BCA312: COMPUTER NETWORKS

Introduction
(Unit-1)

Harshita Mathur
Department of Computer Science
Email : [email protected]
 INTRODUCTION OF COMPUTER NETWORK

• Computer Network is a group of computers connected with

each other through wires, optical fibers or optical links so that
various devices can interact with each other through a
network.

• The aim of the computer network is the sharing of resources

among various devices.
 EVOLUTION OF COMPUTER NETWORKS

• The earliest example of network is telegraphy.

• Here the message were first manually encoded into strings of

binary symbols and then manually transmitted and received.

• Then in the early 1950s, a major development happened i.e.

the use of communication links to connect central computers
to remote terminals and other peripheral devices, such as
printers and remote job entry points(RJEs).
• The number of such peripheral devices expanded rapidly in
the 1960s with the development of time shared computer
systems and with the increasing power of central computers.

• Later it became uneconomical to provide a separate long-

distance communication link to each peripheral. So, remote
multiplexers and concentrators were developed to collect all
the traffic from a set peripherals in the same area and to send
it on a single link to the central processor.
• Finally to free the central processor from handling all this
communications, special processors called front ends were
developed to control the communication to and from all
peripherals.
• In 1970, ARPANET and TYMNET were introduced as the first
large scale, general purpose data networks connecting
geographically distributed computer systems, users and
peripherals.
• In the above figure inside the subnet are a set of nodes,
various pairs of which are connected by communication links.
• Outside the subnet are the various computers, databases,
terminals and so on, that are connected via the subnet.
• Messages originate at these external devices, pass into the
subnet, pass from node to node on the communication links
and finally pass out to the external recipient.
• The nodes of the subnet, usually computers in their own right,
serve primarily to route the message through the subnet.
• These nodes are sometimes called IMPs(Interface Message
Processor) and sometimes called Switches.
• The placement of various nodes in subnet is called the
topology.

• Since 1970s there has been an explosive growth in the

number of wide area and local area networks.

• With the multiplicity of different data networks in existence in

the 1980s more and more networks have been connected via
gateways and bridges so as to allow users of one network to
send data to users of other networks.
• At a fundamental level, one can regard such a network as a
network of networks. Such a network is a complex one
because each constituent subnet has its own conventions and
control algorithms(i.e. protocols) for handling data and
accordingly the gateways and bridges are dealt.

• Now in present era , the data networks , the voice network

and cable network are far more integrated. The concept of
ISDN(Integrated Service Digital Network) and Broadband
ISDN is currently available that carries video as well as audio
and data.
 Data Communication

• Data communications are the exchange of data between two

devices via some form of transmission medium such as a wire
cable.
• The effectiveness of a data communications system depends
on four fundamental characteristics:
– Delivery- The system must deliver data to the correct
destination. Data must be received by the intended device
or user and only by that device or user.
– Accuracy- The system must deliver the data accurately.
Data that have been altered in transmission and left
uncorrected are unusable.
– Timeliness- The system must deliver data in a timely
manner. Data delivered late are useless. In the case of
video and audio, timely delivery means delivering data as
they are produced, in the same order that they are
produced, and without significant delay. This kind of
delivery is called real-time transmission.
– Jitter- Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival
time. It is the uneven delay in the delivery of audio or
video packets. For example, let us assume that video
packets are sent every 30 ms. If some of the packets arrive
with 30-ms delay and others with 40-ms delay, an uneven
quality in the video is the result.
 Types of Data Representation techniques

• Information today comes in different forms such as text,

numbers, images, audio, and video.
– 1. Text- In data communications, text is represented as a
bit pattern, a sequence of bits (Os or Is). Different sets of
bit patterns have been designed to represent text symbols.
Each set is called a code, and the process of representing
symbols is called coding.
– 2. Numbers-Numbers are also represented by bit patterns.
However, a code such as ASCII is not used to represent
numbers; the number is directly converted to a binary
number to simplify mathematical operations.
– 3. Images-Images are also represented by bit patterns.
• In its simplest form, an image is composed of a matrix
of pixels (picture elements), where each pixel is a small
dot.
• The size of the pixel depends on the resolution. For
example, an image can be divided into 1000 pixels or
10,000 pixels.
• In the second case, there is a better representation of
the image (better resolution), but more memory is
needed to store the image.
• After an image is divided into pixels, each pixel is assigned
a bit pattern. The size and the value of the pattern depend
on the image. For an image made of only black and white
dots (e.g., a chessboard).
• If an image is not made of pure white and pure black
pixels, you can increase the size of the bit pattern to
include gray scale.
• For example, to show four levels of gray scale, you can use
2-bit patterns. A black pixel can be represented by 00, a
dark gray pixel by 01, a light gray pixel by 10, and a white
pixel by 11.
 • There are several methods to represent color images.
One method is called RGB, so called because each color
is made of a combination of three primary colors:
red,green, and blue. The intensity of each color is
measured, and a bit pattern is assigned to it.

– 4. Audio-Audio refers to the recording or broadcasting of

sound or music. Audio is by nature different from text,
numbers, or images. It is continuous, not discrete. Even
when we use a microphone to change voice or music to an
electric signal, we create a continuous signal.
– 5. Video-Video refers to the recording or broadcasting of a
picture or movie. Video can either be produced as a
continuous entity (e.g., by a TV camera), or it can be a
combination of images, each a discrete entity, arranged to
convey the idea of motion. Again we can change video to a
digital or an analog signal.
 Data communication systems Components

• There are mainly five components of a data communication

system:
1. Message: This is most useful asset of a data
communication system. The message simply refers to
data or piece of information which is to be
communicated. A message could be in any form, it may
be in form of a text file, an audio file, a video file, etc.
2. Sender : To transfer message from source to destination,
someone must be there who will play role of a source.
Sender plays part of a source in data communication
system. It is simple a device that sends data message.
The device could be in form of a computer, mobile,
telephone, laptop, video camera, or a workstation, etc.
3.Receiver : It is destination where finally message sent
by source has arrived. It is a device that receives
message. Same as sender, receiver can also be in form of
a computer, telephone mobile, workstation, etc.
4.Transmission Medium : In entire process of data
communication, there must be something which could
act as a bridge between sender and receiver,
Transmission medium plays that part. It is physical path
by which data or message travels from sender to
receiver. Transmission medium could be guided (with
wires) or unguided (without wires), for example, twisted
pair cable, fiber optic cable, radio waves, microwaves,
etc.
5. Set of rules (Protocol) :To govern data communications,
various sets of rules had been already designed by the
designers of the communication systems, which represent a
kind of agreement between communicating devices. These
are defined as protocol. In simple terms, the protocol is a set
of rules that govern data communication. If two different
devices are connected but there is no protocol among them,
there would not be any kind of communication between
those two devices. Thus the protocol is necessary for data
communication to take place.
• A typical example of a data communication system is sending
an e-mail. The user which send email act as sender, message
is data which user wants to send, receiver is one whom user
wants to send message, there are many protocols involved in
this entire process, one of them is Simple Mail Transfer
Protocol (SMTP), both sender and receiver must have an
internet connection which uses a wireless medium to send
and receive email.
 Tasks of a communication systems

• Transmission System Utilization.

• Interfacing.
• Signal Generation.
• Synchronization.
• Exchange Management.
• Error detection and correction.
• Addressing and routing.
• Recovery.
• Security
Transmission System Utilization.
• Need to make efficient use of Transmission facilities that are
shared among a no. of communicating devices

• For Example:
– Techniques like Multiplexing to allow multiple users to
share total capacity of a Transmission Medium
– Congestion Control: TX. System should not be
overwhelmed by traffic
Interfacing
• A device must have an Interface with the Transmission
System/Transmission Medium

Signal Generation
• Electromagnetic Signals travel over Transmission Medium.
Once an interface is established, Signal generation is required
– Properties of Signals
• Capable of being propagated over TX. Medium
• Interpretable as data at the Receiver
Synchronization
• The transmission and the reception should be properly
synchronized.
• Synchronization means that the receiver must be able to
determine, when to expect a new transmission and when to
send acknowledgements.
• In other words transmitter and receiver should have an
agreement on the nature as well as timing of the signals
Exchange Management
• If the data needs to be exchanged in both directions over a
period of time, both parties must cooperate as follows
– Whether both devices must transmit simultaneously or
take turns
– Amount of Data to be sent at one time
– Format of the Data
– What to do when an Error Arises
Error Detection and Correction
• In all comm. Systems, there is a potential risk for errors and
impairments.
• Tx. Signals are distorted to some extent before reaching their
destination.
• Error Detection & Correction needs to be employed in Data
Processing Systems where a change in say the contents of a
file cannot be tolerated .
Addressing & Routing
• If TX facility is shared by two or more devices, source must
specify the identity or the address of the destination system
and if Tx. System is itself a system, a proper route must be
allocated that the data will take in order to reach the desired
Destination
Recovery
• If a data transmission is interrupted due to a fault somewhere
in the system, recovery techniques are needed.
• The objective is either to resume activity at the point of
interruption and to restore the state of the system to what it
was prior to the interruption.
Security
• Security is very important issue in a Data Communication
System. The sender needs to be assured that
– Only the Intended receiver receives the data .
– Data is delivered unaltered.