Computer network

Blue RJ-45 (8P8C) patchcord of the type commonly used to connect network dev ces! " computer network s mult ple computers connected to#ether us n# a telecommun cat on system for the purpose of commun cat n# and shar n# resources! $%perts n the f eld of network n# de&ate whether two computers that are connected to#ether us n# some form of commun cat ons med um const tute a network! 'herefore( some works state that a network re)u res three connected computers! *or e%ample( +'elecommun cat ons, -lossary of 'elecommun cat on 'erms+ states that a computer network s +" network of data process n# nodes that are nterconnected for the purpose of data commun cat on+( the term +network+ &e n# def ned n the same document as +"n nterconnect on of three or more commun cat n# ent t es+! " computer connected to a non-comput n# dev ce (e!#!( networked to a pr nter v a an $thernet l nk) may also represent a computer network( althou#h th s art cle does not address th s conf #urat on! 'h s art cle uses the def n t on wh ch re)u res two or more computers to &e connected to#ether to form a network! 'herefore( th s does not nclude ntranets( due to the r not need n# to &e connected v a two or more computers! 'he same &as c funct ons are #enerally present n th s case as w th lar#er num&ers of connected computers!

Basics
" computer network may &e descr &ed as the nterconnect on of two or more computers that may share f les and folders( appl cat ons( or resources l ke pr nters(scanners(we&cams etc! .nternet s also a type of computer network wh ch connects all the computers of the world hav n# .nternet fac l ty on them!

Protocols
" protocol s a set of rules and convent ons a&out the commun cat on n the network! " protocol ma nly def nes the follow n#, /! 0ynta%, 1ef nes the structure or format of data! 2! 0emant cs, 1ef nes the nterpretat on of data &e n# sent! 3! ' m n#, Refers to an a#reement &etween a sender and a rece ver a&out the transm ss on!

Standards Organisations

4ar ous standards or#an sat ons for data commun cat on e% st today! 'hey are &roadly class f ed nto three cate#or es, /! 0tandards Creat on Comm ttees! 2! *orums 3! Re#ulatory "#enc es

Standards Creation Committees

0ome mportant or#an sat ons n th s cate#ory are,

.nternat onal 5r#an 6at on for 0tandard 6at on (.057 also known as .nternat onal 0tandards 5r#an sat on) " mult nat onal standards &ody .nternat onal 'elecommun cat ons 8n on - 'elecommun cat on 0tandards 0ector (.'8-') Prev ously( CC.''! 1eveloped under 8n ted 9at ons for nat onal standards! "mer can 9at onal 0tandards .nst tute ("90.) "n aff l ate of .'8-' .nst tute of $lectr cal and $lectron c $n# neers (.$$$) :ar#est profess onal en# neer n# &ody n the world! 5versees the development and adopt on of nternat onal electr cal and electron c standards! $lectron c .ndustr es "ll ance ($."7 formerly $lectron c .ndustr es "ssoc at on) "l #ned w th "90.! *ocuses pu&l c awareness and lo&&y n# for standards!

Forums
8n vers ty students( user #roups( ndustry representat ves and e%perts come to#ether and set up forums to address var ous ssues and concerns of data commun cat on technolo#y and come up w th standards for the day;s need! 0ome of the well-known forums are,

'he .nternet 0oc ety(.05C) .nternet $n# neer n# 'ask *orce (.$'*) *rame Relay *orum "'< *orum "'< Consort um

Regulatory Agencies
'hese are #overnment appo nted a#enc es l ke Federal Communications Commission (*CC)!

Communication Techniques
1ata s transm tted n the form of electr cal s #nals! 'he electr cal s #nals are of two types v 6!( analo# and d # tal! 0 m larly( data can also &e e ther analo# or d # tal! Based on them( data commun cat on may &e of follow n# types,

"nalo# data( analo# transm ss on e!#!, transm ss on of vo ce s #nals over telephone l ne "nalo# data( d # tal transm ss on e!#!, transm ss on of vo ce s #nal after d # t sat on us n# PC<( delta modulat on or adapt ve delta modulat on 1 # tal data( analo# transm ss on e!#!, commun cat on us n# modem 1 # tal data( d # tal transm ss on e!#!, most of present day commun cat on

Modes o !ata Transmission

1 # tal data can &e transm tted n a num&er of ways,

Parallel and ser al commun cat on 0ynchronous( so-synchronous and asynchronous commun cat on 0 mple%( half-duple% and full-duple% commun cat on

Transmission "rrors
.t s v rtually mposs &le to send any s #nal( analo# or d # tal( over a d stance w thout any d stort on even n the most perfect cond t ons due to,

1elay 1 stort on 0 #nals of vary n# fre)uenc es travel at d fferent speeds alon# the med um! 'he speed of travel of a s #nal s h #hest at the center of the &andw dth of the med um and lower at &oth the ends! 'herefore( at the rece v n# end( s #nals w th d fferent fre)uenc es n the # ven med um w ll arr ve at d fferent t mes caus n# delay error! "ttenuat on "s a s #nal travels throu#h a med um( ts s #nal stren#th decreases! 9o se " s #nal travels as an electroma#net c s #nal throu#h any med um! $lectroma#net c ener#y that #ets nserted somewhere dur n# transm ss on s called no se!

<any attempts have &een made to detect and rect fy the transm ss on errors! $rror detect on schemes,

4ert cal Redundancy Check (4RC) or Par ty Check :on# tud nal Redundancy Check (:RC) Cycl c Redundancy Check (CRC)

$rror correct on schemes,

stop-and-wa t

#o-&ack-n sl d n#-w ndow

Building a computer network

" s mple computer network may &e constructed from two computers &y add n# a network adapter (9etwork .nterface Controller (9.C)) to each computer and then connect n# them to#ether w th a spec al ca&le called a crossover ca&le! 'h s type of network s useful for transferr n# nformat on &etween two computers that are not normally connected to each other &y a permanent network connect on or for &as c home network n# appl cat ons! "lternat vely( a network &etween two computers can &e esta&l shed w thout ded cated e%tra hardware &y us n# a standard connect on such as the R0-232 ser al port on &oth computers( connect n# them to each other v a a spec al crossl nked null modem ca&le! Pract cal networks #enerally cons st of more than two nterconnected computers and #enerally re)u re spec al dev ces n add t on to the 9etwork .nterface Controller that each computer needs to &e e)u pped w th! $%amples of some of these spec al dev ces are l sted a&ove under Bas c Computer 9etwork Bu ld n# Blocks = networking de#ices!

Types o networks$
Below s a l st of the most common types of computer networks!

A personal area network %PA&' $

" personal area network (P"9) s a computer network used for commun cat on amon# computer dev ces ( nclud n# telephones and personal d # tal ass stants) close to one person! 'he dev ces may or may not &elon# to the person n )uest on! 'he reach of a P"9 s typ cally a few meters! P"9s can &e used for commun cat on amon# the personal dev ces themselves ( ntrapersonal commun cat on)( or for connect n# to a h #her level network and the .nternet (an upl nk)! Personal area networks may &e w red w th computer &uses such as 80B and * re> re! " w reless personal area network (>P"9) can also &e made poss &le w th network technolo# es such as .r1" and Bluetooth!

(ocal Area &etwork %(A&'$

" network that s l m ted to a relat vely small spat al area such as a room( a s n#le &u ld n#( a sh p( or an a rcraft! :ocal area networks are somet mes called a s n#le locat on network! &ote$ *or adm n strat ve purposes( lar#e :"9s are #enerally d v ded nto smaller lo# cal se#ments called workgroups! " work#roup s a #roup of computers that share a common set of resources w th n a :"9!

Campus Area &etwork %CA&'$

" network that connects two or more :"9s &ut that s l m ted to a spec f c (poss &ly pr vate) #eo#raph cal area such as a colle#e campus( ndustr al comple%( or a m l tary &ase &ote$ " C"9 s #enerally l m ted to an area that s smaller than a <etropol tan "rea 9etwork!

Metropolitan Area &etwork %MA&'$

" network that connects two or more :ocal "rea 9etworks or C"9s to#ether &ut does not e%tend &eyond the &oundar es of the mmed ate town( c ty( or metropol tan area! <ult ple routers( sw tches ? hu&s are connected to create a <"9

)ide Area &etworks %)A&'$

" >"9 s a data commun cat ons network that covers a relat vely &road #eo#raph c area and that often uses transm ss on fac l t es prov ded &y common carr ers( such as telephone compan es! >"9 technolo# es #enerally funct on at the lower three layers of the 50. reference model, the phys cal layer( the data l nk layer( and the network layer! Types o )A&s$ Centrali*ed$ " central 6ed >"9 cons sts of a central computer that s connected to dum& term nals and = or other types of term nal dev ces! !istri+uted$ " d str &uted >"9 cons sts of two or more computers n d fferent locat ons and may also nclude connect ons to dum& term nals and other types of term nal dev ces!

,nternetwork$
'wo or more networks or network se#ments connected us n# dev ces that operate at layer 3 (the ;network; layer) of the 50. Bas c Reference <odel( such as a router! &ote$ "ny nterconnect on amon# or &etween pu&l c( pr vate( commerc al( ndustr al( or #overnmental networks may also &e def ned as an nternetwork! ,nternet- The$ " spec f c nternetwork( cons st n# of a worldw de nterconnect on of #overnmental( academ c( pu&l c( and pr vate networks &ased upon the "dvanced Research Pro@ects "#ency 9etwork ("RP"9$') developed &y "RP" of the 8!0! 1epartment of 1efense A also home to the >orld > de >e& (>>>) and referred to as the ;.nternet; w th a cap tal ;.; to d st n#u sh t from other #ener c nternetworks!

".tranet$
" network or nternetwork that s l m ted n scope to a s n#le or#an 6at on or ent ty &ut wh ch also has l m ted connect ons to the networks of one or more other usually( &ut not necessar ly( trusted or#an 6at ons or ent t es (e!#!( a company;s customers may &e prov ded access to some part of ts ntranet thusly creat n# an e%tranet wh le at the same t me the customers may not &e cons dered ;trusted; from a secur ty standpo nt)! &ote$ 'echn cally( an e%tranet may also &e cate#or 6ed as a C"9( <"9( >"9( or other type of network( althou#h( &y def n t on( an e%tranet cannot cons st of a s n#le :"9( &ecause an e%tranet must have at least one connect on w th an outs de network! .ntranets and e%tranets may or may not have connect ons to the .nternet! .f connected to the .nternet( the ntranet or e%tranet s normally protected from &e n# accessed from the .nternet w thout proper author 6at on! 'he .nternet tself s not cons dered to &e a part of the ntranet or e%tranet( althou#h the .nternet may serve as a portal for access to port ons of an e%tranet!

Classi ication o computer networks

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By network layer
Computer networks may &e class f ed accord n# to the network layer at wh ch they operate accord n# to some &as c reference models that are cons dered to &e standards n the ndustry such as the seven layer 50. reference model and the f ve layer 'CP=.P model!

By scale
Computer networks may &e class f ed accord n# to the scale or e%tent of reach of the network( for e%ample as a Personal area network (P"9)( :ocal area network (:"9)( Campus area network (C"9)( <etropol tan area network (<"9)( or > de area network (>"9)!

By connection method
Computer networks may &e class f ed accord n# to the technolo#y that s used to connect the nd v dual dev ces n the network such as ComeP9"( Power l ne commun cat on( $thernet( or > reless :"9!

By unctional relationship
Computer networks may &e class f ed accord n# to the funct onal relat onsh ps wh ch e% st &etween the elements of the network( for e%ample "ct ve 9etwork n#( Cl ent-server and Peer-to-peer (work#roup) arch tectures! "lso( computer networks are used to send data from one to another &y the hardr ve

By network topology
Computer networks may &e class f ed accord n# to the network topolo#y upon wh ch the network s &ased( such as Bus network( 0tar network( R n# network( <esh network( 0tar-&us network( 'ree or C erarch cal topolo#y network( etc! 'opolo#y can &e arran#ed n a Geometric Arragement

By ser#ices pro#ided
Computer networks may &e class f ed accord n# to the serv ces wh ch they prov de( such as 0tora#e area networks( 0erver farms( Process control networks( 4alue-added network( > reless commun ty network( etc!

By protocol
Computer networks may &e class f ed accord n# to the commun cat ons protocol that s &e n# used on the network! 0ee the art cles on : st of network protocol stacks and : st of network protocols for more nformat on!