Network Types: MAN

 MAN is a network that covers a larger geographic area

by interconnecting a different LAN to form a larger
network.
 In MAN, various LANs are connected to each other
through a telephone exchange line.
 The most widely used protocols are RS-232, Frame
Relay, ATM, ISDN, etc.
 Use cases: Communication between the banks in a
city, airline reservation, communication in the
military.
 Network Types: WAN

 WAN extends over a large geographical area such as states or

countries.
 WAN spans over a large geographical area through a
telephone line, fiber optic cable or satellite links.
 Internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.

 WAN is widely used in the field of Business, government,

education, sharing of message, software and resources, global
business, high bandwidth
 Network Types: WAN
 WAN extends over a large geographical area
such as states or countries.
 WAN spans over a large geographical area
through a telephone line, fiber optic cable or
satellite links.
 Internet is one of the biggest WAN in the world.

 WAN is widely used in the field of Business,

government, education, sharing of message,
software and resources, global business, high
bandwidth
 Bus
Ring

Network Star
Topology Tree(Hierarchical)
Mesh
Hybrid
 Bus Topology

• All devices share single

communication line or cable.
• It is one of the simple forms of
networking where a failure of a device
does not affect the other devices. But
failure of the shared communication
line can make all other devices stop
functioning.
Star Topology

•All hosts are connected to a central

device, known as hub device, using a
point-to point connection.

•The hub device can be any of the

following:
• Layer-1 device such as hub or repeater
• Layer-2 device such as switch or bridge
• Layer-3 device such as router or
gateway
 Ring Topology

 Each host machine connects to exactly two other machines, creating a

circular network structure.
 When one host tries to communicate or send message to a host which
is not adjacent to it, the data travels through all intermediate hosts.
 Mesh Topology

• A host is connected to one or multiple hosts.

• This topology has hosts in point-to-point
connection with every other host or may also have
hosts which are in point-to-point connection to few
hosts only.

•Types of Mesh technology

•Full Mesh: All hosts have a point-to-point connection to every other
host in the network. It provides the most reliable network structure
among all network topologies.

•Partially Mesh: Not all hosts have point-to-point connection to every

other host. Hosts connect to each other in some arbitrarily fashion.
 Hybrid Topology
 A network structure whose design
contains more than one topology is
said to be hybrid topology.

 Hybrid topology inherits merits and

demerits of all the incorporating
topologies.

 The combining topologies may

contain attributes of Star, Ring, Bus
topologies.
 Network Topology
: Tree/ Hierarchal

• Nodes are connected hierarchically, with all the

nodes connected to the topmost node or root
node.
• Tree topology has at least three levels of
hierarchy.
• It is an extension of Bus topology and Star
topology.
• It is best if the workstations are situated in
groups, for easy working and managing.