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Introduction
1. Computer
Computer is an electronic device or combination of electronic devices, capable
of solving problems by accepting data, performing prescribed operations on
the data and supplying the results of these operations. The computer in
organisation often compared with the human brain. Like the brain that designed
it, a computer can take in data and process it. It can store the data either in
raw form or as processed results and can deliver the raw or processed data to
the outside world on demand.

2. Characteristics of Computers
The ever increasing use of computers in all walks of life is due to its special
characteristics. Some of its important characteristics are described below:
Speed
Computers are fast. Electric pulses travel at incredible speeds and because the
computer is electronic, its internal speed is virtually instantaneous. Many of
todays computers can perform hundreds of millions of processing operations
in one second.
Accuracy
The computers physical processing circuits rarely make errors. If the correct
data and instructions are fed in, the computer processes the data and gives the
correct results.

Versatility
Computers can handle a variety of applications and jobs and can be used in
various fields.
Diligence
Computers can perform a given set of functions endlessly without getting
tired or bored.
Automation
No human intervention is required once the instructions and data are given.
The CPU follows these instructions until it meets a last instruction which
saysStop programme execution; hence leading to automation.
Storage
A computer can store massive amounts of information. Todays personal
computers can be equipped with disks capable of storing more than one billion
characters (letters or numbers). They are capable of handling voluminous
data and information.
Programmability
A computer is programmable; that is, what the computer does depends on the
programme the computer is using. (A programme is the list of instructions
telling the computer what to do).
Costs
With increasing speed and declining costs of the hardware unit, data processing
cost has been declining dramatically.

3.Classification of Computers
Computers can be classified on the basis of different factors. Present day
computers can be divided into three major classes based on the mode of data
representation used.
Analog Computers
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Operate by measuring rather than counting.

Use continuous signals as input.
Examples: Thermometer, Speedometer etc.

Digital Computers
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These are the systems that are computationally complete and capable of
solving all of the problems that can be solved algorithmically.

Introduction / 3
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The technology of digital computers is based upon bi-stable electronic

components; bi-stable means that the components, for all practical
purposes, are always in one of two states: for example, a state at 0 volts
and a state at, say, 5 volts. It is conventional to represent these states
using the digits 0 and 1, and thus to establish a relationship between
electronic components and the binary number system.
Examples: Desktop, laptop etc

Hybrid Computers
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Use both types of signals analog as well as digital as input.

Mostly used with process control equipments in continuous production
plants e.g., oil refineries.
Areas of application are nuclear power plants, mines, intensive care units
of hospitals (ICUs), chemical process plants etc.

4. Classification of Digital Computers

The digital computers that are available nowadays vary in their sizes and types.
The computers are broadly classified into four categories based on their size
and type(1) Microcomputers, (2) Minicomputers, (3) Mainframe computers,
and (4) Supercomputer.

Microcomputers
Microcomputers are small, low-cost and single-user digital computer. They
consist of CPU, input unit, output unit, storage unit and the software. Although
microcomputers are stand-alone machines, they can be connected together to
create a network of computers that can serve more than one user. IBM PC
based on Pentium microprocessor and Apple Macintosh are some examples of
microcomputers. Microcomputers include desktop computers, notebook
computers or laptop, tablet computer, handheld computer, smart phones and
netbook, as shown in Figure:

PC

Laptop

Notebook

Tablet

PDA

Smart Phone

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(a) Desktop Computer or Personal Computer (PC) is the most common
type of microcomputer. It is a stand-alone machine that can be placed
on the desk. Externally, it consists of three unitskeyboard, monitor,
and a system unit containing the CPU, memory, hard disk drive, etc. It
is not very expensive and is suited to the needs of a single user at home,
small business units, and organizations. Apple, Microsoft, HP, Dell and
Lenovo are some of the PC manufacturers.

Introduction / 5

(b) Notebook Computers or Laptop resemble a notebook. They are portable

and have all the features of a desktop computer. The advantage of the
laptop is that it is small in size (can be put inside a briefcase), can be
carried anywhere, has a battery backup and has all the functionality of
the desktop. Laptops can be placed on the lap while working (hence the
name). Laptops are costlier than the desktop machines.
(c) Netbook These are smaller notebooks optimized for low weight and low
cost, and are designed for accessing web-based applications. Starting
with the earliest netbook in late 2007, they have gained significant
popularity now. Netbooks deliver the performance needed to enjoy popular
activities like streaming videos or music, emailing, Web surfing or instant
messaging. The word netbook was created as a blend of Internet and
notebook.
(d) Tablet Computer has features of the notebook computer but it can accept
input from a stylus or a pen instead of the keyboard or mouse. It is a
portable computer. Tablet computer are the new kind of PCs.
(e) Handheld Computer or Personal Digital Assistant (PDA) is a small
computer that can be held on the top of the palm. It is small in size.
Instead of the keyboard, PDA uses a pen or a stylus for input. PDAs do
not have a disk drive. They have a limited memory and are less powerful.
PDAs can be connected to the Internet via a wireless connection. Casio
and Apple are some of the manufacturers of PDA. Over the last few
years, PDAs have merged into mobile phones to create smart phones.
(f) Smart Phones are cellular phones that function both as a phone and as
a small PC. They may use a stylus or a pen, or may have a small
keyboard. They can be connected to the Internet wirelessly. They are
used to access the electronic-mail, download music, play games, etc.
Blackberry, Apple, HTC, Nokia and LG are some of the manufacturers
of smart phones.
Minicomputers
Minicomputers are digital computers, generally used in multi-user systems.
They have high processing speed and high storage capacity than the
microcomputers. Minicomputers can support 4200 users simultaneously.
The users can access the minicomputer through their PCs or terminal. They
are used for real-time applications in industries, research centers, etc. PDP 11,
IBM (8000 series) are some of the widely used minicomputers.
Mainframe Computers
Mainframe computers are multi-user, multi-programming and high performance
computers. They operate at a very high speed, have very large storage capacity

Minicomputers

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and can handle the workload of many users. Mainframe computers are large
and powerful systems generally used in centralized databases. The user accesses
the mainframe computer via a terminal that may be a dumb terminal, an intelligent
terminal or a PC. A dumb terminal cannot store data or do processing of its
own. It has the input and output device only. An intelligent terminal has the
input and output device, can do processing, but, cannot store data of its own.
The dumb and the intelligent terminal use the processing power and the storage
facility of the mainframe computer. Mainframe computers are used in
organizations like banks or companies, where many people require frequent
access to the same data. Some examples of mainframes are CDC 6600 and
IBM ES000 series.
Supercomputers
Supercomputers are the fastest and the most expensive machines. They have
high processing speed compared to other computers. The speed of a
supercomputer is generally measured in FLOPS (FLoating point Operations
Per Second). Some of the faster supercomputers can perform trillions of
calculations per second. Supercomputers are built by interconnecting thousands
of processors that can work in parallel.

Introduction / 7

Mainframe Computers

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Supercomputers are used for highly calculation-intensive tasks, such as, weather
forecasting, climate research (global warming), molecular research, biological
research, nuclear research and aircraft design. They are also used in major
universities, military agencies and scientific research laboratories. Some
examples of supercomputers are IBM Roadrunner, IBM Blue gene and Intel
ASCI red. PARAM is a series of supercomputer assembled in India by C-DAC
(Center for Development of Advanced Computing), in Pune. PARAM Padma
is the latest machine in this series. The peak computing power of PARAM
Padma is 1 Tera FLOP (TFLOP).

5. Generations of Computers/History of Computers:

The computer evolved as a result of mans search for a fast and accurate
calculating device. Abacus was the first manual calculating device, which was
invented in Asia many centuries ago. In 1617, John Napier, a Scottish
mathematician invented a mechanical calculator called the Napiers bones.
Thereafter, many kinds of computers have been designed and built during the
evolution of the modern digital computer. In order to provide a framework for
the growth of computer industry, the computer era has been referred in terms

Supercomputers
of generations. Computers are classified into following five types based on
their historical advancement and electronic components used:
First Generation Computers (1942-1955)
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They used vacuum tubes.

They were very expensive.
They were heavy and large in size.
They generated a lot of heat.
Examples : ENIAC,EDVAC, UNIVAC.

Second Generation Computers (1956-1964)

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They used electronic devices called transistors.

They were smaller in size than first generation computers.
They were faster than first generation computers and also less expensive.
Examples: ENIAC 1401, CDC 160, IBM 700

Third Generation Computers (1965-1971)

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They used electronic devices called Integrated Circuits (ICs).

They were smaller in size than second generation computers and also
less expensive.
They were faster and more accurate than second generation computers.
Examples: VAX-750, IBM 360, ICL 1900

Introduction / 9

Fourth Generation Computers (1972 onwards)

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They use a device called microprocessor.

They are smaller in size.
They are cheaper and faster.
They are very easy to handle.
All present day computers come under this category.

Fifth Generation Computers (Future Computers)

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They will be intelligent like human beings, and will use Artificial
Intelligence(AI) for working.
They will be able to think and take decisions like us.
They will be used in ares such as robotics, designing, defence.

5. Components of Computer
Computer components can be broadly divided into two categoriesHardware
and Software.
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Hardware refers to physical component of a computer we can touch
or see. For example, CPU, Monitor, Keyboard, Hard Disk, Floppy Disk,
etc.
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Software refers to the programs which are required to operate the
computer. For example, DOS, Windows 7, LINUX, MS-Office, etc.
An analogy of hardware can be the physical book, which we are reading, and
then software world is the text written on this book.

Number System
Characters and strings of characters are represented internally in a computer
by using digit 0 or digit 1. In simple words, computer understands only two
digits 0 and 1. All the characters, numbers, data entered in the computer is
first converted into binary form (0 or 1) before it is processed or stored by the
computer. Before we discuss binary number system in detail, let us discuss
Decimal System first.

1. Decimal Number System

The decimal system uses the ten symbols 1,2,3,4,5,6,7,8,9, and 0. Its base is
10.
To a decimal integer, we assign a value but before that we assign weights
to each digit position. The weights are unity for the right most digit and changes
to tens, hundreds, thousands etc as we proceed towards the left digits of the
number.
We multiply the digits of the number by its respective weights to get the
place value of each digit and then add the place values of all the digits to get the
value of that number. The value of 3455 is calculated as:
Number
Weight
Place Value

3
1000
3000

4
100
400

5
10
50

5
1
5

The Number is = 3000+ 400 + 50 + 5 = 3455.

The notation for decimal numbers are as follows:
109 is written as (109)10, 3455 is written as (3455)10, where 10 represents the
base of the system.

2. Binary Number System

As explained in the beginning of the chapter this number system uses only two
symbols 0 and 1 and its base is 2. Numbers in this system are strings of bits.
For example: 10011. The notation for binary numbers are as follows 10011 is
written as (10011)2, where 2 represents the base of the binary system.
The right most bit is called LEAST SIGNIFICANT BIT and the left most
bit is called the MOST SIGNIFICANT BIT. The weights assigned to the bits
are the powers of 2 as 20=1, 21=2, 22=4, 23=8, 24=16, etc.

Number System

/ 11

As the powers of 10 are important in decimal systems, similarly powers

of 2 play an important role when it comes to representation in binary system.
As done in case of Decimal System, we multiply the digits of the number
by its respective weights to get the place value of each digit and then add them
all to get the value of that number. The value of binary number (10011)2 is
calculated as:
Number
Weight
Place Value

1
16
16

0
8
0

0
4
0

1
2
2

1
1
1

The Number is = 16+2+1 = 19.

(10011)2 = (19)10

3. Conversions of numbers from one system to another

(a) Decimal to Binary Conversion
The decimal number systems can be converted to other number systems by
using either of the two methods given below:
(i) Power Method
A. Writing the powers of the base (i.e. 2) till it is less than the number
to be converted.
B. Subtracting the highest number, which is obtained by raising the
powers of the base from the number, which is to be converted.
C. Obtaining the remainder say R.
D. Subtracting the next highest number from this remainder.
E. Repeating the process till the remainder is zero.
F. Now arrange all the index used in step A in descending orders, use
one for each index used in steps B to E and use zero for each index
which have not been used.
Example 1: Convert 220 into binary system.
Solution:
Step A: Powers of base 2 which are less than 220
20 = 1
21 = 2
22 = 4

23 = 8
24 = 16
25 = 32

26 = 64
27 = 128

Step B to E:
220
128
92
64
28
16

(= 27)
(= 26)
(= 24)

12
8

(= 23)

4
4

(= 22)

0
Step F:
Thus used indices are 7,6,4,3, and 2.
7
1

6
1

5
0

4
1

3
1

2
1

1
0

0
0

Thus binary equivalent of 220 is 11011100.

Example 2: Convert 674 into binary system.
Solution:
Step A: Powers of base 2 which are less than 674

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20 = 1
21 = 2
22 = 4
23 = 8

24 = 16
25 = 32
26 = 64
27 = 128

Step B to E:
674
512
162
128
34
32
2

2
0

(= 29)
(= 27)
(= 25)
(= 21)

28 = 256
29 = 512

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Step F:
Thus used indices are 9,7,5 and 1.
9
8
7
6
5
4
1
0
1
0
1
0
Thus binary equivalent of 674 is 1010100010.

3
0

2
0

1
1

0
0

(ii) Remainder Method

The conversion is carried out in the following order:
(i) Divide the given number (decimal system) by the base of the
proposed system (in which the number has to be converted). Note
down the remainder.
(ii) Now the quotient will again be divided by the radix and the remainder
will be noted down.
(iii) The procedure goes on till zero comes as quotient.
Example 1: Convert 220 into binary number by using Remainder method.
Solution:
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

220
110
55
27
13
6
3
1
0

0
0
1
1
1
0
1
1

While writing the binary equivalent the digits are taken from bottom to top (as
indicated by arrow). The binary equivalent of 220 is 11011100.
Example 2: Convert 674 into binary number by using Remainder method.
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2
2

674
337
168
84
42
21
10
5
2
1
0

Thus binary equivalent of 674 is 1010100010.

0
1
0
0
0
1
0
1
0
1

(b) Fractional decimal number to binary conversion

Fractional decimal numbers can be converted to binary numbers by following
the steps given below:
1. Multiply the base of the proposed system with the fraction to be
converted.
2. Note down the resulting integer (if any) otherwise put down zero in
that place.
3. Repeat the multiplication with the resulting fraction.
4. Keep repeating the procedure till the fraction vanishes or you
encounter the recursive fractions.
Example 1: Convert (17.84375)10 to binary form.
Integer part = 17. Using Remainder Method.
2
2
2
2
2

17
8
4
2
1
0

Thus 17 = 10001
Fraction Part= .84375.
Fraction
.84375 2
=
1.68750
.68750 2
=
1.37500
.37500 2
=
0.75
.75 2
=
1.50
.50 2
=
1.00
.843755 = .11011
17.35 = 10001.11011

1
0
0
0
1

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Example 2: Converting 0.2 to binary form:
Base = 2
Fraction
0.2 2
=
0.4
0.4 2
=
0.8
0.8 2
=
1.6
0.6 2
=
1.2
0.2 = .0011

Integer
1
1
0
1
1

Integer
0
0
1
1

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(c) Binary to Decimal Conversion

Binary numbers can be converted to decimal numbers system by multiplying
each binary digit with its respective position weight and then adding all the
results.
Examples:
1. (10100011)2
1

27 =
128
0

26 =
0
5
1

2
=
32
0

24 =
0
0

23 =
0
0

22 =
0
1

21 =
2
1

20 =
1
Sum
=
163
(10100011)2 = (163)10
2. (1101)2 =
1

23 =
8
1

22 =
4
0
0

21 =
1

20 =
1
Sum
=
13
(1101)2 = (13)10

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(d) Binary Fraction to Decimal Conversion

The binary fractions are converted to the decimal numbers system by
multiplying each digit by their respective position weights (that is the negative
powers of the base 2) and then adding them together.
Example:
(1011.11011)2
Consider the integer part first
1

23 =
8
0

22 =
0
1

21 =
2
1

20 =
1
Sum
=
11
Consider the fractional part now:
Fraction = (0.11011)2
= 1 21 + 1 22 + 0 23 + 1 24 +1 2 5
1
1
1
1
+
+0+
+
2
4
16
32
= (0.84375)10
Thus the decimal equivalent of (1011.11011) 2 is (11.84375) 10

Hardwares
Hardware refers to physical components of a computer we can touch or see.

Types of Hardwares
The hardware components of a microcomputer can be classified into the
following types:
(a) Motherboard
(b) Central Processing Unit or Processor
(c) Input Devices
(d) Output Devices
(e) Memory and Mass Storage Devices
(f) Cards
(g) Ports and cords
(h) Power Supply
All these hardware devices except Mother Board are called peripheral devices,
as they are connected to the motherboard.
(a) Motherboard
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Motherboard, also called as system board, is the most important hardware

component of a microcomputer.
Motherboard is so called, as all the other boards of the computer are
connected to this board, hence it is like mother of all other boards.
A motherboard contains the CPU chip, memory chip (ROM and RAM),
I/O interface controller, expansion slots and many other logic circuits.
It may also contain a math co-processor chip.
The function of math co-processor chip is to support the CPU chip in
processing of mathematical calculations.

(b) CPUCentral Processing Unit

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CPU or processor chip is the main component of the motherboard.

The types of CPU chip (8088/80286/80386/80486, etc.) vary from one
model of PC to another.
Sometimes referred to simply as the central processor, but more
commonly called processor, the CPU is the brains of the computer where
most calculations take place.
In terms of computing power, the CPU is the most important element
of a computer system.

Hardwares
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On large machines, the CPU requires one or more printed circuit boards.
On personal computers and small workstations, the CPU is housed in a
singlechip called a microprocessor.
The CPU itself is an internal component of the computer. Modern CPUs
are small and square and contain multiple metallic connectors or pins on
the underside. The CPU is inserted directly into a CPU socket, pin side
down, on the motherboard.
Each motherboard will support only a specific type (or range) of CPU,
so you must check the motherboard manufacturers specifications before
attempting to replace or upgrade a CPU in your computer.
Modern CPUs also have an attached heat sink and small fan that go
directly on top of the CPU to help dissipate heat.
Two typical components of a CPU are:
1. The arithmetic logic unit (ALU), which performs arithmetic and logical
operations and
2. The control unit (CU), which extracts instructions from memory and
decodes and executes them, calling on the ALU when necessary.

(c) Input Devices

We can enter data into the computer in many ways. The most commonly used
input devices are keyboards; pointing devices, such as mouse and track balls;
and scanners. Many other special-purpose-input devices are available. Computers
often have more than one input device. For example, most personal computers
have both a keyboard and a mouse.
(i) Keyboard:
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Most input data is entered into the computer by using a keyboard. This
input method is similar to typing on a typewriter.
Most typewriters and computer keyboards are QWERTY KEYBOARDS.
The alphabetic keys are arranged so that the upper-left row of letters
begins with the six letters Q W E R T Y.

The standard (QWERTY) keyboard layout

Designers of other keyboards claim that their boards are easier to learn
than the QWERTY keyboard. The Dvorak keyboard is one example. It
is not widely accepted because most people have already learn the
QWERTY keyboard.

(ii) Mouse
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Mouse is a palm-size device with a ball built into the bottom.

Mouse is usually connected to the computer by a cable (computer wires
are frequently called cables) and may have from one to four buttons
(usually two).
Mouse may be mechanical or optical and comes in many shapes and
sizes.
When you move the mouse over a smooth surface, the balls rolls, and
the pointer on the display screen moves in the same direction.
The Apple Macintosh, with its graphical user interface, made the mouse
popular. Now, most microcomputer systems, regardless of the
manufacturer, use a mouse.
With the mouse, you can draw, select options from a menu and modify
or move text. You issue commands by pointing with the pointer and
clicking a mouse button. In addition to minimizing typing errors, a mouse
makes operating a microcomputer easier for beginning users.

Mouse

(iii) Track Ball

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It is like an upside-down mouse.

Used in the same way as and the mouse, the track ball is frequently
attached to or built into the keyboard.
The main advantage of a track ball is that it requires less desk space

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Track Ball

than a mouse. (Some individuals in the computer industry believe that

devices that do not require as much space to use will soon replace the
mouse.)
The mouse is not practical for people using a laptop computer in a small
space. Early alternatives, such as track balls clipped to the side of the
keyboard, have not proved satisfactory.

(iv) Touchpad
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The touch pad is a stationary pointing device that many people find less
tiring to use than a mouse or a track ball.
The movement of a finger across a small touch surface is translated into
cursor movement on the computer screen.
The touch sensitivity surface may be just 1.52 inch square, so the finger
does not have to move much. Its size makes it most suitable for the
notebooks or the laptops.

Touchpad

A device that was released in 1995 enables the user to move the cursor
using an infrared pen. The pen is cordless and works when it is as far
as fifteen feet from the screen.
Although the mouse is still the most popular pointing device, these
innovations may change that in future.

(v) Joysticks
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A joystick is a pointing device often used for playing games.

The joystick has a gearshift-like lever that is used to move the pointer
on the screen.
On most joysticks, a button on the top is used to select option. In industry
and manufacturing, joysticks are used to control robots.
Flight simulators and other training simulators also use joysticks.

Joystick

(vi) TouchSensitive Screens

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Touch screens enable the user to select an option by pressing a specific

part of the screen.
Touch screens are commonly used in grocery stores, fast-food
restaurants and information kiosks.

(vii) Pen-Based Systems

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Pen-based systems are especially useful for people who do not like to
type or who are frequently on the move.
Pen-based systems are not perfectthey do not always register
handwriting correctly. Pen-based computing is just beginnings to gain
widespread acceptance. For example, many stores no longer have you

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sign a carbon form to charge a purchase; instead you sign on a tablet

that automatically records your signature.
Many engineers and architects use a different type of pen called a light
pen. The light pen uses a photoelectric (light sensitive) cell to indicate
screen position to the computer. You operate the pen by touching it to
the screen. Light pens are frequently used for computer-aided design
(CAD) applications.
Another tool used in CAD applications and other graphics applications is
a digitizing tablet. A digitizing tablet consists of a grid on which designs
and drawings can be entered. Most tablets are pressure-sensitive and the
user draws directly on the tablet using a special pen called a STYLUS
or a puck. Digitizing tablets are used to design cars, buildings, medical
devices and robots.

(viii) Optical Recognition Systems

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OPTICAL RECOGNITION SYSTEMS provide another means of

minimizing keyed input by capturing data at the source. These systems
enable the computer to read data by scanning printed text for
recognizable patterns.
The banking industry developed one of the earliest scanning systems in
the 1950s for processing cheques.
The Magnetic Ink Character Recognition (MICR) system is still used
throughout the banking industry. The bank, branch, account number and
cheque number are encoded on the cheque before it is sent to the
customer. After the customer has used the cheque and it comes back to
the bank, all that needs to be entered manually is the amount. MICR has
not been adopted by other industries because the character set has only
fourteen symbols.

(ix) Bar Code Readers

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Of all the scanning devices, you are probably most familiar with BAR
CODE READERS.
Many retail and grocery stores use some form of bar code reader to
determine the item being sold and to retrieve the item price from a
computer system. The code reader may be a handled unit or it may be
embedded in a countertop.
The bar code reader reads the Universal Product Code (UPC), a pattern
of bars printed on merchandise. The UPC has gained wide acceptance
since its introduction in the 1970s.
Initially, workers resisted the use of the code because the system was
used to check their accuracy and speed. Today, bar codes are used to
update inventory and ensure correct pricing.
Federal Express uses a unique bar code to identify and track each
package. Federal Express employees can usually tell a customer within
a matter of minutes the location of any package.

(x) Optical Mark Readers

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By taking exams, you are familiar with Mark Sense Character Recognition
systems. Every time you take a test with a fill in the bubble Scantron
form and use a HB2 lead pencil, you are creating input suitable for an
OPTICAL MARK READER (OMR).
A HB2 lead pencil works best because of the number of magnetic particles
in that weight lead. The OMR senses the magnetized marks, enabling
the reader to determine which responses are marked.
OMR is very helpful to researchers who need to tabulate responses to
large surveys. Almost any type of survey or questionnaire can be designed
to be suitable for OMR devices.
An OMR unit can be attached to a microcomputer and the data
transferred to a file directly.

(xi) Optical Scanners

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OPTICAL SCANNERS can scan typed documents, pictures, graphics

or even handwriting into a computer. Photographs scanned into a
microcomputer appear clearly on the screen and can be displayed
whenever desired. The copy that the computer stores never yellows with
age.
Early scanners could recognize only text printed in a special OPTICAL
CHARACTER RECOGNITION (OCR) typeface. A scanner converts the
image that it sees into numeric digits before storing it in the computer.
This conversion process is known as DIGITIZING.

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Optical Scanners
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Depending on the volume and type of material to be scanned, you can

use drum scanner, flatbed scanner, sheeted scanner and even small
handheld scanners. The small, handheld scanners are used most frequently
with microcomputers; however, only 5 per cent of all microcomputer
systems are equipped with scanners.
Most of these new devices sit between the keyboard and the monitor
and can interface with a fax machine, send e-mail, and store documents
on disk for archive purposes.

(xii) Voice Recognition Devices

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Voice input and control systems have the potential of revolutionizing the
way we communicate with computers.
Steady progress has been made in this area, although there are still some
problems. The day may soon come when we will be able to talk to our
computers the way the actors do in Star Trek.
Computer scientists and linguists have been working on VOICE
RECOGNITION SYSTEMS for two decades. The major difficulty has
been that people speak with different accents and intonations. For this
reason, most successful voice recognition systems require a period of
training for the system to get accustomed to an individuals accent
and intonation.
The first systems could recognize only a few dozen words. A system
recently released by IBM, known as Voice Type, is capable of recognizing
as many as 32,000 words and is speaker independent.
Voice recognition has unlimited possibilities and will make computers
much easier to use. Speech recognition systems are already being used
in many types of settings. In factories, workers use speech recognition
systems to control robotic arms when the workers own hands are busy.

Speech recognition systems enable physically disabled people to use

computers. A microcomputer VOICE USER INTERFACE (VUI), capable
of recognizing input from a variety of individuals, will be considered
standard soon.
VIDEO DIGITIZERS can capture input from virtually any type of video
device, such as VCRs, television and camcorders. Audio digitizers can
digitize music or voice from a microphone. It is fairly easy to capture a
portion of a television show, add some music that complements the picture
and play back the result on a microcomputer to create a multimedia
presentation.

(d) Output Devices

(A) Hard Copy Devices: Printer
(B) Soft Copy Devices: Display devices, Speaker

Printer
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Printers are used for producing output on paper.

There are a large variety of printing devices which can be classified
according to the print quality and the printing speed.
Although the local-area network, the World Wide Web and electronic mail
were supposed to produce a paperless office, it seems that most users
generate more paper today than they did in the past.
Operating System stores information about each printer connected to the
system or available in the network. Like most of hardware devices, one
can customise various printer settings.

Types of Printers
About 1500 types of printers are commercially available conforming to about
15 different printing technologies.
(i) Dot Matrix Printer
A dot-matrix printer creates the characters it prints by placing ink at specific
dot locations within a grid (matrix). Figure below shows how a dot-matrix
printer might form the number 21. The greater the number of dots the printer
uses to create a character, the sharper the characters image. Most tractorfeed
and inkjet printers use a limited number of dots to construct characters which
is why the page printed using such a printer is not as sharp as that by a laser
printer, which uses a greater number of dots.

Hardwares

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Dot Locations within Grid (matrix)

(ii) Inkjet Printer
Printer developed by Canon which forms letters and images on the paper by
spraying small streams of quick-drying ink. The ink is stored in a disposable
ink cartridge.

Inkjet Printer

(iii) Laser Printer

Laser printers are Printer that uses laser technology to print images on the
paper. The laser recreates the image on a negatively charged drum which will
then collect ink that is positively charged to attract to the areas of the image.
The Paper is then negatively charged therefore the positively charged ink is
attracted to the paper and then is fused onto the paper.

(iv) Line Printers

Any printer that prints one line at one time, as opposed to one character at a
time or one page at a time. Line printer typically produce the 11 by 17 inch
computer printout. They are high speed devices and are often used with
mainframes, minicomputers, or networked machines rather than with single
user system. Types of line printers include chain printers and band printer.
(v) Drum Printer
A line printer in which a revolving cylinder acts as the printing element.
(vi) Impact Printing
Is the method used by the conventional type writers. In some type of impact
printing a metal hammer embossed with a character strikes a print ribbon,
which presses the characters image into paper. In other types the hammer
strikes the paper and presses it into the ribbon characters created through
impact printing can be formed by either a solid font or dot matrix printing
mechanism.
(vii) Non-Impact Printing
Does not depend on the impact of metal on paper. In fact no physical contact
at all occurs between the printing mechanism and the paper. The most popular
non-impact methods today utilise thermal transfer.
Display Devices/Monitors
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Display devices are one of the most important peripherals in computer

is the graphic display device for display of graphs, diagrams and pictures
to make the visual presentation of information more effective for user
interaction and decision making.
Graphic display is made up of a series of dots called pixels whose
pattern produces the image. Each dot on the screen is defined as a
separate unit which can be directly addressed. Since each dot can be
controlled individually there is much greater flexibility in drawing
pictures.
There are three categories of display screen technology:
1. Cathode Ray Tube (CRT) Displays: The main components of a CRT
terminal are the electron gun, the electron beam controlled by an
electromagnetic field and a phosphor coated display screen. The
electron gun emits an electron beam which is directed towards the
phosphor coated display by the electromagnetic field in order to create
an image.
The quality of display is indicated by the resolution of the display

Hardwares

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device. Resolution is determined by the number of pixels horizontally

and vertically.
Typical resolution in graphic display ranges form (640 x 480) pixels
to (1024 x 768) pixels.
There are different types of CRT displays:
a. CGA (Color Graphics Adapter)
b. MDA (Monochrome Display Adapter)
c. HGA (Hercules Graphics Adapter)
d. EGA (Enhanced Graphics Adapter)
e. VGA (Video Graphics Adapter)
f. SVGA (Super VGA)
2. Liquid Crystal Displays (LCD): The major advantage of LCD is the
low energy consumption. The CRT (Cathode Ray Tube) is replaced
by liquid crystal to produce the image. These are commonly used in
portable devices because of compactness and low energy requirements.
3. Projection Displays: The personal size screen of the previous displays
is replaced by a large screen upon which images are projected. These
are normally used for large group presentations.

(e) Memory and Mass Storage Devices

(i) Primary Memory or Main Memory
The main memory also known as the primary memory is a part of the central
processing unit and is a combination of both RAM (random access memory)
and ROM (read only memory). The main memory contains the programs that
are currently being worked on. It passes on this information to the control unit
as and when required.
RAM
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The random access memory is a read write memory i.e. information can
be read as well as written into this type of memory.
It is volatile in nature, i.e., the information it contains is lost as soon as
the system is shut down unless saved for further usage by users.
It is basically used to store programs and data during the computers
operation.

ROM
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The read only memory as the name may suggest contains information
that can only be read, i.e., you cant write on this type of memory.
It is non-volatile or permanent in nature. It is basically used to store
permanent programs such as program for the functioning of the monitor.

The main memory is a fast-memory, i.e., it has small access time. It is

because of its limited capacity that it is fast.
In case the CPU wants to access some data that is present in a secondary
storage device, this data is first transferred to the main memory and then
processed.
The main memory is much more costly than the secondary storage
devices. Although the ROM ICs of various computers do not vary much
in their capacities, the RAM chips are available in wide ranges of storage
capacities.
In fact, the capacity of the random access memory is an important
specification of a computer.
A larger RAM means larger programs (in terms of memory) can be loaded
and executed. Suppose you want to run a 68-KB program on a machine
with 64-KB. This means that the whole program cannot be loaded into
the main memory at once resulting in either the non-execution of the
program or a very slow execution.
A 64-K memory means that there are approximately 64000 (65,536 to
be precise) storage locations which can store 1 bit of data each.
Different memories can be classified on the basis of these concepts:
1. Access Mode: which means how easily they are accessible.
2. Access time: the average time required to reach a storage location and
obtain its content is called access time.
3. Transfer Rate: the transfer rate is the number of characters or words
that a device can transfer per second after it has been positioned at
the beginning of the record.
4. Capacity and cost: the capacity and cost may depend upon the
requirement and the budget.
The main memory has a very low access time and a very high transfer
rate. It is limited in capacity and costlier than secondary storage devices.

(ii) The Cache Memory

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Another important concept is that of the cache memory, which is also a

part of the CPU.
The cache memory lies in the path between the processor and the main
memory.
The cache memory therefore, has lesser access time than the main
memory and is faster than the main memory. A cache memory may have
an access time of 100ns, while the main memory may have an access
time of 700ns.
The cache memory is very expensive and hence is limited in capacity.
Earlier cache memories were available separately but the latest

Hardwares

/ 29

microprocessors contain the cache memory on the chip itself.

The need for the cache memory is due to the mismatch between the
speeds of the main memory and the CPU. The CPU clock is very fast,
whereas the main memory access time is comparatively slower. Hence,
no matter how fast the processor is, the processing speed depends more
on the speed of the main memory (the strength of a chain is the strength
of its weakest link). It is because of this reason that a cache memory
having access time closer to the processor speed is introduced.
The cache memory stores the program (or its part) currently being
executed or which may be executed within a short period of time.
The cache memory also stores temporary data that the CPU may
frequently require for manipulation.

Cache Memory
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The cache memory works according to various algorithms, which decide

what information it has to store. These algorithms work out the probability
to decide which data would be most frequently needed. This probability
is worked out on the basis of past observations.

(iii) Secondary Memory or Auxiliary Storage Memory

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The auxiliary storage memory, also known as the secondary memory is

an external (to the CPU) memory.
The auxiliary storage devices store system programs, large data files,
assemblers, compilers and other programs. In other worlds the auxiliary
storage devices are used for bulk storage of data.

The storage capacity of these devices is unlimited as an empty device

can replace them once the existing device is completely filled. Even the
individual storage devices, such as the magnetic tape have more capacity
than the main memory.
The secondary memory is permanent in nature, i.e., the information stored
in these devices is not lost unless specifically deleted.
Secondary storage devices being permanent in nature can also be used
for transportation of data from one computer to another.
Secondary storage devices are cheaper as compared to the main memory.
The information stored in the secondary memory are first transferred to
the main memory and then processed by the CPU. The final result may
then be placed in the secondary memory. It is because of this that the
access time of the secondary memory is comparatively high. Hence, the
data stored in secondary storage devices take more time to process than
the data already present in the main memory. In fact the access time for
data stored in secondary memory is one thousand times the data stored
in main memory.
Secondary memories may also be considered as input and output devices
as they provide the information as input and store the final results in the
output.
Memory Hierarchy

Block Diagram Illustrating the Memory Hierarchy

(f) Secondary Storage Devices

Storage Devices are the data storage devices that are used in the computers to
store the data. The computer has many types of data storage devices. Some
of them can be classified as the removable data Storage Devices and the
others as the non removable data Storage Devices.

Hardwares

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(i) Floppy discs

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A floppy disk is a data storage medium that is composed of a disk of

thin flexible floppy magnetic storage medium encased in a rectangular
plastic shell. Floppy disks are read and written by a floppy disk drive.

Floppy
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They had a storage capacity of 1.4 MB.

These have become obsolete now.
These were used to move small files such as word processing, small
spreadsheets and databases from one computer to another and were
useful to backup small data files.

(ii) Fixed hard discs

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A hard disk drive is the device used to store large amounts of digital
information in computers and related equipment like iPods and games
consoles such as the Xbox 360 and PS3.
Hard disk drives are used to store operating systems, software and
working data. These are suitable for any application which requires very
fast access to data for both reading and writing to. However, Hard disk
drives may not be suitable for applications which need portability.
Almost all computers used a fixed hard disc. Used for on-line and real
time processes requiring direct access. Used in file servers for computer
networks to store large amount of data.
These may have storage capacity ranging from few GBs to 1 TB or more.

Fixed Hard Discs

(iii) Portable hard discs
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Portable hard discs are good fun because you can carry data about all
over the place and transfer information, programs, pictures, etc between
computers.

Portable Hard Discs

Hardwares
l

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/ 33

Greatly improved data cargo carrying capacity (relative to the 1.44 Mb

floppy disc).
You dont need to worry about the other person having the same type
of special cartridge drive as yourself.
Hard drives have to be handled quite carefully, and when being
transported should be wrapped in something soft and put in a padded
bag.
More expensive than other forms of removable media.
Portable disc discs are used to store very large files which need
transporting from one computer to another and price is not an issue.

(iv) Magnetic tapes

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Magnetic tape has been used for data storage for over 50 years. When
storing large amounts of data, tape can be substantially less expensive
than disk or other data storage options. Tape storage has always been
used with large computer systems. Modern usage is primarily as a high
capacity medium for backups and archives.

Magnetic Tapes

Writing and retrieving data is slow. It uses serial access for reading and
writing.
Magnetic tapes are used for application which requires extremely large
storage capacity where speed of access is not an issue. It is commonly
used for backups of file servers for computer networks, in a variety of
batch processing applications such as reading of bank cheques, payroll
processing and general stock control.

K KUNDAN

(v) Optical backing storage media such as CDs and DVDs

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CDs tend to be used for large files (but smaller than 1Gb) which are too
big for a floppy disc to hold such as music and general animation.
DVDs are used to hold very large files (several Gb) such as movie films.
Both CDs and DVDs are portable i.e. they can be transported from one
computer to another. Both can be used to store computer data.
CD ROM/DVD ROM Applications which require the prevention of
deletion of data, accidental or otherwise. CDs used by software companies
for distributing software programs and data; by Music companies for
distributing music albums and by book publishers for distributing
encyclopaedias, reference books etc. DVDs used by film distributors.
CD R/DVD R Applications which require a single burning of data, e.g.
CDs - recording of music downloads from the Internet, recording of
music from MP3 format, recording of data for archiving or backup
purposes. DVDs recording of film movies and television programs.
CD RW/DVD RW Applications which require the updating of information
and ability to record over old data. Not suitable for music recording but
is very useful for keeping generations of files. DVDs have between five
and ten times the capacity of CDs.

Hardwares

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CDs
(vi) Solid state backing storage
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These are the smallest form of memory available in the market today.
Widely used as removable storage.
They are more robust than other forms of storage.
Though expensive than other forms they can be easily written to and
updated.
Pen drives, Memory Cards are the examples:

(a) Memory sticks/Pen drives

USB flash drives are typically removable and rewritable, much smaller than a
floppy disk. Storage capacities typically range from 64 MB to 64 GB. USB
flash drives offer potential advantages over other portable storage devices,
particularly the floppy disk. They have a more compact shape, operate faster,

Pen drives

hold much more data, have a more durable design, and operate more reliably
due to their lack of moving parts. Flash drives are widely used to transport
files and backup data from computer to computer.
(b) Flash memory cards
A memory card or flash memory card is a solid-state electronic flash memory
data storage device used with digital cameras, handheld and Mobile computers,
telephones, music players, video game consoles, and other electronics.
Nowadays, most new PCs have built-in slots for a variety of memory cards;
Memory Stick, Compact Flash, SD, etc. Some digital gadgets support more
than one memory card to ensure compatibility.

Flash memory cards

Softwares
Software is a general term which is used to describe the instructions that are
given to computer. These instructions can be either a single programme or a
group of programmes.

1. Types of Software
Software is generally classified into three specific categories in the computer
world:
1. System software
2. Application software
3. Utility software.
1. System software: This consists of all the programmes, languages and
documentation supplied by the manufacturer of the computer. This type
of software is required to use the computer efficiently and conveniently.
These programmes allow the application developer to write and develop
their own programmes.
Examples of system software: Operating Systems (Windows 98, Windows
7), Drivers (Sound card driver, Display Driver), Viruses etc.
2. Application software: These programmes are developed by the user in
order to perform some specific function for the organisation. For example
a payroll system to compute the salaries of the employees of an
organisation is termed as an application software.
Examples of Application Software: Microsoft Office, Payroll System,
Inventory System.
3. Utility software: Utility software may be considered as an application
software or a system software which is very often used in the
development of a programme.
Examples of Utility softwares: Winzip, Frontpage, Notepad, Web Browsers
etc.

2. Operating System
An operating system concerns itself with every single and minute detail of
your computer working. It manages everything that runs an your computer
straight from running an application software, entering data, displaying
information on monitor, printing a report to storing data on external storage
device (disk). Wherever you are working on your computer, an operating

system is always in computer memory. It does many jobs on your behalf

without showing you each and every step of processing. For example, if you
give a command to open a document file in a word processer, the document is
immediately displayed on the screen. But, how this file is opened from the disk
(storage device) and how information is displayed on the monitor (output
device). All these types of functions are performed by the operating system.
In order to enable computer to effectively and efficiently utilise its resources
to monitor the system performance and to provide services to the users, an
operating system is needed. So, an operating system performs basically three
types of functions.
(a) Essential Functions: The essential functions of an operating system
are concerned with effective utilisation of computer resources. Storage
management and processes management are two important essential
functions of an operating system. Storage management is concerned
with allocation and reclamation of storage when a program is initiated
and terminated. Processor management is concerned with scheduling
of programs in a time sharing system.
(b) Monitoring Functions: These functions are concerned with
collection of resource utilisation and system performance information.
CPU and IO devices form the resources whose utilisations are
collected and monitored by device management functions of operating
system.
(c) Service Functions: These functions of operating system enhance
facilities provided to the users. They include mainly automatic
procedures for recovery due to hardware errors, file editing facilities
and file organisation and access methods.
An operating system must perform at least the following functions in order to
enable the computer to process user programs satisfactorily.
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Processor Management is concerned with allocating CPU to various
competing jobs/processes to ensure maximum output from the system.
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Input/Output or Device Management refers to coordination and control
of various I/O devices and is an important function of the operating
system. This involves receiving the request for I/O interrupts and
communicating back to the requesting process.
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Memory Management OS allocates memory to itself and its resident
system programs, sets aside areas for application program and user
partition, arranges the I/O buffers and reserves storage for specialised
purposes.
l
File Management or Information Management computers use a lot
of data/programs which are stored on secondary storage devices. File
management function of an OS involves keeping track of all different

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/ 39

files and maintaining the integrity of data stored in the files including file
directory structure.
Job Control: When the user wants to run an application program, he
must communicate with the OS, telling it what to do. He does this by
using the OSs job control language or JCL. JCL consists of a number
of OS commands, called system commands, that control the functioning
of the operating system.
House Keeping includes all the support services necessary to ensure
smooth operation of the computer system, viz., security, protection, and
resource accounting, back-up and restoration, etc.
OS as a Resource Manager for four major resources.
Resource

Examples
Task

Examples S/W
to Accomplish

1. Memory

Core (Main)

Memory Management, paging

2. Processors

CPU, I/O channels

Traffic controller, scheduler

3. Devices

Tapes, drums, card punch

Spooling

4. Information Segment (system user)

File System, Library

3. BIOS
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Pronounced bye-ose, BIOS is an acronym for basic input/output

system. The BIOS is built-in software that determines what a computer
can do without accessing programs from a disk. On PCs, the BIOS
contains all the codes required to control the keyboard, display screen,
disk drives, serial communications, and a number of miscellaneous
functions.
The BIOS is typically placed on a ROM chip that comes with the
computer (it is often called a ROM BIOS). This ensures that the BIOS
will always be available and will not be damaged by disk failures. It also
makes it possible for a computer to boot itself.
Because RAM is faster than ROM, many computer manufacturers design
systems so that the BIOS is copied from ROM to RAM each time the
computer is booted. This is known as shadowing, and should be disabled
in the BIOS setup before flashing. Most modern PCs have a flash BIOS,
which means that the BIOS has been recorded on a rewriteable memory
chip, which can be updated if necessary.
The PC BIOS is standardised, so all PCs are alike at this level (although
there are different BIOS versions). Additional DOS functions are usually
added through software modules. This means you can upgrade to a newer

version of DOS without changing the BIOS.

PC BIOSes that can handle Plug-and-Play (PnP) devices are known as
PnP BIOSes, or PnP-aware BIOSes. These BIOSes are always
implemented with flash memory rather than ROM.
When you turn on your computer, several events occur automatically:
1. The CPU wakes up (has power) and reads the x86 code in the BIOS
chip.
2. The code in the BIOS chip runs a series of tests, called the POST
for Power On Self Test, to make sure the system devices are working
correctly. In general, the BIOS:
H Initialises system hardware and chipset registers
H Initialises power management
H Tests RAM (Random Access Memory)
H Enables the keyboard
H Tests serial and parallel ports
H Initialises floppy disk drives and hard disk drive controllers
H Displays system summary information
3. During POST, the BIOS compares the system configuration data
obtained from POST with the system information stored on a CMOS
Complementary Metal-Oxide Semiconductormemory chip located on
the motherboard. (This CMOS chip, which is updated whenever new
system components are added, contains the latest information about
system components.)
4. After the POST tasks are completed, the BIOS looks for the boot
program responsible for loading the operating system. Usually, the
BIOS looks on the floppy disk drive A: followed by drive C:.
5. After being loaded into memory, the boot program then loads the system
configuration information (contained in the registry in a Windows
environment) and device drivers.
6. Finally, the operating system is loaded, and, if this is a Windows
environment, the programs in the Start Up folder are executed.

Viruses and Social Concerns

1. Negative Impacts of Computer Technology
Theyre manufactured using hazardous chemicals hence harming the
health of people working and also contributing in pollution.
l
They are failure prone. A failure in a nuclear power station, or airplane
etc. can endanger many lives and resources.
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Discarded computers are real junk and consume lot of space.
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They are always a threat to personal privacy.
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Working too much time in computer gives the user back pain, nerve
injuries etc.
l
By automating tasks, unemployment is increasing at a very high speed
specially in product units. However this aspect has been neutralized by
employment generation in IT sector.
Thus one has to be careful while working on the computer and take care of
the negative effects, so that they do not overpower the positive effects of it.
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2. Viruses and their Types

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Virus is a small intelligent code (program written in any computer

language) written to alter the way a computer or a program must operate
without the permission or knowledge of the user.
Computer viruses pose a significant threat to todays business
environment. As users share more information both over network and
through other medium, the rate of virus outbreak and its threat continues
to increase.
The DOS environment has traditionally experienced the greatest number
of viruses. Now a greater number of new viruses have been written that
target the window and other environments.
To make it clear it is necessary to understand that computer viruses has
nothing to do with biological viruses. It is neither a living or a nonliving
object but a program to disturb computers and their users.
These programs (viruses) disturb users written programs, storage area
of program and sometimes storage devices. For this very reason,
problems in hardware (since almost all hardware are derived by
programs) are blamed to viruses to get rid of customers complaints and
the Anti-virus companies are benefited with this.
A virus needs only two criteria. First, it must execute itself, often placing

some version of its own code in the path of execution of another program.
Second it must replicate itself, i.e., copy itself to other executable files
or to the disks the user accesses. It can invade single user (desktop)
machines and network services alike.
PC viruses generally fall into three classes. (a) program viruses, (b) boot
sector viruses, (c) multipartite viruses.
Program viruses infect program files. These files have extensions such
as .com, .exe., dll...... and even .bat, etc. Boot sector viruses infect the
system area of a disk, i.e., boot record of floppy or hard disk. All physical
floppy diskettes and hard disk contain a small program in the boot record
that is run when the computer starts up.
Boot sector viruses attach themselves to this part of the disk and activate
when the user attempts to start up from the infected disk.
Third class multipartite viruses infect both program files and boot
records.

3. Spreading of Viruses
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The most common way a boot virus spreads is by starting a computer

with a boot virus injected floppy diskettes in drive A while starting a
computer. The infected floppy diskette immediately writes its code to
the master boot record (MBR). The MBR runs each time when computer
starts, so from then virus initiated each time the computer starts. In one
or another forms the MBR runs in each operating system (DOS,
Windows 95, OS/2, Unix, etc.), so a virus can infect any type of
operating system. Once the virus has infected the computer it has two
primary jobs: to propagate itself to other computers and to activate the
event (trigger) that causes the virus to perform its task.
To propagate itself to other computer a virus needs to find a carrier. A
carrier can be a file or floppy diskette. Most boot sector viruses will
infect any floppy diskette that is inserted into the floppy drive. When
another system is inadvertently started with this floppy diskette in its
boot drive that system becomes infected too. If the virus infects a file
as a carrier and the file is run on another users system, the virus gains
control and infects more files or the boot sector of the second system.
Some viruses are programmed to damage the computer by corrupting
programs, deleting files or reformatting the hard disk. Some are not
designed to damage, but simply make their presence known by presenting
text, video and audio messages in any way that creates problems for the
computer user. They typically take up a computers memory use by
legitimate programs. As a result they often cause erratic behavior and
can result in system crashes and data loss.

Viruses and Social Concerns

/ 43

4. Data Attacks
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There are many types of attacks on the confidentiality, integrity, and

availability of data. Confidentiality keeps data secret from those not
authorised to see it.
Integrity keeps data safe from modification by those not authorised to
change it. Availability, as we discussed under Denial or Degradation of
Service above, keeps data available for use.
The theft, or unauthorised copying, of confidential data is an obvious
attack that falls into this category. Espionage agents steal national defense
information. Industrial spies steal their competitors product information.
Crackers steal passwords or other kinds of information on breaking into
systems.
Two terms youll hear in the context of data attacks are inference and
leakage. With inference, a user legitimately views a number of small pieces
of data, but by putting those small pieces together is able to deduce some
piece of non-obvious and secret data. With leakage, a user gains access
to a flow of data via an unauthorised access route (e.g., through
eavesdropping).

5. Unauthorised Copying of Data

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Software piracy is another attack that spans the categories weve identified
in this unit. In some sense, piracy is just another example of the
unauthorised copying of data.
The methods for detecting and preventing such a crime are the same
whether the copied data is national defense plans, commercial software,
or sensitive corporate or personal data.
Preventing and detecting this type of attack requires coordinated policies
among the different categories of computer security. In terms of
personnel security, user education is vital. In terms of operations security,
automated logging and auditing software can play a part as well.

6. Session Hijacking
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Session hijacking is a relatively new type of attack in the communications

category. Some types of hijacking have been around a long time.
In the simplest type, an unauthorised user gets up from his terminal to
go get a cup of coffee. Someone lurking nearbyprobably a coworker
who isnt authorised to use this particular systemsits down to read or
change files that he wouldnt ordinarily be able to access.
Some systems dont disconnect immediately when a session is terminated.
Instead, they allow a user to re-access the interrupted program for a
short period. A cracker with a good knowledge of telephone and

telecommunications operations can take advantage of this fact to reconnect

to the terminated session.
Sometimes, an attacker will connect a covert computer terminal to a line
between the authorised terminal and the computer. The criminal waits
until the authorised terminal is on line but not in use, and then switches
control to the covert terminal. The computer thinks it is still connected
to the authorised user, and the criminal has access to the same files and
data as the authorised user. Other types of hijacking occur when an
authorised user doesnt log out properly so the computer still expects a
terminal to be connected. Call forwarding from an authorised number to
an unauthorised number is another method of getting access.
Technically sophisticated tunneling attacks fall into this category as well.
Tunneling uses one data transfer method to carry data for another method.
Tunneling is an often legitimate way to transfer data over incompatible
networks, but it is illegitimate when it is used to carry unauthorised data
in legitimate data packets.

7. Timing Attacks
l

Timing attacks is another technically complex way to get unauthorised

access to software or data. These include the abuse of race conditions
and asynchronous attacks. In race conditions, there is a race between
two processes operating on a system; the outcome depends on who wins
the race. Although such conditions may sound theoretical, they can be
abused in very real ways by attackers who know what theyre doing.
On certain types of UNIX systems, for example, attackers could exploit
a problem with files known as setuid shell files to gain superuser
privileges. They did this by establishing links to a setuid shell file, then
deleting the links quickly and pointing them at some other file of their
own. If the operation is done quickly enough, the system can be made
to run the attackers file, not the real file.
Asynchronous attacks are another way of taking advantage of dynamic
system activity to get access. Computer systems are often called upon to do
many things at the same time. They may, for example, be asked by different
users to analyse data using an application program that can work with only
one set of data at a time. Or they may be told to print data by more users than
they can handle at once. In these cases, the operating system simply places
user requests into a queue, then satisfies them according to a predetermined
set of criteria; for example, certain users may always take precedence, or
certain types of tasks may come before others. Asynchronous means
that the computer doesnt simply satisfy requests in the order in which they
were performed, but according to some other scheme.

Viruses and Social Concerns

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/ 45

A skilled programmer can figure out how to penetrate the queue and
modify the data that is waiting to be processed or printed. He might use
his knowledge of the criteria to place his request in front of others waiting
in the queue. He might change a queue entry to replace someone elses
name or data with his own, or to subvert that users data by replacing
it. Or he could disrupt the entire system by changing commands so that
data is lost, programs crash, or information from different programs is
mixed as the data is analysed or printed.

8. Trojan Horses
l

Trojan horses, viruses, worms, and their kin are all attacks on the integrity
of the data that is stored in systems and communicated across networks.
Because there should be procedures in place for preventing and detecting
these menaces, they overlap with the operations security category as well.
During the Trojan War, the Greeks hid soldiers inside a large hollow
wooden horse designed by Odysseus. When the Trojans were persuaded
to bring the horse inside the gates of the city, the hidden soldiers emerged
and opened the gates to allow their own soldiers to attack the enemy.
In the computer world, Trojan horses are still used to sneak in where
theyre not expected. A Trojan horse is a method for inserting instructions
in a program so that program performs an unauthorised function while
apparently performing a useful one. Trojan horses are a common
technique for planting other problems in computers, including viruses,
worms, logic bombs, and salami attacks (more about these later). Trojan
horses are a commonly used method for committing computer-based
fraud and are very hard to detect.
Consider this typical situation: A Trojan horse is hidden in an application
program that a user is eager to trysomething like a new game or a
program that promises to increase efficiency. Inside the horse is a logic
bomb that will cause the entire system to crash the third time the user
runs the new program. If hes lucky, the user will thoroughly enjoy the
program the first two times its run, because when he tries to use it the
third time, the program he was eager to try will disable his whole system.

9. Viruses and Worms

l

People often confuse viruses and worms, so we try to differentiate them

in this section. Indeed, they have many similarities, and both can be
introduced into systems via Trojan horses.
The easiest way to think of a computer virus is in terms of a biological
virus. A biological virus is not strictly alive in its own right, at least in
the sense that lay people usually view life. It needs a living host in order

to operate. Viruses infect healthy living cells and cause them to replicate
the virus. In this way, the virus spreads to other cells. Without the living
cell, a virus cannot replicate.
In a computer, a virus is a program which modifies other programs so
they replicate the virus. In other words, the healthy living cell becomes
the original program, and the virus affects the way the program operates.
How? It inserts a copy of itself in the code. Thus, when the program
runs, it makes a copy of the virus. This happens only on a single system.
(Viruses dont infect networks in the way worms do, as well explain
below.) However, if a virus infects a program which is copied to a disk
and transferred to another computer, it could also infect programs on
that computer. This is how a computer virus spreads.
The spread of a virus is simple and predictableand it can be prevented.
Viruses are mainly a problem with PCs and Macintoshes. Virus infection
is fortunately hard to accomplish on UNIX systems and mainframes.
Unlike a virus, a worm is a standalone program in its own right. It exists
independently of any other programs. To run, it does not need other
programs. A worm simply replicates itself on one computer and tries to
infect other computers that may be attached to the same network.
An important distinction between worms and viruses: A worm operates
over a network, but in order to infect a machine, a virus must be
physically copied. Some viruses and worms are nondestructive
(comparatively speaking), while others are extremely malevolent.
Many common PC viruses, such as Michaelangelo, cause machine
crashes or data loss as a result of bugs or other unexpected interactions
with existing code. The Christmas Tree worm program which attacked
IBM systems started out as nondestructive. But, as it spread itself to
other computers, it became destructive when it proliferated into the system
to such a degree that no other work could be done and the entire network
had to be shut down to purge the infection.

10. Ways to treat viruses:

The best ways to prevent viruses and worms from invading a system are:
l
Be vigilant about introducing new and untrusted software into a system.
l
Use virus scanning software to check for viruses.
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Do frequent and careful backups.
Employees who bring software to the office from their home machines (usually
free software they have downloaded from bulletin board systems) are the
greatest threat.

Internet and Networking

The Internet

1. Introduction
(i) The Internet is a worldwide system of interconnected computer
networks that use the TCP/IP set of network protocols to reach
billions of users. The Internet began as a U.S Department of Defense
network to link scientists and university professors around the world.
(ii) A network of networks, today, the Internet serves as a global data
communications system that links millions of private, public,
academic and business networks via an international
telecommunications backbone that consists of various electronic and
optical networking technologies.
(iii) Decentralized by design, no one owns the Internet and it has no
central governing authority. As a creation of the Defense Department
for sharing research data, this lack of centralization was intentional
to make it less vulnerable to wartime or terrorist attacks.

(iv) The terms Internet and World Wide Web are often used
interchangeably; however, the internet and World Wide Web are not
one and the same.
(v) The Internet is a vast hardware and software infrastructure that
enables computer interconnectivity. The Web, on the other hand, is
a massive hypermedia database, a myriad collection of documents
and other resources interconnected by hyperlinks. Imagine the World
Wide Web as the platform which allows one to navigate the Internet
with the use of a browser such as Internet Explorer or Mozilla
Firefox.

2. History of the Internet

1957:

1962:

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USSR launches Sputnik into space. In response, the USA creates the
Advanced Research Projects Agency (ARPA) with the mission of
becoming the leading force in science and new technologies.
J.C.R. Licklider of MIT proposes the concept of a Galactic Network.
For the first time ideas about a global network of computers are
introduced. J.C.R. Licklider is later chosen to head ARPAs research
efforts.
Paul Baran, a member of the RAND Corporation, determines a way
for the Air Force to control bombers and missiles in case of a nuclear
event. His results call for a decentralized network comprised of packet
switches.
ARPA contracts out work to BBN. BBN is called upon to build the
first switch.
ARPANET created - BBN creates the first switched network by linking
four different nodes in California and Utah; one at the University of
Utah, one at the University of California at Santa Barbara, one at
Stanford and one at the University of California at Los Angeles.
Ray Tomlinson working for BBN creates the first program devoted to
email.
ARPA officially changes its name to DARPA Defense Advanced
Research Projects Agency.
Network Control Protocol is introduced to allow computers running
on the same network to communicate with each other.
Vinton Cerf working from Stanford and Bob Kahn from DARPA begin
work developing TCP/IP to allow computers on different networks
to communicate with each other.
Kahn and Cerf refer to the system as the Internet for the first time.
Ethernet is developed by Dr. Robert M. Metcalfe.

Internet and Networking

1976:

1976:

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1983:
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/ 49

SATNET, a satellite program is developed to link the United States

and Europe. Satellites are owned by a consortium of nations, therby
expanding the reach of the Internet beyond the USA.
Elizabeth II, Queen of the United Kingdom, sends out an email on 26
March from the Royal Signals and Radar Establishment (RSRE) in
Malvern.
AT& T Bell Labs develops UUCP and UNIX.
USENET, the first news group network is developed by Tom Truscott,
Jim Ellis and Steve Bellovin.
IBM introduces BITNET to work on emails and listserv systems.
The National Science Foundation releases CSNET 56 to allow
computers to network without being connected to the government
networks.
Internet Activities Board released.
TCP/IP becomes the standard for internet protocol.
Domain Name System introduced to allow domain names to
automatically be assigned an IP number.
MCI creates T1 lines to allow for faster transportation of information
over the internet.
The number of Hosts breaks 1,000
100 years to the day of the last spike being driven on the Canadian
Pacific Railway, the last Canadian university was connected to Net
North in a one year effort to have coast-to-coast connectivity
The new network CREN forms.
The number of hosts breaks 10,000
Traffic rises and plans are to find a new replacement for the T1 lines.
The Number of hosts breaks 100 000
Arpanet ceases to exist
Advanced Network & Services (ANS) forms to research new ways
to make internet speeds even faster. The group develops the T3 line
and installs in on a number of networks.
A hypertext system is created and implemented by Tim Berners-Lee
while working for CERN.
The first search engine is created by Mcgill Univeristy, called the
Archie Search Engine
U.S greenlight for commercial enterprise to take place on the Internet
The National Science Foundation (NSF) creates the National Research
and Education Network (NREN).
CERN releases the World Wide Web publicly on August 6th, 1991
The Internet Society (ISOC) is chartered
Number of hosts breaks 1,000,000

1993:
1993:

1994:
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2004:
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2006:

InterNIC released to provide general services, a database and internet

directory.
The first web browser, Mosaic (created by NCSA), is released. Mosaic
later becomes the Netscape browser which was the most popular
browser in the mid 1990s.
New networks added frequently.
First internet ordering system created by Pizza Hut.
First internet bank opened: First Virtual.
NSF contracts out their access to four internet providers.
NSF sells domains for a $50 annual fee.
Netscape goes public with 3rd largest ever Nasdaq ipo share value
Registration of domains is no longer free.
The WWW browser wars are waged mainly between Microsoft and
Netscape. New versions are released quarterly with the aid of internet
users eager to test new (beta) versions.
Internet2 project is initiated by 34 universities
Internet Service Providers begin appearing such as Sprint and MCI.
Nokia releases first cell phone with internet access.
(Arin) is established to handle administration and registration of IP
numbers, now handled by Network Solutions (IinterNic)
Netscape releases source code for Navigator.
Internet Corporation for Assigned Names and Numbers (ICANN)
created to be able to oversee a number of Internet-related tasks
A wireless technology called 802.11b, more commonly referred to as
Wi-Fi, is standardized.
The dot com bubble bursts, numerically, on March 10, 2000, when
the technology heavy NASDAQ composite index peaked at 5,048.62
Blackberry releases first internet cell phone in the United States.
The spread of P2P file sharing across the Internet
Internet2 now has 200 universities, 60 corporate and 40 affiliate
members
The French Ministry of Culture bans the use of the word e-mail by
government ministries, and adopts the use of the more French sounding
courriel
The Term Web 2.0 rises in popularity when OReilly and Media Live
host the first Web 2.0 conference.
My doom, the fastest ever spreading email computer worm is released.
Estimated 1 in 12 emails are infected.
Estonia offers Internet Voting nationally for local elections
Youtube launches
There are an estimated 92 million websites online

Internet and Networking

2006:

2006:

2007:
2008:
2008:

2009:
2010:
2010:

/ 51

Zimbabwes internet access is almost completely cut off after

international satellite communications provider Intelsat cuts service
for non-payment
Internet2 announced a partnership with Level 3 Communications to
launch a brand new nationwide network, boosting its capacity from
10Gbps to 100Gbps
Internet2 officially retires Abilene and now refers to its new, higher
capacity network as the Internet2 Network
Google index reaches 1 Trillion URLs
NASA successfully tests the first deep space communications network
modeled on the Internet. Using software called Disruption-Tolerant
Networking, or DTN, dozens of space images are transmitted to and
from a NASA science spacecraft located about more than 32 million
kilometers from Earth
ICANN gains autonomy from the U.S government
Face book announces in February that it has 400 million active users.
The U.S House of Representatives passes the Cyber security
Enhancement Act (H.R. 4061)

3. Types of Network: LAN, WAN and MAN

Today when we speak of networks, we are generally referring to three primary
categories: local area networks, metropolitan area networks, and wide area
networks. Into which category a network falls is determined by its size, its
ownership, the distance it covers, and its physical architecture:
Local Area Network (LAN)
l

A local area network (LAN) is usually privately owned and links the
devices in a single office, building, or campus. Depending on the needs
of an organisation and the type of technology used, a LAN can be as
simple as two PCs and a printer in someones home office, or it can
extend throughout a company and include voice, sound, and video
peripherals. Currently, 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. A common example of a LAN, found in many business
environments, links a work group of task-related computers, for example,
engineering workstations or accounting PCs. One of the computers may
be given a large-capacity disk drive and become a server to the other
clients. Software can be stored on this central server and used as needed
by the whole group. In this example, the size of the LAN may be

determined by licensing restrictions on the number of users per copy of

software, or by restrictions on the number of users licensed to access
the operating system.

In addition to size, LANs are distinguished from other types of networks

by their transmission media and topology. In general, a given LAN will
use only one type of transmission medium. The most common LAN
topologies are bus, ring, and star.
Traditionally, LANs have data rates in the 4 to 16 Mbps range. Today,
however speeds are increasing and can reach 100 Mbps with gigabit
systems in development.

Metropolitan Area Network (MAN)

l

A metropolitan area network (MAN) is designed to extend over an 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 into a larger network
so that resources may be shared LAN-to-LAN as well as device-todevice.
For example, a company can use a MAN to connect the LANs in all of
its offices throughout a city.
A MAN may be wholly owned and operated by a private company, or it
may be a service provided by a public company, such as a local telephone
company. Many telephone companies provide a popular MAN service
called Switched Multi-megabit Data Services (SMDS).

Internet and Networking

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Wide Area Network (WAN)

l

A wide area network (WAN) provides long-distance transmission of data,

voice, image, and video information over large geographical areas that
may comprise a country, a continent, or even the whole world.

In contrast to LANs (which depend on their own hardware for

transmission), WANs may utilise public, leased, or private communication
devices, usually in combinations, and can therefore span an unlimited
number of miles.
A WAN that is wholly owned and used by a single company is often
referred to as an enterprise network.

4. Client and Servers

l

To use the services available on an internet, application programs, running

at two end computers and communicating with each other, are needed.
In other words, in an internet, the application programs are the entities
that communicate with each other, not the computers or users.
The application programs using the internet follow these client-server
model strategies:

(a) An application program, called the client, running on the local

machine, requests a service from another application program, called
the server, running on the remote machine.
(b) A server can provide a service for any client, not just a particular
client. In other words, the client-server relationship is many-to-one.
Many clients can use the services of one server.
(c) Generally, a client program, which requests a service, should run
only when it is needed. The server program, which provides a
service, should run all of the time because it does not know when
its service is needed.
(d) Services needed frequently and by many users have specific
clientserver application programs. For example, we should have
client-server application programs that allow users to access files,
send e-mail, and so on. For services that are more customised, we
should have one generic application program that allows users to
access the services available on a remote computer.

Internet and Networking

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5. Network Topologes
l

The term topology refers to the way a network is laid out, either physically
or logically. Two 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 each other. There are five basic topologies
possible: mesh, star, tree, bus, and ring.
These five labels describe how the devices in a network are
interconnected rather than their physical arrangement. For example,
having a star topology does not mean that all of the computers in the
network must be placed physically around a hub in a s star shape.
A consideration when choosing a topology is the relative status of the
devices be linked. Two relationships are possible: peer-to-peer, where
the devices share the link equally, and primary-secondary, where one
device controls traffic and the others must transmit through it. Ring and
mesh topologies are more convenient for peer-to-peer transmission, while
star and tree are more convenient for primary-secondary; bus topology
is equally convenient for either.

Mesh Topology: In a mesh topology, every device has a dedicated pointtopoint link to every other device. The term dedicated means that the link
carries traffic only between the two devices it connects.

Mesh Topology

Star Topology :In a star topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point
link only to a central controller, usually called a hub. The devices are not
directly linked to each other. Unlike a mesh topology, a star topology does not
allow direct traffic between devices. The controller acts as an exchange: If
one device wants to send data to another, it sends the data to the controller,
which then relays the data to the other connected device .

Star Topology
Tree Topology: A tree topology is a variation of a star. As in a star, nodes in a
tree are linked to a central hub that controls the traffic to the network. However,
not every device plugs directly into the central hub. The majority of devices
connect to a secondary hub that in turn is connected to the central hub

Tree Topology

Internet and Networking

/ 57

Bus Topology: In bus topology one long cable acts as a backbone to link all
the devices in the network.

Bus Topology
Ring Topology : In a ring topology, each device has a dedicated point-to-point
line configuration only with the two devices on either side of it.

K KUNDAN
Ring Topology

6. Network Protocols
In computer networks, communication occurs between entities in different
systems. An entity is anything capable of sending or receiving information.
Examples include application programs, file transfer packages, browsers,
database management systems, and electronic mail software. A system is a
physical object that contains one or more entities, Examples include computers
and terminals. But two entities cannot just send bit streams to each other and
expect to be understood. For communication to occur, the entities must agree
on a protocol. A protocol is a set of rules that govern data communication. A
protocol defines what is communicated, how it is communicated, and when it
is communicated. The key elements of a protocol are syntax, semantics, and
timing.

Syntax: Syntax refers to the structure or format of the data, meaning the
order in which they are presented. For example, a simple protocol might expect
the first eight bits of data to be the address of the sender, the second eight bits
to be the address of the receiver, and the rest of the stream to be the message
itself.
Semantics: Semantics refers to the meaning of each section of bits. How is a
particular pattern to be interpreted, and what action is to be taken based on
that interpretation? For example, does an address identify the route to be taken
or the final destination of the message?
Timing :Timing refers to two characteristics: when data should be sent and
how fast they can be sent. For example, if a sender produces data at 100
Mbps but the receiver can process data at only 1 Mbps, the transmission will
overload the receiver and data will be largely lost.
Protocols Example :There are a many standard protocols to choose from,
standard protocols have their own advantage and disadvantage i.e., some are
simpler than the others, some are more reliable, and some are faster. From a
users point of view, the only interesting aspect about protocols is that our
computer or device must support the right ones if we want to communicate
with other computers. The protocols can be implemented either in hardware
or in software. Some of the popular protocols are:
l
TCP/IP
l
HTTP
l
FTP
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SMTP
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POP
l
Token-Ring
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Ethernet
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Xmodem
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Kermit
l
MNP, etc.

7. Communication Channels
A communication channel is a medium through which data is transmitted
among devices. It provides a way for data to be exchanged between remote
sites and a computer or among multiple computers. The main providers of
communication channels for computer users are the telephone companies and
long distance carriers. It is also possible for an organization to set up its own
wires, cables, or electronic links to establish a private a communication
capability. With either of these approaches, the primary types of channels
available for transmission of data include the following:

Internet and Networking

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Wire cables
Microwave
Fiber optics
Communication Satellites

8. Channel Sharing
The purpose of channel sharing is to increase the efficiency of use of a
communications channel. The following are three methods used to regulate
the flow of data from communications channels into a computer:
Multiplexing
It is the process of combining the transmission, character by character, from
several devices into a single data stream that can be spent over a single
communication channel. A multiplexer is the hardware that produces
multiplexing. It is also used at the receiving end to separate the transmissions
back to their original order for processing. The rationale for this process is
that most communication channels can transmit much more data at any one
time than a single device can send. A multiplexer allows the communication
channels to be used more efficiently and thus reduces the cost of using the
channel.
Concentration
Frequently, it is necessary to connect more devices to a computer than the
communication channel can handle at once. Concentration is the process of
connecting and serving these devices. A concentrator, often a minicomputer,
is the hardware that provides concentration. When the number of devices
transmitting exceeds the capability of the communication channel, the data are
stored in a buffer for later transmission. Many multiplexers also provide
concentration.
Controlling
Controllers or cluster controllers, link groups of terminals or other devices to
a communication channels. The controller polls the status of each terminal
and transfers data from a terminal to the host computer when necessary.

9. Types of Data Transmission

Analog Transmission
There is a continuous up and down pattern. One wave constitutes on cycle,
which is measured in the unit called Hertz (cycle per second). An example of
analog data is the human voice. When somebody speaks, a continuous wave
is transmitted in the air.

Digital Transmission
In digital transmission, wave patterns are translated into discrete bits and are
separated by intervals. Bit (contraction for binary digits) are the smallest unit
of information in data processing. They may be compared to a lightbulb,
which is either on or off. An example of digital is data stored in the memory of
a computer in the form of 0s and 1s. It is usually converted to a digital signal
when it is transferred from on position to another inside or outside or outside
the computer.

10. Data Transmission Speeds

In the present Information Technology scenario, speed of data transmission
has a significant role to play. Every information enthusiast wants to be able to
make the data transmission speeds even faster. Information that once took
days to receive now seems to be available on the very next moment of pressing
Baud Rate
The rate at which data is transferred is called the baud rate. In fact, baud rate
is the number of times per second the signal being transmitted modulates or
demodulates. Baud rate is measured in terms of bits per second (bps). Although
higher speeds are possible, typical data transmission speeds are 300, 1200,
2400, 4800, 9600, 14,400 bps. There are two factors that determine the rate
at which data can be transmitted over communication channels:
l
Channel bandwidth
l
Method of data transmission (asynchronous or synchronous)
Channel Bandwidths
The bandwidth, or grade, of a communication channel determines the rate, or
speed, at which data can be transmitted over a channel. The term bandwidth
is often shortened to band. There are three bands for communication channels:
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Narrow-hand
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Voice-band
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Broad-band

Internet and Networking

/ 61

The slowest of these is the narrow-band channel, which transmits data at

rates between 40 and 100 bps. A telegraph line is a narrow-band channel.
Voice-hand channel can transmit data at rates between 110 and 9,600 bps.
Telephone lines are voice-band channels.
The fastest of these is the broad-band channel, which can transmit data at
rates up to several mega-bits per second (mbps). Advancement in technology
continues to improve to allow data to be transmitted on some types of broadband channels in the range of billions-of-bits-per-second (bbps). Microwaves,
coaxial cables, and fiber optics are all broad-band channels.
Frequency and Bandwidth
Frequency is the rate at which a wave or cycle alternates between high and
low (analog mode) or on and off (digital mode). If there is a two-way street,
consisting of two single lanes, one in each direction, only line of vehicles can
travel in each direction. Quality of transmission is a very important consideration
in telecommunication. Voice communication can use a narrow bandwidth, not
true for the transmission of music, where we expect.

11. Methods of Data Transmission

There are two methods of transmission:
(i) Asynchronous Transmission
It is a transmission method in which one character is sent at a time and the
transfer of data is controlled by start bits and stop bits. Each character is
surrounded by bits that signal the beginning and end of the character. These
characters allow the receiving terminal to synchronise itself with the receipt
of data on a character-by-character basis. Asynchronous transmission is the
less expensive of the two methods. It is often used in low-speed transmission
of data in conjunction with narrowband and some lower speed voice-band
channels where transmission of data in conjunction with narrow-band and
some lower speed voice-band channels where the transmitting device operates
manually or at irregular intervals.
(ii) Synchronous Transmission
In this type of transmission method, blocks of characters are transmitted in
timed sequences. Rather than using start and stop bits around each character,
each block of characters is marked with synchronization characters. The
receiving device accepts data until it detects a special ending character. The
receiving device accepts data until it detects a mined number of characters at
which time the device knows the message has come to an end.

12. Data Transmission Mode

The term transmission mode is used to define the direction of signal flow
between two linked devices. There are three types of transmission modes:
simplex, half-duplex, and full-duplex:
Simplex
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In simplex mode, the communication is unidirectional, as on a one-way

street. Only one of the two stations on a link can transmit; the other can
only receive.
The term transmission mode to the direction of information flow between
two devices.

Keyboards and traditional monitors are both examples of simplex devices.

The keyboard can only introduce input; the monitor can only accept
output.

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. The half-duplex mode is like a one-lane road with two-directional traffic.
While cars are traveling one direction, cars going the other way must wait. 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.

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Full-Duplex
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In full-duplex mode (also called duplex), both stations can transmit and
receive simultaneously.

The full-duplex mode is like a two-way street with traffic flowing in

both directions at the same time. In full-duplex mode, signals going in
either direction share the capacity of the link. This sharing can occur in
two ways: either the link must contain two physically separate
transmission paths, one for sending and the other for receiving, or the
capacity of the channel is divided between signals traveling in opposite
directions.
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.

13. Applications of Computer Networks

There is a long list of application areas which can be benefited by establishing
Computer Networks. Few of the potential applications of Computer Networks
are:
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Information retrieval systems which search for books, technical reports,
papers and articles on particular topics
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News access machines which can search past news, stories or abstracts
with given search criteria
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Airline reservation, hotel-booking, railway-reservation, car-rental, etc.
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A writers aid : a dictionary, thesaurus, phrase generator, indexed
dictionary of quotations, and encyclopaedia
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Stock market information systems which allow searches for stocks that
meet certain criteria, performance comparisons, moving averages, and
various forecasting techniques
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Electronic Financial Transactions (EFT) between banks and via cheque
clearing house
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Games of the type that grow or change with various enthusiasts adding
to the complexity or diversity

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Electronic Mail Messages Systems (EMMS)

Corporate information systems such as marketing information system,
customer information system, product information system, personnel
information system, etc.
Corporate systems of different systems such as Order-Entry System,
Centralized Purchasing, Distributed Inventory Control, etc.
On-line systems for Investment Advice and Management, Tax
Minimization, etc.
Resources of interest to a home user
Sports results
Theatre, movies, and community events information
Shopping information, prices, advertisements
Restaurants; good food guide
Household magazine, recipes, book reviews, film reviews
Holidays, hotels, travel booking
Radio and TV programmes
Medical assistance service
Insurance information
Computer Assisted Instruction (CAI)
School homework, quizzes, tests
Message sending service
Directories
Consumer reports
Employment directories and Job opportunities
Tax information and Tax assistance
Journey planning assistance viz. Train, bus, plane etc.
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