Computer Networks !

A computer network is a group of computers that are connected to each other for the purpose of communication. A computer network allows sharing of resources and information among devices connected to the network. Types of networks Personal Area Network (PAN) Local Area Network (LAN) Metropolitan Area Network (MAN) Wide Area Network (WAN) Computers on a network are sometimes called nodes. Computers and devices that allocate resources for a network are called servers.

Uses of Computer Networks !

If your business has more than one computer, chances are you could benefit from networking them. A local area network (LAN) connects your company's computers, allowing them to share and exchange a variety of information. While one computer can be useful on its own, several networked computers can Here are some of the ways a computer network can help your business: File sharing: Have you ever needed to access a file stored on another computer? A network makes it easy for everyone to access the same file and prevents people from accidentally creating different versions. Printer sharing: If you use a computer, chances are you also use a printer. With a network, several computers can share the same printer. Although you might need a more expensive printer to handle the added workload, it's still cheaper to use a network printer than to connect a separate printer to every computer in your office. Communication and collaboration: It's hard for people to work together if no one knows what anyone else is doing. A network allows employees to share files, view other people's work, and exchange ideas more efficiently. In a larger office, you can use e-mail and instant messaging tools to communicate quickly and to store messages for future reference.

Organization: A variety of scheduling software is available that makes it possible to arrange meetings without constantly checking everyone's schedules. This software usually includes other helpful features, such as shared address books and to-do lists.

Protocols !
A protocol is the special set of rules that end points in a telecommunication connection use when they communicate. Protocols exist at several levels in a telecommunication connection. For example, there are protocols for the data interchange at the hardware device level and protocols for data interchange at the application program level. In the standard model known as Open Systems Interconnection (OSI), there are one or more protocols at each layer in the telecommunication exchange that both ends of the exchange must recognize and observe. Protocols are often described in an industry or international standard. In the Internet, there are the TCP/IP protocols, consisting of: Transmission Control Protocol (TCP), which uses a set of rules to exchange messages with other Internet points at the information packet level. Internet Protocol (IP), which uses a set of rules to send and receive messages at the Internet address level. Additional protocols that include the Hypertext Transfer Protocol (HTTP) and File Transfer Protocol (FTP), each with defined sets of rules to use with corresponding programs elsewhere on the Internet

Network Architecture !
Network architecture is the design of a communications network. It is a framework for the specification of a network's physical components and their functional organization and configuration, its operational principles and procedures, as well as data formats used in its operation. In computing, the network architecture is a characteristics of a computer network. The most prominent architecture today is evident in the framework of the Internet, which is based on the Internet Protocol Suite. In telecommunication, the specification of a network architecture may also include a detailed description of products and services delivered via a communications network, as well as detailed rate and billing structures under which services are compensated.

Comparison of OSI & TCP/IP Models !

In the TCP/IP model of the Internet, protocols are deliberately not as rigidly designed into strict layers as the OSI model. However, TCP/IP does recognize four broad layers of functionality which are derived from the operating scope of their contained protocols, namely the scope of the software application, the end-to-end transport connection, the internetworking range, and lastly the scope of the direct links to other nodes on the local network. Even though the concept is different than in OSI, these layers are nevertheless often compared with the OSI layering scheme in the following way: The Internet Application Layer includes the OSI Application Layer, Presentation Layer, and most of the Session Layer. Its end-to-end Transport Layer includes the graceful close function of the OSI Session Layer as well as the OSI Transport Layer. The internetworking layer (Internet Layer) is a subset of the OSI Network Layer, while the Link Layer includes the OSI Data Link and Physical Layers, as well as parts of OSI's Network Layer. These comparisons are based on the original seven-layer protocol model as defined in ISO 7498, rather than refinements in such things as the internal organization of the Network Layer document. The presumably strict consumer/producer layering of OSI as it is usually described does not present contradictions in TCP/IP, as it is permissible that protocol usage does not follow the hierarchy implied in a layered model. Such examples exist in some routing protocols (e.g., OSPF), or in the description of tunneling protocols, which provide a Link Layer for an application, although the tunnel host protocol may well be a Transport or even an Application Layer protocol in its own right.

Topologies !
Topology refers to the shape of a network, or the network's layout. Network topologies are categorized into the following basic types: bus ring star tree mesh Mesh Topology Devices are connected with many redundant interconnections between network nodes. In a true mesh topology every node has a connection to every other node in the network.

Star Topology All devices are connected to a central hub. Nodes communicate across the network by passing data through the hub

Bus Topology All devices are connected to a central cable, called the bus or backbone.

Ring Topology All devices are connected to one another in the shape of a closed loop, so that each device is connected directly to two other devices, one on either side of it.

Tree Topology A hybrid topology. Groups of star-configured networks are connected to a linear bus backbone.

OSI and TCP/IP layering differences

The three top layers in the OSI modelthe Application Layer, the Presentation Layer and the Session Layerare not distinguished separately in the TCP/IP model where it is just the Application Layer. While some pure OSI protocol applications, such as X.400, also combined them, there is no requirement that a TCP/IP protocol stack needs to impose monolithic architecture above the Transport Layer. For example, the Network File System (NFS) application protocol runs over the eXternal Data Representation (XDR) presentation protocol, which, in turn, runs over a protocol with Session Layer functionality, Remote Procedure Call (RPC). RPC provides reliable record transmission, so it can run safely over the best-effort User Datagram Protocol (UDP) transport. The Session Layer roughly corresponds to the Telnet virtual terminal functionality[citation needed], which is part of text based protocols such as the HTTP and SMTP TCP/IP model Application Layer protocols. It also corresponds to TCP and UDP port numbering, which is considered as part of the transport layer in the TCP/IP model. Some functions that would have been performed by an OSI presentation layer are realized at the Internet application layer using the MIME standard, which is used in application layer protocols such as HTTP and SMTP. Since the IETF protocol development effort is not concerned with strict layering, some of its protocols may not appear to fit cleanly into the OSI model. These conflicts, however, are more frequent when one only looks at the original OSI model, ISO 7498, without looking at the annexes to this model (e.g., ISO 7498/4 Management Framework), or the ISO 8648 Internal Organization of the Network Layer (IONL). When the IONL and Management Framework documents are considered, the ICMP and IGMP are neatly defined as layer management protocols for the network layer. In like manner, the IONL provides a structure for "subnetwork dependent convergence facilities" such as ARP and RARP.

IETF protocols can be encapsulated recursively, as demonstrated by tunneling protocols such as Generic Routing Encapsulation (GRE). While basic OSI documents do not consider tunneling, there is some concept of tunneling in yet another extension to the OSI architecture, specifically the transport layer gateways within the International Standardized Profile framework.[10] The associated OSI development effort, however, has been abandoned given the overwhelming adoption of TCP/IP protocols.

IEEE 802.3 Ethernet !

IEEE 802.3 is a collection of IEEE standards defining the Physical Layer and Data Link Layer's media access control (MAC) sublayer of wired Ethernet. This is generally a LAN technology with some WAN applications. Physical connections are made between nodes and/or infrastructure devices (hubs, switches, routers) by various types of copper or fiber cable. 802.3 is a technology that supports the IEEE 802.1 network architecture. The maximum packet size is 1518 bytes, although to allow the Q-tag for Virtual LAN and priority data in 802.3ac it is extended to 1522 bytes. If the upper layer protocol submits a protocol data unit (PDU) less than 64 bytes, 802.3 will pad the data field to achieve the minimum 64 bytes. The minimum Frame size will then always be of 64 bytes. Although it is not technically correct, the terms packet and frame are often used interchangeably. The ISO/IEC 8802-3 and ANSI/IEEE 802.3 standards refer to MAC sub-layer frames consisting of the destination address, the source address, length/type, data payload, and frame check sequence (FCS) fields. The preamble and Start Frame Delimiter (SFD) are (usually) together considered a header to the MAC frame. This header and the MAC frame constitute a packet. The original Ethernet is called Experimental Ethernet today. It was developed by Robert Metcalfe in 1972 (patented in 1978) and was based in part on the wireless ALOHAnet protocol. The first Ethernet that was generally used outside Xerox was DIX Ethernet, followed by Ethernet II. IEEE defines a 802.3 standard where the Type field is replaced by Length, and an 802.2 LLC header follows with the Type field. However, as DIX Ethernet was derived from Experimental Ethernet, and as many standards have been developed that are based on DIX Ethernet, the technical community has accepted the term Ethernet for all of them.

IEEE 802.4 Token Bus !

Token bus is a network implementing the token ring protocol over a "virtual ring" on a coaxial cable. A token is passed around the network nodes and only the node possessing the token may transmit. If a node doesn't have anything to send, the token is passed on to the next node on the virtual ring. Each node must know the address of its neighbour in the ring, so a special protocol is needed to notify the other nodes of connections to, and disconnections from, the ring.

oken bus was standardized by IEEE standard 802.4. It is mainly used for industrial applications. Token bus was used by GM (General Motors) for their Manufacturing Automation Protocol (MAP) standardization effort. This is an application of the concepts used in token ring networks. The main difference is that the endpoints of the bus do not meet to form a physical ring. The IEEE 802.4 Working Group is disbanded. In order to guarantee the packet delay and transmission in Token bus protocol, a modified Token bus was proposed in Manufacturing Automation Systems and flexible manufacturing system (FMS).

IEEE 802.5 Token Ring !

Token ring local area network (LAN) technology is a local area network protocol which resides at the data link layer (DLL) of the OSI model. It uses a special three-byte frame called a token that travels around the ring. Token ring frames travel completely around the loop. Physically, a token ring network is wired as a star, with 'hubs' and arms out to each station and the loop going out-and-back through each. Token ring LAN speeds of 4 Mbit/s and 16 Mbit/s were standardized by the IEEE 802.5 working group. An increase to 100 Mbit/s was standardized and marketed during the wane of token ring's existence while a 1000 Mbit/s speed was actually approved in 2001, but no products were ever brought to market. When token ring LANs were first introduced at 4 Mbit/s, there were widely circulated claims that they were superior to Ethernet, but these claims were fiercely debated. With the development of switched Ethernet and faster variants of Ethernet, token ring architectures lagged behind Ethernet, and the higher sales of Ethernet allowed economies of scale which drove down prices further, and added a compelling price advantage. Token ring networks have since declined in usage and the standards activity has since come to a standstill as switched Ethernet has dominated the LAN/layer 2 networking market. A data token ring frame is an expanded version of the token frame that is used by stations to transmit media access control (MAC) management frames or data frames from upper layer protocols and applications. Token Ring and IEEE 802.5 support two basic frame types: tokens and data/command frames. Tokens are 3 bytes in length and consist of a start delimiter, an access control byte, and an end delimiter. Data/command frames vary in size, depending on the size of the Information field. Data frames carry information for upper-layer protocols, while command frames contain control information and have no data for upper-layer protocols. Token ring can be connected to physical rings via equipment such as 100Base-TX equipment and CAT5e UTP cable.

Aloha !

ALOHAnet, also known as ALOHA, was a pioneering computer networking system developed at the University of Hawaii. It was first deployed in 1970, and while the network itself is no longer used, one of the core concepts in the network is the basis for the widely used Ethernet. One of the early computer networking designs, the ALOHA network was created at the University of Hawaii in 1970 under the leadership of Norman Abramson and others (including N. Gaarder and N. Weldon). The idea was to use low-cost amateur radio-like systems to create a computer network linking the far-flung campuses of the University. The original version of ALOHA used two distinct frequencies in a hub/star configuration, with the hub machine broadcasting packets to everyone on the "outbound" channel, and the various client machines sending data to the hub on the "inbound" channel. Data received was immediately re-sent, allowing clients to determine whether or not their data had been received properly. Any machine noticing corrupted data would wait a short time and then re-send the packet. This mechanism was also used to detect and correct for "collisions" created when two client machines both attempted to send a packet at the same time. The ALOHA protocol is an OSI layer 2 protocol for LAN networks with broadcast topology. The difference between Aloha and Ethernet on a shared medium is that Ethernet uses CSMA/CD, which broadcasts a jamming signal to notify all computers connected to the channel that a collision occurred, forcing computers on the network to reject their current packet or frame. The use of a jamming signal enables early release of the transmission medium where transmission delays dominate propagation delays, and is appropriate for many Ethernet variants. As Aloha was a wireless system, there were additional problems, such as the hidden node problem, which meant that protocols which work well on a small scale wired LAN would not always work. Even though the extent of the Hawaiian island network is about 400 km in diameter, propagation delays were almost certainly small in comparison with transmission delays, so the protocol used had to be one which was robust enough to cope.

CSMA Protocols !
Carrier Sense Multiple Access (CSMA) is a probabilistic Media Access Control (MAC) protocol in which a node verifies the absence of other traffic before transmitting on a shared transmission medium, such as an electrical bus, or a band of the electromagnetic spectrum. "Carrier Sense" describes the fact that a transmitter listens for a carrier wave before trying to send. That is, it tries to detect the presence of an encoded signal from another station before attempting to transmit. If a carrier is sensed, the station waits for the transmission in progress to finish before initiating its own transmission.

"Multiple Access" describes the fact that multiple stations send and receive on the medium. Transmissions by one node are generally received by all other stations using the medium.

X.25 Network !
An X.25 network provides a means by which one X.25 DTE (a Terminal or Host of some kind) can exchange data with one or more other X.25 Host, on the other side of the network. Data is carried within individual packets - X.25 is often referred to as a Packet Switching Protocol. This makes it similar to a TCP/IP network - the difference is that IP networks employ a Connectionless protocol: each packet is routed according to the information within that packet (typically by using the Destination Address). By contrast, X.25 is a Connection-Oriented protocol: the routing information used by the network is carried only in the packets used to establish the connection; thereafter addressing information is not required. This does, however, mean that the X.25 network switching nodes need be aware of each connection, unlike IP routers. Layers in the X.25 Network Layer 1: Physical Layer Layer 2: Data Link Layer Layer 3: Network Layer Each of these layers is independent. The Physical layer includes the mechanical and electrical aspect of communications - in other words, cabling. The X.25 Data Link Layer provides the reliable link between the DTE and the DCE (or Network), and the X.25 Packet Layer Protocol (PLP) provides the information necessary to make and maintain a connection across the network.