Management Information

System
Unit 1
Network and Its Components
A computer network or data network is a telecommunications network which allows computers to exchange data. In computer networks, networked
computing devices exchange data with each other using a data link. The connections between nodes are established using either cable
media or wireless media.
Components

1.

Message - The message is the information or data that has to be communicated. Popular forms of
information include text, numbers, pictures, audio and video.

2.

Sender It is the device that sends the data message. It can be a computer, workstation, telephone
handset, video camera and so on.

3.

Receiver - The receiver is the device that receives the message from the sender. It can be computer,
workstation, telephone handset, television and so on.

4.

Medium The transmission medium is the physical path over which data travels from sender to the
receiver. The transmission can be a twisted pair of copper wires, coaxial cables, optical fibers or wireless
media such as radio waves.

5.

Protocols A protocol is a set of rules and conventions. The sender and receiver are the two key
parties in data communication must agree on a common set of rules i.e. before they can communicate
with each other.

Network Devices
HUB

Hub is one of the basic icons of networking devices which works at physical layer and hence connect networking devices physically together. Hubs are
fundamentally used in networks that use twisted pair cabling to connect devices. They are designed to transmit the packets to the other
appended devices without altering any of the transmitted packets received. They act as pathways to direct electrical signals to travel along. They
transmit the information regardless of the fact if data packet is destined for the device connected or not

Switches

Switches are the linkage points of an Ethernet network. Just as in hub, devices in switches are connected to them through twisted pair cabling. But the
difference shows up in the manner both the devices; hub and a switch treat the data they receive. Hub works by sending the data to all the ports on
the device whereas a switch transfers it only to that port which is connected to the destination device. A switch does so by having an in-built learning
of the MAC address of the devices connected to it.

Bridges

A bridge is a computer networking device that builds the connection with the other bridge networks which use the same protocol. It works at the Data
Link layer of the OSI Model and connects the different networks together and develops communication between them. It connects two local-area
networks; two physical LANs into larger logical LAN or two segments of the same LAN that use the same protocol.

Routers

Routers are network layer devices and are particularly identified as Layer- 3 devices of the OSI Model. They process logical addressing information in
the Network header of a packet such as IP Addresses. Router is used to create larger complex networks by complex traffic routing. It has the ability to
connect dissimilar LANs on the same protocol. It also has the ability to limit the flow of broadcasts. A router primarily comprises of a hardware device or
a system of the computer which has more than one network interface and routing software.

Network card

Network cards also known as Network Interface Cards (NICs) are hardware devices that connect a computer with the network. They are installed on
the mother board. They are responsible for developing a physical connection between the network and the computer. Computer data is translated into
electrical signals send to the network via Network Interface Cards.

Modems

Modem is a device which converts the computer-generated digital signals of a computer into analog signals to enable their travelling via phone lines.
The modulator-demodulator or modem can be used as a dial up for LAN or to connect to an ISP. Modems can be both external, as in the device which
connects to the USB or the serial port of a computer, or proprietary devices for handheld gadgets and other devices, as well as internal; in the form of
add-in expansion cards for computers and PCMCIA cards for laptops.

Repeaters

A repeater is an electronic device that receives a signal and retransmits it at a higher level or higher power, or onto the other side of an obstruction, so
that the signal can cover longer distances.
Network types

A LAN (local area network) is a group of computers and network devices connected together, usually within the same building. By definition, the
connections must be high speed and relatively inexpensive (e.g., token ring or Ethernet). Most Indiana University Bloomington departments are on
LANs. A LAN connection is a high-speed connection to a LAN. On the IUB campus, most connections are either Ethernet (10 Mbps) or Fast Ethernet
(100 Mbps), and a few locations have Gigabit Ethernet (1000 Mbps) connections.

A MAN (metropolitan area network) is a larger network that usually spans several buildings in the same city or town. The IUB network is an example of
a MAN.

A WAN (wide area network), in comparison to a MAN, is not restricted to a geographical location, although it might be confined within the bounds of a
state or country. A WAN connects several LANs, and may be limited to an enterprise (a corporation or an organization) or accessible to the public. The
technology is high speed and relatively expensive. The Internet is an example of a worldwide public WAN.

Information System Architecture

Information system architecture is a formal definition of the business processes and rules, systems structure, technical framework, and product
technologies for a business or organizational information system. An information system architecture usually consists of four layers: business process
architecture,
systems
architecture,
technical
architecture,
and
product
delivery
architecture.
The architecture of an information system encompasses the hardware and software used to deliver the solution to the final consumer of services. The
architecture is a description of the design and contents of a computerized system.
Components of ISA
1.

2.

People Resources - Every system needs people if it is to be useful. Often the most over-looked element of the system are the people,
probably the component that most influence the success or failure of information systems. This includes "not only the users, but those who
operate and service the computers, those who maintain the data, and those who support the network of computers."
Hardware Resources - The term hardware refers to machinery. This category includes the computer itself, which is often referred to as the
central processing unit (CPU), and all of its support equipments. Among the support equipments are input and output devices, storage
devices and communications devices.

3.

Software Resources - The term software refers to computer programs and the manuals (if any) that support them. Computer programs are
machine-readable instructions that direct the circuitry within the hardware parts of the system to function in ways that produce useful
information from data. Programs are generally stored on some input / output medium, often a disk or tape.

4.

Data Resources - Data are facts that are used by programs to produce useful information. Like programs, data are generally stored in
machine-readable form on disk or tape until the computer needs them.

5.

Network Resources Telecommunication technologies and networks like the Internet, intranet, and extranets are essentials to the
successful electronic business and commerce operations of all types of organizations and their computer based information system.
Telecommunication network consists of computers, communication processors, and other devices interconnected by communication media
and controlled by communications software.

Network Topology
Network topology is the arrangement of the various elements (links, nodes, etc.) of a computer network. Essentially, it is the topological structure of a
network and may be depicted physically or logically. Physical topology is the placement of the various components of a network, including device
location and cable installation, while logical topology illustrates how data flows within a network, regardless of its physical design.

Bus

Bus network topology

In local area networks where bus topology is used, each node is connected to a single cable, by the help of interface connectors. This
central cable is the backbone of the network and is known as the bus (thus the name). A signal from the source travels in both directions to
all machines connected on the bus cable until it finds the intended recipient. If the machine address does not match the intended address
for the data, the machine ignores the data. Alternatively, if the data matches the machine address, the data is accepted.

Star

Star network topology

In local area networks with a star topology, each network host is connected to a central hub with a point-to-point connection. So it can be
said that every computer is indirectly connected to every other node with the help of the hub. In Star topology, every node (computer
workstation or any other peripheral) is connected to a central node called hub, router or switch. The switch is the server and the peripherals
are the clients. The network does not necessarily have to resemble a star to be classified as a star network, but all of the nodes on the
network must be connected to one central device. All traffic that traverses the network passes through the central hub. The hub acts as
a signal repeater. The star topology is considered the easiest topology to design and implement. An advantage of the star topology is the
simplicity of adding additional nodes. The primary disadvantage of the star topology is that the hub represents a single point of failure.

Ring

Ring network topology

A network topology is set up in a circular fashion in such a way that they make a closed loop. This way data travels around the ring in one
direction and each device on the ring acts as a repeater to keep the signal strong as it travels. Each device incorporates a receiver for the

incoming signal and a transmitter to send the data on to the next device in the ring. The network is dependent on the ability of the signal to
travel around the ring. When a device sends data, it must travel through each device on the ring until it reaches its destination.

Mesh
The value of fully meshed networks is proportional to the exponent of the number of subscribers, assuming that communicating groups of any two
endpoints, up to and including all the endpoints, is approximated by Reed's Law.
Fully connected network

Fully connected mesh topology

In a fully connected network, all nodes are interconnected. (In graph theory this is called as a complete graph.) The simplest fully connected network is
a two-node network. A fully connected network doesn't need to use packet switching or broadcasting. However, since the number of connections grows
quadratically with the number of nodes.
Partially connected network

Partially connected mesh topology

In a partially connected network, certain nodes are connected to exactly one other node; but some nodes are connected to two or more other nodes
with a point-to-point link. This makes it possible to make use of some of the redundancy of mesh topology that is physically fully connected, without the
expense and complexity required for a connection between every node in the network.

Hardware & Software

Computer hardware is any physical device used in or with your machine, whereas software is a collection of code installed onto your computer's hard
drive. For example, the computer monitor you are using to read this text and the mouse you are using to navigate this web page is computer hardware.
The Internet browser that allowed you to visit this page and the operating system that the browser is running on is considered software.

All software utilizes at least one hardware device to operate. For example, a video game, which is software, uses the computer processor ( CPU),
memory (RAM), hard drive, and video card to run. Word processing software uses the computer processor, memory, and hard drive to create and save
documents.

In a computer, hardware is what makes a computer work. A CPU processes information and that information can be stored in RAM or on a hard drive.
A sound card can provide sound to speakers and a video card can provide an image to a monitor. All of this is hardware.

On that same computer, software can be installed and allow a person to interact with the hardware. An operating system, like Windows or Mac OS, is
software. It provides a graphical interface for people to use the computer and other software on the computer. A person can create documents and
pictures using software.

Software Types (System & Application)

System software (systems software) is computer software designed to provide services to other software. Examples of system software
include operating systems, computational science software, game engines, industrial automation, and software as a service applications.
In contrast to system software, software that allows users to do things like create text documents, play games, listen to music, or web browsers to surf
the web are called application software.