1-1 DATA COMMUNICATIONS

Data communications are the exchange of data between two

devices via some form of transmission medium such as a wire
cable.

Topics discussed in this section:

Components
Data Representation
Data Flow 1
 Unit 1: Overview of Data
Communication and Networking
• Introduction
• Data communications:
• Components
• Data Communication- Data Flow
• Network Topologies
• Categories of Network

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Four fundamental characteristics

• Delivery. The system must deliver data to the correct destination. Data must be
received by the intended device or user.

• Accuracy The system must deliver the data accurately. Data that have been
altered in transmission and left uncorrected are unusable.

• Timeliness The system must deliver data in a timely manner. Data delivered late
are useless.

• Jitter Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time.

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Figure 1.1 Five components of data communication

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Components of data communication

• Message

• Sender

• Receiver

• Transmission medium

• Protocol

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 Data Representation
• TEXT – unicode (32 bits to represent character) - ASCII.

• NUMBERS

• IMAGES-composed of a matrix of pixel.

• AUDIO- recording or broadcasting of sound or music.

• VIDEO- recording or broadcasting of a picture or movie

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

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1-2 NETWORKS

A network is a set of devices (often referred to as nodes)

connected by communication links.

A node can be a computer, printer, or any other device capable

of sending and/or receiving data generated by other nodes on
the network.
Topics discussed in this section:
Distributed Processing
Network Criteria
Physical Structures
Network Models
Categories of Networks
Interconnection of Networks: Internetwork 8
NETWORKS

Set of nodes connected via physical links

– 1) Distributing Processing
– 2) Sharing Data and centralization
– 3) Security and robustness

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 Network Criteria

Performance
•
• Transmission and response times, throughput and delay.

Reliability

• How often the networks fail

Security

• Privacy and integrity communication data.

• Recovery from breaches and data loss.

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 Physical Structures
Types of connections

1)Point to Point: (P to P)
Dedicated link to be utilized only by end devices.

2) Multipoint (Multidrop):
Many end devices share the link capacity.

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Figure 1.3 Types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint

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Physical Topology

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 Topology
• The term physical topology refers to the way in which
a network is laid out physically.

• Two or more devices connect to a link; two or more

links form a topology.

• The topology of a network is the geometric

representation of the relationship of all the links and
linking devices (usually called nodes) to one another

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Figure 1.4 Categories of
topology

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Figure 1.5 A fully connected mesh topology (five
devices)

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 Physical Topology
• A) Mesh:
In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-
point link to every other device.

Dedicated -link carries traffic only between the two devices it

connects.

• Each device has dedicated point-to-point link to other devices.

• Fully connected mesh will have n( n-1)/ 2 F.D. links

– Where n = number of nodes

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 Mesh Topoology

• Advantages:
Fast communication, Robust and Privacy
(Security), easy fault identification and fault
isolation

• Disadvantages: Cabling Space and cost

• Example: Connection of telephone regional

offices
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A star topology connecting four stations

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 Physical Topology (cont..)
B) Star:
•Devices are connected Point to Point to a central “Hub” (Controller
Exchanger).

•The devices are not directly linked to one another.

•No direct traffic between devices.

•The controller acts as an exchange: If one device wants to send

data to another, it sends the data to the controller, which then relays
the data to the other connected device.

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Advantages:

•A star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology.

•Each device needs only one link and one I/O port to connect it
to any number of others.
•Less cabling and H/W ports.
•Robustness :If one link fails, only that link is affected.

Disadvantage:

• Dependency of the whole topology i.e. If the hub goes down,

the whole system is dead.

Example:
•High-speed LAN 21
A bus topology connecting three stations

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 BUS Topology
• A bus topology is multipoint.

• One long cable acts as a backbone to link all the devices in a

network.
• Nodes are connected to the bus cable by drop lines and taps.
• A drop line is a connection running between the device and the
main cable.
• A tap is a connector that either splices into the main cable to create
a contact with the metallic core.

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 BUS Topology
Advantage
• Ease of installation, Less Cabling

Disadvantages
•Limit number of nodes on the bus due to signal power loss with
distance.
•In addition, a fault or break in the bus cable stops all
transmission.

Example:
Bus topology was the one of the first topologies used in the
design of early local area networks. Traditional Ethernet LANs
can use a bus topology

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A ring topology connecting six stations

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 RING TOPOLOGY
• In a Ring topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point
connection with only the two devices on either side of it.

• A signal is passed along the ring in one direction, from device to

device, until it reaches its destination.

• Each device in the ring incorporates a repeater.

• When a device receives a signal intended for another device, its

repeater regenerates the bits and passes them along

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Advantage
• Easy to install and reconfigure.
• To add or delete a device requires changing only two connections

Disadvantage
•A break in the ring (such as a disabled station) can disable the entire
network

Example
•Earlier IBM LANs

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

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 Categories of Networks
I. Local Area Networks (LAN)
•Local area network is the network which is made within the
office, room or building.
•Few Kilometers Connects devices (PCs, printers, servers.)
within the same room, building, company, and campus.
•Topologies most used are bus, ring and star.

Examples of LAN:-
•Networking in home, office.
•Networking between two computers.
•Wi-Fi (When we consider wireless LAN)

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Figure 1.10 An isolated LAN connecting 12 computers to a hub in a closet

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31
Wide Area Networks (WAN):

•Wide area network is a network which is used to connect different local area
networks (LAN).

•Local area networks are connected to one another through a device called
router.

•There may be used many router to connect large amount of LANs

•Span a large geographical area about 100’s – 1000’s of Km

•Example of WAN: Internet

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Metropolitan area network (MAN)

•A metropolitan area network (MAN) is similar to a local area network (LAN)

but spans an entire city or campus.

•MANs are formed by connecting multiple LANs.

•Thus, MANs are larger than LANs but smaller than wide area networks
(WAN).

•Example: Cable TV network, Networking between banks in a city, Used in air

reservation.

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 Switching Techniques
In large networks there might be multiple paths linking sender and receiver.
Information may be switched as it travels through various communication
channels. The typical switching techniques available for digital traffic are,

• Circuit Switching

• Packet Switching
 Circuit Switching
• Dedicated communication path between two
stations
• Three phases
– Establish
– Transfer
– Disconnect
• Must have switching capacity and channel
capacity to establish connection
• Must have intelligence to work out routing
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 Circuit Switching -Drawbacks
• Inefficient
– Channel capacity dedicated for duration of
connection
– If no data, capacity wasted
• Set up (connection) takes time
• Once connected, transfer is transparent
• Developed for voice traffic (phone)
 Packet switch
• Data transmitted in small packets
– Longer messages split into series of packets
– Each packet contains a portion of user data plus
some control info
• Control info
– Routing (addressing) info
• Packets are received, stored briefly (buffered)
and past on to the next node
– Store and forward
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 Advantages
• Line efficiency
– Single node to node link can be shared by many packets over time
– Packets queued and transmitted as fast as possible
• Data rate conversion
– Each station connects to the local node at its own speed
– Nodes buffer data if required to equalize rates
• Packets are accepted even when network is busy
– Delivery may slow down
• Priorities can be used
Figure 1.11 WANs: a switched WAN and a point-to-point WAN

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

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1-3 THE INTERNET

The 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.

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 The Internet
• Internet evolved from Advanced Research Projects Agency
Network (ARPANET).

– first operational packet network

– applied to tactical radio & satellite nets also

– had a need for interoperability

– lead to standardized TCP/IP protocols

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 The Internet:
• Huge number of interconnected Networks (100000’s) private
organized, e.g.’ government, schools, research facilities, in
many countries.

• Collection of LAN’S, MAN’S and WAN’s.

- The internet protocol stack is the TCP/IP

- End users use the internet via Internet Service providers

(ISPs) which are of the following hierarchies:

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Figure 1.13 Hierarchical organization of the Internet

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Internet Elements

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Internet Architecture

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 1-4 PROTOCOLS AND STANDARDS

In this section, we define two widely used terms: protocols and

standards. First, we define protocol, which is synonymous with
rule. Then we discuss standards, which are agreed-upon rules.

Topics discussed in this section:

Protocols
Standards
Standards Organizations
Internet Standards
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 What is a protocol?
▪ Communications between computers
requires very specific unambiguous rules
▪ A protocol is a set of rules that governs
how two or more communicating parties
are to interact
Examples
▪Internet Protocol (IP)
▪Transmission Control Protocol (TCP)
▪HyperText Transfer Protocol (HTTP)
▪Simple Mail Transfer Protocol (SMTP)
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 Elements of a Protocol
• Syntax
– Structure or format of the data
– Indicates how to read the bits - field delineation
• 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.

1.54
 What is a standard?
– • A “ standard is set of guidelines” to users and
manufactures to ensure interconnectivity.

– 1) “Defacto” not approved but widely used

(TCP/IP)
– 2) “Dejure”: approved by recognized body (IEEE
802.X).

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