Mekdela Amba University

Informatics and Computing college

Department of Information
Technology

Data Communication and Computer Networks()ITecITec3101)

MKU By Seife
Michael 1
 Chapter 1:
History and overview
• Each of the past three centuries has been dominated by a
single technology.
• The 18th century was the era of great mechanical system
accompanying the industrial revolution
• The 19th century was the age of the steam engine
• During the 20th century the key technology was information
gathering, processing and distribution.
• In the 20th century, we saw or we have seen this one
• the installation of worldwide telephone networks,
• the invention(create) of radio and television,
• the birth and extraordinary growth of the computer
industry
• the launching of communication satellites
2
 History and overview
• As the ability to gather ,process and distribute
information grows, the demand for even more
sophisticated information processing grows even faster.
• This demand creates a rapid technology progress which
allows companies to have branches in different part of
the world and see and control their current status at the
push of the button.
• Computer network is a collection of autonomous
computers interconnected by a single technology.

3
 History and overview
• Computer networks emerge relatively in the late 1960s.
• They have inherited many useful properties from their
predecessors namely older and more widely used
telephone networks.
• However, computer networks have brought something
new in to the world of communication, namely the
practical inexhaustible store of information accumulated
by human existence during the several thousand years of
its existence.

4
1.1 Some Reasons for Studying
Networks
 Computer networks help users on the
network to share the resources and in
communication.
 Can you imagine a world now without
emails, online newspapers, blogs, chat and
the other services offered by the internet?
 The following are some of the important uses
and benefits of a computer network why we
need it.

5
Some Reasons …
Sharing Information
o Communication requires not only someone
with information to share
o but also someone on the other end with
whom to share it.
o Companies don’t benefit by creating sheer
volumes of output—they benefit when the
increased output helps them make better
decisions or increases the likelihood of
increased income.

6
Some Reasons …
 The initial reason for developing most
computer networks was to assist users with
sharing their increased output, especially
between computers in the same general
vicinity.

Having your computers

networked allows
you to do both with your
new found increases.

7
Some Reasons …
File Sharing:
Networking of computers helps the network
users to share data files and information.

8
Some Reasons …
Hardware sharing:
The ability to share resources was another reason
networks were created, and it is still one of the
main purposes for using networks

Example: Users can share devices such as printers, scanners, CD-

ROM drives, hard drives, etc. Without computer networks, device
sharing is not possible.
9
Some Reasons …
Software sharing:
Multiple single user licenses
are more expensive than
multi-user license.
Easy maintenance of software

10
Some Reasons …
Application sharing:
 Applications can be shared over the network,
and this allows to implement client/server
applications
 Applications, such as those used for
preparing taxes, creating text documents, or
playing computer games, have grown in
complexity and size and often take up
considerable local storage.
 Installing an application once on a network
and then sharing it cuts down on the storage
space required when multiple users need the
same application

11
Some Reasons …
User Communication:
Networks allow users to communicate using
e-mail, newsgroups, and video conferencing
etc.

12
Some Reasons …
Scalability
 Individual subsystems can be created and combine it into a
main system to enhance the overall performance.
Distributed systems
 In a networked environment computers can distribute the
work load among themselves keeping transparency to the
end user
Centralizing administration and support
 It facilitates centralized management
 It came about as a direct result of standardization and
interoperability, which meant computers worked the same
way and could work with each other. This was a drastic
change to the original networks, where all the different
networked components had different computer programs. It
includes
 Managing Software
 Maintaining the Network
 Backing Up Data
13
1.2 Some People that Influenced or Contributed to the Area of Networks

 For the ranking, we looked at numerous

criteria, including the person's title and
responsibility within the company, the
person's visibility (determined by media and
speaking appearances in the last year),
 The ways in which the person functions as a
role model for the network industry and a
characteristic we call "clout."
 Clout is how far a person's overall influence
reaches, be that throughout a company, a
subset of the network community, the
industry, the entire business world or even
with national governments.
14
1.2 Some People that Influenced or Contributed to the Area of Networks

 By ranking
1. John Chambers, president and CEO, Cisco
2. Bill Gates, chairman and chief software
architect, Microsoft
3. Sam Palmisano, chairman and CEO, IBM
4. Carly Fiorina, chairman and CEO, HP
5. Linda Dillman, CIO, Wal-Mart
6. Ivan Seidenberg, chairman and CEO, Verizon
7. Michael Dell, chairman and CEO, Dell
8. John Thompson, chairman and CEO, Symantec
9. Joseph Tucci, president and CEO, EMC
10. David Dorman, chairman and CEO, AT&T

15
 1.3 Some Important Topic Area
1. Network Architectures :
 Computer Networks are classified into two
principal architectures;
1. Server-based Networks
(Client/Server)
1. In an environment with more than 10 users.
2. Therefore, most networks have dedicated
servers. A dedicated server is one that
functions only as a server and is not used as
a client or workstation. Servers are described
as "dedicated" because they are not
themselves clients, and because they are
optimized to service requests from network
clients quickly and to ensure the security of
files and directories.
3. Server-based networks have become the
standard models for networking. 16
Network Architectures…
2. Peer-to-Peer Networks (P2P)
In a P2P Network,
1. There are no dedicated servers.
2. All the computers are equal and
therefore are known as peers.
3. Each computer functions as
both a client and a server, and
there is no administrator
responsible for the entire
network.
4. The user at each computer
determines what data on that
computer is shared on the
network
5. Peer-to-peer networks are
relatively simple.

17
 Important Topic Areas…
2. Protocols:
protocols are fundamental to all data communications
Characteristics
 The concepts of distributed processing and computer
networking imply that entities in different systems need to
communicate.
 We use the terms entity and system in a very general sense.
 Examples of entities are
 user application programs,
 file transfer packages,
 data base management systems,
 electronic mail facilities, and
 terminals.
 Examples of systems are
 computers,
 terminals, and
 remote sensors 18
 Protocols…
 Note that in some cases the entity and the
system in which it resides are coextensive (e.g.,
terminals)
 In general, an entity is anything capable of
sending or receiving information; and
 a system is a physically distinct object that
contains one or more entities.
 For two entities to successfully communicate,
they must "speak the same language."
 What is communicated, how it is
communicated, and when it is communicated
must conform to some mutually acceptable set
of conventions between the entities involved.
19
 Protocols…
 The set of conventions is referred to as a
protocol, which may be defined as
a set of rules governing the exchange of data
between two entities.
The key elements of a protocol are
 Syntax: Includes such things as data format,
coding, and signal levels.
 Semantics: Includes control information for
coordination and error handling.
 Timing: Includes speed matching and
sequencing

20
 Important Topic Areas…
3. Types of Network
Based on size, ownership, the distance it
covers computer network categorized as
1. Local Area Network (LAN): usually
privately owned and links devices in a single
office, building or campus

21
 Types of Network…
2. Metropolitan Area Network
(MAN):
o The metropolitan area network
is designed to cover an entire
city.
o It can be a single network such
as cable TV or a number of
LANs connected together
within a city to form a MAN.
o Privately laid cables or public
leased lines may be used to
form such network.
o For instance a business
organization may choose MAN
to inter connect all its branch
offices within the city.
22
 Types of Network…
3. Wide Area Network
(WAN):
 A WAN is a data
communications network
that covers a relatively
broad geographic area,
often a country or
continent.
 It contains a collection of
machines intended for
running user programs.
 These machines are called
hosts.
23
Wireless
What is Wireless ?
 The word wireless is dictionary defined “having no wires
”.
 In networking terminology , wireless is the term used to
describe any computer network where there is no physical
wired connection between sender and receiver, but rather
the network is connected by radio waves and or
microwaves to maintain communications.
 Wireless networking utilizes specific equipment such as
NICs and Routers in place of wires (copper or optical fiber).
 They are radiated through air/space/vacuum/water., etc.

24
 Important Topic Areas…
Data Security:
 Data security refers to the protection of data against
unauthorized access or corruption.
 Data security deals with the prevention of data corruption
through the use of controlled access mechanisms.
 Data security makes sure that data is accessed by its intended
users, thus ensuring the privacy and protection of personal
data.
 Several technologies are used for ensuring data security.
 OTFE (on-the-fly-encryption) uses cryptographic techniques for encrypting
data on hard drives.
 Hardware based security solutions prevent unauthorized read/write access to
data and thus provides stronger protection compared to software based
security solutions.
 Because software based solutions may prevent data loss or stealing but
cannot prevent intentional corruption (which makes data
unrecoverable/unusable) by a hacker
25
 Important Topic Areas…
Data Integrity:
 Data Integrity defines a quality of data, which guarantees
the data is complete and has a whole structure.
 Data integrity refers to the accuracy and consistency
(validity) of data over its lifecycle.
 Data integrity is preserved only if and when the data is
satisfying all the business rules and other important
rules. These rules might be how each piece of data is
related to each other, validity of dates, lineage, etc
 According to data architecture principles, functions such
as data transformation, data storage, metadata storage
and lineage storage must guarantee the integrity of data.
That means, data integrity should be maintained during
transfer, storage and retrieval.
26
Important Topic Areas…
Network Performance:
 Network performance is the analysis and review of collective
network statistics, to define the quality of services offered by
the underlying computer network.
 It is a qualitative and quantitative process that measures and
defines the performance level of a given network. It guides a
network administrator in the review, measure and
improvement of network services.
 Network performance is primarily measured from an end-
user perspective (i.e. quality of network services delivered to
the user).
 Broadly, network performance is measured by reviewing the
statistics and metrics from the following network
components:
 Network bandwidth or capacity - Available data transfer
 Network throughput - Amount of data successfully
transferred over the network in a given time
 Network delay, latency and jittering - Any network issue
causing packet transfer to be slower than usual 27
1.4 Some of the Hardware and
Software Components of
Networks
1. Hardware Components:
Physical devices and media elements
 The hardware part of the network consist of
workstation, fileserver, gateways, repeaters,
bridges, modem, hubs/switches/routers, cables,
connectors, network interface cards ( LAN card,
Ethernet card .. ) etc.
2 . Software components:
 Communication programs that run on the
networked devices
o Networking Software
 Network operating system
 Applications
 Web Browsers 28
1.5 The Operation of Some Network
Devices
1. Repeaters
 A repeater is a gizmo that gives your network
signals a boost so that the signals can travel
farther.
 Since a signal loses strength as it passes along a
cable, it is often necessary to boost the signal with
a device called a repeater.
 The repeater electrically amplifies the signal it
receives and rebroadcasts it.
 Repeaters can be separate devices or they can be
incorporated into a concentrator.
 They are used when the total length of your
network cable exceeds the standards set for the
type of cable being used.
29
The Operation of Network Devices…

2. Bridges
 A bridge is a device that connects two
networks so that they act as if they’re
one network.
 Bridges are used to partition one large
network into two smaller networks for
performance reasons and more efficient
networks.
 If you are adding to an older wiring
scheme and want the new network to be
up-to-date, a bridge can connect the two.

30
The Operation of Network Devices…
3. Switches
A switch is a network device that can
joins multiple devices together within
one local area network (LAN).
 Switch conserves network bandwidth
and offers generally better performance
than a hub.
 A switch, which is often termed a 'smart
hub'.
 Switches are the more recent
technology and the accepted way of
building today's networks.
31
The Operation of Network Devices…

4. Routers
A router translates information from one
network to another; it is similar to a
super intelligent bridge.
Routers select the best path to route a
message, based on the destination
address and origin.
The router can direct traffic to prevent
head-on collisions, and is smart enough
to know when to direct traffic along
back roads and shortcuts.
32
The Operation of Network Devices…

5. Gateways
 The Internet is the collection of
heterogeneous computers with different
hardware and software platforms.
 Without gateways computers will never be
able to understand and communicate with
each other.
 Essentially, gateways perform protocol
translation between networks.
 A gateway can translate information
between different network
 data formats or network architectures.
33
1.6 Some Network
Topologies
Network topology is the physical layout or the
way in which network connection are made is
called network topologies.
The topology defines how the devices
(computers, printers..etc) are connected
(physical topology) and how the data flows
from one device to another(logical topology).
Some of these topologies are
 Mesh topology
 Star topology
 Bus topology
 Tree topology
 Ring topology
34
Network Topologies…
1. Mesh Topology
A mesh physical topology is when every
device on the network is connected to every
device on the network; most commonly used
in WAN configurations.

35
Network Topologies…
2. Star Topology
 In a star topology each station is connected
to a central node.
 The central node can be either a hub or a
switch.

36
 Network Topologies…
3. Bus Topology
 In a bus topology all devices are connected to
the transmission medium as backbone.
 There must be a terminator at each end of
the bus to avoid signal reflections, which may
distort the original signal.
 Signal is sent in both directions, but some
buses are unidirectional.

37
Network Topologies…
4. Tree Topology
A tree topology combines characteristics of
linear bus and star topologies. It consists of
groups of star-configured workstations
connected to a linear bus backbone cable .
 Tree topologies allow for the expansion of
an existing network, and enable
organizations to configure a network to meet
their needs.

38
Network Topologies…
Tree Topology…

39
Network Topologies…
5. Ring Topology
 The ring topology connects computers on a
single circle of cable.
 Unlike the bus topology, there are no
terminated ends.
 The signals travel around the loop in one
direction and pass through each computer,
which can act as a repeater to boost the
signal and send it on to the next computer.

40
 1.7 The Purpose of Network
Protocols
 Without protocols, devices would lack the ability to
understand the electronic signals they send to each
other over network connections.
 Network protocols serve these basic functions:
 Address data to the correct recipient(s)
 Physically transmit data from source to destination, with
security protection if needed
 Receive messages and send responses appropriately

Consider a comparison between network protocols

with how a postal service handles physical paper mail.
Just as the postal service manages letters from many
sources and destinations,
so to do network protocols keep data flowing along
many paths continuously.
41
The Purpose of Network
Protocols…
Unlike physical mail, however,
network protocols also provide
some advanced capabilities like
delivering a constant flow of
messages to one destination
(called streaming) and
automatically making copies of a
message and delivering it to
multiple destinations at once
(called broadcasting).
42
1.8 Some Popular
Protocols
Some popular network protocols are:
 DDP (Delivery Datagram Protocol)
 IP (Internet Protocol)
 IPX (Internetwork Packet Exchange)
and NWLink
 NetBEUI
 ATP (AppleTalk Transaction Protocol)
and NBP (Name Binding Protocol)
 NetBIOS/NetBEUI
 SPX (Sequenced Packet Exchange)
and NWLink)
43
Continued…
 TCP (Transmission Control
Protocol)
 AFP (AppleTalk File Protocol)
 FTP (File Transfer Protocol)
 NCP (NetWare Core Protocol)
 SMTP (Simple Mail Transport
Protocol
 SNMP (Simple Network
Management Protocol)
44
CHAPTER
END
???
45