Chapter Five:

Data Communication
&
Computer Network
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 Data communication
A Communication system can be defined as the collection of hardware
and software that facilitates intersystem exchange of information between
different devices.
When we communicate, we are sharing information.
This sharing can be local (face to face communication) or it may be
remote (communication over distance).
Data communication is the exchange of date between two devices via
some form of wired or wireless transmission medium.
It includes the transfer of data, the method of transfer and the
preservation of the data during the transfer process.
To initiate data communication, the communicating devices should be a
part of an existing communications system.
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 Data communication
For data communication to be effective, the following three fundamental
characteristics should be considered:
1. Delivery: The system must deliver data to the correct or the interned
destination.
2. Accuracy: The system must deliver data accurately (error free).
3. Timeliness: The system must deliver data in a timely manner without
enough time lags.

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 Data communication components
There are five basic components in data communication system:
1. Message: it is the information that is to be communicated.
2. Sender: The sender is the device that sends the message.
3. Receiver: The receiver is the device that receives the message
4. Medium: The transmission medium is the physical path that
communicates the message from sender to receiver.
5. Protocol: Protocol refers to a set of rules that coordinates the
exchange of information.
Both the sender and receiver should follow the same protocol to
communicate data.
Without the protocol, the sender and receiver cannot communicate with
each other; just as a person speaking English cannot be understood by a
person speaks only Hindi.
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 Data Transmission Mode
Data transmission mode refers to the direction of signal flow
between two linked devices.
There are three types of transmission modes:
1. simplex,
2. half-duplex, and
3. full–duplex.

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 Data Transmission Mode
Simplex: transmission is unidirectional.
The information flows in one direction across the circuit, with
no capability to support response in the other direction.
Only one of the communicating devices transmits information,
the other can only receive it.
Television transmission can be considered as an example of
simplex mode of transmission where the satellite only transmits
the data to the television, vice versa is not possible.

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 Data Transmission Mode
Half-duplex, in half-duplex mode, each communicating device can
receive and transmit information, but not at the same time.
When one device is sending the other can only receive at that point of
time.
In half-duplex transmission mode, the entire capacity of the transmission
medium is taken over by the device, which is transmitting at that
moment.
The most common example of half-duplex transmission is the wireless
handsets (generally used by military personnel) where one user talks at a
time and another listens.

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 Data Transmission Mode
Full-duplex: Full-duplex transmission mode, also known as the
duplex mode, allows both communicating devices to transmit
and receive data simultaneously.
A full-duplex mode can be compared to a two-way road with
traffic flowing in both directions.
A common example of full-duplex transmitting mode is the
telephone network, where two people communicate over a
telephone line; both can talk as well as listen at the same time.

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 Transmission Media
Transmission media refers to the physical media through which
communication signals (data and information are transmitted. Transmission
media can be divided in to two broad categories:
A. guided media and
B. unguided media.
A. Guided media
Guided transmission media use a cabling system that guide the data signals
along a specific path.
The data signals are bound by the cabling system. Cabling refers to transmission
medium that consists of cables. There are four basic types of guided media.
Open wire
Twisted pair
Coaxial cable
Optical fiber
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 Transmission Media
Open wire: Traditionally used to describe the electrical wire system or power
transmission wire strung along power pole.
 No shielding or protection from noise interface.
 It suffers from lose of energy problem and it can be easily tapped.
Twisted Pair: In this kind of cabling, pairs of wires are twisted together which
are surrounded by an insulating material and an outer layer called Jacket.
 Each pair consists of a wire, used for receiving data signal, and for
transmission data signal.
 The wires are twisted in order to reduce noise (unwanted signal) and interface
for external sources.
 Used in short distance communication (<=100 meters).
Forms of Twisted Pair: There are two forms of Twisted Pair. These are
I. Unshielded Twisted Pair, and
II. Shielded Twisted Pair
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 Transmission Media
Unshielded Twisted Pair (UTP): It is the most common type of
telecommunication medium in use today.
 It is most suited for both data and voice transmission, and hence is
commonly use in telephone system.
 Have a maximum transmission speed of up to 9600 bps.

Shielded Twisted Pair (STP): Has a metal foil or braided-mesh covering that
covers each pair of insulated conductor.
 The metal foil is used to prevent infiltration of electromagnetic noise.
 Helps to eliminate cross talk

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 Transmission Media
Coaxial cable: Has a single central conductor, which is made up of solid
wire (usually copper). This conductor is surrounded by an insulator.
 It is very robust and is commonly used in cable TV network.
 As compared to twisted pair, it offers higher band width.
 Transmitting data at a rate of 10mbps.

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 Transmission Media
Optical fiber: Both twisted pair and coaxial cable transmit data in the
form of current, but optical fiber carry information in the form of visible
light.
 Has three parts, i.e. Core, cladding , and jacket

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 Transmission Media
Advantages of Optical fiber
 Since transmission is light based rather than electricity, it is immune to noise
interface.
 Transmission distance is greater than other guided media, because of less
signal attenuation.
 It is more secure because cable cannot be tapped.
 They are smaller and lighter than copper wire and are free from corrosion as
well.
Disadvantages of Optical fiber
 It is expensive
 They are more fragile.
Unguided media: Unguided transmission media is data signals that flow
through air.
They are not bounded to a fixed channel to follow.
One of the common unguided media is radio frequency propagation.
Microwave and Satellite
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 Computer Network
• A network is a group of connected computers that allows
people to share information.
• In a network, multiple users can access the same information
and connect to the same resource.
• For example, instead of linking each computer to its own
printer, all computers can be linked to a common printer for
shared access by multiple users.

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 Terms used in computer networking
1. Server – is a dedicated computer that serves the client with huge
storage capacity, database, interconnections to other networks etc.
2. Clients_ Computers that access shared network resources provided
by a server.
3. Media – The wires that make the physical connections.
4. Shared data_ Files provided to clients by servers across the
network.
5. Shared printers and other peripherals– Additional resources
provided by the server.
6. Resources_ Any service or device, such as files, printers or other
items.
7. A workstation computer is a peer –to- peer network architecture.
8. Standalone computer a computer that is not connected in the
network.
9. Node:_is a computer, printers, or whatever, simply latch onto the
cable at any position between the two terminals in a topology.
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 Types of Networks
Networks may be classified based on a number of parameters:
I. Span of Control
II. Geographical Span
I. according to Span of Control
Based on span of control computer networks can be classified into two
major groups:
Centralized Network
Distributed Network

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 Types of Networks, Centralized Network:
Centralized network has one main CPU that processes all information requests and
handles communication.
 The main CPU in a centralized network is usually a mainframe or minicomputer
capable of handling the processing workload of many people simultaneously.
 People interface with the host computer by using terminals and other input and
output devices.
 A terminal is a hardware device consisting of a keyboard and monitor.
There are two types of terminals:
 Dumb Terminals
 Intelligent Terminals
 Terminals that have no storage or processing capabilities are called dumb terminals.
 Because dumb terminals do not have any processing capabilities, they must be
connected to a host computer that can perform any processing functions necessary.
 Intelligent terminals, on the other hand, do have limited storage and processing
capabilities.
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 Types of Networks, Distributed Network,
Distributed network is a collection of workstations connected
to each other, along with various shared storage and input and
output devices (for example, scanners and printers).
 In a distributed network each workstation can handle some, if
not all, of its own processing.
 Workstations in a distributed network also maintain local
information and software.
 Distributed Network can be either
Client/Server, or
Peer-to-Peer
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 Types of Networks, Distributed Network, CS
Client/Server network: A Client/Server network is a distributed
network in which many workstations (called Clients) are connected to a
central host computer (called the Server).
The clients are the workstations in a Client/Server network that maintain
local software and information and do as much of the processing as
possible.

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 Types of Networks, Distributed Network, P2P
Peer-to-Peer: In a peer-to-peer network, workstations are connected to
each other and do not rely on a server for global software and data,
data processing tasks, or communication within the network.
Basically, a peer-to-peer network consists of many workstations
connected together that can share resources and communicate with
each other.
Each workstation can be a client at one time and a server at another
time.

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 Types of Network According to Geographical Span
Local Area network (LAN): A LAN, or local Area Network, is a computer network
that spans only a small geographical area (usually within a square mile or less),
such as an office, home or building.
Metropolitan Area network (MAN): A MAN, or Metropolitan Area network, is a
network of computers spread over a “Metropolitan” area such as a city and its
suburbs,
 As the name suggests, this sort of network is usually reserved for metropolitan
areas where the city bridges its local area networks with a series of backbones,
making one large network for the entire city.
 It may be a single network such as a cable television network or it may be a
means of connecting a number of LANs,
 Note that, MAN may be operated by one organization ( a corporate with several
offices in one city), or be shared resources used by several organization in the
same city.
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 Types of Network According to Geographical Span
Wide Area Network (WAN): A WAN, or Wide Area Network, is a system of
interconnecting many computers over a large geographical area such as
cities, states, countries or even the whole world.
These kinds of networks use telephone lines, satellite links, and other long-
rang communications technologies to connect.
Such networks are designed to serve an area of hundreds or thousands of
miles such as public and private packet switching networks and national
telephone networks.

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 Network Topologies
 The term topology refers to the way a network is laid out, either
physically or logically.
 A topology can be considered as the network’s shape.
 It is thee geometric representation of the relationship of all the
links.
 There are four basic topologies:
Bus
Ring
Star
Mesh

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 Bus Topology
Bus Topology: Bus topology uses a common bus or backbone ( a single cable) to connect all
devices with terminators at both ends.
The backbone acts as a shared communication medium and each node (file server,
Workstations, and peripherals) is attached to it with an interface connector.
Whenever a message is to be transmitted on the network, it is passed back and forth along
the cable, past the stations (computers) and between the two terminators, from one end of
the network to the other.
As the message passes each station, the station checks the message’s destination address. If
the address in the message matches the station’s address, the station receives the message.
If the addresses do not match, the bus carries the message to the next station, and so on.
Figure 12.33 illustrates how devices such as file serve workstations, and printers are
connected to the linear cable or the backbone.

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 Bus Topology
Advantages of Bus Topology
 Connecting a computer or peripheral to a linear bus is easy.
 This topology requires least amount of cabling to connect the
computers and therefore, less expensive than other cabling
arrangement.
 It is easy to extend a bus since two cables can be joined into
longer cable with a connector.
Disadvantages of Bus Topology
 Entire network shuts down if there is a failure in the backbone.
 Heavy traffic can slow down a bus because computers on such
networks do not coordinate with each other to reserve time to
transmit.
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 Ring Topology
Ring Topology: In ring topology, computers are placed on a
circle of cable without any terminated ends since there are no
unconnected ends.
Every node has exactly two neighbors for communication
purposes. All messages travel through a ring in the same
direction (clockwise or counterclockwise) until it reaches its
destination.
Each node in the ring incorporates a repeater.
When a node receives a signal intended for another device, its
repeater regenerates the bits and passes them along the wire.

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 Ring Topology
Advantage of Ring Topology
 Ring topology is easy to install and reconfigure.
 Every computer is given equal access to the ring. Hence, no
single computer can monopolize the network.
Disadvantages of Ring Topology
 Failure in any cable or node breaks the loop and can take down
the entire network.
 Maximum ring length and number of nodes are limited.

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 Star Topology
Star Topology: In star topology, devices are not directly linked to each other
but they are connected via a centralized network component known as hub
or concentrator.
The hub acts as a central controller and if a node wants to send data to
another node, it boosts up the message and sends the message to the
intended node.
This topology commonly uses twisted pair cable; however, coaxial cable or
fiber optic cable can also be used.

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 Star Topology
Advantages of Star Topology
 Star topology is easy to install and wire.
 The network is not disrupted even if a node fails or is removed
from the network.
 Fault detection and removal of faulty parts is easier in star
topology.
Disadvantages of Star Topology
 It requires a longer length of cable.
 If the hub fails, nodes attached to it are disabled.
 The cost of the hub makes the network expensive as compared
to bus and ring topology.
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 Mesh Topology
Mesh Topology: In the mesh topology, every node has a dedicated point-to-point
link to every other node.
Messages sent on a mesh network can take any of several possible paths from
source to destination. A fully connected mesh network has n(n-1)/2 physical links to
link n devices.
For example, if an organization has 5 nodes and wants to implement a mesh
topology, 5(5-1)/2, that is, 10 links are requires.
In addition, to accommodate that many links, every device on the network must
have n-1 communication (input/output) ports.

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 Mesh Topology
Advantages of Mesh Topology
 The use of large number of links eliminates network congestion.
 If one link becomes unusable, it does not disable the entire system.
Disadvantages of Mesh Topology
 The amount of required cabling is very large.
 As every node is connected to the other, installation and reconfiguration
is very difficult.
 The amount of hardware required in this type of topology can make it
expensive to implement.

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