Unit I

(a)
Data Communications/Data Transmission
Data communications are the exchange of data between two devices via some form of transmission medium such as a
wire cable. For data communications to occur, the communicating devices must be part of a communication system
made up of a combination of hardware (physical equipment) and software (programs). The effectiveness of a data
communications system depends on four fundamental characteristics: delivery, accuracy, timeliness, and jitter.
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.
Jitter: Jitter refers to the variation in the packet arrival time. There should not be variation in arrival time.

Components of Data Communication

A data communications system has five components

Message: The message is the information (data) to be communicated. Information or data can be text, numbers,
pictures, audio, and video.
Sender: The sender is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer, workstation, telephone handset,
video camera, and so on.
Receiver: The receiver is the device that receives the message. It can be a computer, workstation, telephone handset,
television, and so on.
Transmission medium: The transmission medium is the physical path by which a message travels from sender to
receiver. Some examples of transmission media include twisted-pair wire, coaxial cable, fiber-optic cable, radio waves,
etc.
Protocol: A protocol is a set of rules for two devices to communicate. It represents an agreement between the
communicating devices for data exchange, speed of data transmission, language, etc. Without a protocol, two
devices may be connected but unable to communicate with each other, like a person speaking French cannot be
understood by a person who speaks only Japanese.

Data Representation
Information or data today comes in different forms such as text, numbers, images, audio, and video.

Text
In data communications, text is represented as a bit pattern, a sequence of bits (Os or 1s). 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. For text representation American Standard Code for Information Interchange (ASCII)
code is used.
Numbers
Numbers are also represented by bit patterns. The ASCII is not used to represent numbers; the number is directly
converted into a binary number (Os or 1s).
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. After an image is divided into pixels, each pixel is
assigned a bit pattern. 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. Another method is called YCM, in which a color is made of a
combination of three other primary colors: yellow, cyan, and magenta.
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. Microphone was use to change voice or music to a continuous electric signal
or also converted to a digital or an analog signal.
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. Video can be converted to a digital or an analog signal.
Computer Codes
The computer codes are use to represent the character in coding system.
ASCII code uses 8 bits to represent a character where as today the prevalent coding system is called
Unicode, which uses 32 bits to represent a symbol or character used in any language in the world.

Data Flow/Data Transmission Mode

Communication between two devices can be simplex, half-duplex, or full-duplex

Simplex
In simplex mode, the data flow in only one direction i.e. communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way street. Only
one of the two devices on a link can transmit; the other can only receive.
Keyboards and traditional monitors are examples of simplex devices. The keyboard can only introduce input; the
monitor can only accept output. The simplex mode can use the entire capacity of the channel to send data in one
direction.

Half-Duplex
In half-duplex mode, each station can both transmit and receive, but not at the same time. : When one device is
sending, the other can only receive, and vice versa
In a half-duplex transmission, the entire capacity of a channel is taken over by whichever of the two devices is
transmitting at the time. Walkie-talkies and CB (citizens band) radios are both half-duplex systems.

Full-Duplex
In full-duplex mode (also called duplex), both stations can transmit and receive simultaneously.
The full-duplex mode is used when communication in both directions is required all the time. The full-duplex
mode is like a two-way street with traffic flowing in both directions at the same time. The capacity of the channel,
however, must be divided between the two directions. In full-duplex mode, signal going in one direction share the
capacity of the link: with signals going in the other direction.
One common example of full-duplex communication is the telephone network.
When two people are communicating by a telephone line, both can talk and listen at the same time.

Distributed Processing
Processing can be centralized or decentralized. Most networks use distributed processing, in which a task is
divided among multiple computers. Instead of one single large machine being responsible for all aspects of a
process, separate computer (usually a personal computer or workstation) handle a subset. In distributed
processing the multiple computers communicate with each other through a computer network. The applications of
distributed processing are internet, banking system, airline and railway ticket reservation system,
telecommunications, etc.

(b)
Network
A network is two or more devices connected through links. A computer network is a connection of two or more
computers for sharing resources and information.
A link is a communications pathway transfers data from one device to another.
For communication to occur, two devices must be connected in some way to the same link at the same time.
All computer networks must have resources, medium of transmission and protocols.
A network must be able to meet a certain number of criteria. The most important of these are performance,
reliability, and security.
Performance
Performance can be measured in many ways, including transit time and response time.
Transit time is the amount of time required for a message to travel from one device to another. Response time is
the elapsed time between an inquiry and a response.
The performance of a network depends on the number of users, the type of transmission medium, the capabilities
of the connected hardware, and the efficiency of the software.
Performance is often evaluated by two networking metrics: throughput and delay. We often need more
throughputs and less delay.
Reliability
In addition to accuracy of delivery, network reliability is measured by the frequency of failure, the time it takes a
link to recover from a failure, and the network's robustness in a catastrophe.
Security
Network security issues include protecting data from unauthorized access, protecting data from damage and
development, and implementing policies and procedures for recovery from breaches and data losses.

Categories / Types of Computer Networks

Today when we speak of networks, we are generally referring to two primary categories: local-area networks and
wide-area networks.
The category into which a network falls is determined by its size(number of computers), geographical range and
ownership.
A LAN normally covers an area less than 2 mi; a WAN can be worldwide.
Networks of a size in between are normally referred to as metropolitan area networks and span tens of miles.
Local Area Network (LAN)

A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and links the devices in a single office, building,
or campus.
LAN can be as simple as two PCs and a printer in someone's home office; or it can extend throughout a
company and include audio and video peripherals.
LAN size is limited to a few kilometers.
LANs are designed to allow resources to be shared between personal computers or workstations. The resources
to be shared can include hardware (e.g., a printer), software (e.g., an application program), or data.
One of the computers may be given a large capacity disk drive and may become a server to clients.
LAN is a small network of connected computers, where the computers are connected to each other with the
help of wire or cable.
Early LANs had data rates in the 4 to 16 megabits Megabytes per second (Mbps) range. Today, however,
speeds are normally 100 or 1000 Mbps.
Two computers can easily communicate and share file among them.
There is very little delay in transmission of data.
Very few errors take place in the transmission process.
The most common LAN topologies are bus, ring, and star.
Two or more LANs can be connected to each other with the help of Bridges or Gateways.
Setup and maintenance of LAN is easy and require less cost.
Wireless LANs (WLAN) are the newest evolution in LAN technology.
Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)
A metropolitan area network (MAN) is a network with a size between a LAN and a WAN.
It covers the area inside a town or a city i.e. it covers a range between 60-80 km.
It is designed for customers who needs a high-speed connectivity have endpoints spread over a city or part of
city.
MAN contain more than one file server.
MANs are designed to allow resources to be shared between personal computers or workstations. The
resources to be shared can include hardware (e.g., a printer), software (e.g., an application program), or data.
A good example of a MAN is the part of the telephone company network that can provide a high-speed DSL
line to the customer, the cable TV network that originally was designed for cable TV, but today can also be
used for high-speed data connection to the Internet.
Data transfer speed is around 20-100 mbps.
It is owned by the large organization having different business unit in the city.
Two or more LAN were connected together to form a MAN.
Setup and maintenance of MAN is easy and require less cost as compare to WAN.
Two computers can easily communicate and share file among them.
The computers are connected with each other with the help of fiber optic cable.
Two or more MANs can be connected to each other with the help of Bridges or Gateways.
Wide Area Network
A wide area network (WAN) provides long-distance transmission of data, image, audio, and video information
over large geographic areas that may comprise a country, a continent, or even the whole world.
Example of WAN is Internet another example of WANs is the wireless WAN that is becoming more and more
popular.
A WAN can be as complex as the backbones that connect the Internet or as simple as a dial-up line that
connects a home computer to the Internet.
WANs are designed to allow resources to be shared between personal computers or workstations. The
resources to be shared can include hardware (e.g., a printer), software (e.g., an application program), or data.
WAN contain more than one file server.
Multiple LANs and MANs were connected together to form a WAN
The point-to-point WAN is normally a line leased from a telephone or cable TV provider that connects a home
computer or a small LAN to an Internet service provider (ISP).
Two computers can easily communicate and share file among them.
The computers are connected with each other with the help of fiber optic cable or satellite.
Data transfer speed is up to 10 mbps.

WAN contain more than one file server.

It is not owned by anyone but managed by different individuals and organization.

Type of Connection/Network Structure/Architecture

There are two possible types of connections: point-to-point and multipoint.

Point-to-Point/Peer-to-Peer (P2P)
A point-to-point connection provides a dedicated link between two devices.
The entire capacity of the link is reserved for transmission between those two devices.
All computers are equal and therefore termed as peer.
Each computer functions as server and a client.
It is suitable only for limited number of users.
Most point-to-point connections use an actual length of wire or cable to connect the two ends, and other
options, such as microwave or satellite links, are also possible.
When you change television channels by infrared remote control, you are establishing a point-to-point
connection between the remote control and the television's control system.

Multipoint/Client-Server/Server based
Client-server network has certain computers (servers) that are especially dedicated to provide various
services to the other computers (clients).
In this architecture, when a client requires any information from the server, it requests the server about the
information; the server then process the data and returns just the requested information to the client.
More than two specific devices share a single link.
The capacity of the channel is shared, either spatially or temporally.

Topology
The term physical topology refers to the way in which a network is laid out physically. 1 or more devices connect
to a link; two or more links form a topology. The topology of a network is the geometric representation of the
relationship of all the links and linking devices (usually called nodes) to one another. There are four basic
topologies possible: mesh, star, bus, and ring.

Bus Topology
A bus topology is multipoint connection.
This structure is very popular for LAN.
All the nodes are connected to one long cable to form a network.
The cable acts as a backbone to the network. The cable is called as bus or backbone.
The two ends of the cable are terminated with terminators.
Only one device is allowed to transmit data at a time.
Signal becomes weaker and weaker as it travels farther and farther.

If computer A wants to get data from computer D, so the computer A broadcast the data request on the bus and
the data request keeps on searching the destination computer D. Once the destination computer D found the data
request is delivered to D and than computer D directly send the require data to computer A.

Advantages
Easy to setup.
If one computer fails in the network, then there is no affect on the network.
As the less cable is require to form the network, so the cost to form the network is less.
It is useful to form small network.
Bus topology is easy to use and understand.
Repeater can be used to extend the topology.

Disadvantages
If the main cable fails or break the whole network gets collapse.
It is difficult to isolate a fault in this topology.
This topology is not suitable for the large network.
As the number of computers in the network keeps on increasing the data transmission rate keeps on decreasing.
Adding new devices may require modification or replacement of the backbone.

Ring/Loop Topology
In a ring topology, each device has point-to-point connection only with its neighbor devices.
It is an extension of bus topology where last computer is connected with the first.
A signal is passed along the ring in one direction i.e. clockwise or anti-clockwise.
Each device is linked to only its immediate neighbors.
To add or delete a device requires changing only two connections.
Any data transmitted by a node travel through the network till it reaches to the destination.

If A want to send data from D, so first A have to send data to B, than B send that data to C and than C send that data to
D. i.e. if any compute want to send data to other computer in the network than the data must have to pass through all
the computer between the sending and receiving computer.

Advantage
Less cable cost.
Adding or deleting new device is easy.
Data transmission rate is high for the small network.

Disadvantage
If any computer or any cable in the network fails/break the whole network gets collapse.
It is less secure as the data have to travel through every computer in the network.
As compare to Bus topology it is difficult to install and maintain.
It is difficult to identify fault in this network.

Star Topology
Star topology is most commonly used topology.
In a star topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point link only to a central controller, usually
called a hub.
The hub is a server computer.
The devices are not directly linked to one another. Unlike a mesh topology, a star topology does not allow
direct traffic between devices.
If one device wants to send data to another, it sends the data to the hub, which then relays the data to the
other connected device.
This topology is useful if we want to maintain the centralize control over the network.

If A want to get data from C, so A send request to the hub. The hub forwards that data request to C. When C
response for the request than C sends data to hub and hub forwards that request to A i.e. A and C can share data
with the help of hub.

Advantage
A star topology is less expensive than a mesh topology.
Each device needs only one link and one I/O port to connect to the network.
It is easy to install and reconfigure i.e. additions, moves, and deletions involve only one connection:
between the device and the hub (Easy to add/move/remove nodes).
If one computer in the network fails, it will not affect whole network.
It is easy to identify and isolate fault in the network through the central computer.
Star topology requires far less cable than a mesh topology.

Disadvantage
If the hub goes down, the whole network gets collapse.
It requires more cable to connect computers to the hub.

Mesh Topology
In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated point-to-point link to every other device i.e. each node
must be fully connected to every other node.
One practical example of a mesh topology is the connection of telephone regional offices in which each
regional office needs to be connected to every other regional office.

In Mesh topology if A want to get/send the data to C. As there is point-to-point connection between each
computer the computer A and C can directly exchange data between each other.

Advantages
The use of dedicated links guarantees that each connection can carry its own data load.
It is robust i.e. if one link becomes unusable, it does not affect the entire system.
It maintains privacy or security i.e. every message travels along a dedicated line, only the intended
recipient sees it.
The alternate path is available if the direct link between the two nodes is not working.
The point-to-point links make fault identification and fault isolation easy.

Disadvantages
The amount of cabling is high.
The (n-1) number of I/O ports required to connect n nodes.
Installation and reconnection are difficult.
The sheer bulk of the wiring can be greater than the available space (in walls, ceilings, or floors) can
accommodate.
The hardware required to connect each link (I/O ports and cable) can be prohibitively expensive.

Hybrid Topology

Hybrid topology is the combination of any of the two or more topology explained above.
Network media/ transmission Media/ transmission medium
Telecommunication channels are the part of a telecommunications network that connects the messages source
with the message receive. Telecommunications media are grouped into Wired or Guided or Bounded Media and
Wireless or Unguided or Unbounded Media.

Wired/Guided/Bounded Media:
Wired Transmission Media uses a cabling system that guides the data signals along a specific path. The data
signals are bound by the cabling system. Some of the common examples of guided media are Twisted Pair,
Coaxial Cable and Fiber Optics.
Twisted-pair Cable:

Individual pairs have two wires that are separately insulated in plastics, then twisted around each other and
bound together in a layer of plastic.

Except for plastic coating, nothing shields this type of wire from outside interference, so it is also called as
unshielded twisted-pair (UTP) wire.
The core is made up of copper, which is covered by the color coded plastic insulation, which is further
covered by overall shield to protect it from electromagnetic interference.
The shield is covered by outer jacket which is made up of plastic to protect it from rain, heat, etc.

Some twisted-pair wire is enclosed in a metal case and therefore called as shielded twisted-pair (STP)
wire.
The core is made up of copper, which is covered by the color coded plastic insulation, which is further
covered by pair shield to form pair and to protect it from disturbance.
The pair shield is covered by overall shield to protect it from electromagnetic interference, which is
further covered by outer jacket which is made up of plastic to protect it from rain, heat, etc.
Twisted-pair cable is not immune to the electromagnetic interference.
Data is transferred using electrical current.
Now-a-days twisted-pair wires can support speed up to 100 Mbps.
Twisted-pair cables are normally used for LAN.
2 pair cable and 4 pair cable uses RJ-11 and RJ-45 connector.
Signals must be refreshed every one to two miles through the use of repeaters, which is expensive.
Coaxial Cable:

The coaxial cable has two conductors. One is a single wire in the center of the cable, and other is a wire
mesh shield that surrounds the first wire, with an insulator between.
The core is made up of plastic, which is further covered by insulator, which is covered by metallic shield
to protect it from electromagnetic interference, which is further covered by outer jacket which is made up
of plastic to protect it from rain, heat, etc.
Coaxial cable is not immune to the electromagnetic interference.
Data is transferred using electrical current.
It can support speed up to 10 Mbps.
Coaxial cables were used for LAN in the earlier days.
It is easy to install and less expensive.
Base-band co-axial cables are used for digital transmission whereas Broadband co-axial cables are used
for analog transmission.

Fiber-Optic Cable:

In fiber optic the core is made up of thin thread of glass or fiber.

It is a thin thread of glass that transmits lively beams of light rather than electric current.
The core is covered by the cladding which reflects the light to travel from one end to another end, which is
covered by strength fiber which strength the data transmission.
The strength fiber is covered by the outer jacket which is made up of plastic to protect it from rain, heat,
etc.
Fiber-optic cable can carry data at a higher speed.
Fiber-optic cable is immune to the electromagnetic interference.
Normally in fiber optic cable light moves only in one direction (single mode).
For two way communication (Multi-mode) to take place a second connection must be made.
Now-a-days it can support speed of more than 2 Gbps.
Fiber-optic cables are used for MAN.
It is difficult to install.
It is very expensive as compare to other cables.
Wireless/Unguided/Unbounded Media:
Unguided transmission media consists of a means for the data signals to travel through air i.e. nothing to guide
them along a specific path. Some of the common examples of unguided media are Radio waves, Microwaves,
Infrared, etc.

Radio Waves:
Radio waves are easy to generate and they can travel longer diatance.
It has frequency between 10 KHz to 1 GHz.
They can travel in all directions and hence they are also called as Omni directional.
Radio waves use for long-distance broadcasting such as AM radio.
They are widely used in communication because they can easily penetrate through obstracles.
Different types of radio waves are Short Waves, VHF (Very High Frequency) and UHF (Ultra High
Frequency).
Radio waves are used for multicast communications, such as radio and television, and paging systems.

Microwaves:
Electromagnetic waves having frequencies between I and 300 GHz are called microwaves.
Microwaves are unidirectional.
When an antenna transmits microwave waves, they can be narrowly focused. This means that the sending
and receiving antennas need to be aligned. The unidirectional property has an obvious advantage. A pair
of antennas can be aligned without interfering with another pair of aligned antennas.
Microwave propagation is line-of-sight. Since the towers with the mounted antennas need to be in direct
sight of each other, towers that are far apart need to be very tall.
The curvature of the earth as well as other blocking obstacles do not allow two short towers to
communicate by using microwaves.
Repeaters are often needed for longdistance communication.
Very high-frequency microwaves cannot penetrate walls. This characteristic can be a disadvantage if
receivers are inside buildings.
The microwave band is relatively wide, almost 299 GHz. Therefore wider subbands can be assigned, and a
high data rate is possible.
Microwaves are used for unicast communication such as cellular telephones, satellite networks, and
wireless LANs.
Infrared:
Infrared waves, with frequencies from 300 GHz to 400 THz (wavelengths from 1 mm to 770 mm).
Infrared waves, having high frequencies, cannot penetrate walls, this prevents interference between one
system and another.
High frequencies allow high speed data transmission.
A short-range communication system in one room cannot be affected by another system in the next room.
Infrared frequencies are just below visible light.
These transmissions fall into two categories Point to Point and Broadcast.
When we use our infrared remote control, we do not interfere with the use of the remote by our neighbors.
However, this makes infrared signals useless for long-range communication.
We cannot use infrared waves outside a building because the sun's rays contain infrared waves that can
interfere with the communication.
Infrared signals can be used for short-range communication in a closed area using line-of-sight
propagation.
Network Hardware :
Modem
The term modem is derived from 2 terms Modulator & Demodulator.
Modulator means converting digital signals into analog signals & Demodulator means converting analog
signals into digital signals.
On sending computer modem works as modulator where as on the receiving computer Modem works as a
demodulator.
Modem is capable of doing both but it will work as a modulator or demodulator depending on where you
are using a Modem.
Modem is required if data is transferred over a telecommunication line.
Modem can be either internal / external.
Hubs
A hub is a hardware device that provides a common connection point in LAN.
Hub is connected to server and each node is connected to the hub by means of simple twisted pair wires.
A hub contains multiple ports. When data arrives at one port, it copied to the other ports so that all
segments of the LAN can see the data.
There are three types of hub i.e. Passive Hub, Active Hub and Intelligent Hub.

Bridges
Bridge is collection of Hardware & Software facilities, which enables devices on one network to
communicate with devices on another, similar network.
The main task of a bridge computer is to receive and pass data from one LAN to another.
Bridge can connect network that employ similar protocols & topologies.
Bridge can act as a repeater as well as a link.
Bridges do not provide management facilities.
Switches
Switches are combination of hardware and software devices, which are used to direct messages across a
network.
Switches create temporary point to point links between two nodes on a network and send all data along
that link.
Routers
Routers are combination of hardware and software devices, which are used to direct messages across a
network.
Router can connect network that employ similar protocols and topologies.
Router is similar to bridges but have the added advantage of supplying the user with network management
utilities.
Routers not only pass on the data as necessary but also select appropriate routes in the event of possible
network malfunctions or excessive use.
Routers also provide a security element.
Network Protocols
Each network requires protocol, which is set of rules for two devices to communicate.
OSI Model/ ISO OSI Model/ 7 Layer Model
An ISO(international Standards Organisation) standard that covers all aspects of network communications
is the Open Systems Interconnection(OSI) model.
An open system is a set of protocols that allows any two different systems to communicate regardless of
their architecture.
The purpose of the OSI model is to show how to facilitate communication between different systems
without changing the hardware or software.
The OSI model is not a protocol; it is a model for understanding and designing a network architecture that
is flexible, robust and interoperable.
The top three layer i.e. Application, Presentation and Session Layer is called as upper layer where the
remaining four layer is called as lower layer.
The seven layers in OSI model are:

Application
Presentation
Session
Transport
Network
Data Link
Physical

Physical Layer
Functions of Physical Layer:
The physical layer coordinates the functions required to carry a bit stream over a physical medium.
Physical characteristics of transmission i.e. interfaces and medium.
Type of transmission medium.
Representation of bits i.e. encoding bits into electrical or optical signals.
The transmission rate-the number of bits sent each second-is also defined by the physical layer.
Synchronization of bits.
Physical topology i.e. how devices are connected ring, star, mesh, bus topology.

Data Link Layer

The data link layer transforms the physical layer, a raw transmission facility, to a reliable
link. Functions of datalink layer:
Framing divides the stream of bits received into manageable data units called frames.
Physical addressing add a header to the frame to define the physical address of the source and the
destination machine.
Flow control impose a flow control control rate at which data is transmitted so as not to flood the
receiver.
Error control Adds mechanisms to detect and retransmit damaged or lost frames; also prevents
duplication of frames. This is achieved by adding a trailer to the end of a frame..
Access control - When two or more devices are connected to the same link, data link layer protocols are
necessary to determine which device has control over the link at any given time.

Network Layer
The network layer is responsible for the source-to-destination delivery of a packet, possibly across multiple
networks (links).
Logical addressing - The network layer adds a header to the packet coming from the upper layer that,
among other things, includes the logical addresses of the sender and receiver.
Routing - The network layer is provide routing i.e. when independent networks or links are connected to
create internetworks (network of networks) or a large network, the connecting devices (called routers or
switches) route or switch the packets to their final destination.

Transport Layer
The transport layer is responsible for process-to-process delivery of the entire message.
The transport layer provides end-to-end communication integrity.
Service-point addressing - source-to-destination delivery means delivery not only from one computer to
the next but also from a specific process on one computer to a specific process on the other. The transport
layer header must therefore include a type of address called a service-point address (or port address).
Segmentation and reassembly divide message into smaller segments, number them and transmit.
Reassemble these messages at the receiving end.
Connection control - A connection oriented transport layer makes a connection with the transport layer at
the destination machine first before delivering the packets. After all the data are transferred, the
connection is terminated.
Flow control - flow control at this layer is performed end to end rather than across a single link.
Error control Make sure that the entire message arrive without errors else retransmit.

Session Layer
The session layer is the network dialog controller.
Dialog control - The session layer allows two systems to enter into a dialog. It allows the communication
between two processes to take place in either halfduplex (one way at a time) or full-duplex (two ways at a
time) mode.

Synchronization - The session layer allows a process to add checkpoints, or Synchronization points, to a
stream of data.

Presentation Layer
The presentation layer is concerned with the syntax and semantics of the information exchanged between two
systems. The presentation layer is responsible for translation, compression, and encryption.
Translation different computers use different encoding systems, the presentation layer is responsible for
interoperability between these different encoding methods. The presentation layer at the sender changes
the information from its sender-dependent format into a common format. The presentation layer at the
receiving machine changes the common format into its receiver-dependent format.
Encryption - Encryption means that the sender transforms the original information to another form and
sends the resulting message out over the network. Decryption reverses the original process to transform
the message back to its original form.
Compression - Data compression reduces the number of bits contained in the information. Data
compression becomes particularly important in the transmission of multimedia such as text, audio, and
video.

Application Layer
The application layer enables the user, whether human or software, to access the network.
The application layer is responsible for providing services to the user.
It provides user interfaces and support for services such as electronic mail, remote file access and transfer,
shared database management, and other types of distributed information services.
Network virtual terminal - A network virtual terminal is a software version of a physical terminal, and it
allows a user to log on to a remote host.
File transfer, access, and management - This application allows a user to access files in a remote host (to
make changes or read data), to retrieve files from a remote computer for use in the local computer, and to
manage or control files in a remote computer locally.
Mail services - This application provides the basis for e-mail forwarding and storage.
Directory services - This application provides distributed database sources and access for global
information about various objects and services.
TCP/IP (Transmission Control Protocol/Internet Protocol)
A set of networking protocols widely used on the Internet that provides communications across interconnected
networks of computers with dissimilar hardware architectures and various operating systems. TCP/IP includes
standards for how computers communicate and conventions for connecting networks and routing traffic.

Application Layer

Transport Layer

SMTP

FTP

SCTP

TCP

Internet Layer

Network Interface Layer

DNS

UDP

IP

LAN

MAN

WAN

TCP/IP has four layers

Application Layer: It provides services directly to the users such as e-mail, file transfer, etc. This is
equivalent to the combined OSI Session, Presentation and Application layers. All the functions handled by
these 3 layers in the OSI model are handled by the Application layer.this layer contains higher level
protocols: FTP, SMTP, HTTP, etc. the data unit created at the application layer is called a message.
Transport Layer: It provides end-to-end communication between applications and verifies correct packet
arrival. This layer is respresented by two protocols- TCP(Transmission Control Protocol) and UDP(User
Datagram Protocol).
Internet Layer: IP is an unreliable and connectionless datagram protocol. It provides packet routing for
error checking i.e. its offers a best-offort delivery services. Addressing and integrity. IP transports data in
packets called datagrams. Datagram can be of variable lengths. Each datagram is transported seperately.
IP does not keep track of the routes.
Network Interface Layer: this layer is the combination of the Physical and Datalink layer of OSI model. It
provides an interface to the network hardware.

Internet
Internet is a worldwide collection of computer networks, co-operating with each other to exchange data
using a common software standard. It can also be defined as the global communication systems of
diverse, INTERconnected computer NETworks for the exchange of information. The internet is also
called as the Information Superhighway. It was conceived by the Advanced Research Projects Agency
(ARPA). Initially, it was used for military and research purposes. Later it was extended to the public and
came to be called the World Wide Web (WWW).
Not an individual or group owns or controls the internet, but it is connected in a way that makes it work
like one big network. There are organisations that make sure that the internet runs smoothly.
What can you do with the internet?
Search for information using popular search engines like Google, Yahoo, Microsofts Bing, etc.
Send and Receive Electronic Mail.
Access the worlds largest indexed library.
Download software to run on your computer.
Hold chat sessions, or desktop video conferencing in real time.
Join discussion groups of people who share your interests.
Search databases of newspapers, libraries, government departments, legal information and other source of
information, and reading books online.
Set up your own web site highlighting your achievements or your company`s products and services.
Types of Connections / Account
There are different types of connections available to connect to the Internet. These are
Analog/ Dial-up Connection
An Analog internet connection is both economical and slow.
The analog connection uses a modem connected to your PC, users connect to the internet when the
computer dials a phone number which is provided by the ISP (Internet Service Provider) and
connects to the network.
Dial-up is an analog connection because data is send over an analog, public-switched telephone
network.
The modem converts received analog data to digital and vice versa. Because dial-up access uses
normal telephone lines the quality of the connection is not always good and data rates are limited.
Normal Dial-up connection speeds range from 2400bps to 56kbps.
Today, analog has been widely replaced by broadband (Cable and DSL connection).
While the data transmission is very slow, it is not suitable for viewing the multimedia-rich
websites that support graphics, video, audio and animation.
Your phone line is occupied when you are connected to the internet.

ISDN Connection
ISDN (Integrated Services Digital Network) is one of the oldest broadband digital access methods
to the internet.
ISDN is an international communications standard for sending voice, video, and data over digital
telephone lines.
The initial setup cost of hardware and usage charges are very high for ISDN connection.
Normal ISDN speeds range from 64Kbps to 128Kbps.
B-ISDN Connection i.e. Broadband ISDN is similar in function to ISDN but it transfers data over
fiber optic telephone lines, not normal telephone wires.
Broadband ISDN has not been widely implemented.
DSL Connection
DSL (Digital Subscriber Line) is the most common type of connection use today for home and
small office use.
DSL is frequently referred to as an always on connection because it uses telephone line
connected to the PC and telephone line is not available for phone.
DSL is a technology that provides digital data transmission over the wires of local telephone
network.
There is no need to dial-in to ISP.
The connection speed of DSL varies greatly from 128Kbps to 2 Mbps depending on service plans
and ISP.
The two main categories of DSL for home subscribers are called ADSL and SDSL.
ADSL (Asymmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is the most commonly deployed types of DSL. It
supports data rates of from 1.5 to 9 Mbps when receiving data i.e. downstream rate and from 16 to
640 Kbps when sending data i.e. upstream rate.
SDSL (Symmetric Digital Subscriber Line) is commonly used in Europe. It requires a special
SDSL modem. In this type of connection receiving speed (downstream rate) is same as the
sending speed (upstream rate), hence it is called as Symmetric. Its supports data rates up to 3
Mbps.
Cable Internet Connection
A cable internet account is offered only by the cable TV company that serves your neighborhood.
Through the use of a cable modem which is connected to your computer and an Ethernet card is
installed in your computer. This allows the cable modem to talk to your computer.
Cable internet works by using TV channel space for data transmission, with certain channels used
for downstream transmission, and other channels for upstream transmission.
Due to the Coaxial cable used by cable TV the speeds is in the range of 512Kbps to 20Mbps.
It is easy to setup and maintain.
It is more expensive than Dial-up and DSL connection.
Wireless Internet Connection
It is one of the newest internet connection types, which uses radio frequencies.
Wireless access is considered as relatively new and it is always difficult to find a wireless service
provider in certain areas.
It is expensive to setup such type of connection.
It is mostly available in Cities.
Terminal Connection
The terminal connection provides a text-based interface to the WWW.
It is not possible to view graphics and animation with this type of connection.
The software required will be DOS-based communications program like Telix.
The browser used for this type of account is Lynx.
This connection is cheapest of all.
This type of connection is rarely used now.

Satellite Connection
Because of the enormous distances signals must travel from the earth up to the satellite and back
again, Internet over Satellite (IoS) is slower.
Speed is in the range of 492 to 512Kbps.
Hotspot
Hotspot is a place that offers internet access over a wireless LAN (WLAN) through the use of a router
connected to a link to an ISP.
Hotspots typically use Wi-Fi technology.
The laptop or mobile phones or other portable device to access the wireless connection i.e. Wi-Fi
Security is a serious concern in connection with Hotspots.
The safest method when accessing the internet over a Hotspot, with unknown security measures, is end-toend encryption.
Hotspots may be found in malls, coffee shops, airport, train station, hotels, libraries, colleges, hospitals,
etc. in many developed urban areas throughout the world.
In short Hotspot is a location where a publicly accessible wireless LAN is available.
According to research there are roughly 7 million global Wi-Fi Hotspots.
Free hotspots operate in two ways:
Using an open public network
Using closed public network
Open public network is the easiest way to create a free hotspot. Private users of wireless routers can turn off their
authentication requirements, thus opening their connection, intentionally or not, for sharing by anyone in range.
Closed public networks use a hotspot Management system to control the hotspot. This software runs on the router
itself or an external computer. With this software, operators can authorize only specific users to access the
internet, and they often associate the free access to the menu or to a purchase limit. Each user is restricted to a
certain speed to ensure that everyone gets a good quality service.
Services on the Internet
Few of the services available on the internet are World Wide Web (WWW), Electronic Mail (E-mail), Blogs, File
Transfer Protocol (FTP), Telnet, Usenet Newsgroups, etc.
World Wide Web (WWW)
WWW is a section of internet, and not the complete internet itself.
WWW is the most rapidly growing, easiest to use and most popular method of communication on internet.
WWW is collection of websites on Internet that uses the HTTP (Hypertext Transfer Protocol) to transfer
documents between its computers.
Documents can be in the form of text or number or images or audio or video or combination of there off.
WWW could be simply defined as a universal database of knowledge.
Advantages of WWW
Linking documents with each other by using hyperlinks
It is simple to create and make available for use.
It is a combination of still images, animated images, movies and sound.
It is easy to use i.e. just point and click to access the information you want
It is easy to download a file to your computer just by clicking on link
It is possible with the help of WWW we can update the current information as well as stay up to date with
the help of updated information.

WWW tools
Website
A website is a specific location on the WWW where information and details pertaining to
company/individual who has put up the site are available.
Website is a collection of web pages.
The first page (Opening page) of the website is known as home page.
Web pages are created by using HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
Web page is a document that contains links to web pages, graphic, audio files, etc.
These links are called as Hypertext links or hyperlinks.
Each website is having unique address.
You can go to a website by typing the address of the company/individual you want.
Website address should be in the form of host.subdomain.domain, for example mu.ac.in.
Hyperlink can be in the form of text or image.
Web Browser / Browser
A web browser (browser) is a software application for retrieving, presenting, interacting and traversing
information resources on the WWW.
Examples of popular browsers are Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Google Chrome, Lynx, etc.
Internet Explorer, Firefox, Opera, Safari, Google Chrome are graphical browsers, Lynx is a text-based
browser.
To access a web page, images, video and other piece of content the user has to type the Uniform Resource
Locator (URL) or address like www.google.com in the space provided.
Hyperlinks present in resources enable users easily to navigate their browsers to related resources.
Browsers are primarily intended to use the WWW, and they can also be used to access information
provided by web servers in private networks or files in file systems.
Browsers can also be used to print web page and finding text on the current page.
Searching and getting the information on the net is called as Browsing or Surfing.
Hyperlink
Hyperlink is a reference to data that reader can directly follow either by clicking or by following
automatically.
A hyperlink points to a whole document or to a specific element within a document.
Hypertext is text with hyperlinks.
A software system for viewing and creating hypertext is called as a hypertext system.
Hyperlink is also called as link.
The document containing a hyperlink is known as its source code document.
A program that traverses the hypertext, following each hyperlink and gathering all the retrieved
documents is known as a Web spider or crawler.
Most of the hyperlinks are text links but few of them are even image links.
HTML (Hypertext Markup Language)
Hypertext is a method of organizing and interlinking computer information.
When sound, graphics, animation and video are used along with text; the set-up is referred to as
hypermedia.
Pages on the WWW are developed using a computer language called Hypertext Markup Language
(HTML).
HTML allows text, graphics, movies and animation to become a part of web pages.
HTML also provides a way to link from one page to another either within the current site or another site
anywhere in the world.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
Each web page has a unique address called a Uniform Resource Locator (URL).
Examples of URL are www.google.com, www.yahoo.co.in, www.facebook.co.in, etc.
Each URL consists of three parts:

A protocol part
A host part
A document name
Electronic Mail (E-mail)
Sending or receiving a document over internet is called as e-mail.
The document can be in the form of images, audio, video or text.
To send e-mail you must have e-mail address (e-mail id) of a person to whom you want to send an e-mail.
E-mail is one of the fastest and cheapest modes of communication.
Long documents, spreadsheets, images, audio even video can be sent along with e-mail as attachments.
It is possible to send same message to several people.
You can read or type e-mail online or offline.
You can forward the message to others without retyping.
You can take printout of your e-mail.
You can delete e-mail.
Over the internet, e-mail is send using (Simple Mail Transfer Protocol) SMTP; Post Office Protocol (POP)
is used to fetch e-mail from remote mail box to your computer.
An e-mail address (e-mail id) should be in the form of username@host.subdomain.domain.
Example of e-mail id is dvishal1234@gmail.com.in, here dvishal1234 is the username, gmail is host, com
is subdomain and in is domain.
Blogs
A blog is a short form of the term web log.
It is a type of website, generally maintained by an individual with regular entries of commentary,
descriptions of events, or other material such as graphics or video.
Entries are commonly displayed in reverse chronological order.
With blog one can share his/her thoughts & feelings instantaneously with friends and fans.
The person who writes a blog is called as blogger.
Many blogs provide commentary or news on a particular subject; others function as more personal online
diaries.
A typical blog combines text, images and links to other blogs, Web pages and other media related to its
topic.
The ability for readers to leave comments in an interactive format is an important part of many blogs.
Many blogs are primarily textual, although some focus on art (artlog), photographs (photobolg), sketch
(sketchblog), videos (vlog), music (MP3 blog) and audio (podcasting).
Micro-blogging is another type of blogging, featuring very short posts. Example Twitter.
IP Addresses
The term IP stands for Internet Protocol.
The internet uses TCP/IP as its basic protocol.
Every computer on the internet has a unique IP address.
An IP address consists of a set of 4 decimal numbers seperated by dots.
For example 203.187.98.23 is a valid IP address.
Each number can be between 0 and 255 (8 bits).
There should not be leading zero/s in any number of IP Address. For Example 100.025.25.36
IP addresses are also represented in binary format.
Each decimal number is represented in its equivalent binary form consisting of 8 bits, and the dot symbol
is replaced by a space.
A mixture of decimal and binary notation is not allowed. Example 10110101.56.76.86
Two devices on the internet can never have the same address, but if a device has two connections to the
internet, via two networks, it has two IP addresses.

IP addresses are divided into 5 classes as follows:

Class
Decimal Range
Class A
0-127
Class B
128-191
Class C
192-223
Class D
224-239
Class E
240-255
The first of the four IP decimal numbers determines the class of the address.
DNS
DNS stands for Domain Name Server or Domain Name System.
It is an Internet Service that translates domain names into IP addresses. Because domain names are
alphabetic, theyre easier to remember.
A Domain Name Server converts IP numbers to more easily remembered names.
When you type www.mu.ac.in into your browser, the DNS searches for a matching IP address, which may
be 209.84.12.251
If the DNS doesnt find an entry in its database, it will search in other DNSs until the entry is found,
otherwise, you will get an error message from your browser.
Domain Names
The three or two letter code indicating whether the address is a business (.com), a non-profit organization
(.org), a university (.edu), a branch of the government (.gov), a part of the military (.mil), and international
organisation (.int), academic institution (.ac), India (.in), England (.uk), Australia (.au) and so on.
For end user domain names are in text form because it it easy to remember but for computers it is in
number form (IP Address).
These domains names are organized either on the basis of geographical regions or on the basis of type of
organisation.
Geographical domain use two letter country destinations. For Example .in is used for Indian Websites, .uk
is used for United Kingdom websites.
Non Geographical domains example .com used for Commercial Organisation, .gov for government
organisations.
Uniform Resource Locator (URL)
URL is address of an individual web page.
It is used to access a particular web page on a particular websites.
It is in the form of http://host.subdomain.domain/optioal-path/optional-filename.html.
A point of fact is that, a web site address is also a URL.
For Example http://www.mu.ac.in/res_comm.html takes you directoly to the web page of commerce result
instead of home page of Mumbai University otherwise you go to the home page and follow the links to
reach to the web page of commerce result.
URL will save the trouble of following the links. http://www.mu.ac.in is also a URL for home page of
Mumbai University.
Searching the Web
WWW is a vast collection of interlinked documents.
So it is not always easy to find what you want on the Web.
That is because there are millions of websites and each of them is having many web pages, so it
impossible to search information by visiting every web sites.
A search engine is a means of searching for information on the internet.
There are various ways of searching the web pages.

The most commonly used Web-based search tools are:

Directories:
A directory helps you to search for information by selecting categories of subject matter.
A directory on the WWW is a list of web sites classified by topic.
The directory separates subjects as categories, then sub categories and so on till a list of web sites is
provided.
For Example yahoo is a directory, which classifies information into various categories such as Arts,
Science, Commerce, Computers, Politics, etc.
A directory depends on humans for its listings.
Directory search can be invoked by clicking at More ==> Even more ==> Directory.
Search engines:
A search engine is a program or web page on a web site that helps you to search an internet site or the
entire internet for a specific key word or words.
The search engine then displays a list of web pages that contain information related to the key words.
Search engines are also called as Web crawlers or spiders.
Examples: google.com, msn.com, yahoo.com, inditime.com, alfa.digital.com, etc.
Advanced Search
To overcome the problems of duplicate and irrelevant results, many search engine provide a set of
advanced search options.
Advance search is possible (by clicking at Advance Search Option) with search engine.
In advance search user can type key works which should not be present.
User can get a choice to select Result per page, Language, File type, etc.
Boolean search:
Most of the search engines allow special words, called Boolean operators.
Boolean operators are used to modify your search condition.
Boolean operators are AND, OR, NOT.
You can use these Boolean operators along with key words in the search text box.
Many search engines use implied Boolean operators by default.
Some of them will use OR as default Boolean operator whereas, some of them will use AND as default
Boolean operator.
It is better practice to use Boolean operator in your search condition.
Boolean operators are not supported by some search engines in that case you can use advance search.
Operator
Search Condition
Effect
AND

Printer AND Scanner

The search engine looks only for pages that include both terms
and ignores pages that include only one of them.

OR

Printer OR Scanner

The search engine looks for pages that include either or both of
the terms.

NOT

Printer NOT Scanner

The search engine looks for pages that include the term printer,
but do not also include the term Scanner. The engine ignores
any pages that include both terms.

Meta Search Engines:

The Meta search engine is software which can search through many internet search engines
simultaneously.
The user search request is sent to number of search engines like google, msn, indiatimes, yahoo, etc.
The user can check the results obtained from the multiple searches and then connect to any web page he
wants.
Every search engine has a specific format in which it should receive the search request.

The meta search engine knows the exact format required by every search engine therefore it will forward
the search request in proper format to the search engine.
The advantages of the meta search engine is that the user does not have to know the formats of the
different search engines.
Examples: metasearch.com, metacrawler.com, mamma.com, dogpile.com, etc.
Cybercrime:
Cybercrime, or Computer crime, refers to any crime that involves a computer and a network.
The computer may have been used in the commission of a crime, or it may be the target.
Netcrime is criminal exploitationof the Internet
DR. Debarati Halder and Dr. K. Jaishankar define Cybercrimes as: Offences that are committed against
individuals or groups of individuals with a criminal motive to intentionally harm the reputation of the
victim or cause physical or mental harm to the victim directly or indirectly, using modern
telecommunication networks such as Internet (Chat rooms, emails, notice boards and groups) and mobile
phones (SMS/MMS).
Some of the Cyber crimes are mentioned below:
Spam: the unsolicited sending of bulk email for commercial purposes is un-lawful.
Fraud & Financial Crimes: Computer fraud is any dishonest misrepresentation of fact intended to let
another to do or refrain from doing something which causes loss.
Harassment: Harassment directs obscenities and insulting comments at specific individual.
Threats: Online or any type of network related threats in written text or speech.
Cyber terrorism: an act of terrorism committed through the use of cyberspace or computer resources.
Cyber warfare: Cyber warfare operations of the nation.
Hacking
Hacking is to gain unauthorise access to a computer in order to commit another crime such as destroying
information contained in that system.
A hacker is someone who seeks and exploits weaknesses in a computer system or computer network.
Types of hackers are as follows:
White hat: A white hat hacker breaks security for non-malicious reasons, perhaps to test their own security
system or while working for a security company which makes security software.
The term white hat in internet slang refers to an ethical hacker.
Black hat: A Black hat hacker is a hacker who violates computer security for little reason beyond maliciousness
or for personal gain. Black hat hackers form the stereotypical, illegeal hacking groups.
Black hat hackers break into secure networks to destroy data or make the network unusable for those who are
authorise to use the network.
Blach hat hackers also referred as crackers.
Grey hat: A grey hat hacker is a combination of a black hat and a white hat hacker.
A grey hat hacker may surf the internet and hack into a computer system for the sole purpose of notifying the
administrator that their system has a security defect.
Blue hat: A blue hat hacker is someone outside computer security consulting firms who is used to bug-test a
system prior to its launch, looking for exploits so they can be closed.
Elite hacker: A social status among hackers, elite is used to describe the most skilled.
Neophyte: A noephyte, or newbie is someone who is new to hacking and has almost no knowledge or
experience of the working of technology and hacking.
Script kiddie: A script kiddie (also known as a skid or skiddie) is a non-expert who breaks into computer systems
by using pre-packaged automated tools written by others.
Hacktivist: A hacktivist is a hacker who utilizes technology to publicize a social, ideological, religious or
political message.
Most hacktivism involves website defacement or denial-of-service attacks.
Nation state: This includes intelligence agencies and cyber warfare operatives of nation.
Organized criminal gangs: these are group of hackers that carry out organized criminal activities for profit.

Sniffing
The term sniffer is occasionally used for a program that analyzes data other than network traffic. For
example, a database could be analyzed for certain kinds of duplication.
A network sniffers monitors data flowing over computer network links.
It can be a self-contained software program or a hardware device with the appropriate software or
firmware programming.
It is also called as network probes or snoops, sniffers examine network traffic , making a copy of the
data but without redirecting or altering it.
Sniffers were tools used exclusively by professional network engineers, they are also popular with internet
hackers and people just curious about networking.
A sniffer is a program that monitors nd analyzes network traffic, detedting bottlenecks and problems.
A sniffer can also be used legitimately or illegitimately to capture data being transmitted on a network.
A router with a sniffer, however, may be able to read the data in the packet as well as the source and
destination addresses.
Sniffers are often used on academic networks to prevent traffic bottlenecks caused by file-sharing
applications.

Spoofing
The word spoof means to hoax, trick or deceive.
While the internet is a great place to communicate with others, it can also be an easy place to fake an
identity.
Therefore, always make sure you know who you are communicating with before giving out private
information.
In the IT world, spoofing refers tricking or deceiving computer systems or other computer users.
This is typically done by hiding ones identity or faking the identity of another user on the internet.
In IP spoofing the hacker first use a variety of techniques to find an IP address of a trusted host and then
modify the packet headers so that it appers that the packets are coming from that host.
Spoofing can take place on the internet in several different ways. One common method is through e-mail.
E-mail spoofing involves sending messages from a bogus e-mail address or faking the e-mail address of
another user.
Spammers often send spam messages from their own SMTP, which allows them to use fake e-mail
addresses, therefore it is possible to receive e-mail from an address that is not the actual address of the
person sending message.
Another way spoofing takes place on the internet is via IP spoofing.
IP spoofing involves masking the IP address of a certain computer system.
By hiding or faking a computers IP address, it is difficult for other systems to determine where the
computer is transmitting data from.
IP spoofing makes it difficult to track the source of a transmission, it is often used in denial-of-service
attacks that oveload a server.
The denial-of-service may cause the server to either crash or become unresponsive to legitimate requests.
Spoofing can be done by simply faking an identity, such as an online username.