Business Data Communications 6e Ch01

CHAPTER
INTRODUCTION
1.1 1.2 Information and Communication Data Communications and Networking for Todays Enterprise Trends Business Drivers Convergence and Unified Communications Convergence Unified Communications The Nature of Business Information Requirements Distributed Data Processing The Internet and Distributed Applications The Internet TCP/IP Distributed Applications Client/Server Architectures and Intranets Networks Wide Area Networks Local Area Networks Wireless Networks Metropolitan Area Networks An Example Configuration The Transmission of Information Transmission and Transmission Media Communication Techniques Transmission Efficiency Managements Issues Network Security Network Management 1.3
1.4 1.5 1.6
1.7
1.8
1.9
1.10 Standards 1.11 Recommended Reading and Web Sites 1.12 Key Terms and Review Questions
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APPENDIX 1A
Prefixes for Numerical Units
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Business Data Communications, Sixth Edition, by William Stallings. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.
1.1 / INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION
Chapter Objectives After reading this chapter, you should be able to Understand the basic requirements for data communications and networking to support business information needs. See the big picture of the major topics discussed in the book. Appreciate the importance of the Internet and wireless communications in business planning. Understand the central role of standards in data communications and networking.
This introductory chapter begins with an overview of the role of data communications and networking in the enterprise.Then a brief discussion introduces each of the parts of this book.
1.1 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

A confluence of computers, communication technologies, and demographics is transforming the way any enterprise conducts itself and carries out its organizational mandate. And its happening fast. A business that ignores these changes will fall hopelessly to the rear in the global race for the competitive edge. At the heart of the transformation is information. No longer a byproduct and no longer, in many cases, a cost center, the generation, storage, and movement of information have been made profitable by companies that have taken up the technological challenge posed by the myriad machines that automate so much of our lives. We are unquestionably dependent on computers and the communication devices and services that connect them. The number of computers and terminals at work in the world today is in the billions. The overwhelming need of organizations and their workers now is for connectivity, for integration, for ease of access to information. So fundamental is information communication technology to business success that it is emerging as the foundation of a strategy taking shape in American businesses: using management structures to gain a competitive advantage. As businesses are challenged by such forces as global competition, mergers, and acquisitions, time-tested management structures are putting a strain on corporate bottom lines. In response, companies are breaking down divisional walls and flattening top-heavy management pyramids to create new corporate structures that help them to compete more effectively. The technology that is making much of this possible is networking. Communication technology helps companies overcome three kinds of basic organizational difficulties: Good networks make geographically dispersed companies more manageable; they help top-heavy companies trim down middle management; and they help companies break down barriers between divisions. As we examine the technology and applications throughout this book, we will see the ways in which information communication technology solves these and other vital business problems.
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CHAPTER 1 / INTRODUCTION
1.2 DATA COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING FOR TODAYS ENTERPRISE

Effective and efficient data communication and networking facilities are vital to any enterprise. In this section, we first look at trends that are increasing the challenge for the business manager in planning and managing such facilities. Next we introduce the concept of business drivers that will guide the enterprise in developing an overall data communications and networking plan.
Trends
Three different forces have consistently driven the architecture and evolution of data communications and networking facilities: traffic growth, development of new services, and advances in technology. Communication traffic, both local (within a building or building complex) and long distance, both voice and data, has been growing at a high and steady rate for decades. The increasing emphasis on office automation, remote access, online transactions, and other productivity measures means that this trend is likely to continue. Thus, managers are constantly struggling to maximize capacity and minimize transmission costs. As businesses rely more and more on information technology, the range of services expands. This increases the demand for high-capacity networking and transmission facilities. In turn, the continuing growth in high-speed network offerings with the continuing drop in prices encourages the expansion of services. Thus, growth in services and growth in traffic capacity go hand in hand. Figure 1.1 gives some examples of information-based services and the data rates needed to support them [ELSA02]. Finally, trends in technology enable the provision of increasing traffic capacity and the support of a wide range of services. Four technology trends are particularly notable and need to be understood by the manager responsible for information technology: 1. The trend toward faster and cheaper, both in computing and communications, continues. In terms of computing, this means more powerful computers and clusters of computers capable of supporting more demanding applications, such as multimedia applications. In terms of communications, the increasing use of optical fiber and high-speed wireless has brought transmission prices down and greatly increased capacity. For example, for long-distance telecommunication and data network links, recent offerings of dense wavelength division multiplexing (DWDM) enable capacities of many terabits per second. For local area networks (LANs), many enterprises now have Gigabit Ethernet or 10-Gbps Ethernet backbone networks.1 Further, the need for the next-generation 100-Gpbs is pressing, and products at this data rate should appear in the near future. Figure 1.2, based on [MELL07], indicates the Ethernet demand trend.
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See Appendix 1A for an explanation of numerical prefixes, such as tera and giga.
1.2 / DATA COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING FOR TODAYS ENTERPRISE

Speed (kbps) Transaction processing Messaging/text apps Voice Location services Still image transfers Internet/VPN access Database access Enhanced Web surfing Low-quality video High-end audio Large file transfer Moderate video Interactive entertainment High-quality video Performance: Poor Adequate Good 9.6 14.4 28 64 144 384 2000
VPN: virtual private network
Figure 1.1 Services versus Throughput Rates
1 Tbps Ethernet data rate standard Service provider/WAN Enterprise/server/LAN
100 Gbps
10 Gbps
1 Gbps
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2000
2005
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Figure 1.2 Past and Projected Growth in Ethernet Bandwidth Compared to Existing Ethernet Data Rates
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2. Both voice-oriented telecommunications networks, such as the public switched telephone network (PSTN), and data networks, including the Internet, are more intelligent than ever. Two areas of intelligence are noteworthy. First, todays networks can offer differing levels of quality of service (QoS), which include specifications for maximum delay, minimum throughput, and so on. Second, todays networks provide a variety of customizable services in the areas of network management and security. 3. The Internet, the Web, and associated applications have emerged as dominant features of both the business and personal world, opening up many opportunities and challenges for managers. In addition to exploiting the Internet and the Web to reach customers, suppliers, and partners, enterprises have formed intranets and extranets2 to isolate their proprietary information free from unwanted access. 4. There has been a trend toward ever-increasing mobility for decades, liberating workers from the confines of the physical enterprise. Innovations include voice mail, remote data access, pagers, fax, e-mail, cordless phones, cell phones and cellular networks, and Internet portals. The result is the ability of employees to take their business context with them as they move about.We are now seeing the growth of high-speed wireless access, which further enhances the ability to use enterprise information resources and services anywhere.
Business Drivers
The trends discussed in the preceding subsection are enabling the development of enterprise network and communications facilities that are increasingly better integrated with the information base, which the enterprise itself runs. Network management and operation depend on some key enterprise-specific information, such as names, network addresses, security capabilities, end-user groupings, priority designations, mailboxes, and application attributes. With the increasing capacity and functionality of enterprise networks, this information can be unified with the enterprise information base so that the information is correct, consistent, and available across all business applications. The nature of the enterprise networking and communications facility depends on the business applications it must support. [MILO00] lists four main application areas that will serve as the drivers in determining the design and makeup of the enterprise network. Figure 1.3 lists these areas, along with their business motivators and the expected benefits.
1.3 CONVERGENCE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

This section introduces two related concepts that are important determinants of requirements for business data communications and networking facilities: convergence and unified communications.
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Briefly, an intranet uses Internet and Web technology in an isolated facility internal to an enterprise; an extranet extends a companys intranet out onto the Internet to allow selected customers, suppliers, and mobile workers to access the companys private data and applications. See Chapter 6 for a discussion.
1.3 / CONVERGENCE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

IP Telephony International and long-distance savings Economics of converged networks Productivity through application integration Benefits Revenue generation Expense reduction Customer acquisition Customer satisfaction and retention Increased productivity e-Business Workflow integration Productivity improvements New applications tied to business needs Better management of suppliers/partners Customer relationship management New customer acquisition Increased satisfaction for existing customers Reduced operating expenses Productivity via workflow management Multimedia messaging Increased productivity Reduced network expense Integration into business workflow
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IP Internet Protocol e-Business Enterprise activities based on mobile, global access to enterprise networks
Figure 1.3 Applications Driving Enterprise Networks
Convergence
Convergence refers to the merger of previously distinct telephony and information technologies and markets. We can think of this convergence in terms of a three-layer model of enterprise communications: Applications: These are seen by the end users of a business. Convergence integrates communications applications, such as voice calling (telephone), voice mail, e-mail, and instant messaging, with business applications, such as workgroup collaboration, customer relationship management, and other back-office functions. With convergence, applications provide features that incorporate voice, data, and video in a seamless, organized, and value-added manner. One example is multimedia messaging, which enables a user to employ a single interface to access messages from a variety of sources (e.g., office voice mail, office e-mail, beeper, and fax). Enterprise services: At this level, the manager deals with the information network in terms of the services it supplies to support applications. The network manager needs design, maintenance, and support services related to the deployment of convergence-based facilities. Also at this level, network managers deal with the enterprise network as a function-providing system. Such management services may include setting up authentication schemes; capacity management for various users, groups, and applications; and QoS provision. Infrastructure: The infrastructure consists of the communication links, LANs, WANs, and Internet connections available to the enterprise. The key aspect of convergence at this level is the ability to carry voice and video over data networks, such as the Internet.
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Driven by business requirements Converged Drives underlying layers Integrated contact centers Unified messaging Converged multimedia services Provides end-to-end design, integration, support, installation, management, and outsourcing services Privacy Authentication Location Storage Provides common transport for data, voice, image, video Network-based IP VPNs using MPLS IPv6 Wired and wireless LANs Public wireless networks Public Internet
Figure 1.4
Figure 1.4, based on [MILL05], illustrates the three layers and their associated convergence attributes. In simple terms, convergence involves moving voice into a data infrastructure, integrating all the voice and data networks inside a user organization into a single data network infrastructure, and then extending that into the wireless arena. The foundation of this convergence is packet-based transmission using the Internet Protocol (IP). Convergence increases the function and scope of both the infrastructure and the application base. Convergence brings many benefits, including simplified network management, increased efficiency, and greater flexibility at the application level. For example, a converged network infrastructure makes it easier to add applications that combine video, data, and voice. [POL07] lists the following three key benefits of convergence: Efficiency: Provides a double-digit percent reduction in operating costs through the convergence of legacy networks onto a single global IP network, better use of and reduction in existing resources, and implementation of centralized capacity planning, asset management, and policy management. Effectiveness: The converged environment has the potential to provide users with great flexibility, irrespective of where they are. Such a company-wide environment provides for rapid standardized service deployment and enhanced remote connectivity and mobility. Transformation: Convergence also enables the enterprise-wide adoption of global standards and associated service levels, thus providing better data, enhanced real-time global decision-making processes, and improved execution in business planning and operations. This leads to greater agility for the enterprise in providing new services to its customers and employees.
Applic atoins
rise Enterp s Service r Infrast
ucture
Business-Driven Congergence
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1.3 / CONVERGENCE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS
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Unified Communications
A concept related to that of convergence is unified communications (UC). Whereas convergence focuses on the merger of fundamental voice, video, and data communications facilities and the resulting ability to support multimedia applications, UC focuses on the user perspective to the broad spectrum of business applications. Key elements of UC include the following include the following: 1. UC is based on an integrated set of user interfaces and backend connectivity for all communications services. 2. UC merges real-time communications services with non-real-time collaboration and business process applications. Figure 1.5, based on [LAZA07], shows the typical components of a UC architecture and how the relate to one another. The key elements of this architecture are as follows: Web 2.0: Refers to a second generation of Web capability. Two prominent aspects of Web 2.0 are as follows: (1) Much of the content is user generated, including blogs, wikis, documents, images, and video clips; and (2) the user interface is rich, easy to use, and provides a desktop-like experience. Although Web 2.0 services and features are primarily associated with public Web use by the general population, Web 2.0 has become a significant element of corporate strategy [MURU07]. The term Enterprise 2.0, which is also becoming common, refers to the application of Web 2.0 technologies to workers using network software within an organization or business [MCAF06]. Real-time communications (RTC) dashboard: May consist of both desktop and mobile software clients, though often with differing levels of functionality. RTC dashboards blend instant messaging, e-mail, audio-and videoconferencing,
Web 2.0/Enterprise 2.0 Industry-specific (imaging, distance learning, location tracking, physical security) Web conferencing Audio conferencing Unified messaging Instant messaging Video conferencing Presence IP enabling contact centers IP/mobility Converged IP/wireless infrastructure Network optimization, management, security Real-time communications dashboard
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Figure 1.5 Elements of Unified Communications Architecture
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whiteboarding, and file sharing into a unified view. An RTC dashboard enables a user to locate other users and invoke collaborative applications with those other uses. [GITT06] points out that the RTC dashboard has moved from the nice to have to need to have category for many businesses. Web conferencing: Refers to live meetings or presentations in which participants access the meeting or presentation via the Web, either over the Internet or a corporate intranet. Audio conferencing: Also called conference calling, refers to a live meeting in which participants are linked together for audio transmission and reception. A participant may be on a landline, mobile phone, or at a computer equipped with microphone and speaker. Unified messaging: Allows users to have access to e-mail, voice mail, and faxes via a common interface either on their computer or on their telephone. Computer users can select and play voice-mail recordings that appear in their inboxes. Telephone users can both retrieve voice mail and hear text-to-voice translations of e-mail messages. Messages of any type can be saved, answered, filed, sorted and forwarded. Instant messaging: Real-time messaging. Desktop video: Videoconferencing to the desktop. Presence: The ability to determine, in real time, where someone is, how he or she prefers to be reached, and even what he or she is doing. Presence was once considered simply an underlying technology to instant messaging. Presence has been broadened to encompass a users status on phones, wireless devices, video conferencing, and other collaborative tools. IP enabling contact centers: Refers to the use of IP-based unified communications to enhance customer contact center functionality and performance. The unified communications infrastructure makes use of presence technology to enable customers and internal enterprise employees to be quickly connected to the required expert or support person. Additionally, this technology supports mobility, so that call center personnel need not be located at a particular office or remain in a particular place. Finally, the unified communications infrastructure enables the call center employee to quickly access other employees and information assets, including data, video, image, and audio. IP/mobility: Refers to the delivery of information to and collection of information from enterprise personnel who are usually mobile, using an IP network infrastructure. In a typical enterprise, upward of 30% of employees use some form of remote access technology in the performance of their jobs. Figure 1.6, from [SENS02], illustrates the typical breakdown of usage profiles for mobile employees.
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Converged IP/wireless infrastructure: A unified networking and communications base that relies on IP packet transfer to support voice, data, and video transmission and that is extended to include local and wide area wireless communications.
1.4 / THE NATURE OF BUSINESS INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

Employee Profiles Desk soldier Accountant On-site rover Assistant Home worker Tele-agent Road warrior Salesperson Off-site rover Consultant Global hopper Corporate executive marketing, pre-sales At desk 90% 70% 100% (Home) 10% 30% 25% 25% 10% 80% 70% 50% Somewhere on site 10% 30% On the move
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Figure 1.6 Three Main Profiles for Mobile Employees
The importance of unified communications is not only that it integrates communication channels, within the enterprise and with key constituents, but also that it offers a way to integrate communication functions directly into business applications. [ELLI08] notes three functional levels of this integration: Personal unified communications: Intended to enhance individual productivity. This area includes smart phones, personal digital assistants (PDAs), and other personal devices that provide access to voice, instant messaging (IM), presence information, and business applications. Workgroup unified communications: Supports collaborative and team efforts to improve performance. Examples include the use of presence to speed identification of an available individual with the right skills to address a problem and automated business rules to route or escalate communications. Enterprise unified communications: Integrates communications with enterprisewide and departmental-level applications, business processes, and workflows. Enterprises are increasingly migrating to some form and level of commitment to unified communications. The unified communications architecture, together with a converged network approach, will drive requirements for business data communications from the fundamental transmission and networking level up though the applications and services upon which the enterprise depends.
1.4 THE NATURE OF BUSINESS INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

A business survives and thrives on information: information within the organization and information exchanged with suppliers, customers, and regulators. Moreover, the information needs to be consistent, accessible, and at the right location. In Part One, Chapters 2 and 3, we consider information in four forms (voice, data, image, and video) and the implications of distributed data processing. In this book, the term voice communications primarily refers to telephonerelated communications. By far the most common form of communication in any
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organization and for most personnel is direct telephone conversation. The telephone has been a basic business tool for decades. Telephone communication has been enhanced by a variety of computer-based services, including voice mail and computerized telephone exchange systems. Voice mail provides the ability to send, forward, and reply to voice messages nonsimultaneously, and it has become a cost-efficient tool even for many small and midsize organizations. It provides savings on answering machines and services, as well as a more responsive service to customers and suppliers. Advances have also been made in computerized telephone exchange systems, including in-house digital private branch exchanges (PBX) and Centrex systems provided by the local telephone company. These new systems provide a host of features, including call forwarding, camp-on call waiting, least-cost routing of longdistance calls, and a variety of accounting and auditing features. More recently, the merger of voice and Internet technologies, based on the voice over IP (VoIP) protocol, has resulted in PBX and IP Centrex offerings that provide full Internet support. The term data communications is sometimes used to refer to virtually any form of information transfer other than voice. It is sometimes convenient to limit this term to information in the form of text (such as reports, memos, and other documents) and numerical data (such as accounting files). The rapid changes in technology have created fresh challenges for management in making effective use of data communications. Later in this chapter we briefly outline the changes in technology in transmission, networks, and communications software that present the manager with new and powerful business tools but also the necessity of making choices among complex alternatives. Image communications is now an important component of the office environment. The best-known example of this technology is facsimile (fax). Like the tortoise who surpasses the hare, facsimile machines have caught up with higher-tech alternatives and have achieved status over the past few years as the preferred method of sending documents over a long distance. With fax, the document can have any content, including text, graphics, signatures, and even photographs. Newer machines can transmit these documents over telephone networks in seconds, and low-cost hardware, including personal computer attachments, is now available. In addition, image communications is starting to play an important role within the office.The arrival of the optical disc, based on the same technology as that of the familiar compact disc of the music industry, allows massive amounts of information to be stored inexpensively. Thus, all sorts of images, including engineering and design specifications, mixed documents (text, graphs, signatures, etc.), presentation material, and so on, can be moved quickly around the office and displayed on user workstations.This new technology for storing and transmitting images creates a demand for high-capacity networks and is one of the driving forces in the development of networking technology. Video communications is also becoming important in the office environment. Traditionally, this technology has been used as a one-way delivery system of entertainment programs. Now, with the availability of high-capacity transmission links and networks, it has an increasing business application, most notably videoconferencing. Videoconferencing allows the linkup of two or more remotely located conference rooms to conduct such meetings as planning sessions, contract negotiations, and project reviews. The time and money saved on travel, food, and lodging make videoconferencing a powerful tool for increasing efficiency and productivity.
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1.6 / THE INTERNET AND DISTRIBUTED APPLICATIONS
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All these forms of information communications play a key role in todays businesses.The manager responsible for them must understand the technology sufficiently to deal effectively with vendors of communications products and services and to make cost-effective choices among the growing array of options. Chapter 2 examines the business uses of these four classes of information and the communications requirements that they generate.
1.5 DISTRIBUTED DATA PROCESSING

The steady drop over many years in the cost of data processing equipment, coupled with an increase in the capability of such equipment, has led to the introduction of many small- and medium-size computers into the business environment. Traditionally, the data processing function was centrally organized around a mainframe computer. Today, however, it is much more common to find a distributed data processing configuration, one that consists of a number of computers and terminals linked together by networks. Chapter 3 examines the motivation for distributed data processing and discusses the various forms that it takes.
1.6 THE INTERNET AND DISTRIBUTED APPLICATIONS

A business needs to be concerned with two dimensions of computer communications software: the application software that is provided for a community of terminals and computers, and the underlying interconnection software that allows these terminals and computers to work together cooperatively. The mere existence of a large population of computers and terminals creates the demand that these devices work together. For example, when most employees in an organization have access to a terminal or a personal computer (PC), one of the most effective means of communication within the organization is electronic mail (e-mail). If one employee needs to communicate with another, a message sent by e-mail can be far more effective than hit-or-miss attempts to reach the person by telephone.A detailed e-mail message can be left in the recipients electronic mailbox, to be read and answered when the recipient returns to the office. Other applications, such as the exchange of documents, the use of a database that is distributed among a number of computers, and the ability to access many different computers from a single terminal, can be provided by applications software that is geared for the networked environment. The key to the success of these applications is that all the terminals and computers in the community speak the same language. This is the role of the underlying interconnection software. This software must ensure that all the devices transmit messages in such a way that they can be understood by the other computers and terminals in the community. With the introduction of the Systems Network Architecture (SNA) by IBM in the 1970s, this concept became a reality. However, SNA worked only with IBM equipment. Soon other vendors followed with their own proprietary communication architectures to tie together their equipment. Such an approach may be good business for the vendor, but it is bad business for
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the customer. Happily, that situation has changed radically with the adoption of standards for interconnection software. The manager needs to understand the scope and status of these standards to exploit them in building a multiple-vendor, tailored installation. Modern data communications and microelectronics are radically changing the architecture of modern information systems. Most applications have evolved away from large, general-purpose mainframe computers to distributed computing. Instead of dumb terminals enslaved to mainframes, high-performance workstations and PCs provide, local to the user, powerful graphical interfaces and much of the application computing. The local workstations and PCs are supported by specialized servers specifically designed for a single function, such as printing, storing files, or supporting database activities. The workstations and PCs are often connected to the servers by high-speed LANs. This approach, called client/server architecture, requires sophisticated, reliable, and secure data communications, but its inherent flexibility and responsiveness make it an essential tool in the businesspersons information systems repertoire. Part Two looks at a number of topics that deal with the infrastructure for supporting distributed applications.
The Internet
Virtually no business, and certainly no medium or large enterprise, can compete without exploiting the Internet and the Web. The Web provides a way to communicate with consumers and to publicize the company and can form the base for a number of e-commerce applications. Internet technology, in the form of intranets and extranets, enables secure communication both within an enterprise and with customers, suppliers, and partners. Chapter 4 provides important background on the Internet.
TCP/IP
One of the most difficult problems that has traditionally faced computer users is that different vendors have used different and incompatible architectures. Chapter 5 discusses the use of standardized communications protocols to integrate diverse equipment. The focus is on the TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol) protocol suite, which is now universally used for the communications software function across multiple-vendor equipment and is the basis for the operation of the Internet. Chapter 5 also briefly reviews the Open System Interconnection (OSI) architecture developed by the International Organization for Standardization (ISO).
Client/Server Architectures and Intranets

A remarkable transformation is taking place in the architecture of todays commercial computers. The large mainframe, although still important, has been replaced or supplemented in many applications by networked PCs and workstations, as is illustrated by the increased manufacture of computers of different types. The number of PCs and workstations is growing at a much greater rate than that of mainframes and
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1.7 / NETWORKS
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midrange computers, with the result that computing is being more widely distributed. Increasingly, computation is provided by the client/server model. Separate computers (servers) support database functions, store files, perform printing services, and provide other specialized functions on a shared basis for many users (clients). These servers, which can offer enhanced performance and cost savings through specialization, are accessed over LANs and other communications networks. Even more recently, a new approach has gained widespread support within organizations: the intranet. An intranet provides the same sorts of applications and interfaces as found on the Internet, especially the World Wide Web. The difference is that an intranet is confined to use within the organization, with no access to outsiders. The intranet is a flexible, easy-to-use, and easy-to-implement approach to many business applications. Chapter 6 looks at client/server computing, intranets, and extranets.
Distributed Applications
Distributed information processing is essential in virtually all businesses. There is a growing use of applications that are designed to work among a distributed set of computers for both intracompany and intercompany information exchange. Chapter 7 examines some of the key applications that are likely to be the most important to a business.
1.7 NETWORKS
The number of computers in use worldwide is in the billions. Moreover, the expanding memory and processing power of these computers means that users can put the machines to work on new kinds of applications and functions. Accordingly, the pressure from the users of these systems for ways to communicate among all these machines is irresistible. It is changing the way vendors think and the way all automation products and services are sold.This demand for connectivity is manifested in two specific requirements: the need for communications software, which is previewed in the next section, and the need for networks. One type of network that has become increasingly common is the local area network (LAN). Indeed, the LAN is to be found in virtually all medium- and large-size office buildings. As the number and power of computing devices have grown, so have the number and capacity of LANs to be found in an office. Although standards have been developed that reduce somewhat the number of types of LANs, there are still half a dozen general types of local area networks to choose from. Furthermore, many offices need more than one such network, with the attendant problems of interconnecting and managing a diverse collection of networks, computers, and terminals. Beyond the confines of a single office building, networks for voice, data, image, and video are equally important to business. Here, too, there are rapid changes. Advances in technology have led to greatly increased capacity and the concept of integration. Integration means that the customer equipment and networks can deal simultaneously with voice, data, image, and even video. Thus, a memo or report can be accompanied by voice commentary, presentation graphics, and perhaps
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even a short video introduction or summary. Image and video services impose large demands on wide area network transmission. Moreover, as LANs become ubiquitous and as their transmission rates increase, the demands on the wide area networks to support LAN interconnection have increased the demands on wide area network capacity and switching. On the other hand, fortunately, the enormous and ever-increasing capacity of fiber optic and wireless transmission provides ample resources to meet these demands. However, developing switching systems with the capacity and rapid response to support these increased requirements is a challenge not yet conquered. The opportunities for using networks as an aggressive competitive tool and as a means of enhancing productivity and slashing costs are great. The manager who understands the technology and can deal effectively with vendors of service and equipment is able to enhance a companys competitive position. In the remainder of this section, we provide a brief overview of various networks. Parts Three and Four cover these topics in depth.
Wide Area Networks

Wide area networks generally cover a large geographical area, require the crossing of public right-of-ways, and rely at least in part on circuits provided by a common carrier. Typically, a WAN consists of a number of interconnected switching nodes. A transmission from any attached device is routed through these internal nodes to the specified destination device. These nodes (including the boundary nodes) are not concerned with the content of the data; rather, their purpose is to provide a switching facility that will move the data from node to node until they reach their destination. Traditionally, WANs have been implemented using one of two technologies: circuit switching and packet switching. More recently, frame relay and ATM networks have assumed major roles. Chapter 13 looks at frame relay and ATM. CIRCUIT SWITCHING In a circuit-switching network, a dedicated communication path is established between two stations through the nodes of the network. That path is a connected sequence of physical links between nodes. On each link, a logical channel is dedicated to the connection. Data generated by the source station are transmitted along the dedicated path as rapidly as possible. At each node, incoming data are routed or switched to the appropriate outgoing channel without delay. The most common example of circuit switching is the telephone network. PACKET SWITCHING A different approach is used in a packet-switching network. In this case, it is not necessary to dedicate transmission capacity along a path through the network. Rather, data are sent out in a sequence of small chunks, called packets. Each packet is passed through the network from node to node along some path leading from source to destination. At each node, the entire packet is received, stored briefly, and then transmitted to the next node. Packet-switching networks are commonly used for terminal-to-computer and computer-to-computer communications. FRAME RELAY Packet switching was developed at a time when digital long-distance transmission facilities exhibited a relatively high error rate compared to todays
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facilities. As a result, there is a considerable amount of overhead built into packetswitching schemes to compensate for errors. The overhead includes additional bits added to each packet to introduce redundancy and additional processing at the end stations and the intermediate switching nodes to detect and recover from errors. With modern high-speed telecommunications systems, this overhead is unnecessary and counterproductive. It is unnecessary because the rate of errors has been dramatically lowered and any remaining errors can easily be caught in the end systems by logic that operates above the level of the packet-switching logic. It is counterproductive because the overhead involved soaks up a significant fraction of the high capacity provided by the network. Frame relay was developed to take advantage of these high data rates and low error rates. Whereas the original packet-switching networks were designed with a data rate to the end user of about 64 kbps, frame relay networks are designed to operate efficiently at user data rates of up to 2 Mbps. The key to achieving these high data rates is to strip out most of the overhead involved with error control. ATM Asynchronous transfer mode (ATM), sometimes referred to as cell relay, is a culmination of developments in circuit switching and packet switching. ATM can be viewed as an evolution from frame relay. The most obvious difference between frame relay and ATM is that frame relay uses variable-length packets, called frames, and ATM uses fixed-length packets, called cells. As with frame relay, ATM provides little overhead for error control, depending on the inherent reliability of the transmission system and on higher layers of logic in the end systems to catch and correct errors. By using a fixed packet length, the processing overhead is reduced even further for ATM compared to frame relay. The result is that ATM is designed to work in the range of 10s and 100s of Mbps, and in the Gbps range. ATM can also be viewed as an evolution from circuit switching. With circuit switching, only fixed-data-rate circuits are available to the end system. ATM allows the definition of multiple virtual channels with data rates that are dynamically defined at the time the virtual channel is created. By using small, fixed-size cells, ATM is so efficient that it can offer a constant-data-rate channel even though it is using a packet-switching technique. Thus, ATM extends circuit switching to allow multiple channels with the data rate on each channel dynamically set on demand.
Local Area Networks

As with WANs, a LAN is a communications network that interconnects a variety of devices and provides a means for information exchange among those devices. There are several key distinctions between LANs and WANs: 1. The scope of the LAN is small, typically a single building or a cluster of buildings. This difference in geographic scope leads to different technical solutions, as we shall see. 2. It is usually the case that the LAN is owned by the same organization that owns the attached devices. For WANs, this is less often the case, or at least a significant fraction of the network assets are not owned.This has two implications. First, care must be taken in the choice of LAN, because there may be a substantial capital investment (compared to dial-up or leased charges for WANs) for both purchase
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and maintenance. Second, the network management responsibility for a LAN falls solely on the owner. 3. The internal data rates of LANs are typically much greater than those of WANs. LANs come in a number of different configurations. The most common are switched LANs and wireless LANs. The most common switched LAN is a switched Ethernet LAN, which consists of a single switch with a number of attached devices, or a number of interconnected switches. Two other prominent examples are ATM LANs, which simply use an ATM network in a local area, and Fibre Channel. Wireless LANs use a variety of wireless transmission technologies and organizations. Part Three covers LANs.
Wireless Networks
As was just mentioned, wireless LANs are common and are being widely used in business environments. Wireless technology is also common for both wide area voice and data networks. Wireless networks provide advantages in the areas of mobility and ease of installation and configuration. Chapter 14 covers wireless WANs.
Metropolitan Area Networks

As the name suggests, a metropolitan area network (MAN) occupies a middle ground between LANs and WANs. Interest in MANs has come about as a result of a recognition that the traditional point-to-point and switched network techniques used in WANs may be inadequate for the growing needs of organizations. While frame relay and ATM promise to meet a wide range of high-speed needs, there is a requirement now for both private and public networks that provide high capacity at low costs over a large area. A number of approaches have been implemented, including wireless networks and metropolitan extensions to Ethernet. The primary market for MANs is the customer that has high capacity needs in a metropolitan area. A MAN is intended to provide the required capacity at lower cost and greater efficiency than obtaining an equivalent service from the local telephone company.
An Example Configuration
To give some feel for the scope of concerns of Parts Two through Four, Figure 1.7 illustrates some of the typical communications and network elements in use today. In the upper left-hand portion of the Figure 1.7, we see an individual residential user connected to an Internet service provider (ISP) through some sort of subscriber connection. Common examples of such a connection are the public switched telephone network, for which the user requires a dial-up modem (e.g., a 56-kbps modem); a digital subscriber line (DSL), which provides a high-speed link over telephone lines and requires a special DSL modem; and a cable TV facility, which requires a cable modem. In each case, there are separate issues concerning signal encoding, error control, and the internal structure of the subscriber network.
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1.7 / NETWORKS
23
Subscriber connection Residential user Internet service provider (ISP)
High-speed link (e.g., SONET)
Router
Internet
ATM switch
Firewall host
High-speed link
ATM Network
Router Ethernet switch
Private WAN
Figure 1.7 Networking Configuration
Information server
LAN PCs and workstations
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Typically, an ISP will consist of a number of interconnected servers (only a single server is shown) connected to the Internet through a high-speed link. One example of such a link is a SONET (synchronous optical network) line, described in Chapter 17. The Internet consists of a number of interconnected routers that span the globe. These routers forward packets of data from source to destination through the Internet.
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The lower portion of Figure 1.7 shows a LAN implemented using a single Ethernet switch. This is a common configuration at small businesses and other small organizations. The LAN is connected to the Internet through a firewall host that provides security services. In this example the firewall connects to the Internet through an ATM network. There is also a router off of the LAN hooked into a private WAN, which might be a private ATM or frame relay network. A variety of design issues, such as signal encoding and error control, relate to the links between adjacent elements. Examples are links between routers on the Internet, between switches in the ATM network, and between a subscriber and an ISP. The internal structure of the various networks (telephone, ATM, Ethernet) raises additional issues. We will be occupied in Parts Two through Four with the design features suggested by Figure 1.7.
1.8 THE TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION

The basic building block of any communications facility is the transmission line. Much of the technical detail of how information is encoded and transmitted across a line is of no real interest to the business manager. The manager is concerned with whether the particular facility provides the required capacity, with acceptable reliability, at minimum cost. However, there are certain aspects of transmission technology that a manager must understand to ask the right questions and make informed decisions. One of the basic choices facing a business user is the transmission medium. For use within the business premises, this choice is generally completely up to the business. For long-distance communications, the choice is generally but not always made by the long-distance carrier. In either case, changes in technology are rapidly changing the mix of media used. Of particular note are fiber optic transmission and wireless transmission (e.g., satellite and radio). These two media are now driving the evolution of data communications transmission. The ever-increasing capacity of fiber optic channels is making channel capacity a virtually free resource. The growth of the market for optical fiber transmission systems since the beginning of the 1980s is without precedent. During the past 10 years, the cost of fiber optic transmission has dropped by more than an order of magnitude, and the capacity of such systems has grown at almost as rapid a rate. Long-distance telephone communications trunks within the United States will soon consist almost completely of fiber optic cable. Because of its high capacity and its security characteristics (fiber is difficult to tap), it is becoming increasingly used within office buildings to carry the growing load of business information. However, switching is now becoming the bottleneck. This problem is causing radical changes in communication architecture, including asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) switching, highly parallel processing in switches, and integrated network management schemes. The second medium, wireless transmission, is a result of the trend toward universal personal telecommunications and universal access to communications. The first concept refers to the ability of a person to identify himself or herself easily and to use conveniently any communication system in a large area (e.g., globally, over a
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1.8 / THE TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION
25
continent, or in an entire country) in terms of a single account. The second refers to the capability of using ones terminal in a wide variety of environments to connect to information services (e.g., to have a portable terminal that will work in the office, on the street, and on airplanes equally well). This revolution in personal computing obviously involves wireless communication in a fundamental way. Despite the growth in the capacity and the drop in the cost of transmission facilities, transmission services remain the most costly component of a communications budget for most businesses. Thus, the manager needs to be aware of techniques that increase the efficiency of the use of these facilities. The two major approaches to greater efficiency are multiplexing and compression. Multiplexing refers to the ability of a number of devices to share a transmission facility. If each device needs the facility only a fraction of the time, then a sharing arrangement allows the cost of the facility to be spread over many users. Compression, as the name indicates, involves squeezing the data down so that a lower-capacity, cheaper transmission facility can be used to meet a given demand. These two techniques show up separately and in combination in a number of types of communications equipment. The manager needs to understand these technologies to assess the appropriateness and cost-effectiveness of the various products on the market. Chapters 15 and 16, in Part Five, examine the key issues and technologies in the area of information transmission.
Transmission and Transmission Media

Information can be communicated by converting it into an electromagnetic signal and transmitting that signal over some medium, such as a twisted-pair telephone line. The most commonly used transmission media are twisted-pair lines, coaxial cable, optical fiber cable, and terrestrial and satellite microwave. The data rates that can be achieved and the rate at which errors can occur depend on the nature of the signal and the type of medium. Chapter 15 examines the significant properties of electromagnetic signals. Chapters 9, 11, and 14 discuss the various transmission media.
Communication Techniques
The transmission of information across a transmission medium involves more than simply inserting a signal on the medium. The technique used to encode the information into an electromagnetic signal must be determined. There are various ways in which the encoding can be done, and the choice affects performance and reliability. Furthermore, the successful transmission of information involves a high degree of cooperation. The interface between a device and the transmission medium must be agreed on. Some means of controlling the flow of information and recovering from its loss or corruption must be used. These latter functions may be performed by a data link control protocol. All these issues are examined in Chapters 16 and 17.
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Transmission Efficiency
A major cost in any computer/communications facility is transmission cost. Because of this, it is important to maximize the amount of information that can be carried over a given resource or, alternatively, to minimize the transmission capacity needed
26
to satisfy a given information communications requirement. The standard technique for achieving this objective is multiplexing. Chapter 17 examines both multiplexing frequency division, and synchronous time division.
1.9 MANAGEMENT ISSUES

Part Six concludes the book by examining key management issues related to business data communications.
Network Security
As companies rely increasingly on networks and as access by outsiders via the Internet and other links grows, the vexing question of security becomes ever more important. Companies are at risk for the disclosure of confidential information and for the unauthorized altering of corporate data. Chapters 18 and 19 look at the basic tools for achieving network security and discusses how they can be adapted to meet a companys needs.
Network Management
In the early years of data communications, in the 1970s, the key focus was the functionality and performance of the technology. The key questions were, What could the technology do? How fast? For how many transactions? As electronic information systems became part of the basic fabric of many businesses, managers discovered that the operation of their businesses had become dependent on their information systems and that the economic performance of their firms depended on the costeffective use of the technology. That is, like any resource, information technology had to be managed. For example, managers of data communications are often most concerned today about network reliability. Many of the management functions required are common to other aspects of business management, but the following requirements are special to information technology: Networks have evolved from an easily controlled client/server (i.e., mainframe/dumb terminal) approach into peer-to-peer interconnections among highly distributed systems. Peer-to-peer networks have grown larger and largersome have tens or hundreds of thousands of attached devicesso that managing, monitoring, and maintaining them has become very complex. In many business sectors, such as banking, retailing, and other service industries, networks of computing devices constitute a critical strategic resource that cannot be allowed to fail. Communications costs, meanwhile, are climbing, and there is a shortage of skilled personnel to staff network command centers and to handle network management. Network management must provide global visibility on corporate information flow. Techniques of centralized, remote monitoring and control provide rapid
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1.10 / STANDARDS
27
notification of failures and automatic invocation of recovery measures. On-the-fly analysis of network performance and dynamic adjustment of network parameters provide adaptation to varying cycles of business activity. Network management is a complex discipline, particularly in a multivendor environment. The manager must understand the requirements for network management and the tools and technologies available to plan effectively for an automated network management strategy. Chapters 20 and 21 focus on network management.
1.10 STANDARDS
Standards have come to play a dominant role in the information communications marketplace. Virtually all vendors of products and services are committed to supporting international standards. Throughout this book, we describe the most important standards in use or being developed for various aspects of data communications and networking. Various organizations have been involved in the development or promotion of these standards. The most important (in the current context) of these organizations are as follows: Internet Society: ISOC is a professional membership society with worldwide organizational and individual membership. It provides leadership in addressing issues that confront the future of the Internet and is the organization home for the groups responsible for Internet infrastructure standards, including the Internet Engineering Task Force (IETF) and the Internet Architecture Board (IAB). These organizations develop Internet standards and related specifications, all of which are published as Requests for Comments (RFCs). ITU-T: The International Telecommunication Union (ITU) is an international organization within the United Nations System in which governments and the private sector coordinate global telecom networks and services The ITU Telecommunication Standardization Sector (ITU-T) is one of the three sectors of the ITU. ITU-Ts mission is the production of standards covering all fields of telecommunications. ITU-T standards are referred to as Recommendations. ISO: The International Organization for Standardization (ISO)3 is a worldwide federation of national standards bodies from more than 140 countries, one from each country. ISO is a nongovernmental organization that promotes the development of standardization and related activities with a view to facilitating the international exchange of goods and services, and to developing cooperation in the spheres of intellectual, scientific, technological, and economic activity. ISOs work results in international agreements that are published as International Standards. IEEE 802: The IEEE (Institute of Electrical and Electronics Engineers) 802 LAN/MAN Standards Committee develops local area network standards and metropolitan area network standards. The most widely used standards are for
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ISO is not an acronym (in which case it would be IOS), but a word, derived from the Greek, meaning equal.
28
the Ethernet family, wireless LAN, bridging, and virtual bridged LANs. An individual working group provides the focus for each area. National Institute of Standards and Technology: NIST is a U.S. federal agency that deals with measurement science, standards, and technology related to U.S. government use and to the promotion of U.S. private-sector innovation. Despite its national scope, NIST Federal Information Processing Standards (FIPS) and Special Publications (SP) have a worldwide impact. A more detailed discussion of these organizations is contained in Appendix B.
1.11 RECOMMENDED READING AND WEB SITES

Good overview articles on convergence include [AUDI04a], [HETT03], and [MILO00]. [MILL05] and [AUDI04b] look at the business implications of evolving toward a convergence architecture. [LAZA07] is a good overview of unified communications. [TARL07] makes the business case for unified communications. [KERR06] compares the Microsoft and Cisco approaches to unified communications, from a Cisco perspective. [TURE04] provides a detailed discussion of presence.
AUDI04a Audin, G. Architectures for Convergence. Business Communications Review, October 2004. AUDI04b Audin, G. A Roadmap to Convergence. Business Communications Review, October 2004. HETT03 Hettick, L. Building Blocks for Converged Applications. Business Communications Review, June 2003. KERR06 Kerravala, Z. The Impact of Microsofts Unified Communications Launch. White Paper, Yankee Group, August 2006. LAZA07 Laxar, I. Unified Communications: What, Why, and How? Issue Paper, Nemertes Research, 2007. MILL05 Miller, H.; Levine, H.; and Bates, S. Welcome to Convergence. IT Pro, May/ June 2005. MILO00 Milonas,A.Enterprise Networking for the New Millennium. Bell Labs Technical Journal, JanuaryMarch 2000. TARL07 Tarleja, M.; Chandra, S.; and Tantzen, B. UC: Adding to the Bottom and Top Lines Today. Business Communications Review, November 2007. TURE04 Turek, M. The Future of Presence. Business Communications Review, May 2004.
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Recommended Web sites:

IEEE Standards in Education: A wealth of information on standards, including case studies, tutorials, news, and links to standards organizations.
APPENDIX 1A PREFIXES FOR NUMERICAL UNITS
29
No Jitter: Oriented toward the business user, this site integrates data and voice communications topics well. The site focuses on unified communications, convergence, and IP communications. ZDNet: A rich collection of material on business and information technology, including white papers, computer magazine articles, news, blogs, and cases studies.
1.12 KEY TERMS AND REVIEW QUESTIONS

Key Terms
asynchronous transfer mode (ATM) circuit switching client/server convergence data communications distributed applications frame relay image communications Internet local area network (LAN) metropolitan area network (MAN) packet switching TCP/IP unified communications video communications voice communications wide area network (WAN) wireless network
Review Questions
1.1 1.2 1.3 1.4 1.5 1.6 1.7 1.8 1.9 What three kinds of basic organizational difficulties can communications technology help companies overcome? Name four types of information that are found on networks. Briefly define convergence and unified communications. How has the technology of the compact disc used in the music industry been used in image communications? Why are the burdens on the manager greater today than in previous years when it comes to using new technology efficiently? Why has optical fiber transmission become popular in the past few years? What types of communications can be carried by satellite transmission? Name two approaches that can be used for increasing the efficiency of transmission services. Contrast the function of application software with that of interconnection software.
APPENDIX 1A PREFIXES FOR NUMERICAL UNITS

The bit (b) is the fundamental unit of discrete information. It represents the outcome of one choice: 1 or 0, yes or no, on or off. One bit represents two potential outcomes. So, for example, one bit can represent the on/off state of a switch. Two bits can represent four outcomes: 00, 01, 10, 11. Three bits represent eight outcomes: 000, 001, 010, 011, 100, 101, 110, 111. Each time another bit is added, the numbers of outcomes double (Table 1.1). A byte (or octet, usually abbreviated as B) is the name given to 8 bits (e.g., 8 b = 1 B).The number of potential outcomes a byte represents is 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 2 28 256. Bytes are usually used in representing quantities of storage in computers. Bits are traditionally used in describing communications rates.
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Table 1.1 Bits and Outcomes Number of Bits (x)

1 4 7 8 10 13 16 20 23 32 64
Number of Outcomes (2x)

2 16 128 256 1,024 8,192 65,536 1,048,576 8,388,608 4.3 + 109 1.84 + 1019
Typical Use
Basic unit of information Hexadecimal digit IRA (International Reference Alphabet) character without parity bit Byte; character with parity bit Number of bytes in a kilobyte of storage Number of bits in a kilobyte of storage Address size in older computers Number of bytes in a megabyte of storage Number of bits in a megabyte of storage Common memory address size Memory address size on newer computers
In the computer science literature, the prefixes kilo, mega, and so forth are often used on numerical units. These have two different interpretations (Table 1.2): Data transmission: For data transmission, the prefixes used are those defined for the International System of Units (SI), the international standard. In this scheme, prefixes are used as a shorthand method of expressing powers of 10. For example, one kilobit per second (1 kbps) 103 bps 1000 bps. Computer storage: The amount of data in computer memory, in a file, or a message that is transmitted is typically measured in bytes. Because memory is indicated by binary addresses, the size of memory is expressed as powers of 2. The same prefixes are used in a way that approximates their use in the SI scheme. For example, one kilobyte (1 kB) 210 bytes 1024 bytes.
Table 1.2 Numerical Prefixes Factor Prefix Name

tera giga mega kilo milli micro nano
Prefix Symbol
T G M k m n
SI
1012 109 106 103 103 106 109
Computer Storage
240 230 1,073,741,824 220 1,048,576 210 1024
ISBN 0-558-69515-9 Business Data Communications, Sixth Edition, by William Stallings. Published by Prentice Hall. Copyright 2009 by Pearson Education, Inc.

Business Data Communications 6e Ch01

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Business Data Communications 6e Ch01

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CHAPTER

1.4 1.5 1.6

Prefixes for Numerical Units

1.1 / INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

1.1 INFORMATION AND COMMUNICATION

1.2 DATA COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING FOR TODAYS ENTERPRISE

1.2 / DATA COMMUNICATIONS AND NETWORKING FOR TODAYS ENTERPRISE

VPN: virtual private network

Figure 1.1 Services versus Throughput Rates

1 Tbps Ethernet data rate standard Service provider/WAN Enterprise/server/LAN

1.3 CONVERGENCE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

1.3 / CONVERGENCE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

Figure 1.3 Applications Driving Enterprise Networks

rise Enterp s Service r Infrast

1.3 / CONVERGENCE AND UNIFIED COMMUNICATIONS

Figure 1.5 Elements of Unified Communications Architecture

1.4 / THE NATURE OF BUSINESS INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

Figure 1.6 Three Main Profiles for Mobile Employees

1.4 THE NATURE OF BUSINESS INFORMATION REQUIREMENTS

1.6 / THE INTERNET AND DISTRIBUTED APPLICATIONS

1.5 DISTRIBUTED DATA PROCESSING

1.6 THE INTERNET AND DISTRIBUTED APPLICATIONS

Client/Server Architectures and Intranets

Wide Area Networks

Local Area Networks

Metropolitan Area Networks

Subscriber connection Residential user Internet service provider (ISP)

High-speed link (e.g., SONET)

LAN PCs and workstations

1.8 THE TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION

1.8 / THE TRANSMISSION OF INFORMATION

Transmission and Transmission Media

1.9 MANAGEMENT ISSUES

1.11 RECOMMENDED READING AND WEB SITES

Recommended Web sites:

APPENDIX 1A PREFIXES FOR NUMERICAL UNITS

1.12 KEY TERMS AND REVIEW QUESTIONS

APPENDIX 1A PREFIXES FOR NUMERICAL UNITS

Table 1.1 Bits and Outcomes Number of Bits (x)

Number of Outcomes (2x)

Table 1.2 Numerical Prefixes Factor Prefix Name

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